QUESTION TAGS

QUESTION TAGS IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR

Definition :

Sometimes people finish what they are saying with a short question. Why do they do this? Because they want to know if the person they are speaking to agrees with them.

A Question Tag is the shortest form of a qustion using the verb plus pronoun.

RULES FOR QUESTION TAGS

• A positive statement uses a negative tag.
• A negative statement uses a positive tag.

e.g

NEGATIVE TAG	It is raining, isn’t it?	The main part of the sentence is positive, but the question tag is negative.
POSITIVE TAG	It is not raining, is it?	The main part of the sentence is negative, but the question tag is positive.

1.STATEMENT WITH AUXILIARIES:

e.g

1	David is older than you, isn’t he?	4	Sally can’t dance, can she?
2	It is dark, isn’t it?	5	Tigers are dangerous, aren’t they?
3	He and I can go by bus, can’t we?	6	Sarah and Reeta will come, won’t they?

» If the main part of the sentence has I am in it, use aren’t I in the question tag.

» If the main part of the sentence has I am not in it, use am I in the question tag.

e.g

1	I am your best teacher, aren’t I?	3	I am not your best teacher, am I?
2	I am taller than you, aren’t I?	4	I am not taller than you, am I?

2. STATEMENT WITHOUT AUXILIARIES:

e.g

1	She sings beautifully, doesn’t she?	3	The sun shines hot in summer, doesn’t it?
2	Rivers flow towards the sea, don’t they?	4	Kabil broke the world record, didn’t he?

3. a. STATEMENTS USING AUXILIARIES:

e.g: As has/have/had

1

The bell has rung, hasn’t it?

2

The flowers have drooped, haven’t they?

 b. STATEMENTS USING THE MAIN VERB:

e.g: As has/have/had - use do/does/did forms

1

A lion has sharp claws, doen’t it?

2

Indians have great respect for traditions, don’t they?

4. STATEMENTS HAVING NEGATIVE WORDS USE POSITIVE TAG:

e.g: Using no, none, never, not, neither-nor

1	Rosy is not going to come today, is she?	3	My father never smokes, does he?
2	The cuckoo has no care for its eggs, does it?	4	Neither John nor David has any bad habits, do they?

e.g: Using little, few, scarcely, hardly, rarely

1	David shows little care in his studies, does he?	3	Few planets can be seen, can they?
2	Antony scarcely listens in class, does he?	4	They rarely lose their points, do they?

5. STATEMENTS HAVING a little/a few ARE POSITIVE:

e.g: Therefore they use negative tag

1	A little sugar is added to sauces, isn’t it?	2	I have a few chocolates to share, haven’t I?

6. Only USES BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE TAGS:

e.g:

1	Only children are allowed to play in the park, are/aren’t they?	2	She did only one mistake, did/didn’t she?

7. Let’s USES shall we:

e.g:

1	Let’s go home, shall we?	2	Let’s get together for a party, shall we?

8. SIMPLE REQUESTS USE will you?:

e.g:

1	Pass me the pen, will you?	2	Get me a ticket, will you?

9. URGENT REQUESTS won’t you?:

e.g:

1	Send the e-mail, immediately, won’t you?	2	Pass on the message soon, won’t you?

10. IMPATIENT REMARKS can’t you?:

e.g:

1	Keep quiet, can’t you?	2	Listion to me, can’t you?

11. STATEMENTS USING each, every, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, none, nobody:

e.g: - take a plural pronoun - they

1	Everybody cheered, didn’t they?	2	Somebody can do it, can’t they?

Question tags are short questions at the end of statements.

They are mainly used in speech when we want to:

• confirm that something is true or not, or
• to encourage a reply from the person we are speaking to.

Question tags are formed with the auxiliary or modal verb from the statement and the appropriate subject.

A positive statement is followed by a negative question tag.

• Jack is from Spain, isn't he?
• Mary can speak English, can't she?

A negative statement is followed by a positive question tag.

• They aren't funny, are they?
• He shouldn't say things like that, should he?

When the verb in the main sentence is in the present simple we form the question tag with do / does.

• You play the guitar, don't you?
• Alison likes tennis, doesn't she?

If the verb is in the past simple we use did.

• They went to the cinema, didn't they?
• She studied in New Zealand, didn't she?

When the statement contains a word with a negative meaning, the question tag needs to be positive

• He hardly ever speaks, does he?
• They rarely eat in restaurants, do they?

Question Tags Summary Charts

Exceptions

Some verbs / expressions have different question tags. For example:

I am - I am attractive, aren't I?

Positive imperative - Stop daydreaming, will / won't you?

Negative imperative - Don't stop singing, will you?

