Hi all dear students;
I’m going to post a two part series of information about a common part of speech which is of very frequent use among native speakers. It is known as “Tag Questions”. Becoming skillful in using tag questions makes your speech more and more native-like. If there is any problem, I’ll be glad to help you.
Tag Questions
Part 1;
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You speak English, don't you?
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A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. The whole sentence is a "tag question", and the mini-question at the end is called a "question tag".
We use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: "Am I right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English.
The basic structure is:
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Positive statement,
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-
negative tag?
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Snow is white,
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isn't it?
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Negative statement,
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positive tag?
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You don't like me,
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do you?
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Look at these examples with positive statements:
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positive statement [+]
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negative tag [-]
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notes:
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subject
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auxiliary
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main verb
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auxiliary
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not
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personal
pronoun
(same as subject)
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You
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are
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coming,
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Are
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n't
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you?
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We
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have
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finished,
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have
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n't
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we?
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You
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do
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Like
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coffee,
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Do
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n't
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you?
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You
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Like
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coffee,
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Do
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n't
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you?
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You (do) like...
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They
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will
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help,
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Wo
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n't
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they?
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won't = will not
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I
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can
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come,
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Can
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't
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I?
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We
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must
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go,
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must
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n't
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we?
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He
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should
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Try
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harder,
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should
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n't
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he?
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You
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Are
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English,
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are
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n't
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you?
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no auxiliary for main verb be present & past
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John
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Was
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there,
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was
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n't
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he?
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Look at these examples with negative statements:
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negative statement [-]
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positive tag [+]
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subject
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auxiliary
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main verb
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Auxiliary
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personal pronoun
(same as subject)
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It
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is
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n't
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raining,
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Is
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it?
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We
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have
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never
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Seen
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that,
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Have
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we?
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You
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do
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n't
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Like
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coffee,
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Do
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you?
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They
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will
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Not
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help,
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Will
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they?
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They
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wo
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n't
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Report
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us,
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Will
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they?
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I
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can
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never
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Do
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it right,
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Can
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I?
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We
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must
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n't
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Tell
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her,
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Must
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we?
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He
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should
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n't
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Drive
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so fast,
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Should
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he?
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You
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Are
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n't
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English,
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Are
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you?
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John
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Was
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not
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there,
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Was
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he?
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Some special cases:
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I am right, aren't I?
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aren't I (not amn't I)
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You have to go, don't you?
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you (do) have to go...
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I have been answering, haven't I?
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use first auxiliary
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Nothing came in the post, did it?
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treat statements with nothing, nobody etc like negative statements
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Let's go, shall we?
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let's = let us
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He'd better do it, hadn't he?
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he had better (no auxiliary)
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Here are some mixed examples:
- But you don't really love her, do you?
- This will work, won't it?
- Well, I couldn't help it, could I?
- But you'll tell me if she calls, won't you?
- We'd never have known, would we?
- The weather's bad, isn't it?
- You won't be late, will you?
- Nobody knows, do they?
Notice that we often use tag questions to ask for information or help, starting with a negative statement. This is quite a friendly/polite way of making a request. For example, instead of saying "Where is the police station?" (not very polite), or "Do you know where the police station is?" (slightly more polite), we could say: "You wouldn't know where the police station is, would you?" Here are some more examples:
- You don't know of any good jobs, do you?
- You couldn't help me with my homework, could you?
- You haven't got $10 to lend me, have you?
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