Question tags

Hãy khảo sát ví dụ sau:

1. A: You haven’t seen Mary today, have you?

B: No, I’m afraid not.

2. A: It was a good film, wasn’t it?

B:Yes, I really enjoyed it.

3. A: Karen plays the piano, doesn’t she?

B: Well, yes, but not very well.

4. A: You didn’t lock the door, did you?

B:No, I forgot.”

Trong câu hỏi đuôi, ta dùng một trợ động từ (auxiliary verb): do,does/ did/am,is,are/was, were/
have,has/had ,hoặc động từ đặt biệt (modal
verbs) :will,shall,can,could,may,might,would,should,must,need

Thông thường chúng ta dùng câu hỏi đuôi dạng phủ định (negative question tags) sau một câu khẳng
định (positive sentence).

positive sentence ,negative tag

S (V) ..........................................., aux/modal+not S(pronoun) ?

Mary will be here soon, won’t she?

There was a lot of traffic, wasn’t there?

Jim should pass the exam, shouldn’t he?

... và dùng câu hỏi đuôi dạng khẳng định (positive question tags) sau một câu phủ định (negative
sentence):

negative sentence , affirmative tag

S (not V) ..........................................., aux/modal S(pronoun) ?

They don’t like us, do they?

You haven’t got a car, have you?

Mary can’t do it , can she?

You couldn’t do me a favour, could you?

Postive sentences, with negative tags

Present simple 'be' She's Italian, isn't she?

Present simple other verbs They live in London, don't they?
Present continuous We're working tomorrow, aren't we?
Past simple 'be' It was cold yesterday, wasn't it?
Past simple other verbs He went to the party last night, didn't he?
Past continuous We were waiting at the station, weren't we?
Present perfect They've been to Japan, haven't they?
Present perfect continuous She's been studying a lot recently, hasn't she?
Past perfect He had forgotten his wallet, hadn't he?
Past perfect continuous We'd been working, hadn't we?
Future simple She'll come at six, won't she?
Future continuous They'll be arriving soon, won't they?
Future perfect They'll have finished before nine, won't they?
Future perfect continuous She'll have been cooking all day, won't she?
Modals He can help, can't he?
Modals John must stay, mustn't he?
Negative sentences, with positive tags

Present simple 'be' We aren't late, are we?

Present simple other verbs She doesn't have any children, does she?
Present continuous The bus isn't coming, is it?
Past simple 'be' She wasn't at home yesterday, was she?
Past simple other verbs They didn't go out last Sunday, did they?
Past continuous You weren't sleeping, were you?
Present perfect She hasn't eaten all the cake, has she?
Present perfect continuous He hasn't been running in this weather, has he?
Past perfect We hadn't been to London before, had we?
Past perfect continuous You hadn't been sleeping, had you?
Future simple They won't be late, will they?
Future continuous He won't be studying tonight, will he?
Future perfect She won't have left work before six, will she?
Future perfect continuous He won't have been travelling all day, will he?
Modals She can't speak Arabic, can she?
Modals They mustn't come early, must they?

Note:

1. After a sentence with Let's... we use "shall we?"

- Let's go out for a walk, shall we?
- Let's study tomorrow morning, shall we?
2. - Open the door, will you?
After an imperative we can use these tags: will you? won't you? would you? can you? can't you? could
you?
We can use a positive tag after a positive imperative.
Teacher: Get out your books, will/would/can/could you?
The meaning is the same as Will you get out your books? but the pattern with the tag is more informal.
A negative tag expresses greater feeling.
Doctor: Keep still, won't/can't you?
This suggests that the doctor is especially anxious that the patient should keep still, or annoyed because
the patient cannot keep still.
In warnings, reminders and good wishes, the tag is won't you? after a positive imperative and will you?
after a negative.
Have a nice holiday, won't you?
Don't forget your key, will you?
- Don't smoke in this room, will you?
- - Don't look at me like that, will you?
In offers and invitations the tag is will you? or won't you?
Have a chocolate, will/won't you?
Come to my party, will you?
- Have a coffee, will you?
3.THERE (be)
- There are two cats in the roof, aren't there?
- There wasn't a lion in the park, was there?
There has been a stranger , hasn’t there?
There wasn't enough time, was there?
There will be a meeting tomorrow, won’t there?
4.
I’m not careful , am I ?
I’m not doing right, am I ?
But:
I’m wrong, aren’t I?
I'm going to get an email with the details, aren't I?
I’m making everyone upset, aren't I?
5.We use an affirmative tag after a sentence containing a negative word such as never,
seldom, rarely, hardly ever, hardly, no longer,nobody, nothing, no + noun, neither, none,
nowhere
You’ve never liked me, have you?
I'm never on time, am I?
Mary seldom talks to you, does she?
They rarely visit their grandparents, do they?
Peter hardly ever goes to parties, does he?
He can hardly walk after the accident, can he?
They will no longer meet him, will they?
Nobody lives in this house, do they?
Nothing bad happened, did it?
No salt is allowed, is it?
Neither of them is here , are they?
None of those customers were happy, were they?
They went nowhere yesterday, did they?

6.If the subject is somebody= someone, everybody= everyone, nobody= no one,

,anyone=anybody, we use “they” in the tag.
Nobody asked for me, did they?
No one lives here, do they?
Everyone warned you, didn't they?
Someone had recognized him, hadn't they?
Anyone will volunteer, won’t they?
No one would object, would they?
7. If the subject is nothing, something, everything, anything, we use “it” in the tag.
Nothing ever happens, does it?
Everything’s changed, hasn’t it?
Something makes them scared, doesn’t it?
Anything can happen, can’t it?
8. If the subject is this or that , we use “ it” in the tag.
If the subject is these or those, we use “they” in the tag.
That’s Mr.Jack, isn’t it?
That isn't Tom. is it?
This can make them excited, can’t it?
These aren’t your new shoes, are they?
Those kept him busy, didn’t they?
9. Remember : 's = is or has, and 'd = had or would:
Mary’s staying at home now, isn’t she? (Mary is staying…..)
Mary’s been to Paris, hasn’t she? (Mary has been to…..)
Peter'd written before you phoned, hadn't he?( Peter had written……)
Mary 'd come if you asked her, wouldn't she? (Mary would come if…..)
You'd better change your wet shoes, hadn't you? (You had better change…..)
The boys'd rather go by air, wouldn't they? (The boys would rather go……..)