English – Question Tags: Formation and Use – BAC – Literary Stream

English – Question Tags: Formation and Use – BAC – Literary Stream

Question tags are short questions added at the end of a statement. They are used to confirm information or to ask for agreement. This lesson covers the rules for forming question tags correctly.

Basic Rules

• If the statement is positive, the tag is negative: “You are a student, aren’t you?”
• If the statement is negative, the tag is positive: “You aren’t a student, are you?”

Forming Question Tags

The tag uses the same auxiliary verb as the statement, or a form of “do” if there is no auxiliary:

• With “be”: “She is happy, isn’t she?” / “They aren’t ready, are they?”
• With “have/has”: “You have a car, don’t you?” / “She has finished, hasn’t she?”
• Present Simple: “He works hard, doesn’t he?” / “They don’t know, do they?”
• Past Simple: “She arrived late, didn’t she?” / “He didn’t call, did he?”
• Modal verbs: “You can swim, can’t you?” / “He should go, shouldn’t he?”

Special Cases

• I am: “I am right, aren’t I?” (not amn’t I)
• Let’s: “Let’s go, shall we?”
• Imperative (positive): “Open the door, will you?”
• Imperative (negative): “Don’t be late, will you?”
• Nobody / Nothing / No one: These are treated as negative: “Nobody called, did they?”
• Everybody / Everyone / Someone: Use “they”: “Everyone is here, aren’t they?”

Exercises

Exercise 1: Add the correct tag: “She is coming, _____? / You don’t like coffee, _____? / They have arrived, _____? / He can’t swim, _____?”

Exercise 2: Correct: “I am right, amn’t I? / Let’s go, don’t we? / Nobody was there, wasn’t he?”

Exercise 3: Complete the dialogue using question tags: “A: You’ve finished your homework, _____? B: Yes, I have. A: It wasn’t too difficult, _____?”

See also Conditional Sentences and Passive Voice.