Using Question Tags
In this post we’ll take a look at question tags. Question tags are short questions which we add to the end of a statement to turn it into a question.
Why do we use Question Tags?
We commonly use them in English for a number of reasons. We can use them –
- to confirm information
- to show we are not certain
- to check information
- in certain special situations
How do we form question tags?
The structure of a question tag depends on the statement that come before it. Most commonly the question tag is the opposite to the sentence verb form. We also use the auxilliary verb in question tags. Let’s look at some examples.
Positive verb + negative tag:
When the statement is positive, the question tag is negative.
- Example: “You’re coming to the party, aren’t you?”
In this example the speaker is checking information.
Negative verb + positive tag:
When the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive.
- Example: “She doesn’t like coffee, does she?”
In this example the speaker is uncertain.
Matching forms and pronouns
We can see from these examples we also must use the correct form and pronoun. Here are some more examples.
- Example: They were at the meeting, weren’t they?
- Example: You will help, won’t you?
This is true in for all pronouns except for the first person I where we use an unusual form of the question tag.
- Example: “I’m on time, aren’t I?”
Special Uses of Tags
There are a number of situations where we do not follow the general rule of positive sentence, negative tag or negative sentence, positive tag. Most of these types of tags are actually imperatives and they tend to use modal verbs. The most common examples are will and would.
The tag used is often “will you” or “won’t you.” or as we said “wouldn’t you.
The original imperative sentence is Will/Would you open the door.
- Example: Open the door, will you/would you/won’t you?
Other modal forms like can or could are also sometimes possible but they are less common with this type of sentence.
Finally we have one unsusual form of question tags using Let’s. As we have no matching tag form we use a completely different verb shall as in our example.
- Example: “Let’s go for a walk, shall we?”
Using Question Tags
While some native speakers may use these types of tags others may not. It can take quite some time for learners to understand how to use them properly. What is more important is to recognise when someone uses this type of tag and why they have used it.