Question Tags
- Rule Title
- Question Tags
- Category
- Sentence Structure
- Rule Explanation
Question Tags
Question tags are short questions added to the end of statements to ask for confirmation or to engage the listener.
General Rules
- Positive statement takes a negative tag.
- Example: She is a doctor, isn't she?
- Negative statement takes a positive tag.
- Example: He doesn't know, does he?
- The tag uses the same auxiliary verb as the main clause (e.g., is, have, will).
- If the main clause has no auxiliary verb, use a form of do (do/does/did).
- Example: You like tea, don't you?
Special Cases
- I am → aren't I?
- Let's → shall we?
- Imperative sentences (commands) → will you? / won't you?
- Example: Open the door, will you?
- Statements with negative words (e.g., nobody, nothing, never, hardly) take a positive tag.
- Example: Nobody came, did they?
- Positive statement takes a negative tag.
- Correct Example
- She is a doctor, isn't she?
- He doesn't know, does he?
- Nobody came, did they?
- Let's go, shall we?
- Incorrect Example
She is a doctor, isn't it?(The pronoun in the tag must match the subject: she)He doesn't know, doesn't he?(A negative statement requires a positive tag: does he)