Questions tags
A question tag is a short phrase at the end of a sentence that turns it into a question, usually with the object of confirming or denying what precedes the tag. Question tags are formed using auxiliary verbs – do, be, have – or a modal verb.
A positive statement has a negative tag, and a negative statement has a positive tag.
Example:
You speak Italian, don’t you? You haven’t got a dog, have you?
The tag follows the tense of the verb in the statement: I wasn’t driving too fast, was I?
The tag for ‘I am’ is ‘aren’t I’ and the tag for ‘let’s’ is ‘shall we’.
Example:
I’m late, aren’t I? Let’s go in, shall we?
Choose the correct question tag in these sentences:
- He’s not here yet, _______ isn’t he? / is he?
- We shouldn’t do this, _______ should we? / shouldn’t we?
- You take sugar in your coffee, _______ do you? / don’t you?
- There’s a shoe shop in the shopping centre, _______ isn’t there? / is there?
- You wouldn’t come here again, _______ wouldn’t you? / would you?
- It won’t happen, _______ wouldn’t it? / will it?
Use these prompts to make question tags:
- He’s very late, _______?
- You haven’t seen this movie before, _______?
- Let’s go out after work, _______?
- You work for Siemens, _______?
- We shouldn’t be late, _______?
- We haven’t got time to go, _______?