Why 'Isn't It?' Sounds Like Nothing You Expect
"It's hot, isn't it?"
Your student hears: "It's hot, izinit?"
Or maybe: "It's hot, innit?"
Unrecognizable from the original.
Welcome to the tag question mystery.
The Rhythm Problem
Tag questions compress into tiny chunks.
"Isn't it" becomes "izinit" or "innit." The sounds disappear. The rhythm changes. The entire sound structure shifts.
And your students? Caught off guard.
They didn't expect it. What is that extra thing at the end?
They wonder: Is this a positive statement? A negative statement? Does it change the meaning in some important way they can't understand?
The tag question sits outside the basic sentence. It's extra. Surprising.
This creates confusion.
Here's what's happening with the sounds:
The "n't" in "isn't" is very short. It's a stress, but tiny.
Liaisons make the words blend into one sound blob.
Reductions strip out the clear vowel sounds.
The whole chunk becomes something unrecognizable.
Building Chunks Through Rhythm
So what's a chunk?
A clump of words. They stick together. Your brain makes them through experience.
Sometimes chunks are rhythm-based. But be careful here.
Students might think one strong word goes in each chunk. Not always true.
Sometimes a chunk has two strongly stressed words. Even three.
The rhythm - the strong words - often create chunks unto themselves. A lot of chunks have only one strongly stressed word in them. But not all chunks.
And that strongly stressed word? Could be at the start. In the middle. At the end of the chunk.
Here's what students should listen for:
The strongly stressed words. Try to identify them.
But also be aware of the weak stresses. Even if you can't identify the exact word.
Take "isn't" - that "n't" is a stress. Very short. But it's there.
Learners must learn how to notice these short stresses.
Later, with more skill and chunk knowledge, they'll identify them.
The Practice Model
I always start with: "It's hot, isn't it?"
Why this example?
The main sentence is very short. Very clear that something's been added at the end.
"Hot" is simple. Easy to hear. Easy to identify.
Plus, I use it when it's actually hot. So the student agrees automatically. Yes, it is hot.
They get the right answer almost without thinking.
This makes it memorable. It becomes the model they compare other tag questions to.
Here's how the sounds actually work:
"It's hot" - clear chunk. One strong beat: HOT.
"Isn't it?" - compressed chunk. The tag.
When you say it naturally, fast: "It's hot, izinit?"
The liaison between "isn't" and "it" makes them blend. The rhythm squashes the sounds together. The chunk becomes one flowing unit.
The Teaching Challenge
Most teachers explain tag questions grammatically.
Positive statement, negative tag. Negative statement, positive tag.
Sure. That's the rule.
But it doesn't help students HEAR the tag question.
Because the sounds don't match the written form.
Your students need to catch these chunks by rhythm. By feeling where the stress lands. By recognizing the pattern.
Here's what works:
Have students REPEAT the question.
Not just answer it. Repeat it.
Then both parties know if the question was apprehended completely and correctly or not.
If the student can repeat it, they heard it properly. They caught the chunk.
If they can't repeat it? They're guessing at the meaning.
Repetition forces engagement with the actual sounds. The actual rhythm. The actual chunk structure.
Try It Tomorrow
Pick one tag question. Use it repeatedly with your students.
"It's hot, isn't it?"
Make them repeat it. Not answer it. Repeat it.
Do it twenty times if necessary.
Until the chunk becomes automatic.
Until "izinit" sounds normal instead of strange.
Until they can catch that compressed little sound blob at the end of the sentence.
That's how you build chunk awareness.
One rhythm pattern at a time.
Coming Monday: Forget motivation. Design your environment instead.