2. Lesson Objectives
What are tag questions?
How do I form them and use them correctly?
How do I respond to them?
3. What are tag questions?
Question at the end of a statement used by the
speaker to:
Comment on something
Ask for more information
Check information they know/believe to be true
Example:
English is fun to learn, isn’t it?
In this example, isn’t it? is our tag question.
English is fun to learn, isn’t it?
Statement Tag question
4. How do we form tag
questions?
Affirmative Statements:
Statement +Negative BE/Auxiliary Verb + Subject
Pronoun OR
there
+?
Examples:
That class is easy, isn’t it ?
There’s a lot of work to do, isn’t there ?
5. Common Affirmative Tag
Questions
isn’t there? doesn’t it?
isn’t he? didn’t they?
wasn’t she? hasn’t she?
weren’t there? shouldn’t we?
hadn’t they? can’t they?
right?* aren’t I?*
Did you catch the pattern?
Affirmative statements create negative tag questions!
6. Affirmative Activity
You love to travel, __________?
Tag questions are exciting, _________?
They moved to London, __________?
It looks like it’s going to rain, __________?
We should study more, ____________?
don’t you
aren’t they
didn’t they
doesn’t it
shouldn’t we
7. How do we form tag
questions?
Negative Statements:
Statement +Affirmative BE/Auxiliary Verb + Subject
Pronoun
OR
there
+?
Example:
This isn’t easy, is it ?
8. Common Negative Tag
Questions
is there? does it?
is he? did they?
was she? has she?
were there? should we?
had they? can they?
right?* am I?*
Negative statements produce affirmative tag
questions!
9. Negative Activity
He isn’t from here, ___________?
She wasn’t happy, ___________?
There weren’t too many people, ___________?
This doesn’t seem good, _____________?
She can’t go to the party, ______________?
is he
was she
were there
does it
can she
10. Exceptions
You have watched this before, haven’t you?
He has a new car, doesn’t he?
You have watched – present perfect – have is past
participle
He has a new car – simple present – need to use
the verb do
11. Responses
Yes, no, I don’t know
Commenting on a situation:
It wasn’t nice out yesterday, was it?
Looking for more information/Checking information
That is Eric, isn’t it?
12. Review
Tag questions are used to comment on
information, find out more information, or
check information.
Negative statements produce affirmative tags.
Positive statements produce negative tags.
Intonation is important!
