QUESTION TAGS: HOW TO USE THEM

Question tags are a useful tool that can be used for several functions:

1. To ask informal questions. DO NOT USE THE FORM …, no? IT DOES NOT EXIST IN ENGLISH
2. To ask for confirmation or agreement

 

The key is to focus on auxiliary verbs (be, do, have, will, would, should etc.). You need to focus on the main sentence and establish if it is affirmative or negative. If the first phrase is affirmative, we use a negative question tag. If the phrase is negative, we use an affirmative question tag.

 

Review the examples:

It is a lot of fun, isn´t it?

It isn´t very interesting, is it?

 

I go swimming very often, don´t you?

I don´t study enough, do you?

 

I went out last night, didn´t you?

I didn´t finish the exam, did you?

 

 

I will eat in the restaurant, won´t you?

I won´t visit the museum, will you?

 

For confirmation, we do not generally change the subject pronoun:

He is clever, isn´t he?

You work really hard, don´t you?

 

There are also a few irregular forms, be careful with:

 

Let´s go and have a drink, shall we?

Let´s move to the next topic, shall we?

 

We use …, aren´t I? For confirmation using I and the verb to be.

I am clever, aren´t I?

I am a hard-worker, aren’t I?

 

Question tags are a very important part of informal conversations in English. You should practice using them. If you struggle to know which auxiliary verb to use, just think to yourself, “What would the question be?”

 

I had fun last night, …..?

(Question) Did you have fun last night?

I had fun last night, didn´t you?

 

For more practice and gaps fill exercises, click HERE

 

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