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Question Tags Explanation

Question tags are short questions added to the end of statements to confirm information or elicit responses. They follow specific rules based on the statement's positivity or negativity and the verb tense used. There are exceptions for certain verbs and expressions that alter the typical formation of question tags.

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214 views3 pages

Question Tags Explanation

Question tags are short questions added to the end of statements to confirm information or elicit responses. They follow specific rules based on the statement's positivity or negativity and the verb tense used. There are exceptions for certain verbs and expressions that alter the typical formation of question tags.

Uploaded by

lobelia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Question Tags

Question tags are short questions at the end of


statements.
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.
A positive statement is followed by
a negative question tag.
 Jack is from Spain, isn't he?
 Mary can speak English, can't she?
A negative statement is followed by
a positive question tag.
 They aren't funny, are they?
 He shouldn't say things like that, should he?
When the verb in the main sentence is in
the present simple ,we form the question tag
with do / does.
 You play the guitar, don't you?
 Alison likes tennis, doesn't she?
If the verb is in the past simple, we use did.
 They went to the cinema, didn't they?
 She studied in New Zealand, didn't she?
When the statement contains a word with
a negative meaning, the question tag needs to
be positive
 He hardly ever speaks, does he?
 They rarely eat in restaurants, do they?
There is / are - There aren't any spiders in the
bedroom, are there?

Exceptions

Some verbs / expressions have different


question tags :
 I am - I am attractive, aren't I?
 Positive imperative - Stop daydreaming, will /
won't you?
 Negative imperative - Don't stop
singing, will you?
 Let's - Let's go to the beach, shall we?
 Let me – Let me help you, will/won’t you?
 Have (got) (main verb, possession) - He
has got a car, hasn’t he?
 Have (auxiliary) = You have been to Italy,
haven’t you?
 Have (not possession) – We have a day off
tomorrow, don’t we
 This / that is - This is Paul's pen, isn't it?
 If nothing, something, everything is the
subject, we use “it” in the question tag –
Nothing was working, was it? Everything is
perfect, isn’t it?
 If nobody, somebody, everybody is the
subject, we use “they” in the question tag -
Nobody was working, were they? Everybody
is late, aren’t they? Somebody will help you,
won’t they?

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