MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH

Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end


  Fill in the Gaps
Question Tags: special cases
Focus Grammar
Description Practise making question tags with an emphasis on special cases.
Instructions Write the suitable words inside the gaps to complete the sentence with the correct question tag. Use the -TAB- key on your computer keyboard to move from one box to the next.
 
Gapped text
Let's go to the cinema tonight, ________________?
She's not talking to Peter, ____________?
I think I am your teacher, ________________?
I'm not doing it correctly, ________?
Do me a favour, ________________? Give this parcel to your sister.
He'll come here first, ________________?
I think you'd like to buy this one, ________________________?
Ronny lives near the sea, ____________________?
You never listen, ____________?
We can stay here for a while, ________________?
You've got three sisters, ______________________?
Doctor, I'm very ill, ________________?
Please, come for dinner tonight, ________________? I'd love to talk to you.
I've never been in your house, ____________?
The doctor hasn't arrived yet, ____________?
Come here, ________________?
You probably should call her, __________________________?
David has never been to Salamanca, ____________?
Have another cup of tea, ________________? I know you like it.
Mike must look after her little sister, ____________________?
There's a house on that hill, ______________________?
I'm not participating in that meeting, ________?
Well, I think I'm wrong, ________________?
Close that window, ________________?
I am out of the game, ________________?
When you go to the shop remember to get some sugar too. Don't forget, ________________?
Let's go and help him, ________________?
Shut up, ________________?
There was a man at the party in a red jacket, ________________________?
Let's stay at home and watch TV, ________________?
Total number of items: 30
This is an activity from Multimedia-English www.multimedia-english.com
 

GENERAL RULE

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]