QUESTION TAGS

CONTRACTED FORMS OF AUXILIARY VERBS + NOT

Auxiliary Verbs + Not Short Forms used in
Question Tags

Do + not Don’t

Does + not Doesn’t

Did + not Didn’t

Is + not Isn’t

Has + not Hasn’t

Had + not Hadn’t

Were + not Weren’t

Am I not …. Aren’t I ….?

Are + not Aren’t

Have + not Haven’t

Was + not Wasn’t

Shall + not Shan’t

Will + not Won’t

Should + not Shouldn’t

Could + not Couldn’t

Might + not Mightn’t

Must + not Mustn’t

Need + not Needn’t

Can + not Can’t

Would + not Wouldn’t

May + not Mayn’t

Ought + not Oughtn’t

Used + not Usedn’t

 Dare + not Daren’t

FORMAT OF QUESTION TAGS

(i) Affirmative –Auxiliary verbs + subject + ?
(ii) Negative – Auxiliary verbs + n’t + subject + ?
REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING FACTS DURING MAKING QUESTION TAGS:
1. The main verbs such as – go, drink, come etc are used to make question tags:
• He writes a letter, doesn’t he?
• He does not drink milk, does he?
2. ‘Pronouns’ and ‘there’ are used as subject in question tags.
3. ‘Nouns’ are not used as subjects in question tags.
4. The use of ‘Auxiliary verbs’ or ‘Auxiliary verbs + n’t in question tags depends on the number and person of the subject
used in question tags or on the tense of given sentence.
5. Question tag is used in the last of a sentence.
6. If an auxiliary verb is not used in sentence, the auxiliary verbs- do, does and did are used in question tags according to
need.

