Tag-Questions

or
Question Tags
Statement Sentences with short questions at
the end with a question mark!

Tag-Questions
A tag-question or question tag is not
a true
question.
A tag question is used at the end of a
Statement Sentence to get the
confirmation from the listener, or just
to express ones doubt.
A question sentence, on the contrary, is
used to get the answer.

Tag-Questions

You are my student. Statement Sentence

positive

You are not my student. Statement negative

Are you my student? Question (interrogative)
You are my student, arent you? Tag-question

Tag-Questions

Whose books are these? a true question

These are your books, arent they?

-Tag-question Positive
These are not your books, are they?
- Tag-question -- Negative

Tag-Questions
Making a tag-question sentence:
She is your friend

,
isnt she

?
A positive tag-question sentence!

Tag-Questions
There

are five simple points we

should follow when we use a Tagquestion:
Point 1
A comma is used between the main
sentence and the tag part, e.g.
This is your book isnt it?

Tag-Questions
Point

2:

Even

if the subject of the main sentence is

a noun proper noun or common noun
the
subject of the tag part is always a
corresponding PERSONAL PRONOUN. e.g.
Mary isnt your sister, is she?

Tag-Questions
Point 2 (continued)
John has gone home, hasnt

John proper noun male singular

he
pronoun male singular subjective case

Tag-Question

Point 2 (continued)

Ted and Jerry got their books, didnt

?
Ted and Jerry Proper nouns male
plural

they
Personal Pronoun male -- plural

Tag-Questions

Point 3

The verb in the tag part depends on the verb

in the main sentence:
If the verb in the main sentence is in Present
Tense, the verb in the tag part will be in
Present Tense; and the verb in the main
sentence is in Past Tense, the verb in the tag
part will be in Past, and so on.
If the verb in the main sentence is in Positive
form, the verb in the tag part will be in
Negative form.

Tag-Questions
Point 3 (continued)
She is your sister,
she?
is main verb Simple Present Tense POSITIVE
isnt
Simple present tense NEGATIVE

Tag-Questions
Point 3 (continued)
Brad hasnt done his work,

he?
hasnt Present perfect NEGATIVE
has
Present perfect -- POSITIVE

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3 (continued)
Kate goes to school,
she?
goes Simple present POSITIVE
does not go Simple present NEGATIVE
doesnt
Point 4
The negative form of the verb in the tag part is
always contracted:
Point

does not = doesnt; has not = hasnt; will not = wont

Tag-questions
Point 3 (continued)
James did not go to school,
he?
did not go Simple past NEGATIVE
go Simple past Positive; however, in
tag part, the auxiliary (helping) verb
alone is used:
did

Tag-questions
Point 5 -- Word order
In the statement sentence (in the main
sentence) the subject comes first and
the verb comes next; but in the tag
part, the verb comes first and the
subject comes next, just as in the
interrogative sentence.

Tag-Question

Point 5 word order (continued)

For example:
A woman fainted, didnt she?

Main sentence
tag part
Subject first; verb next
Verb first; subject next

Tag-Questions

There are some exceptions to some of the rules

(points) we have discussed so far. To understand
those rules (points), first we have to master these
points.
Therefore, lets master these rules (points) now, and
then we can go for those exceptions later!