Tag Questions
A tag question is a statement followed by a mini-question.
Americans use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation.
They mean something like: "Am I right?" or "Do you agree?".
Tag questions are also used to ask for information or help, starting with a negative statement. This is quite a friendly/polite way to make a request.
For example:
"Where is the police station?" (not very polite),
"Do you know where the police station is?" (slightly more polite),
"You wouldn't be able to tell me where the police station is, would you?" (very polite)
The basic structure for tag questions is:
+Positive statement, -negative tag? -Negative statement, +positive tag?
Snow is white, isn't it? You don't like me, do you?
There is an exception to this rule: If you are using "shall" in the tag question, the statement and the tag will both be positive.
Here are some more examples:
This will work, won't it?
Well, I couldn't help it, could I?
It isn’t cold, is it?
You won't be late, will you?
You wouldn’t be willing to help me, would you?
She’s pretty, isn’t she?
This is delicious, isn’t it?
You don’t have a cell phone, do you?
Let's go shopping, shall we?
Now, let’s make some tag questions: (Answers are below.)
1 Your son plays baseball,
2 We need to leave at 7 o’clock,
3 She doesn’t have a dog,
4 It isn’t snowing,
5 Jenny was hoping to come,
6 It’s stopped raining,
7 He needs to be on time,
8 We’ve done this before,
9 You don’t like football,
10 She won’t be late,
11 Annie's French,
12 We met last week,
13 That’s wrong,
14 You haven’t been here before,
15 The sun will be shining tomorrow,
16 He’d rather go home,
17 He can’t sing,
18 We should leave earlier,
19 He hasn’t stopped smoking,
20 Let’s start,
ANSWERS
1 Your son plays baseball, doesn't he?
2 We need to leave at 7 o’clock, don't we?
3 She doesn’t have a dog, does she?
4 It isn’t snowing, is it?
5 Jenny was hoping to come, wasn't she?
6 It’s stopped raining, hasn't it?
7 He needs to be on time, doesn't he?
8 We’ve done this before, haven't we?
9 You don’t like football, do you?
10 She won’t be late, will she?
11 Annie's French, isn't she?
12 We met last week, didn't we?
13 That’s wrong, isn't it?
14 You haven’t been here before, have you?
15 The sun will be shining tomorrow, won't it?
16 He’d rather go home, wouldn't he?
17 He can’t sing, can he?
18 We should leave earlier, shouldn't we?
19 He hasn’t stopped smoking, has he?
20 Let’s start, shall we? (an exception to the rule--positive statement and positive tag)
