This document provides an overview of question tags in English grammar. It defines question tags as interrogative fragments added to declarative statements or imperatives to turn them into questions. The document outlines different ways question tags are formed in English and other languages. It also discusses the grammatical rules for forming positive and negative question tags based on the main clause. Examples are provided to illustrate proper usage of question tags. Exercises are included for learners to practice identifying, forming, and using question tags in speech and writing.

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Speaking & Discussion
Question Tags
Level B1
ENG_B1.1.0405S
Ask Questions & Give Suggestions

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Question Tags Outline
Content
In this lesson you will learn how to use question tags.
Learning Outcomes
• Learn how to verify questions with question tags.
• Ask questions and give suggestions.
• Learn interrogative vocabulary.

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Vocabulary
Structure
Statement
Interrogative
Grammatical
Politeness Irony
Rhetorical
Expectation
Response
Choice

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Vocabulary
Tag question
The most common is
In most languages
Formal written
Put emphasis on
Straightforward
Asking for information
Motivating an action
Underline a statement
Grammatical form
Real question
Unique
Same way
Factor
System
Positive/negative statement

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Definition
A question tag or tag question is a grammatical structure
in which a declarative statement or an imperative is
turned into a question by adding
an interrogative fragment.

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Questions
1) Can you think of examples of
question tags?
3) Are your examples seeking
agreement?
2) Are your examples real
questions?

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Statement
Question tags are formed in several ways, and many
languages give a choice of formation. In some languages
the most common is a single word or fixed phrase,
whereas in others it is formed by a regular grammatical
construction.

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Uses
Speaking
Uses for Question Tags
Question tags are used for:
• Politeness
• Emphasis
• Irony
• Confidence
• Rhetoric
Example:
He goes to Harvard University,
doesn‘t he?

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Grammatical explanation
Please note
If the main part of the sentence is positive, the
question tag is always negative and vice versa.
positive sentence -> negative question
negative sentence -> positive question
Examples
He starts school this year, doesn‘t he?
He said he was coming, didn‘t he?
They don‘t Speak English, do they?

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Please note
If there is an auxiliary verb, use it in the
question tag
Grammar
They‘ve been here before
He hasn‘t been waiting long
You aren‘t going to the gym



haven‘t they?
has he?
are you?

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Please note
If there is a modal verb in the sentence,
use it in the question tag.
Example
You can hear me, can‘t you?
You should done my homework, shouldn‘t you?
I will remember our meeting, won‘t I?
Grammar

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Please note
If there is no auxiliary verb, use ‘do‘ in the
question tag.
Example
You play tennis, don‘t you?
He remembers me, doesn‘t he?
We went to London last year, didn‘t we?
Grammar

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Exercises
Complete the question tags
Speaking
1. He always goes to the gym on Thurdays, ______?
2. We will be on time for the movie, ___________?
3. Your dog is a golden retriever, ______________?
4. I can eat some cake, ______________________?
5. She won‘t mind if I eat some, _______________?

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Exercises
Discuss the following questions
Speaking
1. What kind of intonation can questions have?
2. In which cases do we ask questions?
3. What are yes/no questions?

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Exercises
Speaking
Fill in the blank
factors – unique – system – questions – similar way –
grammatical form
English tag questions, when they have the ___________of a
question, are atypically complex, because they vary according to
at least three _______: the choice of auxiliary, the negation and
the intonation pattern. This is _____ among the Germanic
languages, but the Celtic languages operate in a very _________.
For the theory that English has borrowed its ____ of tag _______
from Brittonic, see Brittonicisms in English.

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Exercises
Writing
Formulate new sentences using these phrases
1) Question / are / the / to / the / tags / sentence / added / end of
2) Common / in / the tags / language / are / Question / English
3) Next/ ? / I / , / I‘m / aren‘t
4) You / expect / do / a / response / you / ? / don‘t / ,

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Exercises
Speaking
Role Play
You don‘t believe your friend
that he won the lottery. Ask
him questions with question
tags to be sure.
Situation 1 Situation 2
You want to convince you
friends to let you eat all the
cake.

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Exercises
Speaking
Practice adding question tags
1. He was here earlier…
2. She had met him before…
3. It‘s raining outside…
4. They are always playing video games…
5. You are working until 9 pm tonight…

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Exercises
Speaking
Choose the right question tag
We are taking the car
a) Are we?
b) Are we not?
c) Aren‘t we?
You don‘t know the way
a) Don‘t they?
b) Do you?
c) Don‘t you?
I didn‘t know
a) I didn‘t?
b) Did I?
c) Didn‘t hi?

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Exercises
Writing
Open writing activity
Write 4 sentences using question tags
1) Sentence
2) Sentence
3) Sentence
4) Sentence

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Thank you
We would like to thank
the following sources for their content
Images
Text Question Tags,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_questio
n, Retrieved at 13.02.2015, Creative
Commons license
Shutterstock – ID 96717475
Shutterstock – ID 59893672
Shutterstock – ID 110537564
Shutterstock – ID 62208232
Shutterstock – ID 104523281
Shutterstock – ID 123605941

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Thank you
for choosing to learn
with