[Grammar] Aren'y they taking too long?!

[white82]

Hi to all.

Today I have a silly but important qustion to ask.

Me and my friend waited a taxi to pick us up.( we was told 10 min wait )
After 25 min pasted still there was not taxi for us.

My frind said "" Aren't they taking too long ?!!'""
I replied. "" I know ""

Then I started thinking.. 'Are not they taking too long.'
uhhh ' They are not talking too long'
Then ?????? AS matther of fact that they were talking too long.!!

I hope you all understand what is my frustraion and qustion.

Please help me to clear this up.. AM I thinking too much or I am just stupid?

 

[The Dude]

No good complaining here. Talk to the taxi company.;-)









(Or are you asking how to say this?)

 

[white82]

Thank you for reply.

What I wanted know was that

" Are not they taking too long?!''

that sentence is correct? I mean formaly??

umm I still confused.

 

[5jj]

Either: Aren't they taking too long?"
Or: "Are they not taking too long?"

The second is quite formal, and not often heard in conversation.

"Are not they taking too long?" is not natural English.

 

[susiedqq]

I hear question/statements like that all the time, mostly expressed by teenagers:

Isn't he cute?

Wasn't that the best?

Aren't you glad?

Doesn't she have nerve?

Couldn't you just hug him?


I suppose it is asking you to agree or disagree with a negative question.

 

[white82]

Thank you!! I appriciate it !
Now I am able to have good night sleep.

I am not really educated person ( I am glad I find this site ), but I am sometime supidly sensitive to words that I use.

Thank you so much for all your help.

 

[5jj]

I hear question/statements like that all the time, mostly expressed by teenagers:

Isn't he cute?

I suppose it is asking you to agree or disagree with a negative question.

Wouldn't you agree that it's quite a normal way for people of all ages to ask a question, particularly if they are asking for confirmation of a positive belief or giving a tentative opinion in the form of a request for agreement?

Some of the questions that you have heard from teenagers appear to be more like exclamations than questions, and might perhaps be better punctuated with an exclamation mark, as in:

Wasn't that an incredible performance!

 

[BobK]

I think in the taxi-rank situation, it's more likely that someone would ask 'Shouldn't they be here by now?' or 'This is a lot more than 10 minutes' or 'I thought he said "10 minutes"' - something positive (the first one looks like a question, but it's really a statement).

MrsK would say 'This is an old-fashioned 10 minutes' [=much longer]; but I don't know how widely-used this is. ;-)

b