QUESTION TAG

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QUESTION TAG


Question Tags

Read these sentences and try to understand them:

1. You love me, don’t you? 2. He wrote a letter, didn’t he? 3. You do not read, do you? 4. He speaks the truth, doesn’t he? 5. He has deceived you, hasn’t he? 6. He is your brother, isn’t he? 7. They don’t tell a lie, do they? 8. Aditya does not take tea, does he? 9. I have a bicycle, haven’t I? 10. He had courage, hadn’t he?

The sentences given above are generally used in spoken language. Speakers use such sentences

to express their imagination (Guess) or idea etc. But the speakers want to approve their desires

(wishes) /doubts from the audience. The first part of such English sentences ' is assertive or

imperative and the second part is interrogative. This second part is called question tag. Now a

question may raise in your mind what differences between a question and a question tag are.

Differences between questions and question tags

Questions Question Tags

Questions are complete sentences. While questions tags are used in the last of

sentences.

They are used independently. They are not used independently.

When we don’t know any matter, But when a fact, an imagination or an idea comes

questions are used. before us in/on which we have no complete

confidence.

They are used formally. They are used informally.



A person who asks a question from the A person who uses a question tag hopes from the

audience hopes that the audience will audience that the audience will approve his

answer/ reply the question. statement.

Contracted forms of auxiliary verbs + Not

Auxiliary Verbs + Not Short forms used in question Tags

Do not Don’t

Does not Doesn’t

Did not Didn’t

Am I not Aren’t I

Is not Isn’t

Are not Aren’t

Has not Hasn’t

Have not Haven’t

Had not Hadn’t

Was not Wasn’t

Were not Weren’t

Shall not Shan’t

Will not Won’t

Can not Can’t

Should not Shouldn’t

Would not Wouldn’t

Could not Couldn’t

May not Mayn’t

Might not Mightn’t

Ought not Oughtn’t

Must not Mustn’t



Used not Usedn’t

Need not Needn’t

Dare not Daren’t

Format of Question Tags

(1) Affirmative – Auxiliary verbs + subject + ? (2) Negative – Auxiliary verbs + n’t + subject + ?

Remember the following facts during making question tags:

1. The main verbs such as – go, drink, come etc are not used to make question tags:

He writes a letter, don’t write he? (wrong)

He writes a letter, doesn’t he? (correct)

He does not drink milk, does drink he? (wrong)

He does not drink milk, does he? (correct)

2. ‘Pronouns’ and ‘There’ are used as subject in question tags. 3. ‘Nouns’ are not used as subjects in question tags. 4. The use of ‘Auxiliary Verbs’ or ‘Auxiliary verbs + n’t’ in question tags depends on the

number and person of the subject used in question tags or on the tense of given sentence. 5. If a question tag is used in the last of a sentence, the selection of Auxiliary verbs of the

question tag depends on the auxiliary verbs used in the sentences. 6. If an auxiliary verb is not used in a sentence, the auxiliary verbs – do, does and did are

used in question tags according to need.

How to make Question Tags

Rule(1) :

The question tag of an affirmative sentence is negative. In other words, the structure

‘Auxiliary Verb+ n’t + subject +?’ is used in question tags; as,



Note:

He writes a letter, doesn’t

he? She is ugly, isn’t she?

He came here last night, didn’t he?

You are courageous, aren’t you?

She was a sales girl, wasn’t

she? I am wrong, aren’t I?

You will help me, won’t you?

He spoke the truth, didn’t he?

He has done his homework, hasn’t

he? He had gone there, hadn’t he?

Rule (2):

The question tags of negative sentence is affirmative; as,

She does not make a noise, does she?

I don’t drink wine, do I?

You are not laborious, are you?

She did not tell me a story, will he?

I am not right, am I?

He did not tell a lie, did he?

He has not helped her, has he?

You had not played well, had

you? She was not lazy, was she?

Rule (3):

If negative words such as – Neither, no, not , never, none, no one, nobody, nothing, few,

little, hardly, rarely, scarcely, seldom….etc are used in a sentence, the meaning of the



sentence is negative and it is considered to be negative sentence. Therefore, its question

tag is affirmative.

We have no friends, have we?

No one knows this matter, do they?

They have nothing, have they?

Nobody is perfect, are they?

A barking dog seldom bites, does

he? Nothing is yours, is it?

Few students have come to attend the class, have they?

Neither of us helped you did we?

I know little about you, do I?

It is rarely found, is it?

Rule (4):

The question tag of an affirmative imperative sentence is both affirmative- ‘will you?’

and negative – ‘won’t you?’; as,

Switch on the radio, will you?

Switch on the radio, won’t you?

Please give me money, will you?

Please give me money, won’t you?

Kindly post this letter, will you?

Kindly post this letter, won’t you?

Rule (5):

The question tag of a negative imperative sentence is affirmative – ‘will you?’; as,

Don’t open the window, will

you? Don’t spit here, will you?

Don’t switch off the light, will you?



Don’t be late tomorrow, will you?

Don’t make a noise, will you?

Rule (6):

If an affirmative imperative sentence is used to express the sense of ‘more urgency’, the

negative question tag – ‘won’t you?’ is used; as,

Remember to shut the window, won’t you?

