An Explanation of Question Tags

While phrasing a sentence that purports to inquire or ask about some facts or things, the importance of phrasing it correctly rises. English Grammar enables the speaker or writer to create sentences that ask about something through Question tags. Question tags are interrogative sentences that appear at the end of the sentence to act as confirmation for the before said statement. In this type, there would be any sentence like the imperative, explanatory, or interrogative sentences in a statement. There would be a question tag that would function to obtain confirmation from the receiver and always be in the form of an interrogative sentence.

Question Tags examples:

Examples of Question Tags can be broadly classified based on the previous sentence types. The following are some question tags examples:

1. Affirmative Sentences-

• Ramesh is intelligent, isn’t he?
• You are running for election, aren’t you?
• He lived in Delhi, didn’t he?

2. Interrogative Sentences-

• Do you like sugar? Don’t you?
• Are you doing homework? Aren’t you?
• Will she come to the doctor’s appointment? Won’t she?

3. Exclamatory Sentences-

• Bravo! You won, didn’t you?
• Alas! She didn’t get that job, did she?
• Hurray! He came first in the race, didn’t he?

4. Imperative Sentences-

• Come here, won’t you?
• Please close the door, will you?
• Go to the doctor, won’t you?

Question tags rules:

Specific rules should be followed while writing sentences with Question tags. They ensure sentences with proper usage of grammar. Some rules are written below:

1. Rule1: When question tags are negative, Anomalous verbs are used in an abbreviated form. For example: don’t, shouldn’t, couldn’t, daren’t, hadn’t, won’t they, etc.
2. Rule2: If the sentence is positive, the question tag will be negative and vice-versa. Question tags should be written after the end of the statement with a comma. The structure is as follows: helping verb+ Subject? Or helping verb n’t+ Subject?
3. Rule3: Pronouns are used with question tags, and nouns are not used. For example:

• Ram is going to Delhi, isn’t he?
• You are studying, aren’t you?

4. Rule4: In case helping verbs are missing from the sentence, do/does/did are used in the question tags. For example:

• He eats vegetables, doesn’t he?
• They run fast, don’t they?

5. Rule5: If the sentence’s subject is a personal pronoun, question tags contain the same personal pronoun, but if the subject is a noun, then the pronoun used in the question tag would be according to the subject’s gender and quantity. For example:

• They play, don’t they?
• It is wrong, isn’t it?
• We played a game, didn’t we?

6. Rule6: If a sentence contains there, this, that, those, these in Subject, then the question tag’s subject would be according to reported speech rules. For example:

• There is a bird, isn’t there?
• That is his car, isn’t it?
• That is my pen, isn’t it?

7. Rule7: If a sentence contains adjectives in the form of one, this, that, these, then the question tag’s subject would be according to gender and person in the sentence. For example:

• This book is very useful, isn’t it?
• Those pens are mine, aren’t they?
• Someone will be there, won’t they?

8. Rule8: If a sentence contains a subject as no one, anyone, someone, everyone, somebody, the question tag will be they. For example:

• Someone should be there, won’t they?
• Nobody has listened, have they?
• None can do so, can they?
• Everyone attended the ceremony, didn’t they?

9. Rule9: If dare/need is used as a modal auxiliary verb, then dare/need are used in the question tags. For example:

• He dare not talk so, dare he?
• She need not go there, need she?

Important Points for Question tags:

Question tag rules are essential to keep in mind. But one should also keep some extra points in mind while phrasing question tag examples. The following points should be kept in mind while making a sentence’s question tags.

1. Sometimes the word ‘not’ is not used in the sentence, but negative words like neither, no one, nothing rarely are used, making the sentence’s meaning negative. For example:

• None was absent there, were they?
• No one can solve this issue, can they?
• She rarely goes there, does she?

2. If a sentence is an imperative positive sentence, then the question tag can form with the will or won’t, but a negative imperative sentence always forms positive question tags. For example:

• Open the door, will you?
• Please come here, will you?
• Consult a physician, won’t you?

3. The ‘can’t you’ question tag is correct if an imperative sentence denotes madness or rudeness. For example:

• Use your phone, can’t you?
• Mind your work, can’t you?
• Keep low, can’t you?

4. If a sentence uses ‘let’s’ at the start, then the ‘shall we’ question tag is used. For example:

• Let’s go, shall we?
• Let’s play, shall we?
• Let’s dance, shall we?

Conclusion:

Question tags play an essential role in English Grammar. They act as supporting material for the sentence that conforms to the writer or receiver, and he accordingly gets feedback. The Question tag rules should be followed while making sentences with question tags. The existence of Question Tags provides room for more kinds of interrogative questions, and research shows that Question tags play a significant role in fields of psychology like Criminal and clinical Psychology. The use of Question tags in Spoken English is considered important as it adds more to the character of the person and his way of speaking. It adds charisma to our speaking skills.