Question Tags

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Question tags are not really questions, but a way of asking another person to make a comment to keep the conversation open. Use tags in spoken English only, not in formal written English.

Making a tag is very mechanical. In simple tenses, repeat the verb be, or the auxiliary do for all other verbs. If your sentence has an auxiliary (be for progressive tenses; have for perfect tenses), repeat the auxiliary. If the sentence is affirmative, make a negative question tag and if the sentence is negative, make an affirmative tag.

  • It’s beautiful, isn’t it?
  • He has been, hasn’t he?
  • You can, can’t you?
  • It must be, mustn’t it?
  • You know him, don’t you?
  • He finished it, didn’t he?
  • He will come, won’t he?
  • It isn’t very good, is it?
  • It hasn’t rained, has it?
  • It can’t be, can it?
  • Jenny doesn’t know James, does she?
  • They didn’t leave, did they?
  • He won’t do it, will he?

Welcome! – Grammar – Part 1