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I was watching an episode of Top Gear in which they talked about Chinese cars and one of the hosts (Jeremy) said the following:

It's a good car, that.

I've also heard this sentence somewhere.

It's a fu***** scam, this is.

I can sort of guess that, that in the first sentence is referencing the car, but why say it again? Is it for emphasis?

Could anyone explain how this works?

JMP
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Vasu
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    Welcome to EL&U. Adding 'this' and 'that' at the end of a phrase is a part of certain British dialects, particularly Northern England. I am not certain if it is confined to Yorkshire. – Nigel J Jan 27 '18 at 14:46
  • That would explain why i've only heard it in British TV Shows and videos/movies. Thank you very much! – Vasu Jan 27 '18 at 14:55
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    Apologies. I misread your rep. I see you are a seasoned user :) – Nigel J Jan 27 '18 at 14:58
  • Don't mention it. :) – Vasu Jan 27 '18 at 15:01
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    The first sentence is an example of a right dislocation. – Araucaria - Him Jan 28 '18 at 11:19
  • @NigelJ I would have put "It's a good car, that", as fairly standard English - the "that" being there for indicative emphasis. What would definitely be Northern, would be if I said "It's a good car, is the Land Rover" or "He's a fine fellow, is John". – WS2 Feb 09 '18 at 16:39
  • @WS2 I disagree. Having lived in several parts of the UK I would say, from my own experience, that the usage is localised. – Nigel J Feb 09 '18 at 17:06

1 Answers1

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Those are statement tags. Those two are very informal, and they are used with positive statements.

They invite the listener to agree or comment.

{From English Grammar Today.}

Edwin Ashworth
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    Hello, Patriot. Thanks for visiting ELU. Have you a supporting reference to add to improve your answer? Unsupported answers are not considered desirable on ELU; they come across as mere opinion (and sometimes are). – Edwin Ashworth Feb 09 '18 at 12:30
  • Hi Edwin! Thanks for the welcome. Yes, I can provide support for my answer. If I state an opinion, I will always make that clear. –  Feb 09 '18 at 13:21