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    Question Tags

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    anmol.maatutorials
    The document discusses rules and notes about question tags, which are small questions asked for confirmation after a sentence. It explains that question tags must match the tense and polarity of the main sentence, and covers special cases like collective nouns, negative adverbs, imperatives, and sentences using 'there' as a subject.

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    Question Tags

    Uploaded by

    anmol.maatutorials
    17 views8 pages
    The document discusses rules and notes about question tags, which are small questions asked for confirmation after a sentence. It explains that question tags must match the tense and polarity of the main sentence, and covers special cases like collective nouns, negative adverbs, imperatives, and sentences using 'there' as a subject.

    Original Description:

    Question tags in English grammar.

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    The document discusses rules and notes about question tags, which are small questions asked for confirmation after a sentence. It explains that question tags must match the tense and polarity of the main sentence, and covers special cases like collective nouns, negative adverbs, imperatives, and sentences using 'there' as a subject.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    17 views8 pages

    Question Tags

    Uploaded by

    anmol.maatutorials
    The document discusses rules and notes about question tags, which are small questions asked for confirmation after a sentence. It explains that question tags must match the tense and polarity of the main sentence, and covers special cases like collective nouns, negative adverbs, imperatives, and sentences using 'there' as a subject.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 8

    Question Tags

    Question Tag
    • Ram works hard, ______?
    He is not coming, ______?

    A small question asked for confirmation after a sentence.


    Rules
    • The sentence and its question tag must be in the same tense.
    • For a positive sentence we use a negative question tag and vice versa.
    • We always use a pronoun in question tags.
    • For negative question tags we use the contraction of the helping verb
    and the adverb of negation ‘not’ (didn’t, hadn’t, won’t, etc.).
    Notes
    • Usually ‘am not’ does not have a contraction but we use the word
    ‘aren’t’ for it in question tags. E.g.:
    I am fine, ______?

    • Everyone, everybody, no one, none, each, every, etc., are treated as


    singular and take up singular verbs and singular pronouns but in
    question tags they are treated as plurals. E.g.:
    Everyone has come, ______?
    None of your friends likes her, ______?
    Everybody can speak English, ______?
    Notes (contd.)
    • Collective nouns if treated as singulars in the main sentence would
    also be treated as singulars in questions tags. E.g.:
    The jury has taken its decision, ______?

    • But if we talk about them in a plural sense then they are to be treated
    as plurals even in the question tag. E.g.:
    The committee are divided in their opinion, ______?
    The audience have taken their seats, ______?
    Notes (contd.)
    • Negative adverbs like hardly, seldom, scarcely, barely, etc., take up
    positive question tags. E.g.:
    He hardly does any work, ______?
    He has barely anything to eat, ______?
    He is seldom absent, ______?

    • If the sentence starts with ‘Let’s/Let us’ then the question tag will be
    ‘shall we?’. E.g.:
    Let us go to the party tonight, ______?
    Notes (contd.)
    • In imperative sentences (as requests) we use the question tag ‘won’t you?’. E.g.:
    Come in, ______?

    • As commands they will take the question tag ‘will you?/would you?’. E.g.:
    Open the door, ______?
    Have some more tea, ______?

    • The question tag ‘can’t you?’ in imperatives represents impatience. E.g.:


    Shut your mouth, ______?

    • For negative imperatives we use the question tag ‘will you?’. E.g.:
    Don’t worry, ______?
    Notes (contd.)
    • If the sentence uses there as a subject then the question tag will be
    made of the verb that comes after there + there. E.g.:
    There is no water, ______?
    There weren’t any good schools, ______?
    There is space for everyone, ______?

    • Question tags are used according to the main part of the sentence
    (the part being confirmed). E.g.:
    I think, he is right, ______?

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