Question tags: the short tail at the end
Vocalyra teaching team · Last updated:
English speakers often end a statement with a short question: it is cold, isn't it? These question tags invite agreement or check information, and they follow two firm rules.
Rule one: flip positive and negative
A positive statement takes a negative tag, and a negative statement takes a positive tag: you like coffee, don't you? She is not ready, is she? Normally, positive statements take negative tags and negative statements take positive tags. Same-polarity tags also occur to show surprise.
Rule two: copy the auxiliary
The tag repeats the auxiliary of the statement: he can swim, can't he? They have left, haven't they? If the statement has no auxiliary, use do, does or did: you live here, don't you? She called, didn't she? With I am, the tag is aren't I: I am late, aren't I?
| Statement | Tag |
|---|---|
| You are tired, | aren't you? |
| He works here, | doesn't he? |
| They went home, | didn't they? |
| She can drive, | can't she? |
| It is not fair, | is it? |
| We will meet, | won't we? |
Intonation and answers
A falling tone means you expect agreement; a rising tone means a genuine question. Answers follow the facts, not the tag: for you are not French, are you? a French speaker answers yes, I am. This surprises learners whose languages answer the negative form instead. In everyday speech, negative question tags are normally contracted. You will hear don't you, isn't it, hasn't she, and aren't I more often than their expanded equivalents. Practice matching the auxiliary first, then add the contraction and choose a rising or falling tone.
A few special cases round out the system. A suggestion with let's takes shall we: let's go, shall we? Imperatives take will you or would you: close the window, will you? Nobody and everybody behave like they: everybody enjoyed it, didn't they? And nothing and nobody make the statement negative, so the tag goes positive: nothing happened, did it? In conversation the tag often matters more for tone than grammar; a warm falling tag invites agreement, and practising that melody is as useful as practising the forms.
Quick self-check
Complete the tag: You speak Spanish, ___?
Show answer
don't you
Complete the tag: She has finished, ___?
Show answer
hasn't she
Complete the tag: It did not rain, ___?
Show answer
did it
Complete the tag: I am invited, ___?
Show answer
aren't I