Working with Grammar: TAG QUESTION

Tag questions are frequently used in spoken English when you want someone to agree or disagree. The tag questions are also used to keep a conversation going.  A tag question 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 question is very unique and you should follow certain rules when creating it.

1.    If the first part of the sentence is positive, the question tag should be negative.
Example:
She is a singer, isn’t  she?
You are Tomi, aren’t  you?

2.    If the first part of the sentence is negative, the question tag should be positive.
Example:
He isn’t  coming, is he?
You aren’t from Spain, are you?

Special cases:

I am right, aren’t I?                            (amn’t  I is incorrect)
She’s called many times, hasn’t she?     (She’s = She has)
They’ve been to Bali, haven’t they?      (They’ve = They have)
Let’s go, shall we?                              (Let’s = Let us)
Shut the door, will you?                       (Imperative)


Common mistakes

You are the teacher. Yes?                 (Incorrect)
You are the teacher, aren’t you?        (Correct)

You come from Bandung. No?            (Incorrect)
You come from Bandung, don’t you?   (Correct)

She is beautiful, isn’t it?                     (Incorrect)
She is beautiful, isn’t she?                  (Correct)