A discussion of women's oral discourse patterns focuses on the uses made of minimal responses, hedges, and tag questions. The analysis draws on transcriptions of conversations among a group of women friends over a period of months. It is proposed that the conventional treatment of these forms as "weak" is inappropriate in all-female discourse. In friendly, all-female conversation, these linguistic forms function as cooperative devices. Women use minimal responses to signal active listening and support for the current speaker, and to mark recognition of the different stages of conversational development. Hedges are used to respect the face needs of all participants, negotiate sensitive topics, and encourage participation. Tag questions also encourage participation, but among women friends are more often used to check the taken-for-granted nature of what is being asserted, monitoring group support. Misunderstanding of these and other aspects of women's linguistic style arises from the misunderstanding of female subculture. Typical features can be shown to be functional in terms of the goals of all-female interaction, a characteristics of mutual support and solidarity, and can not be dismissed as weak or tentative. (MSE)