MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH

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  MasterBlaster
Question Tags: normal and special cases
Focus Grammar
Description An activity to practise question tags: verbs with different tenses and constructions and also some special situations.
Instructions You have a word and 4 options. Choose the right option.

(If the timer is on, you must choose your option before the time finishes.)
 
Item Meaning
I can invite you... can't I?
We won't buy that horrible car,... will we?
We will be there on time,... won't we?
Susan is not working now,... is she?
That box can't be so heavy as you say,... can it?
He's not Mike,... is he?
You should apologise,... shouldn't you?
You shouldn't have been so rude,... should you?
I don't know your parents,... do I?
There were a lot of people at the party,... weren't there?
They must apologise for what they said,... musn't they?
Anything can happen when you're in love,... can't it?
We didn't visit her on her birthday,... did we?
She has a boyfriend,... doesn't she?
They've got a very nice house,... haven't they?
Everybody insulted you after the speech,... didn't they?
Nobody said anything about the wedding,... did they?
Your father didn't buy this car just for you,... did he?
Please, be quiet,... will you?
I know you wouldn't have done that to me,... would you?
There was a very wide river flowing by,... wasn't there?
I know you very well,... don't I?
You haven't got any friends here,... have you?
Your cousin's got two cars,... hasn't she?
You went to Toledo last year,... didn't you?
Somebody sends you flowers for your birthday every year,... don't they?
She can speak Spanish,... can't she?
She's reading a book,... isn't she?
Nothing's too difficult to stop you,... is it?
Yesterday he went to a friend's house,... didn't he?
There wasn't a house on top of that hill,... was there?
You couldn't do it yourself,... could you?
Karen wasn't very nice to your brother,... was she?
I think there are too many toys in his room,... aren't there?
The dragon breathes fire through its mouth,... doesn't it?
There is nobody in this house,... is there?
You and I love travelling,... don't we?
Your daughter can't sing opera,... can she?
We should have been to her concert,... shouldn't we?
Let's go and have something to drink,... shall we?
There aren't any strawberries,... are there?
We don't like that,... do we?
We bought it in this shop,... didn't we?
Something's wrong with him,... isn't it?
Mike has married your friend Susan,... hasn't he?
Everything was perfect that day,... wasn't it?
You'd like that,... wouldn't you?
Mary's got no sisters,... has she?
You could have been more patient with her,... couldn't you?
You didn't meet my friend Amy,... did you?
Oh, for God's sake! Sit down,... won't you?
He hardly knows you,... does he?
You like nobody,... do you?
Nobody likes you,... do they?
Your dog doesn't understand Russian,... does it?
You've got two brothers,... haven't you?
I didn't hurt you,... did I?
Tim hasn't finished work yet,... has he?
She wouldn't feel comfortable there,... would she?
Your teacher doesn't have a car,... does she?
Tom's your cousin,... isn't he?
Nothing can spoil my happiness now,... can it?
She was very polite,... wasn't she?
You're French... aren't you?
You mustn't be late,... must you?
You could be a little bit more polite,... couldn't you?
The book wasn't too interesting after all,... was it?
Your sister would simply love this house,... wouldn't she?
You like Italian cars,... don't you?
Learning Chinese can be very difficult,... can't it?
I can do nothing for you,... can I?
That boy over there lives next to the station,... doesn't he?
They have never visited you,... have they?
You can never finish in time,... can you?
You can dance very well,... can't you?
Total number of items: 75
This is an activity from Multimedia-English www.multimedia-english.com
 

USAGE

Question tags are little questions that people often use at the end of a sentence when talking. They can be used to make sure something is true/correct or to ask for agreement.

- You want coffee, don't you?
- You have seen the film, haven´t you?
- She's Irish, isn't she?

They are very common and useful because it is an easy and quick way to keep people's attention and force them to say something, so we can keep the conversation going.

- It's very cold today, isn't it?
- Oh yes, I think so.

FORM

You can only make a question tag using a special verb (modals and auxiliaries), so if the main verb in the sentence is a normal verb, then we use DO to make the question tag. But if the main verb is a special verb, we use that special verb for the question tag. The question tag will be in the same tense as the verb in the main clause.

- You like coffee, don't you?  (like: normal verb)
- You can help me, can't you?  (can: special verb)
- He is Mr Smith, isn't he ?
- They're making tea, aren't they?
- Your father will be there by ten, won't he?
- You've been to London, haven't you?
- Susan bought a new house,  didn't she?

We usually use an affirmative question tag after a negative sentence
- It isn't  very cold, is it?
- Mark can't speak French, can he?
- Your cousins didn´t come to visit us, did they?

And a negative question tag after an affirmative sentence
- It is very cold, isn't it?
- She likes this film, doesn't she?
- Your friend is going to come, isn't he?

And you must always use contractions in your question tags because a question tag without contraction sounds terribly pedantic!
- You are Tim, are you not?  (*#Ⱥʬʘᴟ₩҉ !!)

MEANING

The meaning of a question tag depends on the intonation: A falling intonation is just looking for agreement, a rising intonation is a question, looking for confirmation or correction.

- Kelly will come later, won't she? ↗
- No, I think she won't come because she was feeling ill today.

- Kelly will come later, won’t she? ↘
- Sure, don't worry. She'll be here in a few minutes.

 

THE THREE BASIC RULES TO REMEMBER

❶ Question tags always use a special verb
❷ The subject is always a pronoun, and it is inverted (because it is a question, of course)
❸ Affirmative sentences add a negative question tag and negative sentences add an affirmative question tag

 

SPECIAL CASES

I AM

The negative question tag "am I not" has no contraction. Because a question tag with no contraction sounds very pedantic, we prefer a very ungrammatical constraction but which is correct for question tags: "aren't I?"

- I'm late, aren't I?
- I'm talking to the walls, aren't I?
 
SUGGESTIONS

After a sentence with Let's... we use "shall we?"
 
- Let's go out for a walk, shall we?
- Let's study tomorrow morning, shall we?

IMPERATIVES & INVITATIONS

After an imperative we use "will you?" (always affirmative). We can consider "will you?" as an equivalent to "please" (more or less)
 
- Open the door, will you?
- Don't smoke in this room, will you?
- Come to my party, will you?
- Have a coffee, will you?
- Don't look at me like that, will you?

If there are two verbs in the sentence, the question tag may refer to one or the other, you must use your common sense here:

- I think you're John, aren't you? (= are you John?)
- I think you're John, don't I (= do I think...?)  [this would be correct but very rare]