Question Tags

A2 · ElementaryQuestions

You're coming, aren't you? She isn't ready, is she? A question tag checks or confirms a statement — and it has to match both the auxiliary AND the opposite polarity.

What you'll learn

A positive statement gets a negative tag; a negative statement gets a positive tag
The tag's auxiliary must match the statement's own auxiliary (or add do/does/did if there's none)
The tag always uses a pronoun (he, she, it, they...), never the full noun again
I am has one irregular tag: aren't I? — not amn't I

A short question at the end of a statement

A question tag is a short question glued onto the end of a statement, usually to check something or invite agreement. It always does two things at once: flips the statement's polarity, and echoes its auxiliary verb.

"You're coming tonight, aren't you?"

"She isn't ready, is she?"

Positive gets negative, negative gets positive

If the statement is positive, the tag is negative. If the statement is already negative, the tag is positive. The two parts always have opposite polarity.

"You aren't tired, are you?"

"She doesn't like tea, does she?"

Matching the auxiliary

The tag reuses whatever auxiliary the statement has — have, be, can, will, should — or adds do/does/did if the statement has none of its own, exactly like short answers.

"They've finished, haven't they?"

"You like pizza, don't you?"

"He can swim, can't he?"

A couple of special cases

I am uses the irregular tag aren't I?, not amn't I. And Let's (a suggestion) always takes the fixed tag shall we?, regardless of the verb.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"Let's go, shall we?"

Real English

"We should leave, shouldn't we?"

"He doesn't drive, does he?"

"They were late, weren't they?"

"You've never been there, have you?"

Watch out

✗You're coming tonight, are you?

✓You're coming tonight, aren't you?

A positive statement needs a NEGATIVE tag, not another positive one.

✗You like pizza, are you?

✓You like pizza, don't you?

With no auxiliary in the statement, the tag needs do/does/did, matching the ordinary short-answer rule.

✗I'm right, amn't I?

✓I'm right, aren't I?

The tag for 'I am' is the irregular aren't I — never amn't I.

Real life — Making small talk

"Lovely weather today, isn't it?"

"It really is. You're not from around here, are you?"

"No, I just moved. This is the town hall, isn't it?"

"That's right — you found it!"

Practice

Exercise 1 · Choose the correct tag

Choose the correct tag — positive statement.

Exercise 2 · Choose the correct tag

Choose the correct tag — negative statement.

Exercise 3 · Choose the correct tag

Choose the correct tag — matching auxiliary.

Exercise 4 · Choose the correct tag

Choose the correct tag — no auxiliary in the statement.

Exercise 5 · Choose the correct tag

Choose the correct tag — special case with 'I am'.

Exercise 6 · Choose the correct tag

Choose the correct tag — modal verb.

Exercise 7 · Choose the correct tag

Choose the correct tag — past simple.

Exercise 8 · Choose the correct tag

Choose the correct tag.

Exercise 9 · Add the correct tag

Add the correct tag: 'You've never been there, ___?'

Exercise 10 · Add the correct tag

Add the correct tag: 'She works here, ___?'

Exercise 11 · Sort into groups

You're tired, aren't you?

You aren't tired, are you?

She likes tea, doesn't she?

She doesn't like tea, does she?

They can help, can't they?

They can't help, can they?

0 / 6 sorted

Quick challenge

Five quick questions to check what stuck.

Question 1 / 5

Score: 0/0

Choose the correct tag.

You learned

A positive statement gets a negative tag; a negative statement gets a positive tag.
The tag's auxiliary matches the statement's own — or adds do/does/did if there's none.
The tag always uses a pronoun, never the full noun again.
I am has the irregular tag aren't I?, and Let's always takes shall we?

ElementaryQuestions

Subject vs Object Questions

Learn the one case where a question needs NO do/does/did — when the question word itself is the subject of the sentence.

IntermediateQuestions

Indirect and Embedded Questions

Learn how to ask polite questions and embed a question inside a sentence, using statement word order instead of inversion.

IntermediateQuestions

Advanced Question Forms

Learn two more natural question patterns: leaving a preposition at the end of the question, and negative questions used for surprise or agreement.

BeginnerQuestions

Short Answers

Learn how to answer a yes/no question naturally, by echoing back the same auxiliary verb the question used.