That was a great movie, wasn't it?
And wasn't the acting good?

    Let's start with a dialogue. Two friends are coming out of a movie theatre and they're talking about a movie they've just seen.
        A: So, what did you think of the movie?
        B: Oh, the acting was really good, wasn't it?
        A: Yeah. I thought Julia Roberts was superb.
        B: Hmm.. I thought she was OK, but I liked Susan Sarandon better.
        A: Well, yes, they were both very good, I think.
        B: And wasn't the ending exciting?
        A: Oh, it was, wasn't it?
        B: Really had me on the edge of my seat.

    In this dialogue, there are two particular structures that I want you to look at:

    1.   The acting  was really good, wasn't it?
    2.   And wasn't the ending exciting?

    A closer look

    Imagine that you and I have been to see a movie together. I think it was a really great movie and, as we come out of the movie theatre, I might say:

                    That was a great movie, wasn't it?

    Another situation: if we enjoy a nice meal together in a restaurant:

                    That was a really fantastic meal, wasn't it?

    In both these situations, my voice will fall as I say "wasn't it?" You see, in this situation, "wasn't it?" isn't really a question. It means something like: I thought it was great, and I'm sure you agree. If you tell me that you didn't enjoy it, I will probably be very surprised.

    (Note:
    Short phrases like wasn't it, don't you, can't you are often placed at the end of positive sentences to encourage the listener to make a response. These are called question tags or tag questions. We will be looking at question tags in a future lesson).

    An alternative to quesion tags is to begin the question with a negative verb:

    • Wasn't that a great movie? / Wasn't that movie great?
    • Wasn't that a fantastic meal? / Wasn't that meal fantastic?

    Some useful vocabulary

    If we want to praise （褒める） something or someone, we can use words like these:

      great, terrific, fantastic, marvellous, superb, wonderful, excellent, incredible, exciting, beautiful, gorgeous, delicious.

    If we want to criticize （批判する） something or someone, we can use words like these:

      terrible, awful, boring, stupid, silly, ridiculous, rubbish, garbage, mediocre, unimpressive, unimaginative, disappointing, a waste of time, not very good, not very interesting.

    ANOTHER USEFUL PHRASE:
    Did you notice this phrase at the beginning of the opening dialogue:

        (It) really had me on the edge of my seat.

    We can say this if we find a movie, drama production, sports match, political speech etc. very exciting.

    Exercises
    EXERCISE 1:
    Imagine you have just been to see a really great movie that you've enjoyed very much. Use the two patterns we have looked at in today's lesson to make comments about:
    1. the photography
    2. the theme music
    3. the costumes
    4. the main actor's performance
    5. the blonde actress
    6. the car chase in the last scene

    EXERCISE 2:
    Now, imagine you didn't like the movie in Exercise 1. Use the same prompts in 1-6 above to make negative comments about the film.

    Click here for some suggested answers.

    Click below if you want to try some of my other one-point lessons:
    Bob's One-Point Weekly Lesson Archive.

    © Robert E. Jones, 2004