QUESTION TAGS
Question
tags are the shortest form of questions at the end of statements.
·
Question
tags turn a statement into a question. They are often used for checking
information that we think we know is true.
·
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.
RULES
FOR FORMING TAG QUESTIONS
·
If the main
clause is positive, the question tag is negative.
·
If the
main clause is negative, the question tag is positive.
EXAMPLES
A positive statement is followed by a
negative question tag.
·
Jonny
is from London, isn't he?
·
Rose
Mary can speak English, can't she?
A negative statement is followed by a
positive question tag.
·
They
aren't arrogant, are they?
·
He
shouldn't catch poor people, should he?
EXAMPLES
OF POSITIVE SENTENCES, WITH NEGATIVE TAGS
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
·
They
live in America, don't they?
·
She is
Indian, isn't she?
·
He
catches fish, doesn’t he?
·
Puppy
loves cakes, doesn’t it?
·
She is
English teacher, isn’t she?
PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
We are
going New York, aren't we?
·
Raj is
playing chess, isn’t he?
·
Children
are enjoying trip, aren’t they?
·
My
heart is pumping fast, isn’t it?
·
She is
laughing at her, isn’t she?
PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
·
They
have been to Delhi, haven't they?
·
He has
killed a boar, hasn’t he?
·
She has
purchased a villa, hasn’t she?
·
Leaders
have distributed gifts among children, haven’t
they?
·
I have
celebrated her birthday, haven’t I?
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
She has
been dancing a lot recently, hasn't she?
·
Payal
and Sonal have been preparing a cake, haven’t
they?
·
He has
been learning question tags since morning, hasn’t
he?
·
Dog has
been following a criminal for three hours, hasn’t
it?
·
Father
has been punishing his son for stealing money, hasn’t he?
SIMPLE PAST TENSE
·
He ate
lot of cream, didn’t he?
·
It was hot
yesterday, wasn't it?
·
He went
to a mall last night, didn't he?
·
She
decorated her house, didn’t she?
·
They
published articles, didn’t they?
PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
We were
waiting at the airport, weren't we?
·
Anjali
was dancing with Rahul, wasn’t she?
·
He was
writing a novel, wasn’t he?
·
We were
eating pizzas last night, weren’t we?
·
She was
painting fence, wasn’t she?
PAST PERFECT TENSE
·
He had
forgotten his car keys, hadn't he?
·
Ron had
fought with his friend, hadn’t he?
·
Lisa
had watered saplings, hadn’t she?
·
They
had elected a leader, hadn’t they?
·
I had
cleared my paper, hadn’t I?
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
We had
been collecting stamps since childhood, hadn't
we?
·
They
had been riding bicycles for six hours, hadn’t
they?
·
She had
been wasting her life, hadn’t she?
·
I had
been earning since last year, hadn’t I?
·
He had
been choosing profession for three months, hadn’t
he?
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
·
She will
come at seven, won't she?
·
I shall
be there by four, shan’t I?
·
He will
complete his work, won’t he?
·
It will
bite you soon, won’t it?
·
We
shall buy a BMW, shan’t we?
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
They
will be departing soon, won't they?
·
Tom
will be going Paris tomorrow, won’t he?
·
I shall
be visiting Gol Gumbaz, shan’t I?
·
She
will be selling fruits, won’t she?
·
He will
be tilling his field, won’t he?
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
·
They
will have arrived by nine, won't they?
·
He will
have punched his opponent, won’t he?
·
I shall
have completed assignment, shan’t I?
·
She
will have jumped from a mountain, won’t
she?
·
Mona
will have loved vanilla ice cream, won’t
she?
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
She
will have been playing all day, won't
she?
·
He will
have been guarding border, won’t he?
·
Iron
man will have been killing his enemies, won’t
he?
·
We
shall have been singing songs, shan’t
we?
·
Peacock
will have been dancing all day, won’t
it?
MODALS
·
She can
help me, can't she?
·
Jenny
must stay at home, mustn't she?
·
He
should obey his parents, shouldn’t he?
·
Marshal
could forget everyone soon, couldn’t he?
·
You
would have been killed there, wouldn’t
you?
EXAMPLES
OF NEGATIVE SENTENCES, WITH POSITIVE TAGS
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
·
She
doesn't have any money, does she?
·
We
aren't early, are we?
·
He
doesn’t play games, does he?
·
She doesn’t
come today, does she?
·
People don’t
like officer, do they?
PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
The car
isn't coming, is it?
·
They are
not wasting their time, are they?
·
She is not
picking all coins, is she?
·
We are
not going today, are we?
·
He is
not writing examination, is he?
PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
·
She
hasn't baked cake, has she?
·
He has
not lifted him, has he?
·
Children
have not bought lunch boxes, have they?
·
Student
has not attended classes, has he?
