Unit

52 . Q uestion tags (do you? isn't it? etc.)

St u d y t hese e xamples;

You h a v e n't seen It was a good V e s, it w as g r e a t . ^

Lisa t o d ay, have yo u? film, wasn't it?
CINEMA h U
VT

H a v e y o u ? and w a s n 't i t? are question tags (= mini - questions t h a t w e often put on th e end of
a sente nce in spoken English). In q uestion tags, w e use an a u xiliary verb (h a v e / w a s / w ill etc.).
W e use d o / d o es / did for the present and past simple (see U nit 51):
‘Karen plays t h e piano, d o e s n't sh e?' 'We ll, yes, but not very w e ll.1
'You did n't lock the door, did y o u?' ‘No, I forgot.'

N o r m ally we use a n e g ative q uestion tag aft er ... and a p ositive question ta g aft er a
a p ositive sentence: n e g ative sentence:

p ositive se n te nce + n e g a tive tag n e g ative se n te nce + p ositive tag

Kate w il l be here soon, w o n 't s h e? Kate w o n 't be Late, w i l l s h e?
There w a s a lot of traffic, w a s n 't t h e r e ? T h ey d o n 't like us, do t h e y?
Jo e s h o u ld pass th e e xam, s h o u l d n't h e? You h a v e n 't eate n yet, have y o u?

N o tice th e m eanin g of y e s and n o in a nswer to a n e g ative sentence:

Yes. (= Yes, I a m going out)
You're n o t going out to d ay, are y o u ?
N o . (= No, I a m not going out)

The m e a nin g of a q uestion ta g depends on h ow yo u say it. If y o u r voice goes d ow n, yo u are not
really asking a q uestion; yo u are o nly inviting th e Listener to agree wit h you:
1 'It's a nice day, isn't it?' 'Yes, beautiful.'
O 'Pa ul d o esn't look w e ll today, d o e s h e?' ‘No, he looks very tired.'
‘Lisa's very funny. She's g ot a great sense of hu mour, h a s n't s h e?' ‘Yes, she has.'

Bu t if t h e voice goes up, it is a real question:

‘You h av e n't seen Lisa to day, h a v e y o u ?' 'N o, I h ave n't /
(= H ave yo u by cha nce seen Lisa t o d a y?)

You can use a n e g ative se n te nce + p ositive tag to ask for things or infor m atio n, or t o ask
so m e b o dy to do so m ething. The voice goes up at th e end of t h e tag in sentences Like these:
'You h av e n't got a pen, h a v e y o u ?' 'Yes, here yo u are.'
'You co uld n't do me a favour, c o u ld y o u ?' ‘It depends w h a t it is.'
'You d o n't k now wh ere Karen is, do y o u ?' ‘Sorry, i have no idea.'

A ft er Le t's ... , th e q uestion ta g is s h a ll we:

Le t's go for a walk, s h a ll w e ? (th e voice goes up)

A ft er D o n 't ... , th e q uestion tag is w i l l y o u :

D o n 't be Late, w ilt y o u ? (th e voice goes down)

Aft er I'm ... , th e ne gative question ta g is a r e n 't I (= am I not):

I'm right, aren't I?' ‘Yes, yo u are.'

A u x iliary verbs (h a v e / d o / c a n etc.) U n i t 51

Exercises
Pu t a q u estio n t a g on t h e end o f t h e s e se n t e nces.

/ L
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1 Kate w o n't be late, w ill s h e 7^ No, she's never late.
2 You're tired, a r e n ’t you ? Yes, a little.
3 You travel a lot, ? Yes, I love travelling.
4 You w e r e n't Listening, ? Yes, I was!
5 Sarah d oesn't k now Ann, ? No, t h e y'v e never met.
6 Jack's on holiday, ? Yes, he's in Australia.
7 Kate's been to China before, ? Yes, t w o or t hree times.
8 You can speak Ger m an, ? Yes, but not fluently.
9 T h ey w o n't mind if I take a photo, ? No, of course t h ey wo n't.
10 There are a Lot of people here, ? Yes, m ore th a n I e x pected.
11 Let's go o ut tonig ht, ? Yes, t h a t w o uld be great.
12 This isn't very interesting, ? No, n ot really.
13 I'm to o i m p atient, ? Yes, you are so m etim es.
14 You w o ul d n't t ell anyone, ? No, of course not.
15 Ann has lived here a long time, ? Yes, 20 years.
16 I sh o uld n't have lost my te m per, 7 No, but t hat's all right.
17 He'd never m et her before, ? No, t h a t was th e first time.
18 ^ D o n ’t drop t h a t vase, 7 ^ D o n't worry. I w o n't.
.... J
Rea d t h e sit u a ti o n an d w r it e a s e n t e n c e w it h a q u estio n ta g. In e ach sit u a tio n y o u are askin g
y o u r frie n d t o a gre e w it h yo u.
1 You look o ut of th e win d ow. The sky is blue and th e sun is shining. W h a t do yo u say t o yo ur
frie n d? (b e a utif ul d ay) I t s a beawti - fi / l d a y , isn t i t ? ............................
2 Yo u're wit h a friend outside a restaurant. You're looking at th e prices, which are very high.
W h a t do yo u sa y? (e x pensive) It .............................................
3 You and a collea g ue have j ust finished a training course. You really e njoye d it. W h a t do you
say to yo u r colle a g u e? (great) The course
4 Your friend's hair is much sh orter th a n w h e n you last m et. W h a t do yo u say to her / him?
(have / yo ur hair / cut) You ........ ......................
5 You and a friend are listening to a w o m a n singing. You like her voice very much. W h a t do you
say t o yo u r frie n d? (a good voice) She
6 You are tryin g on a jack et in a shop. You look in t h e mirror and yo u d o n't Like w h a t yo u see.
W h a t do yo u say to yo u r frie n d? (n o t / look / very goo d)
I t ........................................................................................... ........................... . . ...................
7 You and a friend are walkin g over a s m all w o o d e n bridge. The bridge is very old and so me
parts are broken. W h a t do yo u say? (n ot / very safe)
This bridge ....... ............................................................................................ .......................

In t h e s e sit u a ti o n s y o u are askin g f o r in f o r m a ti o n , askin g p e o ple t o d o t hin gs etc.

1 You need a pen. Perhaps Ja n e has got one. Ask her.
J a n e , you. h a v e n ’t got a pen, h a v e y o u ? ....................................................................
2 You have to m ove a h e avy table. You w a n t j o e to give yo u a hand wit h it. Ask him.
Joe, yo u ..
3 You're looking for Sarah. Perhaps Kate k nows wh ere she is. Ask her.
Kate, yo u .....................................................................................................................
4 You need a bicycle pump. Perhaps Hele n has got one. Ask her.
Helen, .............................................................................................................
5 Ann has a car and you need a lift to th e station. Perhaps sh e'll take you. Ask her.
Ann, .....................................................................................................................................
6 You're looking for yo u r keys. Perhaps Robert has seen t h e m. Ask him.
Robert, ........................................... , ............................................. ......................................