Question tags

Do you know how to use question tags like is he and didn't you? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how question tags are used.

You haven't seen this film, have you?
Your sister lives in Spain, doesn't she?
He can't drive, can he?

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1: Question tags: Grammar test 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

We can add question tags like isn't it?, can you? or didn't they? to a statement to make it into a question. Question tags are more common in speaking than writing.

We often use question tags when we expect the listener to agree with our statement. In this case, when the statement is positive, we use a negative question tag.

She's a doctor, isn't she?
Yesterday was so much fun, wasn't it?

If the statement is negative, we use a positive question tag.

He isn't here, is he?
The trains are never on time, are they?
Nobody has called for me, have they?

If we are sure or almost sure that the listener will confirm that our statement is correct, we say the question tag with a falling intonation. If we are a bit less sure, we say the question tag with a rising intonation.

Formation

If there is an auxiliary verb in the statement, we use it to form the question tag.

I don't need to finish this today, do I?
James is working on that, isn't he?
Your parents have retired, haven't they?
The phone didn't ring, did it?
It was raining that day, wasn't it?
Your mum hadn't met him before, had she?

Sometimes there is no auxiliary verb already in the statement. For example, when:

... the verb in the statement is present simple or past simple and is positive. Here we use don't, doesn't or didn't:

Jenni eats cheese, doesn't she?
I said that already, didn't I?

... the verb in the statement is to be in the present simple or past simple. In this case we use to be to make the question tag:

The bus stop's over there, isn't it?
None of those customers were happy, were they?

... the verb in the statement is a modal verb. Here we use the modal verb to make the question tag:

They could hear me, couldn't they?
You won't tell anyone, will you?

If the main verb or auxiliary verb in the statement is am, the positive question tag is am I? but the negative question tag is usually aren't I?:

I'm never on time, am I?
I'm going to get an email with the details, aren't I?

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2: Question tags: Grammar test 2

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Language level

B1 Intermediate

B2 Upper intermediate

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Hello the LearnEnglish Team, I would like to learn more on how to answer question tags that have negative indefinite pronouns (such as "nobody", "nothing", "no one", "never",...).

For example: My friend invites me to a barbecue at his house, and he knows that I've never had a barbecue before, so he says: "You have never had a barbecue before, have you?"

How should I answer him? As far as I know, "never" has a negative meaning, so it makes the whole statement "You have never had a barbecue before" negative as well. And the answers are usually based on the statement (not the question tag). Since the statement here has a negative meaning, and it's true (I've actually never had barbecue before), should the answer be "No, this is my first time having a barbecue."?

If possible, could you please provide more examples about how to answer question tags that have negative indefinite pronouns? Thank you so much!

Hello Nhi Le,

First, just a little correction: never is a negative adverb, not a pronoun.

The answer is that we have a couple of alternatives:

You have never had a barbecue before, have you?
No, I haven't.
No, never.
That's right.

You can add further explanation/information (such as 'this is my first time having a barbecue') to any of these.

When negative pronouns are used it may be necessary to change the form from 'any...' to 'no...' in the response. For example:

You don't know anyone at this party yet, do you?
No, I don't.
No, no-one.
That's right.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you, that helps a lot!

Dear Team,

Could you please clarify which tags should be used in sentences containing adverbs of negation?

I came across the following list of such adverbs published in The Cambridge Dictionary: hardly, little, never, only, scarcely and seldom. Does it mean that tags should be positive when those words appear in a sentence? I thought, 'only' was a bit of an exception and had to be used with a negative tag.

Could you please take a look at those sentences? Are they correct?

There is little we can do about it, is there?
She only finished the work this morning, didn't she?
You seldom visit your grandparents, do you?

Thank you for your kind help!

Hello AnChe,

All of those sentences are correct. However, I think in sentence 1 a negative tag is more likely. Little does not change the normal tag usage, so a negative tag after a positive verb indicates an expectation of agreement, while a positive tag after a positive verb indicates surprise:

There is little we can do about it, isn't there? [we agree]
There is little we can do about it, is there? [I'm surprised/this is unexpected]

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

The soup tasted delicious ,……?
A) didn’t it

B) wasn’t it

Here the verb tasted has the same meaning as was

Hello hossamyoussef,

The choice of the tag is not dependent on the meaning of the verb in the main clause but rather its form. We only use was in the tag when the main-clause verb is was. Here, the verb is 'tasted', so 'didn't it' is the correct option.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

They could hear me, couldn't they

Is is the prefferred way to give the concept of past ability.
As per Past Ability, we can not use could for one time ability in past. Am I missing something here?

Hello norman,

On the page on past ability we are quite careful with our phrasing:

Could is not usually correct when we're talking about ability at a specific moment in the past.

The reason is that there are exceptions. You can find the most common exceptions listed in this discussion:

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/122310/was-able-to-vs-could

==========

Exception 1: with verbs of the perception and mental activities:

I could hear a faint noise.
I could understand very little.

Exception 2: with negative or limiting adverbs:

I couldn't eat the fish.
I could only find three mistakes.

Exception 3: in some subordinate clauses:

I'm happy you could come.
The doctor said she could return to work.

B. In contexts where could refers to a general past ability (as opposed to a specific occasion as in A.), then could is common and interchangeable with was able to: