Unit

52 Question tags (do you? isn’t it? etc.)

A Study these examples:
You haven’t seen It was a good Yes, it was great.
No, I haven’t.
Lisa today, have you? film, wasn’t it?

Have you? and wasn’t it? are question tags. These are mini-questions that you can put on the end of
a sentence.
In question tags, we use an auxiliary verb (have/was/will etc.).
We use do/does/did for the present and past simple (see Unit 51):
‘Karen plays the piano, doesn’t she?’ ‘Well, yes, but not very well.’
‘You didn’t lock the door, did you?’ ‘No, I forgot.’

B Normally we use a negative question tag after … and a positive question tag after a
a positive sentence: negative sentence:
positive sentence + negative tag negative sentence + positive tag
Kate will be here soon, won’t she? Kate won’t be late, will she?
There was a lot of traffic, wasn’t there? They don’t like us, do they?
Joe should pass the exam, shouldn’t he? You haven’t eaten yet, have you?
Notice the meaning of yes and no in answer to a negative sentence:
⎧ ‘Yes.’ (= Yes, I am going out)
‘You’re not going out this morning, are you?’ ⎨
⎩ ‘No.’ (= No, I am not going out)

C The meaning of a question tag depends on how you say it. If your voice goes down, you are not
really asking a question. You expect the listener to agree with you:
‘It’s a nice day, isn’t it?’ ‘Yes, beautiful.’
‘Paul doesn’t look well today, does he?’ ‘No, he looks very tired.’
‘Lisa’s very funny. She’s got a great sense of humour, hasn’t she?’ ‘Yes, she has.’
But if the voice goes up, it is a real question:
‘You haven’t seen Kate today, have you?’ ‘No, I haven’t.’
(= Have you seen Kate today?)
You can use a negative sentence + positive tag to ask for things or information, or to ask somebody
to do something. The voice goes up at the end of the tag:
‘You couldn’t do me a favour, could you?’ ‘It depends what it is.’
‘You don’t know where Karen is, do you?’ ‘Sorry, I have no idea.’

D After Let’s … (= Let us) the question tag is shall we:

Let’s go for a walk, shall we? (the voice goes up)
After Don’t … , the question tag is will you:
Don’t be late, will you? (the voice goes down)
After I’m … , the negative question tag is aren’t I? (= am I not?):
‘I’m right, aren’t I?’ ‘Yes, you are.’

104 Auxiliary verbs (have/do/can etc.) ➜ Unit 51

 Unit
Exercises 52
52.1 Complete these sentences with a question tag.

1 Kate won’t be late, will she ? No, she’s never late.

2 You’re tired, aren’t you ? Yes, a little.
3 You travel a lot, ? Yes, I love travelling.
4 You weren’t listening, ? Yes, I was!
5 Sarah doesn’t know Ann, ? No, they’ve never met.
6 Jack’s on holiday, ? Yes, he’s in Australia.
7 It didn’t take long to get here, ? No, just ten minutes.
8 You can speak German, ? Yes, but not fluently.
9 They won’t mind if I take a picture, ? No, of course they won’t.
10 There are a lot of people here, ? Yes, more than I expected.
11 Let’s go and have coffee, ? Yes, let’s do that.
12 This isn’t very interesting ? No, not really.
13 I’m too impatient ? Yes, you are sometimes.
14 You wouldn’t tell anyone, ? No, of course not.
15 Helen has lived here a long time, ? Yes, 20 years.
16 I shouldn’t have lost my temper, ? No, but that’s all right.
17 He’d never met her before, ? No, that was the first time.
18 Don’t forget to call me, ? No, I won’t forget.

