In English , the structure of an interrogative clause is to place the subject after the auxilliar , or the verb in cases where the verb doesn ' t use an auxilliar . So , if we drop the negative for the moment , we getIs it romantic ? A perfectly good question . In English we cannot negate most verbs . Eg . You swim . You no swim . incorrectWe have to negate the auxilliary verb . You do not swim you don ' t swim . Be can be negated and doesn ' t use do as an auxilliary verb in the present simple . It is romantic . It isn ' t romantic . ? Is it romantic ? Negating the question gives us ? Isn ' t it romantic ? Questions in English are simply affirnative or negative clauses in which the subject changes position with a negatable verb , whether it ' s negated or not .