Be careful while solving the sums, won’t you?

Rule(7):

If the verb used in an imperative sentence denotes the sense of reprimand, the question

tag- ‘can’t you?’ is used; as,

Use your own mind, can’t you?

Use your own book, can’t you?

Rule (8):

If the imperative sentences begins with ‘Let us’ or ‘Let’s’, it denotes ‘proposal’ or

‘suggestion’ and the question tag – ‘shall we?’ is used for it; as,

Let us dance together, shall we?

Let us help her, shall we?

Let us do this work, shall we?

Let’s go there, shall we?

Let’s read the Gita, shall we?

Rule (9):

If the imperative sentence begins with ‘Let me’, ‘Let him’, ‘Let her’, ‘Let them’, ‘Let

Karan’; as,

Let me do this work, will you?

Let her be my beloved, will

you? Let him go, will you?



Let them do their homework, will you?

Let Aman watch TV will you?

Rule (10):

If the verb – ‘used to’ is used in a sentence, the negative verb- ‘usedn’t’ or ‘didn’t’ is

used in a question tag; as,

He used to come here, usedn’t he?

He used to come here, didn’t he?

They usedn’t to come here, used they?

They usedn’t to come here, did they?

Rule (11):

If the marginal Auxiliary verbs- ‘dare not’ or ‘daren’t’ and ‘need not’ or ‘needn’t’ are

used in a sentence, the affirmative question tag structure; as,

He daren’t come here, dare he?

I needn’t go there, need I?

He need not work hard, need he?

You dare not face you teacher, dare you?

They daren’t touch the naked wire, dare you?

Rule (12):

If the verb – ‘dare’ and ‘need’ are used as main verbs in a sentence, its question tag is

formed like this; as,

He dares to oppose his father, doesn’t he?

She needs your note book, doesn’t she?

We needed your help, didn’t we?

She dared to abuse me, didn’t she?

You don’t dare to go there, do you?

They do not need to go there, do they?



He did not need to read the Gita, did he?

I don’t dare to beat him, do I?

Nobody will dare to beat me, will

they? He will need nothing, will he?

How to select the subjects of Question Tags

Generally, we confuse about the selection of subjects during making question tags. For

avoiding confusions, here we shall study about the selection of subjects of question tags.

Rule(1):

If the personal pronouns – I, we, you, he, she, it, they….etc are used as subjects of a

sentence, the same personal pronouns are used as the subjects of question tags; as,

They write, don’t they?

He reads the Ramayana, doesn’t he?

You know me, don’t you?

We did our homework, didn’t we?

I did not see her yesterday, did I?

Rule (2):

If a noun is the subject of a sentence, the personal pronouns,- he, she, it and they are used

as the subjects of question tags according to the number , person and gender of the used

noun; as,

Ashish and Vishal are friends, aren’t they?

Bhawan is an intelligent girl, isn’t she?

Rudra has a ball, hasn’t he?

The sofa set was not strong enough, was it?

Rule(3):

If the words- there, one, this/that, these/those are used as the subjects of a sentence, the

words – there, one, it and they are used as the subjects of question tags respectively; as,



There is a book on the table, isn’t there?

One can not do this sum, can one?

This is my table, isn’t it?

There are your caps, aren’t they?

Those were his buffaloes, weren’t they?

Note:-

When the words – one, this/that, these/those are used before a noun, they are adjectives.

If they are used as the subjects of sentences, the personal pronouns- he, she, it and they

are used as the subjects of question tags according to the number, person and gender of

the noun used after the words – one, this/that, these/those; as,

One girl can do this work, can’t she?

This man always disturbed me, didn’t

he? This pen is useless, isn’t it?

That boy has no knowledge, has he?

These books are yours, aren’t they?

Those women were beautiful, weren’t they?

Rule (4):

If the Indefinite Pronouns- everybody, somebody, anybody, nobody, everyone, someone,

anyone and no one are used as the subjects of a sentence, the personal pronoun- ‘They’ is

used as the subject of question tags but the personal pronoun- ‘he’ is not used as the

subject of question tags; as,

Someone stole my watch, didn’t they?

Anyone can lift this box, can’t they?

Everybody is the master of his fate, aren’t they?

Nobody has seen God, have they?

Somebody knocked at the door, didn’t they?



Rule (5):

If the phrases – All of us, All of you, All of them, None of us, None of you, None of

them, One of us, One of you, One of them, Anyone of us, Any one of you, Some of us,

Some of you, Some of them, Most of us, Most of you, Most of them, neither of us,

neither of you, either of you, either of us are used as the subjects of a sentence; the

personal pronouns- we, you and they are used as the subject of question tags respectively

as,

All of us can do this sum, can’t we?

All of you can do this sum, can’t you?

All of them can do this sum, can’t they?

Either of you is innocent, aren’t you?

Neither of us was laborious, were we?

None of them have seen the Taj mahal, have they?

Most of you are honest, aren’t you?

Most of them don’t know this, do they?

Some of us are intelligent, aren’t we?

Everyone of them has courage, haven’t they?




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