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Tag-Questions or Question Tags: - Statement Sentences With Short Questions at The End With A Question Mark!

This document discusses tag questions, which are short questions added to the end of statements to seek confirmation. It provides 5 points about tag question grammar: 1) a comma separates the statement from the tag, 2) the tag subject is a personal pronoun corresponding to the statement subject, 3) the tag verb conjugates based on the statement verb tense and polarity, 4) negative tag verbs are contracted, and 5) the tag follows interrogative word order of verb before subject. Exceptions to the rules are noted and left for future discussion.

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Katiuska Mamani Cornejo
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90 views17 pages

Tag-Questions or Question Tags: - Statement Sentences With Short Questions at The End With A Question Mark!

This document discusses tag questions, which are short questions added to the end of statements to seek confirmation. It provides 5 points about tag question grammar: 1) a comma separates the statement from the tag, 2) the tag subject is a personal pronoun corresponding to the statement subject, 3) the tag verb conjugates based on the statement verb tense and polarity, 4) negative tag verbs are contracted, and 5) the tag follows interrogative word order of verb before subject. Exceptions to the rules are noted and left for future discussion.

Uploaded by

Katiuska Mamani Cornejo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tag-Questions

or
Question Tags
• Statement Sentences with short questions at
the end with a question mark!
Tag-Questions
• A ‘tag-question’ or ‘question tag’ is not a true
question.
A tag question is used at the end of a
Statement Sentence to get the confirmation
from the listener, or just to express one’s
doubt.
A question sentence, on the contrary, is used to
get the answer.
Tag-Questions

 You are my student. Statement Sentence positive


 You are not my student. Statement negative
 Are you my student? Question (interrogative)

 You are my student, aren’t you? Tag-question


Tag-Questions

 Whose books are these? – a true question

 These are your books, aren’t they?


-Tag-question – Positive
These are not your books, are they?
- Tag-question -- Negative
Tag-Questions
• Making a tag-question sentence:

• She is your friend


,
isn’t she
?
A positive tag-question sentence!
Tag-Questions
 There are five simple points we
should follow when we use a Tag-
question:
 Point 1

 A comma is used between the main


sentence and the ‘tag’ part, e.g.
 This is your book isn’t it?

,
Tag-Questions
► Point 2:

► Evenif the subject of the main sentence is a


noun – proper noun or common noun – the
subject of the ‘tag’ part is always a
corresponding PERSONAL PRONOUN. e.g.

Mary isn’t your sister, is she?


Tag-Questions
Point 2 (continued)

John has gone home, hasn’t ?


‘John’ – proper noun – male – singular
he
pronoun – male – singular – subjective case
Tag-Question
 Point 2 (continued)

 Ted and Jerry got their books,


didn’t ?
‘Ted and Jerry’ – Proper nouns – male – plural
they
Personal Pronoun – male -- plural
Tag-Questions
 Point 3

 The verb in the ‘tag’ part depends on the verb in the


main sentence:
 If the verb in the main sentence is in Present Tense,
the verb in the ‘tag’ part will be in Present Tense; and
the verb in the main sentence is in Past Tense, the
verb in the ‘tag’ part will be in Past, and so on.
 If the verb in the main sentence is in Positive form,
the verb in the ‘tag’ part will be in Negative form.
Tag-Questions
• Point 3 (continued)
• She is your sister, she?
“is” – main verb – Simple Present Tense –POSITIVE

isn’t
– Simple present tense – NEGATIVE
Tag-Questions
 Point 3 (continued)

 Brad hasn’t done his work, he?


‘hasn’t’ – Present perfect – NEGATIVE
has
Present perfect -- POSITIVE
Tag-Questions
 Point 3 (continued)
 Kate goes to school, she?
‘goes’ – Simple present – POSITIVE
‘does not go’ – Simple present – NEGATIVE
doesn’t
Point 4
The negative form of the verb in the ‘tag’ part is
always contracted:
does not = doesn’t; has not = hasn’t; will not = won’t
Tag-questions
 Point 3 (continued)

 James did not go to school, he?


‘did not go’ – Simple past – NEGATIVE
‘go’ – Simple past – Positive; however, in
‘tag’ part, the auxiliary (helping) verb
alone is used:
did
Tag-questions

• Point 5 -- Word order

• In the statement sentence (in the main


sentence) the subject comes first and the
verb comes next; but in the ‘tag’ part, the
verb comes first and the subject comes
next, just as in the interrogative sentence.
Tag-Question
 Point 5 – word order (continued)
For example:
A woman fainted, didn’t she?

Main sentence
‘tag’ part
Subject first; verb next
Verb first; subject next
Tag-Questions

 There are some exceptions to some of the rules


(points) we have discussed so far. To understand
those rules (points), first we have to master these
points.
 Therefore, let’s master these rules (points) now, and
then we can go for those exceptions later!

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