HOW TO MAKE QUESTION TAGS

RULES FOR MAKING QUESTION TAGS:
Rule 1 : The Question tag of an affirmative sentence is negative. In other words, the Structure ‘Auxiliary Verb + n’t
+ subject (= A.P) + ? ‘ is used as Question tags; as;
Note: A.P = Appropriate Pronoun (= suitable pronoun); as,
• He writes a letter, doesn’t he?
• She is ugly, isn’t she?
• He came here last night, didn’t he?
• You are courageous, aren’t you?
• She was a sales girl, wasn’t she?
• I am wrong, aren’t I?
• You will help me, won’t you?
Rule 2: The Question tag of negative sentence is affirmative. In other words, the structure – ‘Auxiliary verb +
subject (= A.P) +?’ is used in Question tags; as;
• She does not make a noise, does she?
• I don’t drink wine, do I?
• You are not laborious, are you?
• She did not see me, did he?
• He will not tell me a story, will he?
• I am not right, am I?
• He did not tell a lie, did he?
Rule 3: If the negative words such as – Neither, no, not, never, none, no one, nobody, nothing, few, little, hardly,
rarely, scarcely, seldom ____ etc are used in a sentence, the meaning of the sentence is negative and it is
considered to be negative sentence. Therefore, its question tag is affirmative.
In other words, the structure – ‘Auxiliary verb + subject (= A.P) + ?’ is used in question tags; as;
• We have no friends, have we?
• No one knows this matter, do they?
• They have nothing , have they?
• Nobody is perfect, are they?
• A barking dog seldom bites, does it?
• Nothing is yours, is it?
 • Few students have come to attend the class, have they?
Note: The words – ‘A few’ and ‘a little’ have a positive meaning. If they are used in a sentence, they are affirmative
sentences. Therefore, their question tags are negative; as.
• I have a little money, haven’t I?
• I have read a few books, haven’t I?
Rule 4: The question tag of an affirmative imperative sentence is both affirmative – ‘will you ?’ and negative –
‘won’t you?’; as,
• Switch on the radio, will you?
• Switch on the radio, won’t you?
• Please give me money, will you?
• Please give me money, won’t you?
• Kindly post this letter, will you?
• Kindly post this letter, won’t you?
Rule 5: The question tag of a negative imperative sentence is more affirmative- ‘will you?’ ; as,
• Don’t open the window, will you?
• Don’t spit here, will you?
• Don’t switch off the light, will you?
• Don’t be late tomorrow, will you?
Rule 6: If an affirmative imperative sentence is used to express the sense (= idea) of ‘more urgency’ (= more
necessity), The negative question tag- ‘won’t you?’ is used; as,
• Remember to shut the window, won’t you?
• Be careful while solving the sums, won’t you?
Rule 7: If the verb used in an imperative sentence denotes (= expresses) the sense (= idea) of reprimand (=
scolding/snubbing/ rebuke), the question tag – ‘can’t you?’ is used; as,
• Use your own mind, can’t you?
• Use your own book, can’t you?
Rule 8: If the imperative sentence begins (= starts) with ‘Let us’ or ‘Let’s’ , it (= the imperative sentence ) denotes
(=expresss) ‘proposal’ or ‘suggestion’ and the question tag – ‘shall we?’ is used for it (= The imperative
sentence starting with ‘let us/let’s) ; as
• Let us dance together, shall we?
• Let us help her, shall we?
• Let’s go there, shall we?
• Let’s read the Gita, Shall we?
Rule 9: If the imperative sentence begins (= starts) with ‘let me’ , ‘let him’ , ‘let her’ , ‘let them’, ‘let Shyam’, ‘let
Veena’ …. Etc, the question tag –‘will you ?’ is used for it (= the imperative sentence starting with ‘Let me’
‘let him’ , ….. etc) as;
• Let me do this work, will you?
• Let her be my beloved, will you?
• Let them do their homework, will you?
• Let Veena watch T.V., will you?
Rule 10:If the verb – ‘ used to’ is used in a sentence, The negative verb (= verbal term) – ‘ usedn’t’ or ‘didn’t’ is used
in a question tag; as,
• He used to come here, usedn’t he?
• He used to come here, didn’t he?
• They usedn’t to come here, used they ?
• They usedn’t to come here, did they?
Rule 11: If the marginal Auxiliary verbs – ‘dare not or darn’t’ and ‘need not or needn’t’ are used in a sentence, the
affirmative question tag structure – ‘dare /need + subject (A.P.) + ?’ is used for it; as,
• He daren’t come here, dare he?
• I needn’t go there, need I?
• He need not work hard, need he?
• You dare not face your teacher, dare you?
Rule 12: If the verb – ‘dare’ and ‘need’ are used as main verbs in a sentence, its question tag is formed (= made)
like this (= in this way); as;
• He dares to oppose his father, doesn’t he?
• She needs your note book, doesn’t she?
• We needed your help, didn’t we?
• She dared to abuse me, didn’t she?
• You don’t dare to go there, do you?
HOW TO SELECT THE SUBJECTS OF QUESTION TAGS
Generally, we confuse about the selection of subjects during making question tags. For avoiding confusions, here we shall
study about the selection of subjects of question tags.
➢ The following rules are followed (= used) to select the subjects of Question tag:
Rule 1 : If the nominative pronouns – I, we, you, he, she, it, they, … etc are used as subjects of question tags; as;
• They write, don’t they?
• He reads the Ramayana, doesn’t he?
• You know me, don’t you?
• We did our homework, didn’t we?
• I did not see her yesterday, did I?
Rule 2: If a noun is the subject of a sentence, the personal pronouns – he, she, it and they are used as the subjects
of question tags according to the number, person and gender of the used noun; as,
• Binay and Sudhir are friends, aren’t they?
• Bhavna is an intelligent girl, isn’t she?
• The sofa set was not strong enough, was it?
Rule 3: If the words – there, one, this/that, these/those are used as the subjects of a sentence, the words – There,
one, it and they are used as the subjects of question tags respectively; as;
• There is a book on the table, isn’t there?
• One cannot do this sum, can one?
• This is your book, isn’t it?
• That is my table, isn’t it?
• Those were his buffaloes, weren’t they?
Note: When the words – one, this/that, these/those are used before a noun, they are adjectives. If they are used as the
subjects of sentences, the personal pronouns- he, she, it and they are used as the subjects of question tags according to
the number, person and gender of the noun used after the words- one, this/that, these/those; as;
• One girl can do this work, can’t she?
• This man always disturbed me, didn’t he?
• This pen is useless, isn’t it?
• That boy has no knowledge, has he?
Rule 4: If the Indefinite pronouns – everybody, somebody, anybody, nobody, everyone, someone, anyone and no
one are used as the subjects of a sentence, the personal pronoun ‘they’ is used as the subject of question
tags but the personal pronoun - ‘he’ is not used as the subject of question tags; as
• Someone stole my watch, didn’t they?
• Anyone can lift this box, can’t they?
 • Everybody is the master of his fate, aren’t they?
Rule 5: If the indefinite pronoun – everything, something, anything and nothing are used as the subjects of a
sentence the personal pronoun – ‘it’ is used as the subject of question tags but the personal pronoun –
‘they’ is not used as the subject of question tags; as;
• Everything looks beautiful, doesn’t it?
• Nothing is yours, is it?
• Something was there, wasn’t it?
• Anything can be done for her, can’t it?
Rule 6: If the phrases- all of us/ all of you/ all of them/ none of us/ none of you/ none of them; one of us/ one of you/
one of them; anyone of us/ any one of you/ any one of them; some of us/ some of you/ some of them ; most
of us/ most of you/ most of them; neither of us/neither of you/ neither of them; either of us/ either of
you/either of them and every one of us/every one of you/ every one of them are used as the subjects of a
sentence; the personal pronouns – we, you and they are used as the subject of question tags respectively;
as;
• All of us can do this sum, can’t we?
• All of them can do this sum, can’t they?
• Either of you is innocent, aren’t you?
• None of them have seen the Red ford, have they?
• Most of you are honest, aren’t you?
• Some of us are intelligent, aren’t we?
• Every one of them has courage, haven’t they?

PRACTICE SET
Q.1. Fill in the blanks with suitable question tags:
1. I am innocent, _______?
2. I am not clever, _______?
3. I’m reading the Gita, _______?
4. You are writing a letter, _______?
5. You are not helping me, _______?
6. Mahant Babu is very poor, _______?
7. They are playing cricket, _______?
8. We are ready to face the difficulties, _______?
9. She has given me a notebook, _______?
10. Manu has sympathy for you, _______?
Q. 2. Find out the error part of the following sentences:
1. You will be sixteen on your next birthday, won’t you be?
2. He should help his poor brother, should he?
3. Most of them voted against the proposal, didn’t we?
4. There was not a single seat vacant, was it?
5. It was a horrible accident, was it?
6. My wife easily loses her temper, don’t I?
7. They couldn’t attend the meeting, couldn’t they?
8. He flew from Patna to Rajgir, did he?
9. Our publisher smokes too many cigarettes, don’t we?
10. The students haven’t paid their fees, has he?