UNDERSTANDING QUESTION TAGS

A comprehensive study book

NOTES PLUS MODEL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

“Preparation
is a recipe for
success”

Convenient for both teachers and students

GODFREY MALINDIMA
Preface

This booklet provides well simplified but comprehensive

content on question tags with model questions and answers
plus necessary review exercises. This booklet will give
students an opportunity to grasp the basics of question tags.

The booklet has been written with practical professional

experience and knowledge from the author as a primary
school teacher. Godfrey Malindima has written a number of
books which include: Mastering verb tenses; an introduction
to English language and PSLCE English, figures of speech;
proverbs and similes. Buy your own copies today to
maximising your chances of getting selected to secondary
school. With Godfrey Malindima you will not be left in
suspense and you won’t regret.

___________________________________

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

Benjamin Franklin
i
Contents Page

Unit 1: Question tags...............................................1-8

Unit 2: Question tags examples in tenses...............9-14

Unit 3: Model questions and answers....................15-21

Unit 4: Review exercises.........................................22-27

References..............................................................28

ii
UNIT 1: QUESTION TAGS

What are question tags? They are short questions that we put
at the end of a statement especially in spoken English
language. Question tags form part of MANEB’S PSLCE English
paper every year. Usually MANEB set five questions involving
question tags. For you to grasping the subject matter of
question tags, you need first to acquire knowledge of verb
tenses and sentence formation. You must also master
auxiliary and modal verbs with their negative contractions as
follows;

Negative Contractions

(auxiliary and modal verbs)

Is not isn’t

Am not aren’t/ain’t

Are not aren’t/ain’t

Do not don’t

Does not doesn’t

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 1

Did not didn’t

Can not can’t

Could not couldn’t

Should not shouldn’t

Will not won’t

Would not wouldn’t

Has not hasn’t

Have not haven’t

Had not hadn’t

Was not wasn’t

Were not weren’t

Might not mightn’t

Must not mustn’t

Another necessity that is needed to master question tags is

knowledge of personal pronouns such as I, we, you, they, he,
she, it. One has to be conversant with them as to how they
operate in sentences. Furthermore, you need to comprehend

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 2

basic facts on number that is singularity and plurality of nouns
and gender- that is you have to determine whether a noun is
masculine, feminine or neuter, some nouns can confuse you
the way they change from singular to plural such as:

Woman = women

Man = men

Child = children

Sheep = sheep

Money = money

Always make sure you observe how such nouns change.

Types of question tags

There are two types of question tags

1. Positive question tags

A question tag is said to be positive when a statement is in the

negative form. For example:

a. We do not eat sugar everyday, do we?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 3

 b. You will not go to school tomorrow, will you?

Both do we? And will you? Are positive question tags.

2. Negative question tags

A question tag is said to be negative when the statement is in

positive form. For example:

a. We eat sugar everyday, don’t we?

b. You will go to school tomorrow, won’t you?

Both don’t we? And won’t you? Are negative question tags.

Rules of question tags

There are a number of rules. Some of them are:

1. If the main part of the statement is positive question

tag is negative.
Examples
a. He is a doctor, isn’t he?
b. You work in the bank, don’t you?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 4

 2. If the main part of the statement is negative, the
question tag is positive.
Examples
a. You have not met, have you?
b. She is not coming, is she?
3. If the main verb goes together with auxiliary verbs, the
question tag is made up of the auxiliary verb.
Examples
a. They were not living here, were they?
b. He had met him before, hadn’t he?
4. If the main verb has no auxiliary verb the question tag
uses an appropriate form of “do”. Remember “do” and
does represent “present tense” and “did” represent
“past tense”

Important tip

“Do” is used with personal pronouns such as I, we, you and

they while “does” with personal pronouns such as he, she
and it.

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 5

 Examples

a. I said it, didn’t I?

b. You go to school, don’t you?
c. She eats meat everyday, doesn’t she?

