TAG QUESTIONS

TAG QUESTIONS
You speak English, don't you?
A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. We use tag questions to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: "Is that right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English.
The basic structure of a tag question is:
positive statementnegative tag
Snow is white,isn't it?
negative statementpositive tag
You don't like me,do you?
Notice that the tag repeats the auxiliary verb (or main verb when be) from the statement and changes it to negative or positive.

Answering Tag Questions

How do we answer a tag question? Often, we just say Yes or No. Sometimes we may repeat the tag and reverse it (They don't live here, do they? Yes, they do). Be very careful about answering tag questions. In some languages, an opposite system of answering is used, and non-native English speakers sometimes answer in the wrong way. This can lead to a lot of confusion!

Answer a tag question according to the truth of the situation. Your answer reflects the real facts, not (necessarily) the question.
For example, everyone knows that snow is white. Look at these questions, and the correct answers:
tag questioncorrect answernotes
Snow is white, isn't it?Yes (it is).Answer is same in both cases - because snow is white!But notice change of stress when answerer does not agree with questioner.
Snow isn't white, is it?Yes it is!
Snow is black, isn't it?No it isn't!Answer is same in both cases - because snow is not black!
Snow isn't black, is it?No (it isn't).
In some languages, people answer a question like "Snow isn't black, is it?" with "Yes" (meaning "Yes, I agree with you"). This is the wrong answer in English!
Here are some more examples, with correct answers:
  • The moon goes round the earth, doesn't it? Yes, it does.
  • The earth is bigger than the moon, isn't it? Yes.
  • The earth is bigger than the sun, isn't it? No, it isn't!
  • Asian people don't like rice, do they? Yes, they do!
  • Elephants live in Europe, don't they? No, they don't!
  • Men don't have babies, do they? No.
  • The English alphabet doesn't have 40 letters, does it? No, it doesn't.

Intonation

We can change the meaning of a tag question with the musical pitch of our voice. With rising intonation, it sounds like a real question. But if our intonation falls, it sounds more like a statement that doesn't require a real answer:
intonation
You don't know where my wallet is,do you?/ risingreal question
It's a beautiful view,isn't it?\ fallingnot a real question







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