If someone says to you "It's hot today, isn't it?" in English, how do you respond?
Here are some suggestions:

• (Yes), it is, isn't it?
• (Yes), very hot, isn't it?
• (Yes), it is hot, isn't it?
• You can say that again.
• It certainly is.
• Yes, (absolutely) scorching, isn't it?

However, you may feel that it isn't really as hot as the speaker suggests, but you don't want to argue with them. In that case, you might choose to say something like:

• (Yes), I guess it is a bit hot, isn't it?
• (Yes), I suppose it is a bit on the hot side.
• (Yes), I suppose it is hot, now you mention it.

TWO IMPORTANT POINTS

• In all the sentences above, isn't it should be said with a falling intonation. This is because it isn't really a question; it is a technique for inviting the speaker to make a response. It is very similar to「...ですね」in Japanese.

• In each of the responses above, one word is spoken with a stronger stress (heavier accentuation) than the others. For each response, decide which word is most heavily stressed. Then click here to check your answers and to read some further comments.