5. When a noun is used in a statement rather than a

pronoun, the question tag uses an appropriate
pronoun.

Examples

Don’t say: Goodson printed the book, didn’t Goodson?

Say: Goodson printed the book, didn’t he?

Don’t say: Hilda bakes cakes, doesn’t Hilda?

Say: Hilda bakes cakes, doesn’t she?

Don’t say: The goat has not eaten cassava leaves, has goat?

Say: The goat has not eaten cassava leaves, has it?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 6

Study the table below to deepen your understanding of this
rule

He She It
Peter Hilda goat
Mr. Malindima Magret cat
Samson Edith tree
Davie Martha city
Hetherwick Maria pot
Lasten Ellena road
Lucius Alice stadium
Kennedy Ireen school

In summary the table states that every noun which is

masculine will take “he” and feminine will take “she”. But
take note that all nouns under masculine and feminine
which are not human beings and neuter nouns will take
pronoun “it”.

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 7

 Important tip

You can use “he” or “she” according to your preference for

nouns which are applicable to both sexes male or female
such as Praise, Glory, Hope, Chikondi, Chimwemwe,
teacher, nurse, doctor et cetera.

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 8

UNIT 2: QUESTION TAGS EXAMPLES IN TENSES

In this unit the question tags will be discussed in a unique and

detailed manner different from other reference materials you
have ever used. You should observe critically how the
examples are unfolding in the six tenses namely present
tense, present continuous tense, present perfect tense, past
tense, past continuous tense and future tense.

1. Present tense

This tense talks about habitual action. It takes “do” and

“does” when asking positive questions and it takes “don’t”
and “doesn’t” when asking negative questions.

Important tip

Pronouns I, We, You and They take “Do” in positive and

“Don’t in negative. While

Pronouns He, She and It take “does” in positive and “doesn’t

in negative.

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 9

Examples

a. We eat rice everyday, don’t we?

b. Maria does not drive a car, does she?
c. The dog catches the hare, doesn’t it?

2. Present continuous tense

This tense talks about an on-going action. It takes “are” and

“is” when asking positive questions and takes “aren’t” and
“isn’t” when asking

negative questions.

Important tip

Pronouns I, We, You and They take are in positive and aren’t
in negative. While pronouns he, she and it take is in positive
and isn’t in negative.

Examples

a. We are eating rice now, aren’t we?

b. Maria is not driving a car, is she?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 10

 c. I am reading a newspaper, aren’t I?
 Take note that “I am” takes “aren’t I” there is no
“amn’t I” in English. This a common mistake among
many students. You must avoid it.

3. Present perfect tense

This tense talks about an action which has already happened.

It takes “have” and “has” when asking positive questions and
takes “haven’t” and “hasn’t” when asking negative questions..

Important tip

Pronouns I, We, You and They take “have” in positive and

“haven’t” in negative. While pronouns He, She and It take
“has” in positive and hasn’t in negative.

Examples

a. We have eaten rice, haven’t we?

b. Maria has not driven a car, has she?
c. The dog has caught the hare, hasn’t it?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 11

4. Past tense

This tense talks about an action that took place in the past. It
takes “did” when asking positive questions and “didn’t” when
asking negative questions.

Important tip

Pronouns I, We, You, They, He, She and It take “did” in

positive and “didn’t” in negative.

Examples

a. We ate rice yesterday, didn’t we?

b. Maria did not drive a car, did she?
c. The dog caught the hare, didn’t it?

5. Past continuous tense

This tense talks about an action which was on-going in the

past. It takes “were” and “was” when asking positive
questions and takes “weren’t” and “wasn’t” when asking
negative questions.

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 12

Important tip

Pronouns I, We, You and They take “were” in positive and

“weren’t” in negative. While He, She and It take “was” in
positive and “wasn’t” in negative.

Examples

a. We were eating rice, weren’t we?

b. Maria was not driving a car, was she?
c. The dog was catching the hare, wasn’t it?

