Question Tags

Question Tags :

Question tags are short questions that are added on to statements for the purpose of asking for the listener's confirmation or agreement. They are tally used in spoken English or in informal writing. A question tag consists of a verb followed by a pronoun corresponding to the subject of the statement. It must be noted that the tense of the verb in the question tag is always the same as that of the verb in the preceding statement. If the predicate of the statement has an auxiliary verb before the main verb (for example, 'is arriving),then the auxiliary verb appears in the question tag. Look at the sentences below.

Kumar is arriving today, isn't he?

The woman can play the violin, can't she?

I am your friend, aren't I?

You have met Ruma, haven't you? Mallika was in the gym, wasn't she?

Sanjay and Paru will help us, won't they? Father and I were late, weren't we? The weather has improved, hasn't it? All of us should do our best, shouldn't we? The Kuriens are such wonderful people, aren't they?

However, if the finite verb in the statement consists of only a main verb (for example, 'gave'), the auxiliary 'do' functions as the verb in the tag Look at the following sentences.

Bharat gave you his muffler, didn't he? The flowers smell wonderful, don't they?

We showed Kumar the photographs, didn't we?

You live in Nasik, don't you?

I came home early yesterday, didn't I? Gauri does her best to win every match, doesn't she?

The minister spoke well at the conference, didn't he? The tourists saw many elephants at Thekkady, didn't they?

Tina runs very fast, doesn't she?

The cutlets Susan made taste good, don't they? Madurai is an ancient city, isn't it?

When question tags follow statements with indefinite se everyone and nobody, the pronoun they is used in the tag

Everybody is asleep, aren't they ? 

Similarly, this and that are replaced in the tag by

This is a new shirt, isn't it ? 

In order to use question tags, you need to remember another p regard to their form. All positive statements are followed by a ne tag, and negative statements take a positive tag. The sentences be should make this clear.

Hamid will lay the table, won't he?

it is not very cold, is it?

Prasad I come back, won't he? The animals have not been fed, have they?

We work hard, don't we?

They don't work hard, do they? The book has not been published, has it?

You should have left by now, shouldn't you? Neelima has not heard about this has she?

This cloth feels good, doesn't it?

However, when statements are affirmative in form but are negative meaning because of the presence of words like "hardly, barely and never, they are followed by affirmative tags.

Wilfred never takes time off from work, does he? She can hardly walk, can she?

Mani seldom writes letters, does she?

Further, note that the question tag can be used with two intonation patterns:

(a) a falling one when the speaker is sure he is right, and only asking for the listener's agreement
and (b) a rising tone when the speaker is not really sure about what he said and seeks a yes-no response Finally, imperatives can be made to sound more polite by adding question tags to them.

Shut the door, will you?

Make some tea, will you?

Exercises

Rewrite the following sentences, adding question tugs to them. Remember to place a comma between the tag and the preceding statement.

a Kranti repaired the clock.

b. It is not dark.

c. They were going to the lake.

d. The bus had left by the time we got there.

e. You are trying to find someone.

[ Pavan has not kept his word.

g. The bread will become soggy. h. His parents would not have left before yesterday.

i I can see how earnest you are.

j. Shanta loves ice cream.

k. The bus skidded on the wet road.

L Vimala sells wooden toys.

m. None of the workers left early

n. You haven't left the door open. o. The clothes in the store are priced very high.

2. Correct the following sentences.

a. They won't leave the baby alone at home, will they not? 

b. Cynthia looked pretty in the green dress, isn't it?

c. Gardening used to be Hari's favourite pastime, doesn't it? d. We will grow tomatoes and carrots, will we?

e. I haven't met the Menons, did I?

 f. Mala couldn't run, can she?

g. Mother plans to work late in the office, didn't she?

h. The astronauts are ready to enter the spacecraft, isn't he? There were ten chocolates in the paper bag, weren't they not?

j. The water is getting cold, does it?

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