Grammar II: Question Tag

TAG QUESTION

DEFINITION

A question tag or tag question is a grammatical structure in which a declarative statement or an imperative is turned into a question by adding an interrogative fragment (the "tag"). For example, in the sentence "You're John, aren't you?", the statement "You're John" is turned into a question by the tag "aren't you". The term "question tag" is generally preferred by British grammarians, while their American counterparts prefer "tag question".

In English, the verbs used as auxiliaries are to be, to do, to have, and the modal auxiliaries. All of these auxiliaries can be used in tag questions and short answers.

Tag questions in English

English tag questions, when they have the grammatical form of a question, are atypically complex, because they vary according to four factors: the choice of auxiliary, the negation, the intonation pattern and the emphasis.

Auxiliary

The English tag question is made up of an auxiliary verb and a pronoun. The auxiliary has to agree with the tense, aspect and modality of the verb in the preceding sentence. If the verb is in the present perfect, for example, the tag question uses has or have; if the verb is in a present progressive form, the tag is formed with am, are, is; if the verb is in a tense which does not normally use an auxiliary, like the present simple, the auxiliary is taken from the emphatic do form; and if the sentence has a modal auxiliary, this is echoed in the tag:

•           He's read this book, hasn't he?

•           He read this book, didn't he?

•           He's reading this book, isn't he?

•           He reads a lot of books, doesn't he?

•           He'll read this book, won't he?

•           He should read this book, shouldn't he?

•           He can read this book, can't he?

A special case occurs when the main verb is to be in a simple tense. Here the tag question repeats the main verb, not an auxiliary:

•           This is a book, isn't it?

(Not doesn't it?, as the normal rules for present simple would suggest.)

If the main verb is to have, either solution is possible:

•           He has a book, hasn't he?

•           He has a book, doesn't he?

Intonation

English tag questions can have a rising or a falling intonation pattern. This is contrasted with Polish, French or German, for example, where all tags rise. As a rule, the English rising pattern is used when soliciting information or motivating an action, that is, when some sort of response is required. Since normal English yes/no questions have rising patterns (e.g. Are you coming?), these tags make a grammatical statement into a real question:

•           You're coming, aren't you?

•           Do listen, will you?

•           Let's have a beer, shall we?

The falling pattern is used to underline a statement. The statement itself ends with a falling pattern, and the tag sounds like an echo, strengthening the pattern. Most English tag questions have this falling pattern.

•           He doesn't know what he's doing, does he?

•           This is really boring, isn't it?

Sometimes the rising tag goes with the positive to positive pattern to create a confrontational effect:

•           He was the best in the class, was he? (rising: the speaker is challenging this thesis, or perhaps expressing surprised interest)

•           He was the best in the class, wasn't he? (falling: the speaker holds this opinion)

•           Be careful, will you? (rising: expresses irritation)

•           Take care, won't you? (falling: expresses concern)

Sometimes the same words may have different patterns depending on the situation or implication.

•           You don't remember my name, do you? (rising: expresses surprise)

•           You don't remember my name, do you? (falling: expresses amusement or resignation)

•           Your name's Mary, isn't it? (rising: expresses uncertainty)

•           Your name's Mary, isn't it? (falling: expresses confidence)

It is interesting that as an all-purpose tag the London set-phrase innit (for "isn't it") is only used with falling patterns:

•           He doesn't know what he's doing, innit?

•           He was the best in the class, innit?

On the other hand, the adverbial tag questions (alright? OK? etc.) are almost always found with rising patterns. An occasional exception is surely.

Variant forms

There are a number of variant forms that exist in particular dialects of English. These are generally invariant, regardless of verb, person or negativity.

The tag right? is common in a number of dialects across the UK and US.

The tag eh? is of Scottish origin, and can be heard across much of Scotland, New Zealand, Canada and the North-Eastern United States. In Central Scotland (in and around Stirling and Falkirk), this exists in the form eh no? which is again invariant.

Negative and Positive Tag Question

a. Negative tag questions

Negative tag questions have already been discussed. An affirmative statement is often followed by a negative tag question, in order to ask for confirmation of the affirmative statement. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions.

e.g. You are coming with me, aren't you?

      You like coffee, don't you?

For the Simple Present and the Simple Past of the verb to be, tag questions are formed using the verb itself. For instance, in the following examples, the verbs is and were are used in negative tag questions.

e.g. She is very nice, isn't she?

      They were ready on time, weren't they?

For the Simple Present and the Simple Past of verbs other than the verb to be, the auxiliary to do is used in tag questions. For instance, in the following examples, the auxiliaries does and did are used in negative tag questions.

e.g. He rides a bicycle, doesn't he?

      They ordered pizza, didn't they?

For all other tenses and conjugations, the first auxiliary is used in tag questions. For instance, in the following examples, the first auxiliaries have, would, should and can are used in negative tag questions.

e.g. You have worked all night, haven't you?

      He would have helped us, wouldn't he?

      They should get more exercise, shouldn't they?

      She can speak five languages, can't she?

b. Affirmative tag questions

A negative statement is often followed by an affirmative tag question, in order to ask for confirmation of the negative statement, or in order to ask for more information. In the following examples, the affirmative tag questions are underlined.

e.g. He is not very tall, is he?

      They don't want to work, do they?

The rules for forming affirmative tag questions are similar to those for forming negative tag questions. In the case of the Simple Present and Simple Past of the verb to be, the verb itself is used; and in the case of all other tenses and conjugations, the first auxiliary is used.

e.g

. He wasn't much help, was he?

      They didn't want to come with us, did they?

      You hadn't slept well, had you?

      She can't speak Greek, can she?

      They wouldn't mind helping us, would they?

 

Tag question in Present tenses

Simple Present Tense

Eg.       She is a doctor, isn’t she?

            She isn’t doctor, is she?

            They sing a song, don’t they?

Present Continuous Tense

Eg.       You are cooking noodle, aren’t you?

Present Perfect Tense

Eg.       Susan has worked hard this term, hasn’t she?

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Eg.       It has been raining for two hours, hasn’t it?

Tag Question in Past Tenses

Simple Past Tense

Eg.       He was a scientist, wasn’t he?

            They brought this book last, didn’t they?

Past Continuous Tense

Eg.       We weren’t playing cards last night, were we?

Past Perfect Tense

Eg.       They hadn’t seen us before, had they?

Past Perfect Continuous

Eg.       I had been working all day, hadn’t I?

Tag Question in Present Future Tenses

Present Future Tense

Eg.       She will marry with Tom next month, won’t she?

Present Future continuous tense

Eg.       You will be borrowing this book next day, won’t you?

Present Future Perfect Tense

Eg.       He will not have broken this cassete, will he?

Present Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Eg.       We will have been waiting for him, won’t we?

Tag Question in Past Future Tenses

Past Future Tense

Eg.       They would come to the party, wouldn’t they?

Past Future Continuous Tense

Eg.       Marina wouldn’t be leaving this city, would she?

Past Future Perfect Tense

Eg.       George would have read this book, would’t he?

Past Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Eg.       Ani and her mother would have been visiting my house, wouldn’t they?