Practice
English tag questions: check, invite, and soften a statement
Sign in to saveYou have met the new manager, haven't you? The short question at the end is a tag. It can check a fact, invite a reply, or make a request sound more polite.
Form a natural English tag question by matching the auxiliary verb, subject pronoun, and positive or negative pattern to the statement.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
You have met the new manager, haven't you? /juː hæv met ðə njuː ˈmæn.ɪ.dʒə, ˈhæv.ənt juː/
The short answer
Match the tag to the statement's auxiliary verb and subject. After a positive statement, use a negative tag: ‘The meeting starts at nine, doesn't it?’ After a negative statement, use a positive tag: ‘You aren't busy, are you?’
The package arrived this morning, didn't it?
Why it works: The statement uses arrived, so the tag uses did and changes the package to it.
4 more examples
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Rina is not driving today, is she?
The statement is negative, so the tag is positive. Rina changes to she.
Not this:Rina is driving today,
isn't she? What changes: This positive statement needs a negative tag when the speaker expects agreement. -
Your colleagues have finished the report, haven't they?
Have is already the auxiliary in the present perfect, and colleagues becomes they.
Not this:Your colleague has finished the report,
hasn't she? What changes: With one known female colleague, use has and she. The tag must match the subject and verb. -
The café can stay open later, can't it?
Can is an auxiliary, so it stays in the tag. The café becomes it.
Not this:The café cannot stay open later,
can it? What changes: A negative statement takes a positive can tag. -
Please send me the link, will you?
Will you is a common tag after an imperative request. It asks the listener to cooperate.
Not this:Please send me the link,
won't you? What changes: Won't you can sound like a warm invitation or encouragement, but will you is the more neutral request tag.
Read the full guide
Start with the verb in the statement. If it already has be, have, can, will, or another auxiliary, use that verb in the tag. If it has an ordinary present or past verb, use do, does, or did. Then replace the subject with the correct pronoun and make the tag positive or negative.
Build a tag from the verb you already have
Look for an auxiliary verb before you choose a tag. Be, have, can, should, will, and similar verbs appear again in the tag. If the statement has an ordinary present or past verb, use do, does, or did instead.
The train was late, wasn't it?
Was is the verb in the statement, so wasn't appears in the tag. Do not use did after was.
Which auxiliary belongs in the tag after ‘The printer has stopped’ ?
Use has: ‘The printer has stopped, hasn't it?’
Reverse the positive or negative form
For an ordinary confirmation tag, a positive statement takes a negative tag. A negative statement takes a positive tag. This reversal tells the listener that the speaker is checking rather than simply repeating the statement.
The tickets are not expensive, are they?
The statement contains are not, so the tag uses the positive form are they.
How do you end ‘This route is safe’ with a regular confirmation tag?
Write ‘This route is safe, isn't it?’
Change the subject to a pronoun
The tag almost always uses a pronoun. A person named Luis becomes he; a group becomes they; an object or an idea becomes it. Check the number as well as the person. A plural noun needs they, not it.
The children enjoyed the museum, didn't they?
Children is plural, so they is the correct tag pronoun. ‘Didn't it?’ would treat several people as one thing.
What pronoun replaces ‘your parents’ in a tag?
Use they: ‘Your parents live nearby, don't they?’
Use a tag to check or invite agreement
A tag question often assumes an answer. A rising voice makes it sound more like a request for information. A falling voice often asks the other person to agree. The grammar can stay the same while the speaker's purpose changes.
This is the right platform, isn't it?
With a rising voice, the speaker needs confirmation. With a falling voice, the speaker may expect the listener to agree.
What does a speaker usually want from a tag question after a statement?
The speaker usually wants confirmation, agreement, or a short response from the listener.
Recognize request and suggestion tags
Imperatives and suggestions have their own familiar tag patterns. After a request such as ‘Wait here’, will you can make the request less abrupt. After ‘Let's’, use shall we to invite the other person into the plan. These forms do not follow the ordinary positive-negative rule word for word.
Let's take the earlier bus, shall we?
Let's means let us, so shall we asks whether both speakers agree with the suggestion.
Which tag commonly follows a polite imperative such as ‘Hold this for a moment’ ?
Use will you: ‘Hold this for a moment, will you?’
Before you go
Remember this
Find the statement's auxiliary, replace the subject with a pronoun, and reverse positive and negative form in the usual pattern. Use do, does, or did when the statement has no auxiliary. Then decide what the tag is doing: checking a fact, inviting agreement, making a request, or offering a suggestion.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
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Try the written questionsQuestions about "English tag questions: check, invite, and soften a statement"
What is a tag question in English?
A tag question is a short question after a statement. It usually repeats an auxiliary verb and uses a pronoun for the subject. Speakers use it to check information, invite agreement, or ask for a response in a conversational way.
The package arrived this morning, didn't it?
Why do positive statements usually have negative tags?
A positive statement followed by a negative tag is the regular English pattern for checking something the speaker expects to be true. For example, a past statement with did usually ends in didn't plus the matching pronoun.
The package arrived this morning, did it?
How do I choose the pronoun in a tag question?
Replace the statement's subject with the pronoun that matches it. Use he or she for a named person when appropriate, they for plural people or things, and it for an object, place, idea, or animal when the context calls for it.
Rina is not driving today, is she?
Which verb should I use when a statement has no auxiliary?
Use do, does, or did in the tag. Choose do for most present-tense subjects, does for a singular present-tense subject, and did for the past. Then use the opposite positive or negative form for a regular confirmation tag.
Rina is driving today, isn't she?
Why does ‘Let's’ use ‘shall we?’ in a tag question?
Let's means let us, so the suggestion includes the speaker and listener together. Shall we asks whether both people agree with the proposed action. It is a familiar fixed pattern rather than a direct copy of the statement's verb.
Your colleagues have finished the report, haven't they?