6. Future tense

This tense talks about an action which will take place in the
future. It takes will and shall when asking positive questions
and takes won’t and shan’t when asking negative questions.

Important tip

Pronouns I, We, You, They He, She and It take “shall” and
“will” in positive. In negative “shan’t” and “won’t”.

Examples

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 13

 a. We shall eat rice tomorrow, shan’t we?
b. Maria will not drive a car, will she?
c. The dog will catch the hare, won’t it?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 14

UNIT 3: MODEL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

In this unit you will have a familiarisation study on how

question tags appear on Primary School Leaving Certificate
Examination English paper or MSCE and how you are
supposed to answer the questions. The questions are set in a
multiple choice form and you are required to encircle the
correct answer.

1. He is not a fool, ____________?

a. isn’t he c. didn’t he
b. is he d. did he

2. Martha and Janet are not working hard,__________?

a. Is she c. aren’t they

b. are they d. did they

3. Hard work pays,___________?

a. Is it c. doesn’t it
b. isn’t it d. does it

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 15

4. We did not make noise in class,_________?

a. did we c. didn’t we
b. do we d. don’t we

5. We should have a roster,______________?

a. haven’t we c. shouldn’t we
b. should we d. shall we

6. Mary is not a polite girl,____________?

a. isn’t it c. doesn’t she

b. does she d. is she

7. I am a good learner,___________?

a. am I c. was I
b. aren’t I d. wasn’t I

8. Maria has many friends______________?

a. isn’t she c. hasn’t she

b. doesn’t she d. does she

9. You will write the final examinations this year,__?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 16

 a. will you c. would you
b. won’t you d. wouldn’t you

10. Your sister did not write the examinations last

Year,____________?

a. didn’t she c. does she

b. doesn’t she d. did she

11. This is a good news____________?

a. wasn’t it c. is it
b. isn’t it d. was it

12. My parents forced me to go to school______?

a. do they c. did they

b. don’t they d. didn’t they

13. Sometimes he did not want to go to school____?

a. didn’t he c. doesn’t he
b. did he d. didn’t he

14. Malawi is in the southern part of Africa________?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 17

 a. is it c. can it
b. are they d. isn’t it

15. My mother does not have a car,___________?

a. hasn’t she c. has she

b. does she d. doesn’t she

16. We ran to school this morning,___________?

a. didn’t we c. isn’t it
b. weren’t we d. were we

17. I will go to secondary school next year_______?

a. isn’t it c. won’t I
b. will I d. wasn’t I

18. I am reading this book,__________?

a. am I c. do I
b. aren’t I d. did I

19. The head teacher punishes the late comers___?

a. didn’t she b. does she

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 18

 c. doesn’t she d. isn’t she

20. Mr. Mofolo came from Ntcheu,________?

a. isn’t he c. did he
b. doesn’t he d. didn’t he

21. They will report the matter to police,_______?

a. will they c. do they

b. won’t they d. don’t they

22. We are not allowed to read aloud in

examinations,____________?

a. are we c. do we
b. aren’t we d. don’t we

23. I do not have a car,____________?

a. don’t I c. have I
b. do I d. haven’t I

24. It is not raining,____________?

a. was it b. is it

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 19

 c. isn’t it d. wasn’t it

25. He comes to school late everyday,____________?

a. does he c. doesn’t he
b. is he d. isn’t he

26. An elephant is the biggest animal in the

forest___________?

a. was it c. wasn’t it
b. is it d. isn’t it

27. You should not have been so greedy,_________________?

a. Have you c. shouldn’t you

b. should you d. haven’t you

28. He rarely brushes his teeth,_______________?

a. doesn’t he c. does he
b. did he d. didn’t he

29. Let us go shopping,__________________?

a. shouldn’t we b. shall we

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 20

 c. don’t we d. should we

30. They do not understand English,_________________?

a. do they c. don’t they

b. shouldn’t they d. should they

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 21

UNIT 4: REVIEW EXERCISES

In this unit you will be exposed to a number of exercises for

self assessment on whether you have comprehensively
understood basic operations on question tags.

