TAG QUESTION

They are short interrogative tags that can be added to the end of a declarative statement. Tags are usually added
to a statement in order to express opinion, possibility or probability. Although they use an interrogative
structure, tags are not real questions. They are requests for confirmation... or sometimes for contradiction.
Son etiquetas interrogativas cortas que se pueden agregar al final de una declaración declarativa. se agregan
generalmente a una declaración para expresar la opinión, la posibilidad o la probabilidad. Aunque utilizan una
estructura interrogativa, las TAG Q no son preguntas reales. Son solicitudes de confirmación ... o algunas veces
de contradicción

Rules
A positive statement is followed by a negative question tag.
 Jack is from Spain, isn't he?
 Mary can speak English, can't she?

Una afirmación positiva es seguida por una etiqueta de pregunta negativa.

 Jack es de España, ¿no? •
 María puede hablar inglés, ¿no?

Question tags are normally formed on the model verb > pronoun subject. They are placed at the end of the
sentence or clause. Using a standard interrogative inversion, they repeat the auxiliary used with the main verb
and the pronoun corresponding to the subject of the main verb, as in these simple examples

Las etiquetas de la pregunta se forman normalmente en el verbo del modelo> pronombre sujeto. Se colocan al
final de la oración o cláusula. Usando una inversión interrogativa estándar, repiten el auxiliar usado con el
verbo principal y el pronombre correspondiente al sujeto del verbo principal, como en estos ejemplos simples

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?

Una declaración negativa es seguida por una etiqueta de pregunta positiva.

 No son graciosos, ¿verdad? •
 No debería decir cosas así, ¿no?

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?

Cuando el verbo en la oración principal está en el presente simple formamos la etiqueta de pregunta con do / do.
• Toca la guitarra, ¿no?
 Alison le gusta el tenis, ¿no?

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?
Si el verbo es en el pasado simple usamos hacer. •
• Ellos fueron al cine, ¿no? •
• Ella estudió en Nueva Zelanda, ¿no?

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?
Cuando la sentencia contiene una palabra con un significado negativo, la etiqueta de pregunta debe ser positiva
• Casi nunca habla, ¿verdad?
• Rara vez comen en restaurantes, ¿verdad?

Oraciones Afirmativas Oraciones Negativas

(El verbo auxiliar en el "tag" es negativo.) (El verbo auxiliar en el "tag" es afirmativo.)
to be
You're a teacher, aren't you? You aren't a teacher, are you?
He's tired, isn't he? He isn't tired, is he?
Tiempo Presente
You speak English, don't you? You don't speak English, do you?
He swims, doesn't he? He doesn't swim, does he?
Tiempo Pasado
He went to school, didn't he? He didn't go to school, did he?
Presente Perfecto
You have finished, haven't you? You haven't finished, have you?
He has left, hasn't he? He hasn't left, has he?
Futuro
She will cook, won't she? She won't cook, will she?
+) positive statement (-) negative tag
subject auxiliary main verb auxiliary not personal 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?

They will help, wo n't they?

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?

John was there, was n't he?

.

(-) negative statement (+) positive tag

subject auxiliary main verb auxiliary personal pronoun same as subject

It is n't raining, is it?

We have never seen that, have we?

You do n't like coffee, do you?

They will not help, will they?

They wo n't report us, will they?

I can never do it right, can I?

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?

Tags are placed at the end of a statement or sentence; they are formed by repeating the auxiliary (be, have, do
- examples 1-6 ) or the modal auxiliary(can, must, might etc. examples 7 - 12) used with the main verb,
followed by a pronoun corresponding to the subject of the main verb. As stated in 2.2. above, there is normally
an affirmative/negative contrast between the main verb and the tag.
Las etiquetas se colocan al final de un enunciado o frase; se forman mediante la repetición de los auxiliares
auxiliares (be, have, do - examples 1-6) o auxiliares modales (can, must, etc. etc.) usados con el verbo principal,
seguidos de un pronombre correspondiente al sujeto del verbo principal. Como se indica en 2.2. arriba,
normalmente hay un contraste afirmativo / negativo entre el verbo principal y la etiqueta.

