Tag Questions
Tag Question
The basic structure of
a tag question is:
positive statement |
negative tag |
Snow is white, |
isn't it? |
negative statement |
positive tag |
You don't like me, |
do you? |
Notice that the tag
repeats the auxiliary verb (or main verb when be) from the statement
and changes it to negative or positive.
Positive Statement Tag
Questions
Look at these examples
with positive statements. You will see that most of the time, the auxiliary verb from
the positive statement is repeated in the tag and changed to negative.
ositive statement |
(-) negative tag |
|||||
subject |
auxiliary |
main verb |
|
auxiliary |
not |
personal pronoun same as subject |
You |
are |
coming, |
|
are |
n't |
you? |
We |
have |
finished, |
|
have |
n't |
we? |
You |
do |
like |
coffee, |
do |
n't |
you? |
You |
|
like |
coffee, |
do |
n't |
you? |
They |
will |
help, |
|
wo |
n't |
they? |
I |
can |
come, |
|
can |
't |
I? |
We |
must |
go, |
|
must |
n't |
we? |
He |
should |
try |
harder, |
should |
n't |
he? |
You |
|
are |
English, |
are |
n't |
you? |
John |
|
was |
there, |
was |
n't |
he? |
Notice:
- the use of do in
the two coffee questions. Remember that in Present Simple, do is
optional in positive statements (You like coffee/You do like
coffee). But the do must
appear in the tag. The same applies to Past Simple did.
- in last two questions, no
auxiliary for main verb be in
Present Simple and Past Simple. The tag repeats the main verb.
Negative Statement Tag Questions
Look at these examples with negative statements. Notice that the
negative verb in the original statement is changed to positive in the tag.
(-) negative
statement |
(+) positive tag |
||||||
subject |
auxiliary |
|
main verb |
|
|
auxiliary |
personal pronoun
same as subject |
It |
is |
n't |
raining, |
|
|
is |
it? |
We |
have |
never |
seen |
|
that, |
have |
we? |
You |
do |
n't |
like |
|
coffee, |
do |
you? |
They |
will |
not |
help, |
|
|
will |
they? |
They |
wo |
n't |
report |
|
us, |
will |
they? |
I |
can |
never |
do |
|
it right, |
can |
I? |
We |
must |
n't |
tell |
|
her, |
must |
we? |
He |
should |
n't |
drive |
|
so fast, |
should |
he? |
You |
wo |
n't |
be |
|
late, |
will |
you? |
You |
|
|
are |
n't |
English, |
are |
you? |
John |
|
|
was |
not |
there, |
was |
he? |
Notice:
- won't is the contracted form
of will not
- the tag repeats the auxiliary verb, not the main verb.
Except, of course, for the verb be in Present Simple and
Past Simple.
Answering Tag
Questions
How do we answer a tag
question? Often, we just say Yes or No. Sometimes
we may repeat the tag and reverse it (They don't live here, do
they? Yes, they
do). Be very careful
about answering tag questions. In some languages, an opposite system of
answering is used, and non-native English speakers sometimes answer in the
wrong way. This can lead to a lot of confusion!
For
example, everyone knows that snow is white. Look at these questions, and the
correct answers:
tag question |
correct answer |
notes |
|
Snow is white, isn't
it? |
Yes (it is). |
Answer is same in both
cases - because snow is
white! |
But notice change
of stress when
answerer does not agree with questioner. |
Snow isn't white, is
it? |
Yes it is! |
||
Snow is black, isn't
it? |
No it isn't! |
Answer is same in both
cases - because snow is
not black! |
|
Snow isn't black, is
it? |
No (it isn't). |
In some languages, people answer a question like "Snow
isn't black, is it?" with "Yes" (meaning "Yes, I agree with
you"). This is the wrong
answer in English!
Here are some more examples, with correct answers:
- The moon goes round the
earth, doesn't it? Yes, it does.
- The earth is bigger than
the moon, isn't it? Yes.
- The earth is bigger
than the sun, isn't it? No,
it isn't!
- Asian people don't like
rice, do they? Yes,
they do!
- Elephants live in
Europe, don't they? No,
they don't!
- Men don't have babies,
do they? No.
- The English alphabet
doesn't have 40 letters, does it? No, it doesn't.
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 |
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) |
Mixed Examples of Tag Questions
Here is a list of examples of tag questions in different
contexts. Notice that some are "normal" and others seem to break all
the rules:
- But
you don't really love her, do you?
- This'll
work, won't it?
- Oh
you think so, do you?
- Well,
I couldn't help it, could I?
- But
you'll tell me if she calls, won't you?
- We'd
never have known, would we?
- Oh
you do, do you?
- The
weather's bad, isn't it?
- You
won't be late, will you?
- Nobody
knows, do they?
- You
never come on time, do you?
- You
couldn't help me, could you?
- You
think you're clever, do you?
- So
you don't think I can do it, don't you? (British English)
- Shut
up, will you!
- She
can hardly love him after all that, can she?
- Nothing
will happen, will it?
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