TAG QUESTION

“Question tag is a question that is added onto the end of the sentence.”
“Question tag is a very short clause at the end of the statement which changes the statement
into a question.”
“Tag question is a statement followed by a mini-question.”

From those definition above, it can be concluded that question tag is a small question at the end of the
sentence followed by a statement which is used to ask for confirmation of something. A question tag
or a tag question usually followed by an auxiliary verb. There are several patterns of tag questions.
Some of them are:

1. Positive sentence, negative tag.

Use the negative tag when the statement is positive. Examples:
You know Mr. Sofyan, don’t you? (Kamu tau Mr. Sofyan, kan?)
We are couples, aren’t we? (Kita pasangan, kan?)

2. Negative sentence, positive tag.

Use positive tag when the statement is negative. Examples:
She doesn’t like mango, does she? (Dia tidak suka mangga, kan?)
You don’t like spicy food, do you? (Kamu tidak suka makanan pedas, kan?)

3. Negative tags are always abbreviated.

The example is “isn’t she?” not “is not she?”. Examples:
Your grandma is a teacher, isn’t she? (Nenekmu seorang guru, kan?)
Your grandpa likes to drink coffee, doesn’t he? (Kakekmu suka minum kopi, kan?)

4. Pronoun.
Use personal pronoun or noun when the subject is the name of a person. Examples:
Ira teaches Maths, doesn’t she? (Ira mengajar matematika, bukan?)
Ian brought a car, didn’t he? (Ian membawa mobil, kan?)

5. Modals.
Repeat the modals and add the word “not” for the negative tag. Examples:
Jenny can play the piano, can’t she? (Jeny bisa bermain piano, kan?)
Rita will attend the party, won’t she? (Rita akan datang ke pesta, kan?)
6. Tenses.
Use the same tenses for statements and the tag questions. If the statement is present tense,
then use present tense also for the tag question. Examples:
Mia rides a car, doesn’t she? (Mia mengendarai mobil, kan?)
Paul came to your house, didn’t he? (Paul datang ke rumahmu, kan?)

7. I am become aren’t I, I am not become am I.

If the statement uses “I am”, then the tag question become “aren’t I?”. If the statement uses “I
am not”, then the tag question become “am I”. Examples:
I am fat, aren’t I? (Aku gemuk, kan?)
I am not perfect, am I? (Aku tidak sempurna, kan?)

8. Attention to the using of “have”.

If there is a “have/has+V3” (present perfect tense) in the statement, then the question tag
become “haven’t/hasn’t+S?”. If there is only have/has in the statement, then the tag question
become “don’t/doesn’t+S?”. Examples:
They have learned from their mistake, haven’t they? (Mereka sudah belajar dari
kesalahannya, kan?)
Mirna has studied for 2 hours, hasn’t she? (Mirna sudah belajar selama dua jam, kan?)
You have two cats, don’t you? (Kau memiliki dua kucing, bukan?)
Dika has a motorbike, doesn’t he? (Dika mempunyai sebuah motor, kan?)

9. The use of negative words in a positive sentence.

Negative words: never, barely, seldom, rarely, hardly. These words mean adverbs or adverb
of frequency. Because of the statement of the sentence is negative, so the tag question become
positive. Examples:
They never come to meet you, do they? (Mereka tidak pernah datang untuk mememuimu,
kan?)
Nina barely visits her parents, does she? (Nina hampir tidak pernah mengunjungi orang
tuanya, bukan?)

10. Pay attention to the subject.

If the subject is “nobody”, “no one”, “somebody”, “everyone”, or etc, then the tag question
become “they”. If the subject is “nothing” or “everything”, then the tag question become “it”.
Pay attention to the using of the word “no” which means negative, then the tag question
become positive. Examples:
Nobody wants to be a chairman, do they? (Tidak ada yang ingin menjadi ketua kelas, kan?)
 Everything will be okay, won’t it? (Semua akan baik-baik saja, kan?)
11. Invitation.
Invitation like the words “let’s” use tag question “shall we?”. Examples:
Let’s watch a movie, shall we? (Ayo kita menonton film, oke?)
Let’s play outside, shall we? (Ayo kita bermain di luar, oke?)

12. Imperative sentence.

Imperative sentence use question tag “will you?”. Examples:
Close the door, will you? (Tutup pintunya, ya?)
Don’t do such horrible thing, will you? (Jangan melakukan hal yang mengerikan, ya?)