52.2 In these situations you expect your friend to agree with you. Use a question tag in your sentences.
1 You look out of the window. The sky is blue and the sun is shining. You say to your friend:
(beautiful day) It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?
2 You’re with a friend outside a restaurant. You’re looking at the prices, which are very high.
You say: (expensive) It
3 You and a colleague have just finished a training course. You really enjoyed it. You say to your
colleague: (great) The course
4 Your friend’s hair is much shorter than when you last met. You say to her/him:
(have / your hair / cut) You
5 You’re listening to a woman singing. You like her voice very much. You say to your friend:
(a good voice) She
6 You’re trying on a jacket in a shop. You look in the mirror and you don’t like what you see.
You say to your friend:
(not / look / right) It
7 You and a friend are walking over a small wooden bridge. The bridge is old and some parts are
broken. You say:
(not / very safe) This bridge

52.3 In these situations you are asking for information, asking people to do things etc.
1 You need a pen. Perhaps Jane has one. Ask her.
Jane, you don’t have a pen I could borrow, do you?
2 You have to move a heavy table. You want Joe to help you with it. Ask him.
Joe, you
3 You’re looking for Sarah. Perhaps Lisa knows where she is. Ask her.
Lisa, you
4 You want to borrow a tennis racket. Perhaps Helen has one. Ask her.
Helen,
5 Anna has a car and you need a lift to the station. Perhaps she’ll take you. Ask her.
Anna,
6 You’re looking for your keys. Perhaps Robert has seen them. Ask him.
Robert,

105
 QUESTION TAGS
1. Underline the correct tag: 2. Match the correct tag:

1. He is your friend, aren’t/isn’t/amn’t he? 1. We are happy, …. a won’t they?

2. She was in London, won’t/weren’t/wasn’t she? 2. They’ll go to London, … b aren’t we?

3. His father drives a car, don’t/won’t/doesn’t he? 3. Bob isn’t at home, … c doesn’t she?

4. You can play the guitar, couldn’t/can’t/can you? 4. She likes to dance, … d is he?

5. Liz won’t come, is/doesn’t/will she? 5. It was Saturday, … e are we?

6. Sam went to the zoo, don’t/didn’t/doesn’t he? 6. We aren’t friends, … f can he?

7. Pat has a sister, haven’t/hasn’t/hadn’t she? 7. Sam can’t draw, … g wasn’t it?

8. Mike can’t drive a car, could/can/can’t he? 8. He’s never been to Paris, … h did he?
9. They didn’t go there, do/does/did they? 9. Nick didn’t play hockey, … i hasn’t he?

10. Bob doesn’t like football, do/does/did he? 10. She likes jazz, … j could she?

11. Mag could draw well, can’t/couldn’t/can she? 11. Kate couldn’t come, … k doesn’t she?

12. He mustn’t come, can’t/must/mustn’t he? 12. She is from Spain, … l was he?

13. The cakes are tasty, isn’t/wasn’t/ aren’t they? 13. Bill wasn’t late yesterday, … m will they?

14. He didn’t fall down, didn’t/don’t/doesn’t he? 14. They won’t do that, … n isn’t she?
3. Write the correct tag: 4. Be careful with the tags in these sentences:

1. You must come to the party, _________? 1. I’m a student, __________?

2. Sam doesn’t like cooking, ________? 2. Let’s go to the stadium, _________?

3. You are on duty, _________? 3. I’m not very happy, __________?

4. Jim hasn’t got a dog, ________? 4. Let’s play football, _________?

5. Tom is only twelve, _______? 5. Open the door, ________?

6. They speak French, ________? 6. Don’t take this bag, ________?

7. Lucy can’t play table tennis, _________? 7. I’m very talkative, _________?
8. We could help them, __________? 8. Let’s sing together, __________?
9. Tom doesn’t like classical music, ________? 9. Don’t talk, ________?

10. They don’t live in Paris, ________? 10. I’m too high, __________?

11. Your car isn’t expensive, _________? 11. Let’s have lunch, ________?

12. His brother is noisy, ________? 12. Clean the room, ________?

13. They work at the plant, _________? 13. I’m only ten, __________?

14. Nick speaks German well, ___________? 14. Help me, __________?