TAG QUESTIONS

POSITIVE STATEMENT
NEGATIVE STATEMENT
COMMAND AND REQUEST
 Tag questions are used to confirm
information or to seek agreement. We
make tag questions by adding an inverted
auxiliary verb ( or tag) at the end of a
statement.
Example:
 It’s not possible to buy directly through the
internet, is it?
 These sunglasses are made in France,
aren’t they?
 You haven’t got a car, have you?
 It was a good film, wasn’t it?

Have you? and wasn’t it? are question tags.

In question tags we use the auxiliary verb. For

the present and past simple use
do/does/did:

They came by car, didn’t they?

 A negative question tag with a
positive sentence

Positive sentence + negative tag

 Ann will be here soon, won’t she?

 Tom should pass his exam, shouldn’t he?
 They were very angry, weren’t they?
 A positive question tag with a negative
sentence
Negative sentence + positive tag

 Tio won’t go to Jakarta, will he?

 They don’t like us, do they?

Notice the meaning yes and no in answers to

question tags:
You’re not going to work today, are you?
Yes. (= I am going)
No. (= I am not going)
 The meaning of a question tag depends on how
you say it. If the voice goes down, you aren’t
really asking a question; you are only asking the
other person to agree with you:
a) “Tom doesn’t look very well today, does he?”
No, he looks awful.
b) She’s very attractive. She’s got beautiful
eyes, hasn’t he?
 If the voice goes up, it is a real question:
a) “you haven’t seen Ann today, have you?
(=have you seen Ann today?)
“No, I’m afraid not.”
• After Let’s ….. The question tag is shall
we?:
 Let’s have dinner, shall we?
• After imperative (do/don’t do something)
the tag is will you?
 Open the door, will you?
 Don’t be late, will you?
• Notice that we say aren’t I? (=am I not)
 I’m late, aren’t I?
 This/That is your book, isn’t it?
The tag pronoun for this/that = it
 These/Those are your books, aren’t they?
The tag pronoun for these/those = they

• There is a meeting tonight, isn’t there?

In sentences with there + be, there is used in the tag

• Everything is okay, isn’t it?

• Everyone took the test, didn’t they?
Personal pronouns are used to refer to indefinite pronouns.
They is usually used in a tag to refer to everyone,
everybody, someone, somebody , no one, nobody.
 I am supposed to be here, am I not?
am I not? is formal English

• I am supposed to be here, aren’t I?

aren’t I? is common in spoken English.
 EXERCISES
1. You look out of the window. It’s a beautiful day. What do you say
to your friend? It’s a beautiful day, ...........?
2. You’ve just come out of the cinema with your friend.You both
really enjoyed the film.You thought it was great. What do you
say? The film …………
3. Tom’s hair is much shorter. Clearly he has had his hair cut. What
do you say to him?You have had your hair cut, .........?
4. You are shopping.You are trying on jacket.You look in the
mirror.: it doesn’t look very nice. What do you say to your
friend? It …………….
5. You are talking about Bill.You know that Bill works very hard.
Everyone knows this. What do you say about Bill? Bill
………….