Question tags
A POSITIVE STATEMENT, A NEGATIVE QUESTION TAG?
A POSITIVE STATEMENT | A NEGATIVE QUESTION TAG |
|---|---|
You are (a doctor) | aren’t you? |
She is (a doctor) | isn’t she? |
They were (doctors) | weren’t they? |
She was (a doctor) | wasn’t she? |
You run (very fast) | don’t you? |
He runs (very fast) | doesn’t he? |
They ran (very fast) | didn’t they? |
You have (finished the homework) | haven’t you? |
She has (finished the homework) | hasn’t she? |
They had (finished the homework) | hadn’t they? |
He can (swim well) | can’t he? |
She could (swim well) | couldn’t she? |
They will (come early) | won’t they? |
They would (come early) | wouldn’t they? |
They must (come early) | mustn’t they? |
They should (come early) | shouldn’t they? |
A NEGATIVE STATEMENT, A POSITIVE QUESTION TAG?
A NEGATIVE STATEMENT | A POSITIVE QUESTION TAG |
|---|---|
You aren’t (a doctor) | are you? |
She isn’t (a doctor) | is she? |
They weren’t (doctors) | were they? |
She wasn’t (a doctor) | was she? |
You don’t run (very fast) | do you? |
He doesn’t run (very fast) | does he? |
They didn’t run (very fast) | did they? |
You haven’t (finished the homework) | have you? |
She hasn’t (finished the homework) | has she? |
They hadn’t (finished the homework) | had they? |
He can’t (swim well) | can he? |
She couldn’t (swim well) | could she? |
They won’t (come early) | will they? |
They wouldn’t (come early) | would they? |
They mustn’t (come early) | must they? |
They shouldn’t (come early) | should they? |
Exceptions:
Pay attention to the following question tags. They don’t follow any rules.
Statements | Question tags | Examples |
|---|---|---|
I am … | aren’t I? | I am too loud, aren’t I? |
Let’s … | shall we? | Let’s go to the beach, shall we? |
Statements without subjects Ex: - Open the door. - Don’t come any closer. | will you? | - Open the door, will you? - Listen, will you? - Don’t come any closer, will you? |
Positive statements with negative senses Ex: - She can hardly understand what I have experienced. - Nobody remembered to turn off the light. | Positive question tags | - She can hardly understand what I have experienced, can she? - George could hardly speak any English words, could he? - Nobody remembered to turn off the light, did they? |
Intonation
Depending on the speaker’s purposes, intonations for question tags are different.
He should review the whole lessons, shouldn’t he? | ||
Intonation | falling, voice goes down | rising, voice goes up |
Meanings | You’re sure about the information. You want to confirm. | You’re not sure about the information. You want to check. |
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