BRIEF PRESENTATION ON

QUESTION TAG
- By study group including Aashutosh Pyakurel, Ashwinee Kumar Khadka and Abhishek Shrestha

Introduction
Question tag is a short yes/no question added to a statement during conversation to confirm if something is true, it is mainly used for two functions; to confirm if something is true ,or to get some one involved in conversation or to encourage him to speak.

The Structure of question tag

Auxiliary verb + Sub + question mark

Example: Allu Arjun is from India, Isnt he?

Points to be remembered
Only nine pronouns are used as subject of a tag,

they are I, we, you, he, she, it, they, their and one.
Example;

Sita looks smart, doesnt she? There is a rat in the hole, isnt it?

 If the subject of a sentence is singular pronoun is

used as the subject of the tag.

Example

I am tired, arent I? He is innocent, isnt he?

 If subject of a sentence is a noun, change the noun

into suitable pronoun.

Example;

Ram Charan Speaks English, doesnt he? The boys are clever, arent they?

 Only tag question are added to statement, they

never come with interrogative and exclamation.

Example;

Dont play here, will you? You arent tired, are you?

 We should always use contracted form of negative

auxiliaries and use the same auxiliaries of the statement as the auxiliary of the tag.

Long form Is not Has not Does not

Short form Isnt Hasnt Doesnt

Auxiliary verb in question tag

Always contracted form of auxiliary is used in the

tag.
Example;

You can do it, cant you? Kajal didnt invite surya, did she?

 Always use first auxiliary verb to form tag question.

Example;

He has been crying, isnt he?

 If there is no auxiliary verb in a sentence, we use do

verbs (dont/didnt/doesnt) to form tag question.

Example;

Teena likes cooking, doesnt she? She lost her book, didnt she?

 Singular auxiliary verb (is, was, does, has) change

into plural (are, were, do, have) if subject of the statement are among somebody, nobody, no one, someone
Example;

Somebody helps me, dont they? Nobody has met him, have they?

Rules of question tag

If a sentence is in affirmative, the tag is in negative

interrogative.
Example;

He can do this, cant he? Hari took his exam, didnt he?

 If a statement is negative, the tag is in affirmative

interrogative.
Example;

He isnt a driver, is he? They arent teachers, are they?

 If a statement is formed with an auxiliary verb, same

auxiliary verb is repeated in tag.

Example;

He has done the work, hasnt he? They are coming, arent they?

 If the statement is formed with only main verb, we

have to use do, does or did in the TAG according to tense of the verb.
Example;

Ravi eats rice, doesnt he? We played volley ball yesterday, didnt we?

 If the tag is in imperative (with command verb) form,

the tag is in simple future, affirmative, interrogative.

Example;

Stop the noise, will you? Dont Smoke, will you?

 In the case of lets the tag is often shall we.

Example;

Lets play chess, shall we? Lets go for a walk, shall we?

 Singular auxiliary verbs are changed into plural if

they come with somebody / nobody / someone / everyone, etc..

Example;

Somebody are there, arent they? Everyone were singing, werent they?

 Some verbs which have the same present, past, past

participle form take auxiliary verb as follows; Singular sub.(He/she/it) + (put/shut/cut/..) + ..+didnt he? Plural sub.(we/you/they) + (put/shut/cut/..) + ..+dont we? (Present time adverbial) Plural sub.(we/you/they) + (put/shut/cut/..) + ..+didnt you? (Past time adverbial) Example; They cut it today, dont they? She shut the door, didnt she?

 If the words (never, nobody, hardly known, barely,

scarcely, etc.)are in the sentence, then the question tag should be affirmative.
Example;

He can hardly come, can he? She could barely break it, could she?

Question Tag With Imperative

Positive imperative;
Polite language, invitation;

Example: Take a seat, wont you? Quiet, less polite and less friendly, orders; Example: Help me, can you? Do it now, will you? Offers or suggestion, after using lets, shall should be used. Example; Lets go, shall we?

 Negative imperative;
Will

is only imperatives.

option

possible

for

negative

Example;

Dont forget, will you? Dont smoke, will you?

Important points

In the present tense, if the subject is 'I', the auxiliary changes to 'are' or 'aren't'. I'm sitting next to you, aren't I?

With 'let's', the tag question is 'shall we'. Let's go to the beach, shall we?
With an imperative, the tag question is 'will you'. Close the window, will you?

 We use a positive tag question after a sentence

containing a negative word such as never, hardly, nobody. Nobody lives in this house, do they? You've never liked me, have you?
When the subject is nothing, we use 'it' in the tag

question. Nothing bad happened, did it?

When the subject is nobody, somebody, everybody, no

one, someone, or every one, we use 'they in the tag question. Nobody asked for me, did they?

If the main verb in the sentence is 'have' (not an auxiliary verb), it is more common to use 'do in the question tag. You have a Ferrari, don't you?
With used to, we use 'didn't' in the tag question. You used to work here, didn't you?

We can use positive question tags after positive sentences to express a reaction such as surprise or interest. You're moving to Brazil, are you?

Examples Of Question Tag

He never goes out with his dog, does he? We have a car, haven't we?

We have a car, don't we?

Open the window, will you? Open the window, would you?

Don't open your books, will you?

Open the window, won't you? Let's take the next bus, shall we? We must be at home at 8 pm, mustn't we?