Tonight Bob Dylan sings very softly, with a woman’s voice beside him. He is asking someone to come back to him.
Learn from Songs · Unit 3: Questions · B2
Oh, Sister
A quiet, pleading song from Bob Dylan’s album Desire: negative questions (Isn’t it…? Don’t you remember…? Why don’t we…?), what they mean (surprise, persuasion, a gentle complaint), and how to answer them, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Asking how?
SOPHIA
With questions that already contain the answer: isn’t it…? don’t you…? aren’t we…? We call them negative questions.
PHILO
Questions that are really arguments.
Before you listen: the song
New York, 1975
Bob Dylan wrote most of the songs on his album Desire (1976) with the theatre director Jacques Levy. They were recorded in New York in 1975, with the violinist Scarlet Rivera and the singer Emmylou Harris, who sings with Dylan on “Oh, Sister”.
The song is a plea. The singer calls the woman “sister”, as in old religious language, and asks her not to turn away. He reminds her that they have the same purpose, that time is short, and that she should not leave him to be alone.
In the song, the singer asks her to come to him. Isn’t their purpose the same? Don’t they belong together? He warns her that time is passing, and that one day it will be too late.
Isn’t it time to make peace?
Listen: the plea
PHILO
Listen once. What does he ask her? What does he say about time?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A. Listen to the two voices together.
🕊️ Listen to the song: “Oh, Sister” (Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy, 1975), sung by Bob Dylan with Emmylou Harris.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Oh, Sister”, Bob Dylan.Read the lyrics →
Negative questions: form
MARCOS
Isn’t it late? Don’t you remember? Haven’t we met before? Why don’t we go?
SOPHIA
Use a contracted negative auxiliary at the start: Isn’t, Aren’t, Don’t, Doesn’t, Didn’t, Haven’t, Can’t, Won’t. The full form is very formal: Is it not…?
Negative questions: meaning
DEMETRIA
Surprise: Haven’t you finished yet? Expecting yes: Isn’t it beautiful? Persuasion: Why don’t we try again? Complaint: Can’t you be quiet?
SOPHIA
A negative question is rarely neutral. It shows what the speaker expects or wants. Tone of voice matters a lot.
Answering negative questions
PHILO
“Don’t you like coffee?” “Yes, I do.” (I like it) / “No, I don’t.” (I don’t like it)
SOPHIA
In English, answer about the facts, not the question: Yes = positive fact, No = negative fact. This is different from Spanish and many other languages, so be careful!
Sophia’s comparison: Joseph and his brothers
PHILO
When Joseph finally told his brothers who he was, he wept so loudly that all Egypt heard. His first question was: “Is my father still alive?”
SOPHIA
And Antigone said to her sister Ismene: “Aren’t you my sister? Won’t you help me?” But Ismene was afraid.
DEMETRIA
Questions like that are hard to say no to.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Isn’t / Don’t / Haven’t + subject…? | negative questions | Don’t you remember? |
| Isn’t it…? | expecting yes | Isn’t it beautiful? |
| Why don’t we…? | suggestion, persuasion | Why don’t we try again? |
| Haven’t you…yet? | surprise | Haven’t you finished yet? |
| Yes, I do / No, I don’t | answer about the facts | “Don’t you like it?” “Yes, I do.” (I like it) |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. What is the singer asking for?
2. What does he call her?
3. What does he say about time?
4. Who sings with Dylan?
5. Who wrote the album’s songs with Dylan?
6. What is the album?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. Look at the sea! it beautiful? (expecting yes)
8. Why we try again? (suggestion)
9. What? you finished yet? I’m surprised!
10. Hello! you remember me? We met in Rome.
11. “Don’t you like coffee?” “ , I do. I love it.”
12. “Isn’t he here?” “ , he isn’t. He’s gone home.”
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “Don’t you remember me?”
14. “Isn’t she coming?” “Yes, she isn’t.”
15. “Why not we go to the beach?”
16. “Haven’t you finished yet?”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Persuade me! In pairs, one person doesn’t want to do something (go out, study, try a new food). The other persuades with negative questions: Don’t you want to…? Isn’t it…? Why don’t we…?
Discuss. 1. Why do people stop speaking to each other? 2. Is it easy to make the first step? 3. Answer the negative questions honestly: Don’t you like music? Isn’t English difficult?
Write (120–150 words). A letter of peace. Write to someone you have argued with, using at least five negative questions to remind them of what you share.
Now play the gamebook: two sisters, ten years of silence, and a wedding.Play the gamebook →