4.

1 Negative Yes/No Questions

Negative Yes/No Questions Answers
Aren’t you going to class? Yes, I’ll be there. / No, I’m busy today.
Didn’t she know the answer? Yes, of course she did. / No. She had no idea.
Haven’t you seen the news? Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t. What happened?
Isn’t she a teacher? Yes, she is. / No, she isn’t.

1. Contract not to n’t and add it to the end of the Isn’t he a student?
auxiliary verb* or the main verb be in a negative Aren’t you going to class?
Yes/No question. Didn’t she know the answer?

2. A negative Yes/No question is often used instead

of an affirmative one when the speaker:
a. expects or wants the answer to be yes a. Wasn’t that a terrible movie?
b. wants to check that information is correct b. Isn’t Lima the capital of Peru?
c. is annoyed c. Aren’t you going to say hello?
d. is surprised d. Haven’t you finished the book yet?

3. Be careful! The answers to negative and A: Isn’t your house nearby?

affirmative Yes/No questions are the same. B: Yes, it is. / No, it isn’t.
A: Is your house nearby?
B: Yes, it is. / No, it isn’t.

* An auxiliary verb is used with a main verb. Be, do, have, will, and modals are auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs are also
called helping verbs.
4.2 Statement Questions
1. A statement question is a yes/no question
with statement word order. Answers to
statement questions are the same as to
regular yes/no questions.
2. Statement questions are used:
a. to check information
b. to repeat and confirm information
c. to show surprise or express annoyance
3. Statement questions are more common
in informal conversations. When using a
statement question, the speaker expects the
listener to agree with the statement.
4. The speaker’s voice usually rises at the end
of a statement question.
That’s the teacher ?
A: 
B: Yeah.
A:  Is that the teacher?
B: Yeah.
a. Your address is 22 Main Street?
b. The lecture isn’t on Friday?
c. We’re having fish again?
A:  You went to the concert last night?
B:  Yes! It was terrific!
A:  You don’t like the soup?
B:  No, not really.
The meeting is going to take five hours?
4.3 Tag Questions
Negative Tag Question Affirmative Tag Question
Affirmative Statement Negative Tag Negative Statement Affirmative Tag
Vanessa is the teacher, isn’t she? Philip isn’t the writer, is he?
Class starts at 1:30, doesn’t it? The test doesn’t start at 1:30, does it?
Carla and Luca came yesterday, didn’t they? Matt and Fran didn’t come, did they?
You’ve read that book, haven’t you? They haven’t arrived yet, have they?

1. Tag questions are used to ask someone to
agree with or confirm information. A tag question
is a statement with a two-word tag (auxiliary verb
+ pronoun) at the end. A comma is always used
before a tag.
A: That was a hard test, wasn’t it?
B: Yeah, it was really hard. (agreement)
A: Carlos is from Mexico, isn’t he?
B: Yes, he is. (confirmation)

2. If the statement is affirmative, the auxiliary in the The Smiths are going home, aren’t they?
tag is negative.

If the statement is negative, the auxiliary in the The Smiths haven’t come home, have they?
tag is affirmative.

3. Use doesn’t, don’t, and didn’t in the tag with Pedro likes the school, doesn’t he?
simple present and simple past affirmative Gina and Tim play a lot of sports, don’t they?
statements that have verbs other than be. Mariko already saw the movie, didn’t she?

4. The pronoun in the tag matches the subject. Carole is a hard worker, isn’t she?
Subject Pronoun

If there is/there are is used in the statement, use There aren’t any eggs, are there?
there in the tag.
4.4 Answering Tag Questions
1. When the statement in a tag question is
affirmative, the speaker expects the answer to
be affirmative.
  When the statement in a tag question is negative,
the speaker expects the answer to be negative.
2. When the listener disagrees with the speaker or
answers in an unexpected way, there is often
an explanation.
3. Be careful! The answer to tag questions and
affirmative Yes/No questions are the same. It
does not matter whether the tag is negative or
affirmative.
A: You are coming to the party, aren’t you?
B: Yes, I am.
A: You haven’t eaten lunch yet, have you?
B: No, I haven’t.
A: Ahmed is from Egypt, isn’t he?
B: No, he’s from Canada.
A: Is Jim happy?
B: Yes, he is. / No, he isn’t.
A: Jim is happy, isn’t he?
B: Yes, he is. / No, he isn’t.
A: Jim isn’t happy, is he?
B: Yes, he is. / No, he isn’t.