Question tags

(made by Carmen Luisa)

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A question tag is a short question at the end of a statement: He won the prize, didnt he? question tag We use question tags when we want to check if information is correct.

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1. Use question tags at the end of a sentence: He won the prize, didnt he? question tag

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2.a. NEGATIVE QUESTION TAG:
If the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative:

You have seen that film, havent you?

+ -

2.b.

POSITIVE QUESTION TAG:

If the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive: You havent seen that film, have you? + If the sentence contains a negative word (never, hardly) the question tag is positive: Ann never goes anywhere, does she? +

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3. Questions tags consist of AUXILIARY VERB + PRONOUN:

I shouldnt laugh,

should

I?
she?

Sarah was winning, wasnt

We use the auxiliary verb that is used in the previous sentence. If there is no auxiliary verb, se use do/does (present tense) and did (past tense): You live near here, dont you? You turned left, didnt you?

The pronoun refers to the subject of the previous sentence.

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4. Some verbs form question tags differently: I am arent I?

Im helpful, arent I?
There is isnt there? There is a chemists near here, isnt there?

There are arent there?

There are many shops in the area, arent there? This is / That is isnt it? Thats your wife over there, isnt it?

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5. When we answer question tags, we often use short answers: A: You are French, arent you? B: Yes, I am. / No, Im not.
SHORT ANSWERS

A: Shes got a dog, hasnt she? B: Yes, she has. / No, she hasnt. A: You smoke, dont you? B: Yes, I do. / No, I dont.
SHORT ANSWERS SHORT ANSWERS

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6. Intonation: When we are sure of the answer, the voice goes down in the question tag: John doesnt like gold, does he? The speaker knows John doesnt like gold. When we are not sure of the answer, the voice goes up: They left for Milan, didnt they? The speaker doesnt know if they left for Milan or not.

Question tags

I hope you have understood how to use question tags.