Complex Question(which contains affirmative and negative)

Question

Dear Representative, I have a grammar question to which I cannot seem to find the answer anywhere...

I am aware that lawyers commonly use "Is it correct..." statements when interrogating witnesses and frequently the person being interrogated are expected to answer with just "yes" or "no".

If the question includes both affirmative main clause and negative subordinate clause, I would think that the responder's "yes" or "no" would be in response to the main clause, NOT the subordinate clause.

For example, suppose the question is, "Is it correct that you were not at the scene of the crime?"

If the responder wishes to answer that he/she was not at the crime scene, is it correct that this person would answer "Yes"(since the responder is answering the main clause, "is it correct")? In other words, by answering "yes", the responder is saying "Yes, you are correct that I was not at the scene of the crime." Is this right?

I would think that yes or no answers are always in response to the main clause, NOT the subordinate clause. I very much need your assistance.

Kind regards,

Laura

Answer 1

The answer to your question is yes - Yes, it is correct that I was not at the scene of the crime. However, these kind of questions always seem to trip up those who answer, especially in the English language.

They hear "were you at the scene of the crime" and will probably answer "no". The best way to answer is to cover all your bases, as in "Yes, it is correct that I wasn't there". Or try to ask the question where there is no negative to answer.

Answer 2

Your assessment is correct. The question is indeed "Is it correct?" The subordinate clause is the antecedent of "it".

Although "ante" means "before", the antecedent doesn't have to precede the pronoun in the sentence!

From Miriam Webster:

Antecedent definition is - a substantive word, phrase, or clause whose denotation is referred to by a pronoun (such as John in 'Mary saw John and called to him'); broadly : a word or phrase replaced by a substitute.