INFORMATION OF
SENTENCES QUESTION TAG
BY
SMART LEARNING WAY
• INDEX
INTRODUCTION
DEFINITION
WHEN TO USE TAG QUESTIONS
HOW THE QUESTION TAG IS MADE
EXAMPLE
• INTRODUCTION
To confirm our statements whether they are
correct or wrong, we use tag questions.
To write question tag; first we have to write Auxiliary
verb; next write subject in pronoun form and then put “not”
if it is positive sentence otherwise don’t put not in question tag.
For example:-
Raja is reading. Isn’t he
?
They are playing. Aren’t they ?
• DEFINITION
A question is a sentence, a
phrase or even just a gesture that shows that the speaker or writer wants the
reader or listener to supply them with some information, to perform a task or
in some other way satisfy the request.
• WHEN TO USE TAG QUESTION
We use tag questions to check information or
to ask for agreement.
If we use a rising intonation in the
tag, we do not know or are not quite sure of the answer.
If we
use a falling intonation in the tag, we are seeking the agreement of the
person we are talking to.
• HOW THE QUESTION TAG IS MADE
1. The question tag is made by the
inversion of the subject and the auxiliary. Of course, the negative contraction
of the auxiliary is used if the statement is affirmative.
Ex. 1) You are going to the twon
this evening, aren’t you?
2)
She has not taken her dinner, has she?
2. We do the same thing as above even when
auxiliaries are used as full verbs. (the interrogative form of I am not is
aren’t I?
Ex. 1) He has a dog, hasn’t he?
2) You are a fox, aren't you?
3) I am taller, than you, aren’t I?
3. When we have the simple present tense and
the simple past an auxiliary verb in the statement, we use the auxiliaries do,
does, and did in the tag.
Ex. 1) You eat rice everyday,
don’t you?
2)
He plays well, doesn’t he?
3)
They played well, didn’t they?
4. When the subject of the statement is a
noun, we don’t use it in the question tag; we use a pronoun, according to the
number and gender of the noun.
Ex. 1) Lolita has written
well, hasn’t she?
2) Your children are clever, aren’t they?
3) Ramesh learns well, doesn’t he?
5. When the particle “there” opens the
statement the particle is repeated in the tag.
Ex. 1) There are twelve
months in a year, aren’t there?
2) There were many mischievous boys in the class, weren’t there?
6. When the statement is a complex sentence,
the tag is made from the verb in the principal clause.
Ex. 1) When you do exercise, you will
become healthy won’t you?
When there is more than one principal
clause, the tag is made from the verb of emphasis.
Ex. 1) They are good men,
and they shall behave gentlemanly, shan’t they
7. “used to” usually has the tag “did”.
8. Some singular words are treated as plural
for the purpose of the tag.
Everybody and everyone take “they”.
Ex. 1) Everybody can’t go
there, can they?
2) Everyone got inside the room, didn’t they?
None of takes the tag “well”, if the
speaker includes himself in the number.
Ex. 1) None of us knew the man, did we?
“None of”, followed by a plural noun is
treated as plural and takes “they” if the speaker is not included.
2) None of the boys reached in time, did they?
“Some of you” takes the
question tag “you”
Ex. 1) Some of you are sleeping in the
class, aren’t you?
9. Imperatives are made into more polite
requests by adding a positive future tag.
Ex. 1) Come and see me tomorrow, will you?
But if they are invitations or
suggestions, they also take “will you”.
Ex. 1) Have another cup of coffee, will you?
But won’t you? Is used to give more urgency.
Ex. 1) Have another cup of coffee, won’t you?
Won’t you? Is also the
question tag used to express entreaties.
Ex. 1) Be attentive when
the teacher explains this lesson, won’t you?
10. An imperative that expresses impatience or
that has the force of a rebuke, use can’t you? as the question tag.
Ex. 1) Be more attentive, can’t you?
2) The
work is being done, isn’t it?
3) We
mustn’t be angry, must we?
11. Words like little, few, hardly, scarcely,
rarely, seldom are treated as negatives, and take an affirmative question tag.
Ex.
1) Few students
understood the question, did they?
2)
Little progress has been made, has it ?
3)
We can scarcely know the answer, can we?
4)
You seldom come here, do you?
Though few and little are negative, a
few and a little are affirmative, and therefore take a negative.
Ex. 1) A few students understood the
question, didn’t they ?
2)
A little progress has been made, hasn’t it?
12. The adverb “only” may take either an
affirmative or a negative the question tag. The affirmative question tag is
more usual.
Ex. 1) There were only a hundred people
present at the meeting, were there?
2) There
were only a hundred people present at the meeting, weren’t there?
13. If a personal pronoun is the subject of
the statement, then this same personal pronoun is repeated as the subject of
the question tag. But if a noun or any pronoun, other than a personal one, is
the subject of the statement, the question tag has, he, she, it, or they.
If the subject is the pronoun one, the question tag to be followed should be
one, and not he, they or you.
Ex. 1) He is very intelligent, isn’t
he?
2)
She isn’t intelligent, is she?
3)
One can’t be too lazy, can one?
14. If the verb of the
statement is a compound tense, then only the auxiliary, or, if the auxiliary
itself is a compound form, only the first word of it is repeated in the
question tag. Can, may must, ought and need are treated as auxiliaries in this
case.
Ex.
1) He has
eaten the mango, hasn’t he?
2) You can easily reach that place, can’t you?
3) The work is being done, isn’t it?
4) We mustn’t be angry, must we?
15. The form of suggestion “let us” has
its question tag “shall we”.
Ex.
1) Let us
have a cup of coffee, shall we?
16. Some of us take “we” if the speaker
includes himself in the number, but “they” if he does not include himself.
Ex.
1) Some of us
ate the fruits, didn’t we?
2) Some of us
lost the way, didn’t they?
EXAMPLE
1) Leonard Cohen is a great
singer, isn’t he ?
2) It isn't very warm today,
is it ?
3) Ms. Pospieszna assigns a
lot of homework, doesn't she ?
4) I didn't bring enough
money, did I ?
5) The children won't want
to go to bed early, will they ?
6) You have already seen Lord of the Rings, haven’t
you ?
7) The film received several Oscars, didn’t
it ?
8) We can't keep our canary
in the hotel room, can we ?
9) England would like
to win another World Cup , wouldn’t they ?
10) German women don't have small feet, do
they ?
