Question Tags

A. Introduction: Question tags are mini-questions added to the end of a sentence to seek confirmation or agreement. They typically use an auxiliary verb.

Examples:

• "You haven’t seen Lisa today, have you?"
• "It was a good film, wasn’t it?"

B. Forming Question Tags:

1. Positive sentence: Use a negative question tag.

   • Example: "Kate will be here soon, won’t she?"

2. Negative sentence: Use a positive question tag.

   • Example: "Kate won’t be late, will she?"

C. Intonation and Meaning:

1. Agreement: If the voice falls at the end, it implies expectation of agreement.

   • Example: "It’s a nice day, isn’t it?"

2. Real Question: If the voice rises at the end, it's a genuine inquiry.

   • Example: "You haven’t seen Kate today, have you?"

3. Request or Information Seeking: Voice rises at the end.

   • Example: "You couldn’t do me a favor, could you?"

D. Special Cases:

1. After "Let’s...": Use "shall we?"

   • Example: "Let’s go for a walk, shall we?"

2. After "Don’t...": Use "will you?"

   • Example: "Don’t be late, will you?"

3. After "I’m...": Use "aren’t I?"

   • Example: "I’m right, aren’t I?"

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Language Level