Question Tags

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Lead-In

Listen and complete the sentences.
  1. You’re trying to impress Mary Morstan, ?!
  2. You’re  on a new case,  you?!
  3. Mr Watson . Aren’t , Mr Watson?!
Note
The sentence “So, you were twerking the old King-dome pretty hard, were you, sir?!” is not given here because ‘same-way’ question tags are outside the scope of this lesson. It can, however, be added that such question tags are used to express interest or surprise or to make a guess.

Think!

Why do the speakers add a short question at the end of their statements?
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Question Tags

Question Tags[explanation: question tag [ˈkwestʃən ˌtæɡ] – küsijätk]

Question tags are small questions that come at the end of a sentence. We use question tags

  • to check if something is true,
  • to ask for agreement.

Formation

Watson and Holmes are friends, aren’t they?

They don’t fight a lot, do they?
​

Sherlock Holmes is a genius, isn’t he?

Holmes will solve the case, won’t he?

Principal King left quickly, didn’t he?

affirmative[explanation: affirmative [əˈfɜːmətɪv] – jaatav] form → negative form in the question tag

negative form → affirmative form in the question tag

Be does not require[explanation: require [rɪˈkwaɪə(r)] – nõudma] an auxiliary verb[explanation: auxiliary verb [ɔːɡˈzɪliəri vɜːb] – abitegusõna].
​

Repeat the auxiliary verb in the question tag!

Use the same tense[explanation: tense [tens] – aeg, ajavorm] in both parts!

I’m late, aren’t I?

I’m not late, am I?

NB!

Let’s talk about it, shall we?

Learn this by heart!

NB! Intonation matters!

They fight a lot, don’t they? (↗)

(= we are not sure of the answer)

 ​

They fight a lot, don’t they? (↘)

(= we are quite sure of the answer and expect the other person to agree with us)

NB! Negative words and question tags

You never work slowly, do you?

Nobody laughed, did they?

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Let’s Practise!

A. Listen. Does the intonation rise (↗) or fall (↘) in each question tag?
  1. Sherlock Holmes is a genius, isn’t he? 
  2. Holmes will solve the case, won’t he? 
  3. Watson and Holmes aren’t adults, are they? 
  4. Irene can’t post the video online, can she? 
B. In pairs, practise reading the sentences from A with different intonations.
  • will she
  • had we
  • doesn’t he
  • have they
  • can she
  • isn’t she
  • didn’t I
  • don’t you
  • won’t he
  • did you
  • have we
  1. He likes short stories, ?
  2. She won’t become a private detective, ?
  3. We haven’t seen each other since June, ?
  4. Your sister Helen is coming around today,  ?
  5. They haven’t started a new case yet, ?
  6. You didn’t tell our secret to anyone, ?
  7. I told you we’d solve this problem together, ?
  8. She can’t post this video online,  ?
  9. You know who my favourite singer is, ?
  1. Your son likes playing basketball,  he?
  2. We’ll see each other tomorrow,  we?
  3. Mary isn’t afraid of snakes,  she?
  4. They have gone to Jamaica,  they?
  5. We don’t need to leave now,  we?
  6. It’s a really hot day today,  it?
  7. She can speak three languages,   she?
  8. We should buy some groceries,  we?
  1. John won this time, ?
  2. She’s been studying all day,  ?
  3. You’re visiting your grandparents this weekend,  ?
  4. We can borrow your dad’s car,  ?
  5. Let’s go shopping tonight,  ?
  6. You don’t mind if I open the window, ?
  7. It wasn’t my fault that we were late, ?
  8. Lisa will help us with this project,  ?
  9. I’m your best friend,  ?
  10. He never complains about his job, ?

Pairwork

Talk to your partner about the topics below. Start the conversation with a sentence that has a question tag. Keep the conversation going as long as possible.
  • music
  • video games
  • social media
  • travelling
  • films
  • technology

Instagram is becoming less popular, isn’t it?

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How Am I Doing?

I can explain how to form question tags.

I can use question tags in speech and writing.

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