Tag Question

A question tag 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 tags in spoken English but not in formal written English. They are not really questions but are a way of asking the other person to make a comment and so keep the conversation open.

Making a tag is very mechanical. To make a tag, use the first auxiliary. If there is no auxiliary, use do, does or did. With a positive sentence, make a negative tag and with a negative sentence, make a positive tag..

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?

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.

Notice that the question tag repeats the auxiliary verb (or main verb when be) from the statement and changes it to negative or positive.

RULES :-
Here are some rules to follow:

1.QUESTION TAG = AUXILIARY +PERSONAL PRONOUN:

Tony can run really fast, can't he?

The twins are very nice, aren't they?

2.If there is no auxiliary in the statement, use a form of do in the question tag:

Mum cooks fantastic meals, doesn't she?

3. Positive statements => Negativequestion tags;

Negative statements => Positive question tags:

That's your workbook, isn't it?

That's not true, is it?

They will help us, won't they?

4. Orders and commands are followed by"will you":

Don't open the windows, will you?

Help your dad in the garage, will you?

5. Let's is followed by "shall we":

Let's start homework now, shall we?

Let's go shopping, shall we?

6. AND DON'T FORGET:

The question tag "am I not" is totally incorrect; always say: "aren't I":

I am late, aren't I?

The statements and the question tags take the same tenses:

Bob helped you a lot, didn't he?

You will help me tomorrow, won't you?

Example :-

There are five ways in which we normally use question tags and they are easily explained here.

1. Positive/negative

If the main part of the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative.

Example: “He’s a doctor, isn’t he?”

Example: “You work in a bank, don’t you?” ( Note that if there is not an auxiliary use do, does, or didn’t at the end of the sentence)

If the main part of the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive.

Example: “You haven’t met him, have you?”

Example: “She isn’t coming, is she?”

2. With auxiliary verbs

The question tag uses the same verb as the main part of the sentence. If this is an auxiliary verb (‘have’, ‘be’) then the question tag is made with the auxiliary verb.

Example: “They’ve gone away for a few days, haven’t they?”

Example: “They weren’t here, were they?”

Example: “He had met him before, hadn’t he?”

Example: “This isn’t working, is it?”

3. Without auxiliary verbs

If the main part of the sentence doesn’t have an auxiliary verb, the question tag uses an appropriate form of ‘do’.

Example: “I said that, didn’t I?”

Example: “You don’t recognise me, do you?”

Example: “She eats meat, doesn’t she?”

4. With modal verbs

If there is a modal verb in the main part of the sentence the question tag uses the same modal verb.

Example: “They couldn’t hear me, could they?”

Example: “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

5. With ‘I am’

Be careful with question tags with sentences that start ‘I am’. The question tag for ‘I am’ is ‘aren’t I?’

Example: “I’m the fastest, aren’t I?”

or in a negative form we use the same “am” form at the end as in the positive form of the sentence.

Example: “I’m not fat , am I?”