TAG questions

Tag Questions

Definition

A tag question is a grammatical structure. It refers to a declarative statement or an imperative that are modified to become a question by adding an interrogative fragment.

Use

Tag questions:

• can be considered as an indicator of politeness, emphasis, or irony;
• they may suggest confidence or lack of confidence;
• they may be confrontational or tentative;
• in legal settings, tag questions can be found in leading question.

Form

Tag questions vary according to different factors such as the choice of auxiliary, the negation.

The structure is generally as follows:

Affirmative statement	Negative Tag
he likes him	doesn't he?
Negative statement	Affirmative Tag
she doesn't care about him	does she?

 

Examples

Statements

Affirmative statement	Negative tag
He is excellent at languages,	isn't he?
You were late,	weren't you?
They are working on a new project,	aren't they?
She writes good poems,	doesn't she?
We have worked hard to earn this money,	haven't we?
He called her,	didn't he?
You should see a doctor,	shouldn't you?
He can drive,	can't he?
You will help us,	won't you?

Negative statement	Affirmative tag
He isn't an athlete,	is he?
They weren't early,	were they?
You aren't writing a new book,	are you?
She doesn't work in a hospital,	does she?
He hasn't found the solution,	has he?
You didn't visit the museum,	did you?
We shouldn't sleep late,	should we?
You won't tell her,	will you?

Imperatives

Imperative	Tag
keep quiet,	won't you ? will you? would you? could you?