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Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag questions
HOW TO FORM THEM AND HOW TO USE THEM
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Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions
Tag questions are commonly used in English.
They might appear to be a strange construction.
They can add subtleties and nuance to a question.
Using tag questions can make your language appear more fluent and natural.
https://business-english-success.com/
https://www.esforay.com/
Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions – Examples #1
They might appear to be a strange construction. Here is the ‘recipe’.
Take a statement 
➢This is an English course
Make the negation
➢it isn’t
Add the negation as a question
➢This is an English course, isn’t it?
https://business-english-success.com/
https://www.esforay.com/
Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions – Examples #2
More examples of typical tag questions.
➢You’re new here, aren’t you?
➢Sarah is clever, isn’t she?
It can also be a negative question and a positive tag.
➢You don’t like ice-cream, do you?
➢Bob isn’t coming in today, is he?
https://business-english-success.com/
https://www.esforay.com/
Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions – Format #1
There are three parts to a tag question.
➢subject
➢verb
➢tense
All three parts have to match in the statement and the tag.
https://business-english-success.com/
https://www.esforay.com/
Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions – Format #2
Here are some examples that get one part wrong.
➢This is a tag question, isn’t she? (wrong subject)
➢This is a tag question, can’t it? (wrong verb)
➢This is a tag question, wasn’t it? (wrong tense)
In each case, the whole sentence sounds ‘off’.
This is a tag question, isn’t it? (this is the correct version)
https://business-english-success.com/
https://www.esforay.com/
Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions – Format #3
➢You like coffee, don’t you?
This might not appear to be a tag question, as the verbs don’t seem to match.
You just need to bear in mind that most verbs require a helper verb to form questions and negatives.
For example, “I like coffee” becomes “I do not like coffee” in the negative. 
As a question, it becomes “Do you like coffee?”.
Therefore, the tag question at the start is a valid tag question.
https://business-english-success.com/
https://www.esforay.com/
Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions – Nuances #1
So English people have a thing called tag questions – so what?
They can add subtleties and nuance to a question.
Imagine you’re in a job interview and you get one of these questions.
➢Can you start on Monday?
➢You can start on Monday, can’t you?
➢You couldn’t start on Monday, could you?
What is the difference between them?
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Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions – Nuances #2
Can you start on Monday?
This is a neutral question.
There is no implied answer.
You can answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
https://business-english-success.com/
https://www.esforay.com/
Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions – Nuances #3
You can start on Monday, can’t you?
This is not a neutral question.
It is a polite way of telling you that you need to start on Monday.
Answering with ‘no’ here is not easy.
If you don’t say ‘yes’, you should have a good reason.
https://business-english-success.com/
https://www.esforay.com/
Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions – Nuances #4
You couldn’t start on Monday, could you?
Again, this is not a neutral question.
The other person is asking if you can start on Monday but realises that this is unlikely.
You could answer ‘no’ with negative consequences.
However, if you could start on Monday, that would be great!
https://business-english-success.com/
https://www.esforay.com/
Business English Success ESFORAY GmbH
Tag Questions – Summary
Tag questions are common in English.
Native speakers use them without really thinking about it.
When used correctly, they make your language appear more natural and fluent.
You do agree, don’t you? ☺
https://business-english-success.com/
https://www.esforay.com/