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Same-Way Tag Questions
Tag Questions
| You speak English, don't you? |
A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. The whole sentence is a "tag question", and the mini-question at the end is called a "question tag".
A "tag" is something small that we add to something larger. For example, the little piece of cloth added to a shirt showing size or washing instructions is a tag.
We use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: "Am I right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English.
The basic structure is:
| statement | question tag |
| + Positive statement, | - negative tag? |
| Snow is white, | isn't it? |
| - Negative statement, | + positive tag? |
| You don't like me, | do you? |
Positive Statement Tag Questions
Look at these examples with positive statements. You will see that most of the time, the auxiliary verb from the positive statement is repeated in the tag and changed to negative.
| positive statement [+] | negative tag [-] | notes: | |||||
| subject | auxiliary | main verb | auxiliary | not | personal pronoun (same as subject) | ||
| You | are | coming, | are | n't | you? | ||
| We | have | finished, | have | n't | we? | ||
| You | do | like | coffee, | do | n't | you? | |
| You | like | coffee, | do | n't | you? | You (do) like...* | |
| They | will | help, | wo | n't | they? | won't = will not | |
| I | can | come, | can | 't | I? | ||
| We | must | go, | must | n't | we? | ||
| He | should | try | harder, | should | n't | he? | |
| You | are | English, | are | n't | you? | no auxiliary for main verb bepresent & past | |
| John | was | there, | was | n't | he? |
Negative Statement Tag Questions
Look at these examples with negative statements. Notice that the negative verb in the original statement is changed to positive in the tag.
| negative statement [-] | positive tag [+] | ||||||
| subject | auxiliary | main verb | auxiliary | personal pronoun (same as subject) | |||
| It | is | n't | raining, | is | it? | ||
| We | have | never | seen | that, | have | we? | |
| You | do | n't | like | coffee, | do | you? | |
| They | will | not | help, | will | they? | ||
| They | wo | n't | report | us, | will | they? | |
| I | can | never | do | it right, | can | I? | |
| We | must | n't | tell | her, | must | we? | |
| He | should | n't | drive | so fast, | should | he? | |
| You | wo | n't | be | late, | will | you? | |
| You | are | n't | English, | are | you? | ||
| John | was | not | there, | was | he? |
Answering Tag Questions
Answer a tag question according to the truth of the situation. Your answer reflects the real facts, not (necessarily) the question.
For example, everyone knows that snow is white. Look at these questions, and the correct answers:
| tag question | correct answer | ||
| Snow is white, isn't it? | Yes (it is). | the answer is the same in both cases - because snow IS WHITE! | but notice the change of stress when the answerer does not agree with the questioner |
| Snow isn't white, is it? | Yes itis! | ||
| Snow is black, isn't it? | No itisn't! | the answer is the same in both cases - because snow IS NOT BLACK! | |
| Snow isn't black, is it? | No (it isn't). |
In some languages, people answer a question like "Snow isn't black, is it?" with "Yes" (meaning "Yes, I agree with you"). This is the wrong answer in English!
Intonation
We can change the meaning of a tag question with the musical pitch of our voice. With rising intonation, it sounds like a real question. But if our intonation falls, it sounds more like a statement that doesn't require a real answer:
| intonation | |||
| You don't know where my wallet is, | do you? | / rising | real question |
| It's a beautiful view, | isn't it? | \ falling | not a real question |
Imperatives
Sometimes we use question tags with imperatives (invitations, orders), but the sentence remains an imperative and does not require a direct answer. We use won't for invitations. We use can, can't, will, would for orders.
| imperative + question tag | notes: | |
| invitation | Take a seat, won't you? | polite |
| order | Help me, can you? | quite friendly |
| Help me, can't you? | quite friendly (some irritation?) | |
| Close the door, would you? | quite polite | |
| Do it now, will you. | less polite | |
| Don't forget, will you. | with negative imperatives only will is possible |
Same-Way Tag Questions
Although the basic structure of tag questions is positive-negative or negative-positive, it is sometimes possible to use a positive-positive or negative-negative structure. We use same-way tag questions to express interest, surprise, anger etc, and not to make real questions.
Look at these positive-positive tag questions:
- So you're having a baby, are you? That's wonderful!
- She wants to marry him, does she? Some chance!
- So you think that's amusing, do you? Think again.
Negative-negative tag questions usually sound rather hostile:
- So you don't like my looks, don't you? (British English)
Date: 2016-01-14; view: 1173
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