Question Tags in English
📌 Lesson Contents
🎯 Lesson goal
In this lesson you will learn to use question tags 📖 to turn a statement into a question, check information or start a natural conversation. You will see how to form them 🧠, the grammar rules for matching verbs ✍️ and get real practice with the quiz at the bottom of the page! 🚀
🌟 What are Question Tags?
Question tags are short questions added to the end of a positive or negative statement. They work like “right?”, “OK?” or “isn’t it?”. We use them to check information or to invite the other person to answer! 🗣️❓
🔍 How do we form them?
| Main sentence | Question Tag | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | Negative | You are a student, aren’t you? 🎓❓ |
| Negative | Affirmative | She isn’t tired, is she? 🛌❓ |
👉 Golden rule: Positive sentence ➔ Negative tag | Negative sentence ➔ Positive tag!
🔍 Practical examples
1. Positive sentence ➔ Negative tag
✅ Check something you think is true:
- You are coming to the party, aren’t you? 🎉
- He likes pizza, doesn’t he? 🍕
- They played well, didn’t they? ⚽
2. Negative sentence ➔ Positive tag
✅ Check something when the main sentence is negative:
- She isn’t working today, is she? 💻
- They don’t have a car, do they? 🚗
- You won’t tell anyone, will you? 🤫
🧩 Summary table – Question Tags
| Type of sentence | Type of tag | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | Negative | It is cold, isn’t it? ❄️ |
| Negative | Affirmative | You aren’t hungry, are you? 🍽️❓ |
❓ Basic doubts cleared up
- Must the verb in the tag be the same as in the main sentence?
➔ Yes! Use the auxiliary (be, have, do, can, will, etc.) in the same tense as the main sentence. - If the sentence starts with “I am”, how do we form the tag?
➔ Special exception! I am late, aren’t I? (We NEVER useamn’t I). - Do we always need the pronoun in the tag?
➔ Yes! The tag always ends with the matching personal pronoun (he, she, it, they, we, you, I).
🚫 Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake ❌ | Correct ✅ |
|---|---|
| You like pizza, isn’t it? | You like pizza, don’t you? (Use the auxiliary do/does!) |
| She doesn’t work, doesn’t she? | She doesn’t work, does she? (Negative sentence ➔ positive tag) |
| I’m right, amn’t I? | I’m right, aren’t I? (Special case to remember!) |
👉 Remember: Same verb/auxiliary ➔ Right tense ➔ Right pronoun!
📌 Final summary
- Positive sentence ➔ Negative tag.
- Negative sentence ➔ Positive tag.
Use the correct auxiliary verb and always match it with the personal pronoun! ✍️ Practise by adding a little question after each everyday statement! 🎯
Gap Fill & Translation Exercises
Test yourself! In the first 15 sentences, add the correct question tag (e.g. ‘aren’t you?’, ‘is she?’). In the last 5, write the whole sentence with its tag.