So you want to learn question tags, do you? Lucky for you, I'm here to tell you everything I know, aren't I? Ready, are you? Let's go! BBC Masterclass: Question Tags Now, at this level, many of you will know that a question tag is an auxiliary verb plus a pronoun, which is put at the end of a sentence either to ask for more information about something or to confirm something which we believe is true. The question tag relates directly to the sentence. The auxiliary verb matches the main verb, and the pronoun comes directly from the noun. Question tags can either have a rising or falling intonation. And as everybody knows, if the main sentence is affirmative, then the question tag is negative, so 'You do live here, don't you?' and vice versa. That's the easy stuff. Now for the hard stuff. Negative Adverbs and Indefinite Nouns So, sentences which use a negative or limiting adverbs, such as 'never' and 'hardly' and other words of that type, even though they appear to be positive in construction, they're treated as a negative by the question tag, so not 'They never go on holiday, don't they?' but 'They never go on holiday, do they?' Sentences which use indefinite nouns, such as 'someone,' 'anyone,' 'no one,' and 'everyone,' can be tricky with question tags. After all, what's the pronoun for 'no one'? In question tags, we use 'they.' For example, 'No one cares, do they?' or 'Everyone left, didn't they?' However, with other indefinite nouns, such as 'something' and 'everything,' we would use 'it.' So, for example, 'Everything's okay, isn't it?' or 'Nothing matters, does it?' Got it? Imperatives and Suggestions An imperative is a command, or at least a strong suggestion. An example would be 'Sit down!' Now, because imperatives don't have a tense, they don't use an auxiliary verb in the same way as other sentences do. So how can we make a question tag with them? Well, the answer is we use 'won't you?'—although other modal verbs can be used, such as 'will,' 'would,' 'can,' and 'could.' 'Sit down, won't you?' 'Open the window, will you?' 'Don't go outside, will you?' 'Keep quiet, won't you?' The level of formality depends upon the choice of question tag and the tone of voice, although 'can't you?' can come across as quite impatient and annoying. For example, 'Turn the TV down, can't you?' When making a suggestion, it's common to use the expression 'let's.' 'Let's' stands for 'let us'—for example, 'Let's go to the cinema.' When we use 'let's' in a question tag, we always use 'shall we?' regardless of whether 'let's' is affirmative or negative. So, for example, 'Let's go to the cinema, shall we?' or 'Let's not go to the cinema, shall we?' Got it? Double Positives and Opinions Double positives are possible. And this is quite a common way of reacting when people have just learned news, or when somebody is reacting in an emotional way to something. For example, 'You're getting married, are you?' or 'Oh, you just lost your wallet, did you?' You see? Finally, if you start a sentence with 'I think,' don't use the question tag 'do I?' 'I think he's a great teacher, do I?' Though this can happen in some cases, such as sarcasm, we normally make the question tag agree with the main information. Otherwise, we're basically asking ourself to agree with ourself. So, for example, 'I think he's a great teacher, isn't he?' or 'I don't think that's a good idea, is it?' Got it? For more information, go to bbclearningenglish.com. I've been Dan, haven't I? You've been fantastic, haven't you? And I'll see you next time, won't I? Cheerio! |
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