QUESTION TAGS

Negative of statements

Negative statement (-) Positive tag (+)

Sub Aux Main V Aux Personal

pronoun

It is not raining,

is it ?

We have never

seen that, have we ?

He will not help, will he ?

You are not stupid, are you ?

John should

not drive so fast,

should

he ?

I am not stupid boy, am I ?

Negative of statements

Negative statement (-) Positive tag (+)

Sub Aux Main V

Aux Personal pronoun

It is not raining

is it ?

We have never

seen that,

have we ?

He will not help, will he ?

You are not stupid,

are you ?

John should

not drive so fast

,

should he ?

I am not stupid

boy,

am I ?

USE

A question tag is a short question at the end of a statement:

He won the prize, didn’t he?

question tag

We use question tags when we want to check if information is correct.

FORM

1. Use question tags at the end of a sentence:

He won the prize, didn’t he?

question tag

FORM

2.a. NEGATIVE QUESTION TAG:

If the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative:

You have seen that film, haven’t you?

+ -

2.b. POSITIVE QUESTION TAG:

If the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive:You haven’t seen that film, have you? - +

If the sentence contains a negative word (never, hardly…) the question tag is positive: Ann never goes anywhere, does she? - +

FORM

3. Questions tags consist of …

AUXILIARY VERB + PRONOUN:

I shouldn’t laugh, shouldshould II?

Sarah was winning, wasn’twasn’t sheshe?

We use the auxiliary verb that is used in the previous sentence. If there is no auxiliary verb, se use “do/does” (present tense) and “did” (past tense):

You live near here, don’tdon’t you?

You turned left, didn’tdidn’t you?

The pronoun refers to the subject of the previous sentence.

FORM

4. Some verbs form question tags differently:

I am aren’t I?

I’m helpful, aren’t I?

There is isn’t there?

There is a chemist’s near here, isn’t there?

There are aren’t there?

There are many shops in the area, aren’t there?

This is / That is isn’t it?

That’s your wife over there, isn’t it?

FORM

5. When we answer question tags, we often use short answers:

A: You are French, aren’t you?

B: Yes, I amYes, I am. / No, I’m notNo, I’m not. SHORT ANSWERS

A: She’s got a dog, hasn’t she?

B: Yes, she hasYes, she has. / No, she hasn’tNo, she hasn’t. SHORT ANSWERS

A: You smoke, don’t you?

B: Yes, I doYes, I do. / No, I don’tNo, I don’t. SHORT ANSWERS

FORM

6. Intonation:

When we are sure of the answer, the voice goes down in the question tag:

John doesn’t like gold, does he?

The speaker knows John doesn’t like gold.

When we are not sure of the answer, the voice goes up:

They left for Milan, didn’t they?

The speaker doesn’t know if they left for Milan or not.

Question tags

I hope you have understood how to use question tags.