English Grammar: Tag Questions

Question tags are a type of question that are used to confirm information we already know about or to show surprise.

Question tags are formed with an auxiliary verb and the appropriate personal pronoun. They take the same auxiliary as the statement or if there isn't an auxiliary in the statement they take 'do/does' in the present simple or 'did' in the past.

Affirmative and Negative Statements

After affirmative statements we use a negative interrogative tag and after negative statements we use an ordinary interrogative.
He works at the bank, doesn't he?
She didn't go to work yesterday, did she?

Let

'Let's' has the tag 'shall we?'
Let's go to the cinema tonight, shall we?

'Let me/him' has the tag 'will you/won't you?'
You'll let me use your car, won't you?

Have

'I have' used as a possessive has the tag 'haven't I?' but 'I have' when it is used idiomatically has the tag 'don't I?'
He has a flat in the centre, hasn't he?
Last week he had a party, didn't he?

This/That is

'This/That is' has the tag 'isn't it?'
This is the restaurant we went to for your last birthday, isn't it?

I am

'I am' has the tag 'aren't I?'
I am on time aren't I?
But the negative is:
I'm not late, am I?

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 question	correct answer
Snow is white, isn't it?	Yes (it is).
Snow isn't white, is it?	Yes it is!
Snow is black, isn't it?	No it isn't!
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: