Question tag - General English - Tnpsc

 QUESTION TAG

A question tag is a small question at the end of a statement.
They are used when asking for agreement or confirmation.

a) A positive statement is followed by a negative question
tag.

Examples:
• She is a doctor, isn’t she?
• The books are interesting, aren't they?
• I can swim, can't I?
• We should obey the elders, shouldn't we?
• The car was once costly, wasn't it?

b) A negative statement is followed by a positive question
tag.
Examples:
• We don't have enough time, do we?
• He is not playing well, is he?
• You were not listening, were you?
• Chandini hadn't seen you before, had she?
• Children shouldn't watch TV too much, should they?

c) When the verb in the main sentence is in the simple
present, we form the question tag with do/does.
Examples:
• You play the guitar, don't you?
• Alison likes tennis, doesn't she?

d) If the verb is in the simple past, we use did.
Examples:
• They went to the cinema, didn't they?
• She studied in New Zealand, didn't she?

e) Statements using barely, hardly, rarely, scarcely, neither,
no, nobody, none, nothing and seldom are treated as
negative statements.

Examples:
• He hardly works, does he?
• They seldom speak, do they?
• She rarely comes late, does she?
• He told nothing, did he?

Points to Remember
• Affirmative statements will have negative tags.
• Negative statements will have affirmative tags.
• The tag will contain a pronoun.
• The tag will follow a comma and begin with a small letter.

Shortened Forms of the Negative Tags:

Auxiliary Verb	Negative (in contracted) Form
is not	isn’t
am not	aren’t
was not	wasn’t
were not	weren’t
do not	don’t
did not	didn’t
have not	haven’t
has not	hasn’t
had not	hadn’t
shall not	shan’t
will not	won’t
should not	shouldn’t
would not	wouldn’t
can not	can’t
could not	couldn’t
may not	mightn’t
does not	doesn’t

1. The bus is early today, _________?
2. There is no water in the tank, _________?
3. People must keep the streets clean, _________?
4. I shall carry the bags for you, _________?
5. The conductor will not give you change for ₹ 10,
_________?
6. Our team will win the match, _________?
7. The flag has four colours on it, _________?
8. I haven’t answered your questions, _________?
9. Plants give out oxygen during the day, _________?
10. You should treat each other with respect, _________?
11. It‘s raining, _________?

12. You are free, _________?
13. She can swim well, _________?
14. Gopi broke the glass, _________?
15. Your sister cooks well, _________?
16. You aren’t busy, _________?
17. She can’t swim, _________?
18. Mohan doesn’t work hard, _________?
19. They haven’t come yet, _________?
20. It’s very hot, _________?
21. Let us celebrate them, _________?
22. The road is not good, _________?
23. Henry won’t apologise, _________?
24. They haven’t been working since Monday, _________?
25. She is an academician, _________?
26. Krishnan will go day after tomorrow, _________?
27. You have a new computer, _________?
28. He is going to Canada, _________?
29. Kumar has some original ideas, _________?
30. Jahir will join you, _________?
Answers :

1.	isn’t it	16.	are you
2.	is there	17.	can she
3.	oughtn’t they	18.	does he
4.	shan’t I	19.	have they
5	will he	20.	isn’t it
6.	won’t they	21.	shall we
7.	Hasn it	22.	isn’t it
8.	have I	23.	will he
9.	don’t they	24.	have they
10.	shouldn’t you	25.	isn’t she
11.	isn’t it	26.	won’t he
12.	aren’t you	27.	haven’tyou
13.	can’t she	28.	isn’t he
14.	didn’t he	29.	hassn’t he
15.	doesn’t she	30.	won’t he

Fill in the blanks with suitable questions tags.
1. He is still sleeping, ________?
a) is not he b) isn't he c) wasn't he
2. You go to school, ________?
a) do you b) aren't you c) don't you
3. Let's go for a walk, ________?
a) shall we b) shan't we c) will we
4. We won't be late, ________?
a) won't we b) will we c) are we
5. Nobody called, ________?
a) do they b) didn't they c) did they
6. They will wash the car, ________?
a) will it b) won't they
c) wouldn't they
7. We must lock the doors, ________?
a) mustn't they b) shouldn't we
c) mustn't we
8. I'm right, ________?
a) amn't I b) am not I c) aren't I
9. So you bought a car, ________?
a) did you b) haven't you c) weren't you
10. You wouldn't like to invite my Dad, ________?
a) did you b) would you c) won't you
Answers
1. b 2. C 3. B 4. B 5. A 6. B 7. A 8. c
9. a 10. b

Correct the error found in the question tags in each of the
following.
1. The evildoers cannot cross the path of truth, can’t they?
2. The vegetables in the fridge are still fresh, aren’t it?
3. The village head understood the intention of the politician,
doesn’t he?
4. I claim to be a person of faith and prayer, aren’t I?
5. The employees are seldom allowed to meet their boss,
aren’t they?
6. Let’s organise a trip to Goa, can we?
7. The landlady will charge me for the damage, shan’t she?
8. Both the sisters have left for Canada, aren’t they?
9. That’s definitely not the right thing to do in this situation,
isn’t that?
10. We needn’t apply for a bank loan, do we?
11. The chief guest spoke a few words, did he?
12. The rhinoceros has a horn made of keratin, haven’t they?

Answers
1. can they 2. aren’t they
3. didn’t he 4. don’t I
5. are they 6. shall we
7. won’t she 8. haven’t they
9. is it 10. need we
11. didn’t he 12. hasn’t it

Add suitable question tags to the following sentences and
punctuate properly.
1. The children are very happy today.
2. You have not returned my books yet.
3. We enjoyed the trip very much.
4. Let’s clean the shelves this weekend.
5. My mother rarely travels by bus.
6. Somebody must bell the cat.
7. Anita never comes late to the office.
8. I am always the winner.
9. Don’t commit this mistake again.
10. There is a pharmacy near that bus stand.
11. Bacteria can never survive in extreme weather conditions.
12. I am not as smart as you are.
13. The boys broke the windowpane last evening.
14. Leaves wither during autumn.
15. You should add a little salt to the buttermilk.
Answers
1. The children are very happy today, aren’t they?
2. You have not returned my books yet, have you?
3. We enjoyed the trip very much, didn’t we?
4. Let’s clean the shelves this weekend, shall we?
5. My mother rarely travels by bus, does she?
6. Somebody must bell the cat, mustn’t they?
7. Anita never comes late to the office, does she?
8. I am always the winner, aren’t I?
9. Don’t commit this mistake again, will you?
10. There is a pharmacy near that bus stand, isn’t there?
11. Bacteria can never survive in extreme weather conditions,
can they?
12. I am not as smart as you are, am I?
13. The boys broke the windowpane last evening, didn’t
they?
14. Leaves wither during autumn, don’t they?
15. You should add a little salt to the buttermilk, shouldn’t
you?