Use
frequently used in spoken English when you want s.o. to agree or disagree
Form
positive statement ->question tag negative - You are Tom, aren't you?
negative statement->question tag positive - He isn't Joe, is he?
Examples
with auxiliaries
You've got a car, haven't you?
without auxiliaries (use: don't, doesn't, didn't)
They play football on Sundays, don't they?
She plays football on Sundays, doesn't she?
They played football on Sundays, didn't they?
Questions tags are used to keep a conversation going. You can agree or refuse to a sentence with a question tag.
| You go to school, don't you? | |
| You agree. | You refuse. |
| Yes, I do. | No, I don't. |
| You aren't from Germany, are you? | |
| You agree. | You refuse. |
| No, I'm not. | Yes, I am. |
Questions tags - Special
Although the negative word not is not in the sentence, the sentence can be negative. Then we use the "positive" question tag.
| He never goes out with his dog, does he? |
have is a main verb in the sentence -> two possibilities
| We have a car, _____? | |
| We have a car, haven't we? | We have a car, don't we? |
| mostly British English | mostly American English |
We use will with the imperative (Simple Present).
| Open the window, will you? | Don't open you books, will you? |
We use shall after Let's.
| Let's take the next bus, shall we? |
Auxiliary must
| We must be at home at 8 pm, mustn't we? | |
| Yes, we must. | No, we needn't. |
Procedure adding a question tag
| Look at the sentence. | ||
| 1 | Is an auxiliary or a form of to be in the sentence? | |
| yes | no | |
| auxiliary or form of to be affirmative -> negate auxiliary (add n't) auxiliary or form of to be negative -> (delete n't) | affirmative sentence -> Negate sentence (e.g. don't; doesn't; didn't) negative sentence -> (delete n't) | |
| 2 | Is a personal pronoun the subject of the sentence? | |
| yes | no | |
| Use the personal pronoun. | Form the personal pronoun. | |
| 3 | Complete the sentence. | |
| Example 1: He can play football, ________. | ||
| 1 | Is an auxiliary or a form of to be in the sentence? | |
| yes -> can | ||
| auxiliary or form of to be affirmative -> negate auxiliary (add n't) can't | ||
| 2 | Is a personal pronoun the subject of the sentence? | |
| yes | ||
| Use the personal pronoun. | ||
| 3 | He can play football, can't he? | |
| Example 2: Peter can play football, ________. | ||
| 1 | Is an auxiliary or a form of to be in the sentence? | |
| yes -> can | ||
| auxiliary or form of to be affirmative -> negate auxiliary (add n't) can't | ||
| 2 | Is a personal pronoun the subject of the sentence? | |
| no | ||
| Form the personal pronoun. Peter -> he | ||
| 3 | Peter can play football, can't he? | |
| Example 3: Peter plays football, ________. | ||
| 1 | Is an auxiliary or a form of to be in the sentence? | |
| no | ||
| affirmative sentence -> Negate the verb. verb plays -> Negation: doesn't play We only use the auxiliary doesn't. | ||
| 2 | Is a personal pronoun the subject of the sentence? | |
| no | ||
| Form the personal pronoun. Peter -> he | ||
| 3 | Peter plays football, doesn't he? | |
