surprise enthusiasm or negative exclamation
In the English Grammar Profile, point 86 in the category of CLAUSES is defined as:
phrases or exclamations where the negative interrogative form of an auxiliary verb is used to express surprise or enthusiasm.
This is a real challenge to search for. Surprise and enthusiasm is not something you can formally search for, but the structures similar enough can be. A negative interrogative followed by a verb and an adjective is easy to catch. From the examples given, we can start our search looking for:
A search on iWeb for:
_v* _x _p* _v* _j*
1 WOULD N’T IT BE GREAT 3487
These seem more like they are seeking agreement.
2 WOULD N’T IT BE NICE 3398
3 WOULD N’T IT BE BETTER 1098 (this seems to be suggesting politely a change)
4 WOULD N’T IT BE COOL 791
5 WOULD N’T IT BE WONDERFUL 424
6 WOULD N’T IT BE EASIER 413 (this seems to be suggesting politely a change)
7 WOULD N’T IT BE FUN 307
8 WOULD N’T IT BE AWESOME 288
9 WOULD N’T IT BE AMAZING 213
10 WOULD N’T IT BE GOOD 206
11 WOULD N’T IT BE POSSIBLE 205
12 SHOULD N’T I BE ABLE 189
13 WOULD N’T IT BE INTERESTING 170
14 WOULD N’T IT BE FUNNY 163
15 SHOULD N’T YOU BE ABLE 124
16 SHOULD N’T THEY BE ABLE 90
17 WOULD N’T IT BE LOVELY 89
18 WOULD N’T YOU BE ABLE 82
19 SHOULD N’T WE BE ABLE 79
20 WOULD N’T IT BE FANTASTIC 59
21 WOULD N’T IT BE BEST 56
22 WOULD N’T IT BE NEAT 54
23 WOULD N’T IT BE IRONIC 48
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