Home of English Grammar

Free Guide (Updated for 2023)

  • Home
  • Download Lessons
  • Grammar Rules
  • Online Exercises
  • Online Tools
    • Grammar Checker
    • Word Counter
  • Guides
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Lessons / Question Tags

Question Tags

October 22, 2010 - pdf

Question tags are the small questions that often come at the end of sentences. Question tags are common in speech and informal writing. They are unusual in formal writing.

  • It is very hot, isn’t it?
  • She can swim, can’t she?
  • She sings well, doesn’t she?

In question tags negatives are usually contracted, but full forms are possible in formal speech.

  • That’s the postman, isn’t it? (Informal)
  • They said they would finish the work in six months, did they not? (Formal)

Question tags are used to check whether something is true, or to ask for agreement.

Negative after affirmative, and vice versa

Question tags are used after affirmative and negative sentences. They are not used after questions.

Compare:

  • You are the new Chairman, aren’t you?
  • You aren’t the new Chairman, are you?
  • (BUT NOT Are you the new Chairman, aren’t you?)

To check information or ask for agreement, we most often put negative tags after affirmative sentences, and non-negative tags after negative sentences.

  • It’s cold, isn’t it? (NOT …is it?)
  • It isn’t very cold, is it? (NOT …isn’t it?)

Auxiliaries

If the main sentence has an auxiliary verb, this is repeated in the question tag.

  • You aren’t busy, are you?
  • She can’t swim, can she?
  • They didn’t come, did they?
  • We shouldn’t wait, should we?

If the main sentence has no auxiliary, the question tag has do.

  • You like fish, don’t you?
  • He likes fish, doesn’t he?
  • She came, didn’t she?
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
1,276,233 
647,105 

Check Your Grammar

GrammarCheck.net - Try online
Hint → Bookmark GrammarCheck for future use.

Latest Exercises

  • No, None. Not September 22, 2023
  • Definite Article vs. No Article September 21, 2023
  • Irregular Plurals September 20, 2023
  • Color Idioms September 19, 2023
  • Animal Idioms September 18, 2023
  • Less vs. Fewer September 17, 2023
  • If, Unless, Providing, As Long As September 17, 2023
  • Identifying Conditionals September 16, 2023
  • Conjunctions Quiz September 14, 2023

Topics

  • Adjectives
  • Adverbs
  • Business Writing
  • Commas
  • Conjunctions
  • Creative Writing
  • Difference
  • Essay Writing
  • Exercises
  • Learning
  • Lessons
  • Nouns
  • Prepositions
  • Pronouns
  • Proofreading
  • Punctuation
  • Quiz
  • Spelling
  • Style Guide
  • Teaching
  • Terms
  • Verbs
  • Words
  • Writing

Quiz

  • Can you correct these 14 basic grammar mistakes?
  • What kind of writer are you?

Copyright © 2023 · EnglishGrammar.org
Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Sitemap