Tag Questions

If you are a really ambitious learner of English, the sentence that you probably most dread to hear from a stranger is "Your English is very good!" This may sound like a compliment, but in fact it means that the person you are talking to has realized that English is not your first language. It is possible that your grammar, pronunciation and intonation are perfect, but you still don't sound like a native speaker. This may be because you don't use the many of the idioms and phrasal verbs that are so prevalent in spoken English, or because you don't use question tags.

Question tags are an important part of everyday communication and perform many different functions. For example, they can be used to get a conversation started or keep it moving; they can soften an order to do something or they can be a more polite way to request information.

Apart from the difficulty of knowing when to use question tags appropriately, the non-native speaker has to learn how to form them and how to say them. The general rule is that you finish a positive statement with a negative tag, and vice versa, using the main verb (if there is no auxiliary) or the first auxiliary verb (if there is an auxiliary).

For example:

It's a lovely day, isn't it?

You've been told about the meeting, haven't you?

You didn't do your homework, did you?

You wouldn't have been able to do it, would you?

How you say the tag depends on the function of the tag. The following sentence, when seen written down, is ambiguous.

You haven't seen Sascha, have you?

This could be a genuine question; i.e. I don't know if you have seen him or not and I want you to tell me. (In this case the tag would be stressed and said with rising intonation). Or it could confirming what I know to be true and expecting an response like: "No, he hasn't been here all day." (In which case, the tag would not be stressed, and it would be said with falling intonation.)

Quiz

See if you can finish the following sentences with the correct question tag. The first ones are relatively easy, but then they get more difficult!

• You don't like me, ... ...?
• It isn't raining, ... ...?
• You've done your homework, ... ...?
• I'm not late, ... ...?
• I'm invited to your party, ... ...?
• You like German food, ... ...?
• You'll come to my party, ... ...?
• You remembered to feed the cat, ... ...?
• Let's play tennis, ... ...?
• There's a problem here, ... ...?
• He never says a word, ... ...?
• Nobody came to your party, ... ...?
• Don't forget, ... ...?
• You think you're clever, ... ...?
• So you think you're clever, ... ...?

• It's a lovely day today, isn't it?
• You live in Frankfurt, don't you?
• Miho can't speak German, can she?
• You haven't seen Miho, have you?
• His parents are very old, aren't they?
• You will remember to call me, won't you?

• You're coming, aren't you?
• Do listen, will you?
• Let's have a beer, shall we?

• He doesn't know what he's doing, does he?
• This is really boring, isn't it?

Answers

• You don't like me, do you?
• It isn't raining, is it?
• You've done your homework, haven't you?
• I'm not late, am I?
• I'm invited to your party, aren't I?
• You like German food, don't you?
• You'll come to my party, won't you?
• You remembered to feed the cat, didn't you?
• Let's play tennis, shall we?
• There's a problem here, isn't there?
• He never says a word, does he?
• Nobody came to your party, did they?
• Don't forget, will you?
• You think you're clever, don't you?
• So you think you're clever, do you?

• He's read this book, hasn't he?
• He read this book, didn't he?
• He's reading this book, isn't he?
• He reads a lot of books, doesn't he?'
• He'll read this book, won't he?
• He should read this book, shouldn't he?
• He can read this book, can't he?
• Today's lesson is hard, isn't it?
•  The kids can't sing that song, can they?
• Toshi likes fishing, doesn't he?
•  Susan is sick today, isn't she?
•  Mike can play the piano, can't he?
•  You will go there, won't you?
• Andrew doesn't study much, does he?
•  The dogs aren't hungry, are they?
•  She can't cook, can she?
•  You won't see her, will you?
• I’m the fastest, aren’t I?”
• I’m not fat , am I?
• George was not there, was he?
• I will never stay in that hotel again. Will you?
• You wear size 2, don't you?
• Peter was born on March 2, wasn't he?
• We live on Cherry St, don't we?
• We're meeting later this afternoon, aren't we?
• The sun won't shine today, will it?
• Peter enjoys going to movies, doesn't he?
• They don't work at this company, do they?
• Jennifer is studying at the moment, isn't she?
• We aren't walking, are we?
• Jack bought a new house, didn't he?
• I didn't leave my wallet at home, did I?
• Andy was working when you arrived, wasn't he?
• They weren't waiting for you, were they?
• Harry has lived in New York for a long time, hasn't he?
• We haven't visited our friends in Chicago this year, have we?
• They had finished before he arrived, hadn't they?
• But you don't really love her, do you?
• This'll work, won't it?
• Oh you think so, do you?
• 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?
• Oh you do, do you?
• The weather's bad, isn't it?
• You won't be late, will you?
• Nobody knows, do they?
• You never come on time, do you?
• You couldn't help me, could you?
• You think you're clever, do you?
• So you don't think I can do it, don't you? (British English)
• Shut up, will you!
• She can hardly love him after all that, can she?
• Nothing will happen, will it?
• Now, let's check your understanding of tag questions, shall we?
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Tom will think about it, won't he?

They won't be able to come to the party, will they?

He never came again, did he?

She can rarely come these days, can she?

You hardly ever came late, did you?

I barely know you, do I?

You would scarcely expect her to know that, would you?