EVOLVE Educational Vocational Objective Learning of Vernacular English

Question Tags

A tag is something small that is attached to something larger. A question tag is attached to a statement to make it into a closed question – one with a yes or no answer. There are three main reasons why we use question tags. Firstly we may use a question tag when we have already made a statement and then realize that it was a question. Secondly and more importantly we use a question tag when we want somebody to confirm or disagree with what we’re saying. Thirdly we can use a question tag to sound more formal in spoken English; they are rarely used in the formal written English.

How to use question tags

If we have a simple statement such as:

You play tennis.

 Then we must look at the main verb play. The most important thing to remember is that a verb is a ‘doing’ word. To add a question tag to the end of this statement we need to place a comma after the object tennis, use do to replace the main verb in the tag, put ‘do’ into the negative form ‘don’t’, use the same pronoun as in the original statement and, of course, add a question mark.

You play tennis, don’t you?

If we have a negative statement such as:

You don’t play golf.

We put a comma after golf, use do to replace the main verb in the tag, use the same pronoun as in the original statement and add a question mark.

You don’t play golf, do you?

Consider the comma in these questions to be like a mirror, where everything is the same, but in reverse.

If we are using a main auxiliary verb in the original statement do we do not use do, we simply use the same auxiliary verb in the reverse.

You are reading a book.

becomes

You are reading a book, aren’t you?

They aren’t coming.

becomes

They aren’t coming, are they?

She has met your brother.

becomes

She has met your brother, hasn’t she?

We haven’t written it yet.

becomes

We haven’t written it yet, have we?

If we are using a modal auxiliary verb in the original statement, we simply use the same auxiliary verb in the reverse.

You can’t be serious, can you?

They might be late, mightn’t they?

We will see you, won’t we?

If we are using the past simple, the verb in the question tag is used in the past simple.

Mat worked hard, didn’t he?

He was late, wasn’t he?

If we are using other tenses, the verb in the question tag is used in the same tense.

They hadn’t arrived, had they?

Kat and Michelle were dancing, weren’t they?

One exception is with ‘I am…’ which becomes ‘aren’t I’ in the question tag.

I am lazy, aren’t I?

I am working hard, aren’t I?

Another is when we make suggestions with ‘let’s, we use ‘shall’.
Let’s go home, shall we?

Task 1.
Add question tags, remember to check if the original statement is positive or negative and use the correct tense

1. Paul's gone home,_________?
2. Nobody here speaks Arabic,________?
3. Nobody arrived,_________?
4. We never eat hamburgers,_______?
5. That's not fair,________?
6. Let's go to watch a movie,________?
7. Nothing ever changes,________?
8. I hardly see you anymore,________?
9. Nobody helps us,_______?
10. Alex never sleeps until 2am,________?
11. Let's visit Cuba,_________?
12. The students hardly stopped studying,_________?
13. Somebody spoke to me ,_________?
14. It's never enough,_________?
15. There's no more food,_________?
16. Everybody tried their best,________?