Question Tags: Uses

Question Tags: Uses

You can use a negative statement and a positive question tag to ask people for things, or to ask for help or information.

You wouldn’t sell it to me, would you?

You won’t tell anyone else this, will you?

Question Tags: Uses

When you want to show your reaction to what someone has just said, for example, by expressing interest, surprise, doubt, or anger, you use a positive statement with a positive question tag.

You’ve been to North America before, have you?

You fell on your back, did you?

Question Tags: Uses

When you use an imperative, you can be more polite by adding one of the following question tags.

will you, won’t you, would you

See that she gets safely back, won’t you?

Look at that, would you?

Question Tags: Uses

When you use a negative imperative, you can only use ‘will you’ as a question tag.

Don’t tell Howard, will you?

Question Tags: Uses

‘Will you’ and ‘won’t you’ can also be used to emphasize anger or impatience. ‘Can’t you’ is also used in this way.

Oh hurry up, will you!

For goodness sake be quiet, can’t you!

Question Tags: Uses

You use the question tag ‘shall we’ when you make a suggestion using ‘let’s’.

Let’s forget it, shall we?

Question Tags: Uses

You use the question tag ‘shall I’ after ‘I’ll’

I’ll tell you, shall I?

Question Tags: Uses

You use ’they’ in question tags after ‘anybody’, ‘anyone’, ‘everyone’, ‘nobody’, ‘no one’, ‘somebody’, or ‘someone’.

Everybody will be leaving on Friday, won’t’ they?

Nobody had bothered to plant new ones, had they?

Question Tags: Uses

You use ‘it’ in question tags after ‘anything’, ‘everything’, ‘nothing’, or ‘something’.

Nothing matters now, does it?

Something should be done, shouldn’t it?

Question Tags: Uses

You use ‘there’ in question tags after ‘there is’, ‘there are’, ‘there was’, or ‘there were’.

There’s a new new course out now, isn’t there?

Question Tags: Uses

When you are replying to a question tag, your answer refers to the statement, not the question tag. If you want to confirm a positive statement, you say ‘yes’. For example, if you have finished a piece of work and someone says to you ‘You’ve finished that, haven’t you?’, the answers is ‘yes’.

‘It became stronger, didn’t it? - ‘Yes, it did.’

Question Tags: Uses

If you want to disagree with a positive statement, you say ‘no’. For example, if you have not finished your work and someone says ‘You’ve finished that, haven’t you?’, the answer is ‘no’.

You’ve just seen a performance of the play, haven’t you? - No, not yet.

Question Tags: Uses

If you want to confirm a negative statement, you say ‘no’. For example, if you have not finished your work and someone says ‘You haven’t finished that, have you?’, the answer is ‘no’.

‘You didn’t know that, did you?’ - ‘No.’

Question Tags: Uses

If you want to disagree with a negative statement, you say ‘yes’. For example, if you have finished a piece of work and someone says ‘You haven’t finished that, have you?’, the answer is ‘yes’.

‘You haven’t been there, have you?’ - ‘Yes, I have.’

Questions?

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