Examples

1. The Queen's over 80, isn't she ?

2. Those new shoes weren't very expensive, were they ?
3. You've remembered all the instructions, haven't you ?
4. The kids hadn't had anything to eat, had they ?
5. You did remember to turn off the gas, didn't you ?
 6. The secretary didn't like the new boss, did she ?
7. He can sing quite well, can't he ?
8. You can't come to the concert tonight, can you?
9. We shouldn't continue without the guide, should we ?
10. You really ought to get permission first, oughtn't you?
11. You couldn't understand anything he said, could you ?
12. The students really have to work hard, don't they ? *
Note example 12 : tags following the modal auxiliary "have to" (as opposed to the past auxiliary have) are
forms of the auxiliary do, not have, even if the main verb is in the affirmative.
las Tags que siguen al auxiliar modal "Have to" (en oposición al pasado auxiliar tienen) son formas del auxiliar
no, no tienen, aunque el verbo principal sea afirmativo

If the main verb does not use an auxiliary (i.e it is in the simple present or simple past tense), the tag will be
formed using a form of the auxiliary do, just like the interrogative and negative forms of these tenses.
Si el verbo principal no usa un auxiliar (es decir, está en el presente simple o pasado), la etiqueta se formará
usando una forma del do auxiliar, al igual que las formas interrogativas y negativas de estos tiempos.
Examples

1. The Queen lives in Buckingham Palace, doesn't she ?

2. Those new shoes look very expensive, don't they ?
3. You remembered all the instructions, didn't you ?
4. You went to school in London, didn't you?
5. This one looks rather interesting, doesn't it.
6. People who eat too much get fat, don't they ?
Note example 6 : the tag reflects the main verb of the sentence of course; get not eat..

If the main verb is accompanied by several auxiliaries, including modal auxiliaries, the tag reflects back to the
first of the auxiliaries used.
Si el verbo principal está acompañado por varios auxiliares, incluyendo auxiliares modales, la etiqueta se refleja
de nuevo en el primero de los auxiliares utilizados.
Examples

1. The Queen might have been in Buckingham Palace, mightn't she ?

2. You should have been paying more attention, shouldn't you ?
3. They could have lost all their money in Las Vegas, couldn't they ?
4. He ought to have been able to answer all the questions, oughtn't he?
5. He might have had to buy a new computer, mightn't he ?
6. They can't have had to stop already, can they ?<
Used with reported speech and similar structures, it is important to remember that the tag reflects the main
verb of the sentence, not the verb of the reported speech.
Utilizado con el discurso y las estructuras similares, es importante recordar que la etiqueta refleja el verbo
principal de la oración, no el verbo del discurso divulgado.

Examples

1. He said you were very clever, didn't he ?

2. It looks like we ought to be getting out of here quickly, doesn't it ?
3. They didn't think it was particularly easy, did they ?
4. The judge believes that the accused is innocent, doesn't he ?
5. You were telling us about what you did in New York, weren't you ?
6. You don't think there's anything wrong with my idea, do you ?

Alternative form of negative tags

Just occasionally people express negative tags without contracting the word NOT to n't.
IMPORTANT ! In uncontracted tags, the word order is different, as NOT follows the verb: Compare the
following:
• It's good, isn't it / It's good, is it not ?
• They're very late, aren't they / They're very late, are they not ?
• You've seen the exhibition, haven't you / You've seen the exhibition, have you not ?

Forma alternativa de etiquetas negativas Sólo de vez en cuando la gente expresa etiquetas negativas sin
contratar la palabra NO a no. ¡IMPORTANTE! En las etiquetas no contratadas, el orden de las palabras es
diferente, ya que NO sigue el verbo: Compare lo siguiente:
• Es bueno, ¿no? / Es bueno, ¿no?
• Son muy tarde, no son ellos / Son muy tarde, ¿no?
• Usted ha visto la exposición, ¿no ha / Usted ha visto la exposición, ¿no?