syntax?

[squeakchan]

Question for all you English nerds out there

Comments

[hungrytiger11]

I gotta be honest, and say Aki's "Oh, are you?" sounds fine to me, more correct than "Oh, you are?"

I think this is because Aki is asking a question, and "Are you?" puts the words into a question format, whereas "You are" is actually putting the words into a statement format. "You are" becomes a question only in context, when you hear the voice going up. Then again, maybe it is just the part of America I'm from? (the Rockies).

[beloved_baka]

I'm from Washington State and I agree -- maybe it's a West Coast(-ish) thing?

[shelldigity]

I don't think "Oh, are you?" is wrong, but I would expect to hear "Oh, you are?" more often.

But looking at it from a new speaker perspective, "Oh, are you?" would be the more proper way to word a question.

The whole conversation makes me laugh, though, because I totally remember something just like this in our Japanese 101 text! :)

[taelow]

"Oh, are you?" is correct in the manner that it's a truncated "Oh, are you (from Canada?)" Whereas "Oh, you are" is more of a statement than a question. "Oh, you are (from Canada)."

The former is proper, the latter is informal.

[vampydirector]

My instinct, upon learning where someone is from, isn't to say either those ^^; I'd say, "Oh really?", but maybe that's another regionalism. Anyway, I'd agree with everyone else in saying the "are you?" is proper question form. (The whole turning of a statement into a question is probably a whole other can of worms for poor English learners. We do some really weird things with our language...)