Tag Questions

Tag Questions or
Question Tags?
You speak English, don't you?
A tag question is a special
construction in English. It is a
statement followed by a mini-
question. The whole sentence is
a "tag question", and the mini-
question at the end is called a
"question tag".
We use tag questions at the end of
statements to ask for confirmation.
They mean something like: "Am I
right?" or "Do you agree?" They are
very common in English.
 The basic structure is:

Statement Question tag

+ -
Positive statement, negative tag?
Snow is white, isn't it?

- +
Negative statement, positive tag?
You don't like me, do you?
Notice that the question
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.
 positive statement [+] negative tag [-]
subject auxiliary main verb auxiliary not personal notes:
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? You (do) like...*

They will help, wo n't they? won't = will not

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? no auxiliary for
main verb be
John was there was n't he? present & past
*Note that in this example the
auxiliary verb do in the statement -
"You like coffee," - is understood
and not expressed because the
tense is normal present simple. But
the question tag uses
the do auxiliary to make "don't you?"
It is also possible to say: "You do like
coffee, don't you?"
 negative statement [-] positive tag [+]
subject auxiliary   main     auxiliary personal
verb pronoun
(same as
subject)
It is n't raining,     is it?
We have neve seen   that, have we?
r
You do n't like   coffee, do you?
They will not help,     will they?
They wo n't report   us, will they?
I can neve do   it right, can I?
r
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 that in the tag, we
repeat the auxiliary verb,
not the main verb. Except,
of course, for the verb to
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!
 Answer a tag question
according to the truth of the
situation. Your answer reflects
the real facts, not (necessarily)
the question.
For example, everyone
knows that snow is white.
Look at these questions,
 tag correct
question answer

Snow is
white, Yes (it is). the answer is the
isn't it? same in both cases -
because snow IS but notice the
Snow isn't WHITE! change
white, is Yes it is! of stress when the
it? answerer does not
agree with the
Snow is No it questioner
black, isn't! the answer is the
isn't it? same in both cases -
because snow IS
Snow isn't No (it NOT BLACK!
black, is isn't).
it?
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.
 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 treated
as negative
Negative statement Positive tag

He never came again, did he?

She can rarely come these days, can he?
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 do you? / rising real question

where my wallet is,

It's a beautiful view, isn't it? \ falling not a real question