·
It has
not caught a rat, has it?
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
He
hasn't been watering plants, has he?
·
She has
not been painting a wall, has she?
·
I have
not been learning a guitar, have I?
·
Crew
has not been sailing in a ship, has it?
·
They
have not been planning for a trip, have
they?
SIMPLE PAST TENSE
·
They
didn't go out last Monday, did they?
·
She
wasn't at home last night, was she?
·
He did
not like her, did he?
·
Uncle
did not love aunt, did he?
·
They
did not want money, did they?
PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
You
weren't riding a bike, were you?
·
He was
not catching a bus, was he?
·
She was
not using mobile, was she?
·
Child
was not disturbing, was he?
·
They
were not meeting her, were they?
PAST PERFECT TENSE
·
We
hadn't been to Guinea before, had we?
·
They had
not visited a museum ever, had they?
·
Antivirus
had not killed corona, had it?
·
He had
not prepared vaccination yet, had he?
·
She had
not drunk coffee, had she?
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
You
hadn't been watching a movie, had you?
·
They
had not been closing a shop, had they?
·
She had
not been polishing her nails, had she?
·
He had
not been enjoying the last show, had he?
·
I had
not been communicating him, had I?
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
·
They
won't be early, will they?
·
Leader
will not come today, will he?
·
Solider
will not be late, will he?
·
She
will not cook noodles, will she?
·
I shall
not promise now, shall I?
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
He
won't be coming tonight, will he?
·
She
will not be snatching her bag, will she?
·
They will
not be laughing at her, will they?
·
It will
not be chasing it, will it?
·
We
shall not be matching him, shall we?
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
·
She
won't have left work before ten, will
she?
·
He will
not have bunked class, will he?
·
They
will not have managed situation, will
they?
·
I shall
not have come here, shall I?
·
We
shall not have wasted our energy, shall
we?
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
·
He
won't have been visiting today, will he?
·
They will
not have been boiling eggs, will they?
·
She will
not have been diving in the ocean, will
she?
·
I shall
not have been distributing chocolates, shall
I?
·
It will
not have been closing today, will it?
MODALS
·
She
can't speak French, can she?
·
They
mustn't wait there, must they?
·
He
should not spoil his name, should he?
·
I
cannot buy it, can I?
·
Children
should not misbehave, should they?
EXCEPTIONS
§ The adverbs never, seldom, hardly, rarely,
etc., have a negative sense.
§ We treat statements with these words like
negative statements, so the question tag is normally positive.
·
They
have never seen that, have they?
·
She
hardly ever speaks Tamil, does she?
·
We rarely
eat in restaurants, do we?
·
Dogs
seldom bite anyone, do they?
·
He scarcely
wrote a letter, did he?
SOME
VERBS / EXPRESSIONS HAVE DIFFERENT QUESTION TAGS.
STATEMENTS BEGIN WITH I’M
EXAMPLE
·
I am handsome,
aren't I?
·
I’m genius,
aren’t I?
·
I am
champion, aren’t I?
·
I am
smart, aren’t I?
STATEMENTS BEGIN WITH LET’S
We use “shall we” after sentences with let’s.
EXAMPLE
·
Let’s
take the next taxi, shall we?
·
Let’s
go cafe, shall we?
·
Let's
go to the shore, shall we?
·
Let’s
eat noodles, shall we?
·
Let’s
shop now, shall we?
WITH IMPERATIVES
EXAMPLES
·
Open
the door, will you?
·
Take an
apple, will you?
·
Stop
daydreaming, will you?
·
Don't
stop dancing, will you?
·
Don’t
waste your time, will you?
WITH THERE
When we use the there… structure, there is reflected in the tag.
EXAMPLE
·
There‘s
nothing correct, is there?
·
There
weren’t any difficulties when you talked to him, were there?
STATEMENTS WITH “NOBODY/NO ONE,
SOMEBODY/SOMEONE, EVERYBODY/EVERYONE” AS THE SUBJECT.
We use the pronoun “they” in question tags after statements with
nobody/no one, somebody/someone, everybody/everyone as the subject.
EXAMPLE
·
Somebody
wanted to spend money, didn’t they?
·
No one
ate food in the function, did they?
·
Someone
had kidnapped her child, hadn’t they?
·
Nobody wasted
money in mall, did they?
·
Everybody
enjoyed party, didn’t they?
STATEMENTS WITH NOTHING/SOMETHING/EVERYTHING
AS THE SUBJECT
When the subject is nothing/something, we use “it” in the tag question.
EXAMPLE:
·
Something
happened at Roy’s home, didn’t it?
·
Everything
is over toady, isn’t it?
·
Nothing
will stop it, will it?
·
Something
goes around here, doesn’t it?
·
Nothing
stops him ever, does it?
