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
I've never been in your house, ____________?
He'll come here first, ________________?
Do me a favour, ________________? Give this parcel to your sister.
Well, I think I'm wrong, ________________?
You've got three sisters, ______________________?
There was a man at the party in a red jacket, ________________________?
The doctor hasn't arrived yet, ____________?
There's a house on that hill, ______________________?
I think you'd like to buy this one, ________________________?
Close that window, ________________?
Doctor, I'm very ill, ________________?
Let's go and help him, ________________?
Shut up, ________________?
Come here, ________________?
We can stay here for a while, ________________?
I'm not participating in that meeting, ________?
You probably should call her, __________________________?
Ronny lives near the sea, ____________________?
When you go to the shop remember to get some sugar too. Don't forget, ________________?
Let's stay at home and watch TV, ________________?
I am out of the game, ________________?
She's not talking to Peter, ____________?
Please, come for dinner tonight, ________________? I'd love to talk to you.
Have another cup of tea, ________________? I know you like it.
Let's go to the cinema tonight, ________________?
David has never been to Salamanca, ____________?
I'm not doing it correctly, ________?
You never listen, ____________?
I think I am your teacher, ________________?
Mike must look after her little sister, ____________________?
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]