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Understanding Question Tags in English

A question tag is a short question added to the end of a sentence for confirmation, following the rule that positive sentences take negative tags and vice versa. To form question tags, use the same auxiliary or modal verb from the sentence, or use do/does/did if there is no auxiliary. Special cases include 'I am' becoming 'aren't I?' and using imperatives with tags like 'will you?' or 'won't you?'.

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4 views2 pages

Understanding Question Tags in English

A question tag is a short question added to the end of a sentence for confirmation, following the rule that positive sentences take negative tags and vice versa. To form question tags, use the same auxiliary or modal verb from the sentence, or use do/does/did if there is no auxiliary. Special cases include 'I am' becoming 'aren't I?' and using imperatives with tags like 'will you?' or 'won't you?'.

Uploaded by

kalif8835
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

English Lesson: Question Tags

1. What is a Question Tag?

A question tag is a short question added at the end of a sentence to check information or ask for
confirmation.

2. Golden Rule: Positive ↔ Negative

- Affirmative sentence → Negative tag.

- Negative sentence → Positive tag.

3. Forming Question Tags

- Use the same auxiliary or modal verb as in the sentence.

Examples:

• She is happy, isn’t she?

• They have finished, haven’t they?

• You can drive, can’t you?

- If there is no auxiliary, use do/does/did.

Examples:

• You play football, don’t you?

• He likes apples, doesn’t he?

• They arrived late, didn’t they?

4. Pronoun in the Tag

The pronoun must match the subject.

Examples:

• Tom is here, isn’t he?

• Your parents are coming, aren’t they?

5. Special Cases
- “I am” → “aren’t I?”

Example: I’m late, aren’t I?

- Imperatives:

• Open the door, will you?

• Have a seat, won’t you?

6. Intonation

- Rising intonation = real question.

- Falling intonation = expecting agreement.

7. More Examples

• He can speak English, can’t he?

• They won’t be late, will they?

• She didn’t call you, did she?

• You have seen this movie, haven’t you?

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