Let's - Let's go to the beach, shall we?

Have got (possession) - He has got a car, hasn't he?

There is / are - There aren't any spiders in the bedroom, are there?

This / that is - This is Paul's pen, isn't it?

Intonation

When we are sure of the answer and we are simply encouraging a response, the intonation in the question tag goes down:

• This is your car, isn't it?
  (Your voice goes down when you say isn't it.)

When we are not sure and want to check information, the intonation in the question tag goes up:

• He is from France, isn't he?
  (Your voice goes up when you say isn't he.)

Question tags

Question tags are the short questions that we put on the end of sentences – particularly in spoken English. There are lots of different question tags but the rules are not difficult to learn.

Positive/negative

If the main part of the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative ….

• He’s a doctor, isn’t he?
• You work in a bank, don’t you?

... and if the main part of the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive.

• You haven’t met him, have you?
• She isn’t coming, is she?

With auxiliary verbs

The question tag uses the same verb as the main part of the sentence. If this is an auxiliary verb (‘have’, ‘be’) then the question tag is made with the auxiliary verb.

• They’ve gone away for a few days, haven’t they?
• They weren’t here, were they?
• He had met him before, hadn’t he?
• This isn’t working, is it?

Without auxiliary verbs

If the main part of the sentence doesn’t have an auxiliary verb, the question tag uses an appropriate form of ‘do’.

• I said that, didn’t I?
• You don’t recognise me, do you?
• She eats meat, doesn’t she?

With modal verbs

If there is a modal verb in the main part of the sentence the question tag uses the same modal verb.

• They couldn’t hear me, could they?
• You won’t tell anyone, will you?

With ‘I am’

Be careful with question tags with sentences that start ‘I am’. The question tag for ‘I am’ is ‘aren’t I?’

• I’m the fastest, aren’t I?

Intonation

Question tags can either be ‘real’ questions where you want to know the answer or simply asking for agreement when we already know the answer.

If the question tag is a real question we use rising intonation. Our tone of voice rises.
If we already know the answer we use falling intonation. Our tone of voice falls.

Tag Question Special Cases

Negative adverbs

The adverbs never, rarely, seldom, hardly, barely and scarcely have a negative sense. Even though they may be in a positive statement, the feeling of the statement is negative. We treat statements with these words like negative statements, so the question tag is normally positive. Look at these examples:

positive statement treated as negative statement	positive tag
He never came again,	did he?
She can rarely come these days,	can she?
You hardly ever came late,	did you?
I barely know you,	do I?
You would scarcely expect her to know that,	would you?

Intonation

We can change the meaning of a tag question with the musical pitch of our voice. With rising intonation, it sounds like a real question. But if our intonation falls, it sounds more like a statement that doesn't require a real answer:

	intonation
You don't know where my wallet is,	do you?	/ rising	real question
It's a beautiful view,	isn't it?	\ falling	not a real question

Imperatives

Sometimes we use question tags with imperatives (invitations, orders), but the sentence remains an imperative and does not require a direct answer. We use won't for invitations. We use can, can't, will, would for orders.

imperative + question tag	notes
Take a seat, won't you?	polite invitation
Help me, can you?	quite friendly
Help me, can't you?	quite friendly (some irritation?)
Close the door, would you?	quite polite
Do it now, will you.	less polite
Don't forget, will you.	with negative imperatives only will is possible

Same-way tag questions

Although the basic structure of tag questions is positive-negative or negative-positive, it is sometimes possible to use a positive-positive or negative-negative structure. We use same-way tag questions to express interest, surprise, anger etc, and not to make real questions.

Look at these positive-positive tag questions:

• So you're having a baby, are you? That's wonderful!
• She wants to marry him, does she? Some chance!
• So you think that's funny, do you? Think again.

Negative-negative tag questions usually sound rather hostile:

• So you don't like my looks, don't you? (British English)

Asking for information or help

Notice that we often use tag questions to ask for information or help, starting with a negative statement. This is quite a friendly/polite way of making a request. For example, instead of saying "Where is the police station?" (not very polite), or "Do you know where the police station is?" (slightly more polite), we could say: "You wouldn't know where the police station is, would you?" Here are some more examples:

• You don't know of any good jobs, do you?
• You couldn't help me with my homework, could you?
• You haven't got $10 to lend me, have you?

Some more special cases

Example	notes
I am right, aren't I?	aren't I (not amn't I)
You have to go, don't you?	you (do) have to go...
I have been answering, haven't I?	use first auxiliary
Nothing came in the post, did it?	treat statements with nothing, nobody etc like negative statements
Let's go, shall we?	let's = let us
He'd better do it, hadn't he?	he had better (no auxiliary)