Students prefer AP Inter 1st Year English Grammar with Answers Pdf and Question Tags in English Inter 1st Year for mastering language skills.
Question Tags in English Inter 1st Year
AP Inter 1st Year English Question Tags
Question Tags Inter 1st Year
This section will enable you to understand question tags, their purpose, formation, usage, and some advanced points. Although informal in style, question tags play a significant role in conversation and are also important in various competitive examinations.
What are Question Tags ?
1. A question is generally asked either to get some information or to test someone’s knowledge
Where is the railway station? (To get information)
Who is the President of India? (For example, a teacher asking students in class.)
2. But question tags are short questions at the end of statements. They are mainly used in speech when we want to confirm some information or to encourage a reply from the person we are talking to. You are accompanying us, aren’t you?
(To confirm)
The weather is nice, isn’t it? (To invite the listener to agree with us)
3. A question tag always starts with an auxiliary verb and ends with the pronoun of the subject. We use a negative question tag after a positive sentence and a positive question tag after a negative sentence.
Helping verb + n’t + pronoun for positive sentences.
You have paid your exam fee, haven’t you?
She is very hardworking, isn’t she?
Helping verb + pronoun for negative sentences.
They did not attend the party, did they?
Vinay hasn’t got an incentive, has he?
4. If there is no auxiliary verb in the given statement (i.e. the present simple and past simple statements) we use a form of ‘do’ (do/does/did) in the question tag.
- Children like chocolates, don’t they?
- He plays football every day, doesn’t he?
- They went to Mumbai, didn’t they?
Using Question Tags
1. Semi-Negatives: In the presence of semi-negatives (hardly, barely, rarely, scarcely, few, little, seldom, etc.), the tag should be positive.
- He seldom works hard, does he?
My father rarely watched movies, did he?
2. Indefinite Pronouns: If the subject is somebody, someone, anybody, anyone, everyone, everybody, none, nobody, no one, these, or those, the pronoun in the tag is “they.” This is done for gender neutrality.
- Nobody attended the meeting, did they?
Someone has lost his purse, haven’t they?
Nobody has called for me, have they?
Those are my belongings, aren’t they?
3. Neutral Subjects : If the subject is something, anything, nothing, everything, this, that, or the third-person singular “it.”, the pronoun in the tag is “it.”
- Something has gone wrong, hasn’t it?
This is not the right answer, is it?
4. “There” and “One” Subjects : If the subject is “There” or “One,” the same is used as the pronoun in the tag.
- There is no time, is there?
One should have faith in God, shouldn’t one?
5. Sentences with ‘ I ‘ as the subject : The question tag for “I am…” is “aren’t I?”
- I am your lecturer, aren’t I?
Champion Corner
1. Variation in Tags with ‘Have’
- When ‘have’ is the main verb of the sentence, the tag can be written in two ways:
- We have enough rice, haven’t we? (British English)
- We have enough rice, don’t we? (American English)
2. Tags with Phrases
- When we have phrases like ‘Some-of us/you/them’, ‘None of us/you/them’, ‘Each of us/you/ them’, use the related personal pronoun of that phrase as the subject in the tag.
But the question tag for a negative sentence that has ‘I’ as a subject is, ‘am I?’ I am not invited, am I? - All of them were present at the wedding, weren’t they?
- Most of us use our mobiles frequently, don’t we?
3. Modal Auxiliaries ‘Dare’ and ‘Need’
- The modal auxiliaries ‘dare’ and ‘need’ are taken into the tag. When used as main verbs, we use ‘do/does/did’ as used above with main verbs.
- She dare not face after the incident, dare she?
- He needs to work hard to get better rank, doesn’t he?
4. Tag for ‘Used to’
- The tag for the modal ‘used to’ is ‘didn’t + pronoun’
- They used to play cricket, didn’t they?
5. Imperatives
a) The standard tag for imperative sentences is indeed “will you?”
Have a cup of coffee, will you?
Open the window, will you?
b) However, when there’s a hint of uncertainty or a slight expectation of refusal, the negative tag
“won’t you?” is used instead:
Do it now, won’t you?
c) After a negative imperative, we use only ‘will you?’
Don’t forget to post the letter, will you?
d) We use ‘can’t you’ as the question tag in imperative sentences to denote madness, impatience, anger, rudeness, or irritation.
Keep working seriously, can’t you? (Irritation)
Mind your business, can’t you? (Rudeness)
Get out of here, can’t you? (Anger)
Exercise
Add suitable question tag to each of the following sentences given below.
1) You can’t speak Tamil, ………… ?
Answer:
You can’t speak Tamil, can you?
2) Children often play video games on smart phones, ………… ?
Answer:
Children often play video games on smartphones, don’t they?
3) There aren’t any spiders in the bedroom, ………… ?
Answer:
There aren’t any spiders in the bedroom, are there?
4) He could always borrow the money, ………… ?
Answer:
He could always borrow the money, couldn’t he?
5) They won’t tell anyone, ………… ?
Answer:
They won’t tell anyone, will they?
6) That was amazing, ………… ?
Answer:
That was amazing, wasn’t it?
7) I’m quite busy with my schedule today, ………… ?
Answer:
I’m quite busy with my schedule today, aren’t I?
8) They hadn’t been to the states before, ………… ?
Answer:
They hadn’t been to the States before, had they?
9) My father works at the art theatre, ………… ?
Answer:
My father works at the art theatre, doesn’t he?
10) Open the door, ………… ?(Polite)
Answer:
Open the door, will you? (Polite)
11) Let’s go to the beach, ………… ?
Answer:
Let’s go to the beach, shall we?
12) Bequiet, ………… ? (Irritation)
Answer:
Be quiet, can’t you? (Irritation)
13) John and Mary admire each other, ………… ?
Answer:
John and Mary admire each other, don’t they?
14) One shouldn’t say things like that, ………… ?
Answer:
One shouldn’t say things like that, should one?
15) Owing to menace of mosquitoes, none of us slept well last night, ………… ?
Answer:
Owing to the menace of mosquitoes, none of us slept well last night, did we?
16) Don’t spend too much on trifles, ………… ?
Answer:
Don’t spend too much on trifles, will you?
17) Nobody cares how I feel, ………… ?
Answer:
Nobody cares how I feel, do they?
18) I think she’s from Chennai, ………… ?
Answer:
I think she’s from Chennai, isn’t she?
19) Have another dosa, ………… ?
Answer:
Have another dosa, won’t you?
20) A little progress has been made, ………… ?
Answer:
A little progress has been made, hasn’t it?