Mastering English Tag Questions: Examples & Usage
English Tag Questions: Examples and Usage
Understanding Tag Questions
Tag questions are short questions at the end of statements. They are used to confirm information or to invite agreement. The structure of a tag question depends on the auxiliary verb in the main statement.
Verb ‘to be’ in Simple Present
Affirmative Statements with Negative Tag Questions:
- The pencil is on the desk, isn’t it?
- They are friends, aren’t they?
- The child is in the garden, isn’t he?
- He and Mary are good students, aren’t they?
- He is in Europe, isn’t he?
Negative Statements with Affirmative Tag Questions:
- The pencil isn’t on the desk, is it?
- They aren’t friends, are they?
- The child isn’t in the garden, is he?
- He and Mary aren’t good students, are they?
- He isn’t in Europe, is he?
Verb ‘to be’ in Simple Past
Affirmative Statements with Negative Tag Questions:
- The child was in the garden, wasn’t he?
- He and Mary were good students, weren’t they?
- She was a good football player, wasn’t she?
- They were good friends for many years, weren’t they?
- The wind was very strong, wasn’t it?
Negative Statements with Affirmative Tag Questions:
- The child wasn’t in the garden, was he?
- He and Mary weren’t good students, were they?
- She wasn’t a good football player, was she?
- They weren’t good friends for many years, were they?
- The wind wasn’t very strong, was it?
‘Does’ in Simple Present
Affirmative Statements with Negative Tag Questions:
- She reads the newspaper every day, doesn’t she?
- He always walks to school, doesn’t he?
- They always play tennis on Sundays, don’t they?
- You watch television every night, don’t you?
- She wants to learn French, doesn’t she?
Negative Statements with Affirmative Tag Questions:
- She doesn’t read the newspaper every day, does she?
- He doesn’t walk to school, does he?
- They don’t play tennis on Sundays, do they?
- You don’t watch television every night, do you?
- She doesn’t want to learn French, does she?
‘Did’ in Simple Past
Affirmative Statements with Negative Tag Questions:
- You worked very hard last week, didn’t you?
- She lived in Japan last year, didn’t she?
- They learned how to swim two years ago, didn’t they?
- He worked in his garden yesterday, didn’t he?
- I mentioned it to you many times, didn’t I?
Negative Statements with Affirmative Tag Questions:
- You didn’t work very hard last week, did you?
- She didn’t live in Japan last year, did she?
- They didn’t learn how to swim two years ago, did they?
- He didn’t work in his garden yesterday, did he?
- I didn’t mention it to you many times, did I?
Future (Will and Won’t)
Affirmative Statements with Negative Tag Questions:
- We will come to school by bus, won’t we?
- You will work very hard, won’t you?
- The store will be open until seven o’clock, won’t it?
- We will eat together tomorrow, won’t we?
- She will attend church next Saturday, won’t she?
Negative Statements with Affirmative Tag Questions:
- We won’t come to school by bus, will we?
- You won’t work very hard, will you?
- The store won’t be open until seven o’clock, will it?
- We won’t eat together tomorrow, will we?
- She won’t attend church next Saturday, will she?
Present Perfect Tense
Affirmative Statements with Negative Tag Questions:
- She has finished her homework, hasn’t she?
- It has rained once a week for the last month, hasn’t it?
- They have completed the project, haven’t they?
- He has finished reading my book, hasn’t he?
- You have invested in something revolutionary, haven’t you?
Negative Statements with Affirmative Tag Questions:
- She hasn’t finished her homework, has she?
- It hasn’t rained once a week for the last month, has it?
- They haven’t completed the project, have they?
- He hasn’t finished reading my book, has he?
- You haven’t invested in something revolutionary, have you?
‘Can’ and ‘Can’t’
Affirmative Statements with Negative Tag Questions:
- She can take the children with her to Houston, can’t she?
- He can lend us the money which we need, can’t he?
- They can help you with your work, can’t they?
- He can save some money each week, can’t he?
- You can prepare your work more carefully, can’t you?
Negative Statements with Affirmative Tag Questions:
- She can’t take the children with her to Houston, can she?
- He can’t lend us the money which we need, can he?
- They can’t help you with your work, can they?
- He can’t save some money each week, can he?
- You can’t prepare your work more carefully, can you?
‘Could’ and ‘Couldn’t’
Affirmative Statements with Negative Tag Questions:
- She could take the children with her to Houston, couldn’t she?
- He could lend us the money which we need, couldn’t he?
- She could try to finish her projects on time, couldn’t she?
- They could help you with your work, couldn’t they?
- He could spend more time on his homework, couldn’t he?
Negative Statements with Affirmative Tag Questions:
- She couldn’t take the children with her to Houston, could she?
- He couldn’t lend us the money which we need, could he?
- She couldn’t try to finish her projects on time, could she?
- They couldn’t help you with your work, could they?
- He couldn’t spend more time on his homework, could he?
‘Should’ and ‘Shouldn’t’
Affirmative Statements with Negative Tag Questions:
- We should send plans tomorrow, shouldn’t we?
- She should send it by airmail, shouldn’t she?
- You should take this package to the post office, shouldn’t you?
- He should take an earlier flight, shouldn’t he?
- She should go to the beach with us, shouldn’t she?
Negative Statements with Affirmative Tag Questions:
- We shouldn’t send plans tomorrow, should we?
- She shouldn’t send it by airmail, should she?
- You shouldn’t take this package to the post office, should you?
- He shouldn’t take an earlier flight, should he?
- She shouldn’t go to the beach with us, should she?
‘Must’ and ‘Mustn’t’
Affirmative Statements with Negative Tag Questions:
- He must spend more time on his homework, mustn’t he?
- She must send it by airmail, mustn’t she?
- You must take this package to the post office, mustn’t you?
- I must go to the dentist again next week, mustn’t I?
- You must publish your book next year, mustn’t you?
Negative Statements with Affirmative Tag Questions:
- He mustn’t spend more time on his homework, must he?
- She mustn’t send it by airmail, must she?
- You mustn’t take this package to the post office, must you?
- I mustn’t go to the dentist again next week, must I?
- You mustn’t publish your book next year, must you?