Tag-Questions

or
Question Tags
Statement Sentences with short questions at
the end with a question mark!

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A tag-question or question tag is not a true
question.
A tag question is used at the end of a Statement
Sentence to get the confirmation from the
listener, or just to express ones doubt.
A question sentence, on the contrary, is used to
get the answer.

Tag-Questions

You are my student. Statement Sentence positive

You are not my student. Statement negative
Are you my student? Question (interrogative)

You are my student, arent you? Tag-question

Tag-Questions

Whose books are these? a true question

These are your books, arent they?
-Tag-question Positive
These are not your books, are they?
- Tag-question -- Negative

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Making a tag-question sentence:
She is your friend

,
isnt she

?
A positive tag-question sentence!

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There

are five simple points we

should follow when we use a Tagquestion:
Point 1
A comma is used between the main
sentence and the tag part, e.g.
This is your book isnt it?

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Point

2:

Even

if the subject of the main sentence is a

noun proper noun or common noun the
subject of the tag part is always a
corresponding PERSONAL PRONOUN. e.g.
Mary isnt your sister, is she?

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Point 2 (continued)
John has gone home, hasnt

John proper noun male singular

he
pronoun male singular subjective case

Tag-Question

Point 2 (continued)

Ted and Jerry got their books, didnt

Ted and Jerry Proper nouns male plural

they
Personal Pronoun male -- plural

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Point 3

The verb in the tag part depends on the verb in the

main sentence:
If the verb in the main sentence is in Present Tense,
the verb in the tag part will be in Present Tense; and
the verb in the main sentence is in Past Tense, the verb
in the tag part will be in Past, and so on.
If the verb in the main sentence is in Positive form, the
verb in the tag part will be in Negative form.

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Point 3 (continued)

She is your sister,

she?

is main verb Simple Present Tense POSITIVE

isnt
Simple present tense NEGATIVE

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Point 3 (continued)
Brad hasnt done his work,

he?
hasnt Present perfect NEGATIVE
has
Present perfect -- POSITIVE

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Point 3 (continued)
Kate goes to school,
she?
goes Simple present POSITIVE
does not go Simple present NEGATIVE
doesnt
Point 4
The negative form of the verb in the tag part is
always contracted:

does not = doesnt; has not = hasnt; will not = wont

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Point 3 (continued)
James did not go to school,
he?
did not go Simple past NEGATIVE
go Simple past Positive; however, in
tag part, the auxiliary (helping) verb
alone is used:
did

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Point 5 -- Word order
In the statement sentence (in the main

sentence) the subject comes first and the

verb comes next; but in the tag part, the
verb comes first and the subject comes
next, just as in the interrogative sentence.

Tag-Question

Point 5 word order (continued)

For example:
A woman fainted, didnt she?
Main sentence
tag part
Subject first; verb next
Verb first; subject next

Tag-Questions

There are some exceptions to some of the rules

(points) we have discussed so far. To understand
those rules (points), first we have to master these
points.
Therefore, lets master these rules (points) now, and
then we can go for those exceptions later!