Question Tags – Class 12 Alternative English Grammar

Question Tags

Note for Students: Mastering Question Tags

Hello! This lesson is all about “Question Tags.” You probably use them all the time when you speak without even thinking about it. A question tag is a short question we add to the end of a statement, like “…isn’t it?” or “…don’t you?”.

Why do we use them?

• To confirm information: “The exam is tomorrow, isn’t it?” (You think you know, but you want to be sure).
• To ask for agreement: “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” (You are inviting someone to agree with you).

The basic rule is simple:

• If the statement is positive, the tag is negative. (e.g., “You are coming, aren’t you?“)
• If the statement is negative, the tag is positive. (e.g., “You aren’t coming, are you?“)

This unit will walk you through the main rules and some special cases, like what to do with words like ‘everyone’ or ‘seldom’. Don’t worry, the rules are straightforward. With a little practice, you’ll be using question tags perfectly in your writing and conversations!

Lesson: Question Tags

Question tags are short questions added to the end of statements, mainly in spoken English, to confirm information or seek agreement.

Basic Rules:

1. A positive statement takes a negative tag.
   • Example: Rakhi is a sincere girl, isn’t she?
2. A negative statement takes a positive tag.
   • Example: Madam did not teach the class, did she?
3. The tag uses the same auxiliary verb (is, are, have, will, can, etc.) as the statement.
   • Example: The boys are playing football, aren’t they?
4. If there is no auxiliary verb, use a form of ‘do’ (do, does, did).
   • Example: Ramesh broke the window, didn’t he?
   • Example: She walks to college every day, doesn’t she?

Special Rules to Remember:

1. Sentences with negative words: Words like none, nothing, little, few, hardly, seldom, rarely, and scarcely make a statement negative. Therefore, they take a positive tag.
   • Example: Few students attended the class, did they?
   • Example: We seldom meet nowadays, do we?
2. Pronouns for indefinite subjects: For subjects like everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, anyone, anybody, and neither, the pronoun in the tag is always ‘they’.
   • Example: Everyone present applauded the gesture, didn’t they?
   • Example: No one came to the rescue, did they?
3. Sentences with ‘There’: The introductory ‘there’ is retained in the tag.
   • Example: There are four peons in the office, aren’t there?
4. Imperative Sentences (Commands/Requests):
   • For simple requests, the tag is usually ‘will you?’.
     • Example: Give me a glass of water, will you please?
   • For urgent requests, ‘won’t you?’ is used.
     • Example: Be merciful please, won’t you?
5. Sentences with ‘Let’s’: For suggestions starting with ‘Let’s’ (Let us), the tag is ‘shall we?’.
   • Example: Let’s go on a trip, shall we?
6. Sentences with ‘Let’ for permission: When ‘let’ is used to give permission (e.g., let them, let her), the tag is ‘will you?’.
   • Example: Let them watch television, will you?

Exercise: Rewrite these sentences adding appropriate question tags to them.

Here are the beautifully written, corrected answers for the exercise questions.

1. Original: It is raining.
   • Corrected: It is raining, isn’t it?
2. Original: Rahul is an excellent guitarist.
   • Corrected: Rahul is an excellent guitarist, isn’t he?
3. Original: There is no food left.
   • Corrected: There is no food left, is there?
   • Reason: The statement is negative because of ‘no’, so the tag is positive.
4. Original: The mansion looks beautiful.
   • Corrected: The mansion looks beautiful, doesn’t it?
   • Reason: The verb is ‘looks’ (simple present), so the tag uses ‘does’.
5. Original: Let’s have a cup of coffee.
   • Corrected: Let’s have a cup of coffee, shall we?
   • Reason: Suggestions with ‘Let’s’ take the tag ‘shall we?’.
6. Original: They seldom attend classes.
   • Corrected: They seldom attend classes, do they?
   • Reason: ‘Seldom’ is a negative word, so the tag must be positive.
7. Original: There are no more matches in IPL this season.
   • Corrected: There are no more matches in IPL this season, are there?
   • Reason: The statement is negative (‘no more’), so the tag is positive.
8. Original: Anybody can learn conversation in English.
   • Corrected: Anybody can learn conversation in English, can’t they?
   • Reason: The pronoun for ‘anybody’ is ‘they’.
9. Original: The headmaster was not present in the function.
   • Corrected: The headmaster was not present in the function, was he?
10. Original: Let her attend the class.
    • Corrected: Let her attend the class, will you?
    • Reason: When ‘let’ gives permission, the tag is ‘will you?’.
11. Original: Little progress was made.
    • Corrected: Little progress was made, was it?
    • Reason: ‘Little’ (meaning ‘almost no’) is a negative word, so the tag is positive.
12. Original: Please use the staircase.
    • Corrected: Please use the staircase, will you?
    • Reason: This is a polite request (imperative).
13. Original: We hadn’t much time to spare.
    • Corrected: We hadn’t much time to spare, had we?
14. Original: These clothes are expensive.
    • Corrected: These clothes are expensive, aren’t they?
15. Original: The girls want to join the armed forces.
    • Corrected: The girls want to join the armed forces, don’t they?
    • Reason: The subject is ‘The girls’ (plural) and the verb is ‘want’ (simple present), so the tag uses ‘do’.