5. The take-off

STATEMENTS

Statements with the Take-Off invite a further contribution to the conversation from the listener.

Examples

Good morning, Mr. Thomson. (Good morning.) || It's a ,nice ,day

Hullo, Frank, (Hullo, Jimmy.) | You're ,looking ,very ,smart. ||

Have you heard about Max? ,No.

Usually the speaker gives (and wishes to give) the impression that he is reserving judgment until he has heard more from the listener.

Examples

Have you any money on you? ,Yes.

D'you go to the theatre? ,Sometimes.

Shall we be in time? I ,think 'so.

Going on from this guarded attitude, the Take-Off is often used to appeal to the listener to change his attitude, which the speaker considers wrong.

Examples

I shall have to sack him. You ,can't do ,that. || (He's too useful.)

What a terrible play! It ,wasn't as ,bad as ,all ,that.

You said we could come on Tuesday. It's ,not ,Tuesday to,day.

Very common is the use of this tone group in resentful contra­dictions.

Examples

You haven't written that letter. ,Yes I ,have. || (I wrote it this morning.)

There's our train. ,No it's ,not. || (It's the next one.)

Notice that the implied criticism of the listener may be be­cause he is blaming himself too much or praising the speaker too much, when the statement sounds deprecatory.

Examples

You've done a fine job. I ,don't ,know. || ,You could have ,done it ,just as ,well.

I feel terrible about it. You've ,nothing to ге,proach yourself with. || It ,wasn't ,your fault.

This tone group is also used for continuative purposes, to show that there is more to be said, as, for example, in enumerations :

,One, | ,two, | ,three, | ,four, | ,five, |

If the enumeration is completed the last item has a falling tone :

You can have ,coffee, | or ,tea,| or ^‛cocoa

In the examples below, where the tone group is again used to express non-finality, the deprecatory attitude, absent in the simple enumeration, is present, as though the speaker were denying that the utterance contained anything very new or interesting.

Examples And ,when I ,got there| he ^‛gave it to me.

I ,went ,up to him| and he ^‛snubbed me.

WH-QUESTIONS

When the nucleus is the interrogative word the effect may be either of repeating the listener's question or of asking for in­formation to be repeated. In both cases the questioner's tone is wondering, as though he was mildly puzzled that such a question should have been asked or that he should have been given the information he was given.

Examples

The meeting's at five. ,When? (I thought it was six.)

How did he do it? ,How did he do it? | (Perfectly obvious.)

His name was Scroggs. ,What was that? ,Scroggs?

It is fairly rare to ask any but the above repeated type of wh-question with the Take-Off; any other sounds very calm but very disapproving and resentful.

Examples

You shouldn't have done it. And ,what's it got to ,do with ,you may I ask?

Please don't do that. And ,why ,shouldn't I? \\ (It's a free country.)

YES-NO QUESTIONS

Such questions almost invariably express disapproval or scepticism and should only be used where this is appropriate.

Examples

You mean to say you're getting married? ,Is it so ,very sur,prising?

I'm sorry now that I did it. ,Are you ,really sorry?

When used as independent comments, question tags said with the Take-Off show exactly the same disapproval and scepticism.

Examples

I saw you on Wednesday. ,Did you? || (I thought it was Thurs­day.)

He's only thirty-five. ,Is he? || (He looks about fifty.)

On the other hand, when they are used in conjunction with a preceding statement, question tags having this tone group do not express this disapproving, sceptical attitude. Nor do they demand confirmation of the speaker's view, as with the Low Drop and the High Drop. Rather they leave the listener free to answer either Yes or No, though it is very clear that the speaker inclines to one view rather than the other and that the listener's agreement with that view is expected.

Examples

It's about 'ten o^‛clock, | ,isn't it?

You 'didn't feel very ^‛well, | ,did you?

I 'don't ˚think you could have ^‛done it, | ,could you?

Notice that when a speaker says:

She’s a ^‛nice girl, | ,isn’t she?

he has probably not met the girl concerned, or at any rate not completely made up his mind about her niceness, since he is genuinely concerned to have the listener's view; whereas when he says:

She's a ^‛nice girl, | ^‛isn't she?

he almost certainly has met the girl and formed an opinion about her niceness, and is demanding confirmation of that opinion by the listener.

The question tags will you?, won't you?, would you? are com­monly used after imperative forms in order to make it plain that the command is in fact a form of invitation.

Examples

'Come and sit _ˎdown, | ,won't you?

'Come over _ˎhere a minute, | ,will you?

'Make mine a _ˎsherry, | ,would you?

Contrast this with the use of a falling tone on will you!, which strengthens and emphasises the command.

Example 'Stand _ˎstill, | _ˎwill you!

Direct question tags, i.e. those which are in the negative when the preceding statement is in the negative, or in the affirmative when the statement is in the affirmative, always have the Take-Off. Such utterances are used to acknowledge something which has previously been stated, to refer back to something already established and accepted by both parties.

Examples

What a lovely dress! You ^‛like it, | ,do you?

I slapped John's face today. You've ^‛quarrelled with him, |,have you?

COMMANDS

The Take-Off is not widely used with commands except those beginning with Don't, when the effect is of appealing to the listener, exactly as with statements.

Examples

I'm going to sack him. ,Don't do ,that. || (He's not a bad chap.)

I'm afraid I've broken it. ,Don't ,worry about ,that.

This tone group is also commonly heard with a few short commands, when they are intended as a rather calm warning or exhortation.

Examples ,Careful. ,Steady. ,Watch. A,gain.

With either the Low Drop or the High Drop all these examples would sound much more like orders and less like appeals.

INTERJECTIONS

Most interjections are rarely said in this way, but some— usually short—quite commonly have this tone group; some seem to imply reserved judgment and to require more explana­tion from the hearer.

Examples

John says he can't come. ,Oh. | (Why not?)

It's half past ten. ,Well. || (We're not in a hurry.)

Others imply calm, casual acknowledgment of a not unexpected matter.

Examples

The car's here. ,Good. [| (We're just about ready.)

Your change, sir. ,Thank you.

I can't help you. ,Very ,well. || (We'll do it alone.)