Definition of Tag Question: This is used frequently in conversation
to verify a statement.
Examples:
I
write a letter, don’t I?
They
can read, can’t they?
Details
on Tag Question:
Short
forms of Auxiliary Verb: (am= aren’t, is= isn’t, are= aren’t, was= wasn’t,
were= weren’t, do= don’t, does= doesn’t, Did= didn’t,
have= haven’t, has= hasn’t, had= hadn’t, shall= shan’t,
will= won’t, can= can’t, Could= couldn’t, must= mustn’t,
might= mightn’t, dare= daren’t)
Auxiliary Verbs: Primary Auxiliary: am, is, are,
was, were, have, has, had, do, does, did.
Modal Auxiliary: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will,
would, etc.
Pronouns: I, me, my, we, us, our, you, your, he,
him, his, she, her, they, them, their, it etc.
Structure of Tag Question:
Auxiliary Verb + (n’t) + Pronoun +?
Rule 1: If statement
is affirmative then the tag
is negative.
Examples:
I
can go there, can’t I ?
He
reads in this school, doesn’t he ?
Rule 2: If statement
is negative then the
tag
is affirmative.
Examples:
He
has no cow, has he ?
You
are not intelligent, are you ?
Rule 3: If we get
any primary or modal auxiliary verb in the statement then we have to use those
auxiliary verbs.
Examples:
Roy
is going there, isn’t he ?
You
can do it, can’t you ?
Rule 4: If we do not find any Auxiliary Verb in the
statement then we have to use do, does (for present statement)
& did (for past statement).
Examples:
They go to the school, don’t they ?
He plays football, doesn’t he ?
She went there, didn’t she ?
Rule 5: If we get ‘let us’ (let’s) in the statement
then we have to use ‘Shall we’ as a tag question.
Examples:
Let us go home, shall we ?
Let’s go for a walk, shall we ?
Rule 6: If a statement begins with ‘It’ or ‘There’ then as a pronoun of the tag, ‘it’ or ‘there’ is used.
Examples:
There is no pond in this village, is there ?
It is a good idea, isn’t it ?
Rule 7: If we find neither, none, no one,
nobody, anyone, anybody, no, not, nothing, scarcely, barely, hardly, seldom,
hardly ever etc. in the statement then the tag is affirmative, because those word give a negative meaning.
Examples:
Nothing was done, was it ?
None can do this, can they ?
Rule 8: If we find everyone, everybody, someone, and somebody etc. in the Statement, then
the tag is negative and ‘they’
is used as a pronoun
of the tag.
Examples:
Everybody saw you, didn’t they ?
Someone has stolen his pen, hasn’t they ?
Rule 9: If there is the word ‘nothing’ in the statement then as a pronoun
of the tag ‘It’ is used. Because the word
‘nothing’ indicate inanimate object.
Examples:
Nothing is possible without hard work, is it ?
Rule 10: If the statement is imperative sentence and affirmative then the tag is- won’t you.
Examples:
Sit down, won’t you ?
Have it, won’t you ?
Rule
11: If the statement is imperative sentence and negative
then the tag is-
will you.
Examples:
Don’t shut up, will you ?
Don’t spit in the class room, will you ?
Rule
12: If the statement is a complex
sentence, then we have to make Tag Question
from the principal clause.
Examples:
It was found, that David walked at the age of two, wasn’t it ?
Thank You