Unit 1 Tag questions and past perfect
1. What is a tag question?
A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a
mini-question. We use tag questions to ask for confirmation. They mean something
like: "Is that right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English.
The basic structure of a tag question is:
a)positive sentence, negative tag?
Example: Snow is white, isn't it?
b) negative sentence, positive tag?
Example: You don't like me, do you?
Formula:
Subject+ (aux+not)+ verb+ the rest, auxiliary verb or modal+ subject pronoun?
sentence form tag
Auxiliary verbs
* simple present: do/does/(am, is, are) be careful with am
* present continuous: am.is,are positive tag am I?
* present perfect: have, has negtive tag: aren't I
* simple past: did/was, were
* past continuous: was, were
* past perfect: had
* future with will: will or the negative won't
*modals: can, could,should,may,might, etc.
Pronouns
I, you , he, she, it, we they, there
*there: There is a chair here, isn´t there? /
There weren´t 5 tables here, were there?
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1ILi7_JfIQ&t=4s
The Past Perfect
The past perfect refers to a time earlier than before now. It is used to make it clear that one event
happened before another in the past. It does not matter which event is mentioned first - the tense
makes it clear which one happened first, example: When I arrived in the office, I had already
had breakfast.
I had already had breakfast, when I arrived in the office.
1st action: past perfect: I had already had breakfast
2nd action: I arrived in the office
*Auxiliary verb: had
*Form of the verb: past participle
Statements
Positive form: Negative form:
Subject Auxiliary verb Form of the verb Auxiliary verb Form of the verb
Pronoun (past participle) (past participle)
I had gone had not (hadn´t) gone
You had gone had not (hadn´t) gone
He had gone had not (hadn´t) gone
She had gone had not (hadn´t) gone
It had gone had not (hadn´t) gone
We had gone had not (hadn´t) gone
They had gone had not (hadn´t) gone
• Positive sentence formula:
subject+ had+ (past participle) + ____________.
Example: I had gone to school when you called.
• Negative sentence formula:
subject+ had+ not+ (past participle) + ____________. Example: I
hadn´t gone to school when you called.
Catherine hadn’t yet entered the class when Juan Jose joined us.
Questions
• Yes and No question: 2. Information questions:
Auxiliary Subject Form of Information Auxiliary Subject Form of the ver
verb Pronoun the verb word or verb Pronoun (past participle
(past phrase
participle)
Had I seen…? What had I done…?
Had You seen…? Where had you been…?
Had He seen…? When had he seen…?
Had She seen…? How long had she been…?
Had It seen…? What had it done…?
Had We seen…? Who had we seen…?
Had They seen…? How many had they read…?
books
• Yes/no question formula:
Auxiliary (had) + subject+ v (past participle form) + ___________?
Example: had you studied before you went to sleep? Short answer: Yes, I had/ No, I hadn´t
• Information question formula:
Info. Word/phrase+ auxiliary (had) + subject+ v (past participle form) + ___________?
Example: When had it rained?
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7TLPg9ISIA
