You are on page 1of 3

Tag question

Prepared by- Chanchal Zoarder, E-mail: chanchalzoarder@yahoo.com


In large Am not Are not Is not Was not Were not Have not Has not Had not Shall not Will not Should not Dare not In tag Arent/ aint Arent Isnt Wasnt Werent Havent Hasnt Hadnt Shant Wont Shouldn t dare example I am a student, arent I? You are nice, arent you? He is honest, isnt he? She was ill, wasnt she? They were poor, werent they? I have done it, havent I? It has rained, hasnt it? You had told it, hadnt you? I shall teach you, shant I ? Sagor will come, wont he? You should do it, shouldnt you? He dare not come, dare he? In large Need not Needed not Would not Cannot Could not May not Might not Must not Ought not d+ v (1) would d + v ( 3) had s = is/ has ve( have ) m( am) re(are) Let us/ lets Let + other except us Have as principal verb Had as principal verb In tag Need needed Wouldnt Cant Couldnt Maynt Mightnt Mustnt Oughtnt Wouldnt Hadnt Isnt/ hasnt Havent Arent Arent Shall we Will you/ wont you Dont/ havent Didnt/ hadnt example You need not go there, need you? He needed not come here, needed he? I would do it, wouldnt I ? I can do it, cant I ? He could make it easy, couldnt he? It may rain, maynt it? You might go out, mightnt you? We must die, mustnt we? We ought to obey our elders, oughtnt we? Hed make it, wouldnt he? Hed made it, hadnt he? Its fine, isnt it? Its rained, hasnt it? Its said that honesty is the best policy, isnt it? Ive done it, havent I ? I m fine, arent I ? Youre late today, arent you? Lets have a walk, shall we? Let me go out, will you?

Have to Has to Had to Do not Does not

Dont Doesnt Didnt Dont Doesnt

You have to do it, dont you? He has to repent, doesnt he? He had to surrender, didnt he? I know him, do I ? Prianka likes tea,, doesnt she? Tutul invited me, didnt he? He has a high ambition, doesnt he / hasnt he?

Did not has as principal verb

Didnt Doesnt/ hasnt

I have a cow, dont I ?/ havent I ? He had a dog, didnt he?/ hadnt he?

Auxiliary verb is to be inserted first to make a tag question


01. Positive statement turns to be negative tag. E.gHe is a teacher, isnt he? 02. Negative statement turns to be positive tag. E.gAungkon is not my friend, is she? 03. Present indefinite tense takes do or does to be tag. E.gPrianka likes me, doesnt she? They know me, dont they? 04. Past indefinite tense takes did to be tag. E.gHe went to college, didnt he? I took tea, didnt I ?

05. Hardly / seldom/ never/ rarely/ little/ scarcely / nothing/ no one/ nobody/ none etc. do not take NOT as they express negation. e.gHe hardly comes here, does he? A barking dog seldom bites, does it? He knows little about it, does he? He said nothing, did he? I invited none, did I ?

Subject changing
01. Pronoun of the subject is to be used in the tag . (he, she, I, we, they, you, it etc.) Kajol is my favourite actress, isn she? 02. Singular masculine gender takes HE and plural gender takes THEY.( Milton, Rana, Hasan, boy, man, actor etc.) E.gShahrukh Khan is my fevourite actor, isnt he? The boys are playing cricket, arent they? 03. Singular feminine gender takes SHE and plural gender takes THEY. (Katrina, Mina, girl, woman, actress, etc.) E.g.Susmita Sen is an Indian actress, isnt she? The girls have been present in the class, havent they? 04. Low class being such as animal, bird, fly etc. takes IT if it is singular, and THEY if plural. E.g. The dog is a faithful animal, isnt it? Birds can fly, cant they? Fish cannot fly, can it? The cattle are grazing in the field, arent they? 05. Common gender such as child, calf, baby etc. takes IT in singular and THEY in plural. The baby is crying for its mother, isnt it? The children are playing cricket, arent they? 06. Everybody, everyone, somebody, someone, one etc. in tag turn into THEY and the verb is to be changed as to THEY. E.g. Everybody should be present in the meeting, shouldnt they? Everyone hates a lair, dont they? 07. Nobody, no one, none etc. in tag turn into THEY and the verb is to be changed as to THEY without NOT e.g. Nobody respects a corrupted officer, do they? None can count my love for you, can they? 08. Nothing, anything, something and neuter gender such as table chair, book, pen etc. in singular take IT and in plural THEY. E.g. Nothing happened, did it? The book is very interesting, isnt it? 09. One of us = we, one of you = you, One of us will attend the party, wont we? one of them = they. E.g

10. The Pre subject of with, along with, accompanied with, of, accompanied by, in addition to, as well as etc. is inserted in tag. E.g The principal along with some other teachers attended the party, didnt he? Mina as well as her brothers joined the bridal party, didnt she? The beauty of the girls charms me much, doesnt it? (Note: pre means before) 11. Pronoun of the nouns after possessive case is to be inserted in tag. ( my , our, your, their, his , her, its, s Minas, Rinas. ) E.g My sister is a doctor, isnt she? (not I ) Minas father is a teacher, isnt he? ( not Mina) I have a bosom friend. His name is Mukul, isnt it?

Tendulkers wife is a doctor, isnt she? ( not Tendulker but wife) 12. The post subject of OR / NOR to be inserted in tag. E.g. ( Note: post means after ) Milton or his wife will come, wont she? Either Tina or her brother has done it, hasnt he? 13. In the complex sentence the subject of the principal clause is to be inserted in the tag. E.g.No. I didnt, because I was ill, did I? As you are lazy, I hate you, dont I ? He knows well that I can teach him a good lesson, doesnt he? That he has stolen my watch is known to all, isnt it? Grand Exercise 28. I is a pronoun, 29. A barking dog seldom bites, 30. Mr. Jaman is rarely found in his office, 31. There is little water in the jar, 32. Some say so, 33. Wait here until I come back, 34. The legs of the chair are broken, 35. Do or die is a compound sentence, 36. Lets have walk, 37. Do me a favour, 38. Never tell a lie, 39. Let her sing a song, 40. What is lotted cannot be blotted, 41. Id like to travel, 42. We have to obey the rule of society, 43. The chairman along with some members visited the flood affected area, 44. She as well as her brother has done it, 45. He said nothing, 46. Nothing happened, 47. Nobody came, 48. Everybody trusts him, 49. Please open the door, 50. Unlock the lock if you can, 51.Its been raining cats and dogs, 52. How lovely the dress is!, 53. What a pity!,

1.You need to buy medicine, 2.Thank you, 3. Here is her phone number, 4. you have been suffering from fever, 5. He need not go there, 6. Youre rarely found in the campus now a days, 7. Much of the water is polluted, 8.A few of them attended the party, 9. A little learning is a dangerous thing, 10. What he said in the meeting hit me, 11. I read Hamlet at early age, 12. He often visited the London museum, 13.Either Prity or her brother has done it, 14. Welcome cordially to my residence, 15. One should do ones duty, 16. One of us will join the party, 17.The colour of her eyes is blue, 18.Minas father is a doctor, 19. The girl cut a sorry figure in the exam, 20. He often visits our house, 21. You need not worry about me, 22. He needs nothing, 23. I read an interesting book last night, 24. Man is mortal, 25. The poor are born to suffer, 26. You had better do it, 27. Not is used in the negative sentence,

You might also like