Exercise A

Choose the correct question tag A, B, C or D for the following

statements.

1. You play hockey,_________?

a. don’t you c. did you

b. didn’t you d. do you

2. My watch works perfectly,___________?

a. is it c. isn’t it
b. does it d. doesn’t it

3. There were no drinks at the party,_______?

a. had there c. were there

b. weren’t there d. hadn’t there

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 22

4. Hard work will always pay,__________?

a. does it c. won’t it
b. doesn’t it d. will it

5. Police officers shot to death five armed

criminals,________?

a. do they c. did they

b. doesn’t they d. didn’t they

6. We learn English everyday,_______________?

a. don’t we c. are we
b. do we d. aren’t we

7. She is doing well in this term,________________?

a. is she c. will she

b. isn’t she d. won’t she

8. You wouldn’t have passed,__________?

a. would you c. will you

b. wouldn’t you d. won’t you

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 23

9. Our continent is Africa,____________?

a. can’t it c. is it
b. can it d. isn’t it

10. It is cold this morning,_____________?

a. is it c. doesn’t it
b. isn’t it d. does it

11. There was nobody in the room,____________?

a. wasn’t there c. was there

b. is there d. isn’t there

12. My father goes to the garden,_____________?

a. didn’t he c. does he
b. doesn’t he d. did he

13. The president presented his nomination papers

Yesterday,_______?

a. was he c. did he
b. wasn’t he d. didn’t he

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 24

14. The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) will receive
nomination papers from presidential and parliamentary
aspirants in February 2019.__________________?

a. will it c. would it
b. won’t it d. wouldn’t it

15. Zodiak radio station was official broadcaster of 2014

general elections results,____________?

a. won’t it c. was it
b. will it d. wasn’t it

Exercise B

Give an appropriate question tag to each of the following

statements. No multiple choice options have been given to
assess the level of your understanding as far as question tags
are concerned.

1. Butter is made from milk,______________?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 25

2. Sugar has sweet taste,__________________?

3. The school bus was late today,_____________?

4. Mary had dinner at school today,_____________?

5. I put some coal on the fire,_________________?

6. The elephant has a long trunk,_______________?

7. A young cat is called a kitten,_______________?

8. This meat is tender,____________________?

9. The sun sets in the west,___________________?

10. You can have five sweets,_______________?

11. The Queen has just arrived ten minutes

ago,____________?

12. My nephew is intelligent,________________?

13. Lilongwe is the capital city of Malawi,_______________?

14. Jane lives in area forty seven sector five,_____________?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 26

15. Many people visit Cape Maclear,____________________?

16. I gave the newspaper agent one thousand

kwacha,______________?

Exercise C

Write statements which will have the following question tags

1. is he?
2. doesn’t she?
3. wouldn’t they?
4. will he?
5. won’t you?
6. have you?
7. isn’t she?
8. had we?
9. aren’t I?
10. aren’t we?
11. should we?

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 27

REFERENCES

 Malawi Institute of Education (2007). English Learners

book for standard 5. MIE, Domasi.
 Malawi Institute of Education (2008). English Learners
book for standard 7. MIE, Domasi.
 Malawi Institute of Education (2009). English Learners
book for standard 8. MIE, Domasi.
 MANEB (2013). PSLCE English. Zomba.
 MANEB (2015). PSLCE English. Zomba.
 MANEB (2014). PSLCE English. Zomba.
 MANEB (2012). PSLCE English. Zomba.
 MANEB (2011). PSLCE English. Zomba.
 Godfrey Malindima (2019). Mastering verb tenses: An
introduction to English language. Balaka.
 Hadyn Richards (1998). Junior English 1, Revised Edition.
Ginn and company. Alylesbury.

Godfrey Malindima 0994 535 320/0882 145 287 28