Question Tag A question tag or tag question

Question Tag 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 (the "tag"). For example, in the sentence "You're John, aren't you? ", the statement "You're John" is turned into a question by the tag "aren't you". The term "question tag" is generally preferred by British grammarians, while their American counterparts prefer "tag question".

A question tag is made up of auxiliary+ Personal pronoun Rules a) If the sentence is assertive (Positive) the question tag should be negative. E. g. You are my friend, aren’t you? b) If the statement is negative, the question tag should be positive. E. g You are not my enemy, are you?

l C) If you are asking a question in which you expect “Yes” the question tag becomes negative. E. g. You like trouble , don’t you? l D) If you expect the answer”NO” the question tag becomes positive. E. g You are not Mrema, Are you?

l E) The tense of the tag question should correspond to the tense of the sentence. l F) We normally repeat the auxiliary verb in the question tag. l G) We can change strong command into request. E. g l pen the window, will you? l Let us leave now, Shall we? l Pass me the salt, will you?

Auxiliary l The English tag question is made up of an auxiliary verb and a pronoun. The auxiliary has to agree with the tense, aspect and modality of the verb in the preceding sentence. If the verb is in the present perfect, for example, the tag question uses has or have; if the verb is in a present progressive form, the tag is formed with am, are, is; if the verb is in a tense which does not normally use an auxiliary, like the present simple, the auxiliary is taken from the emphatic do form; and if the sentence has a modal auxiliary, this is echoed in the tag: l

l He has read this book, hasn't he? l He read this book, didn't he? l He is reading this book, isn't he? l He reads a lot of books, doesn't he? l He'll read this book, won't he? l He should read this book, shouldn't he? l He can read this book, can't he?

l Negation l English tag questions may contain a negation, but need not. When there is no special emphasis, the rule of thumb often applies that a positive sentence has a negative tag and vice versa: l She is French, isn't she? l She's not French, is she?

l These are sometimes called "balanced tag questions". However, it has been estimated that in normal conversation, as many as 40%-50%[2] of tags break this rule. "Unbalanced tag questions" (positive to positive or negative to negative) may be used for ironic or confrontational effects: l Do listen, will you? Oh, I'm lazy, am I? Jack: I refuse to spend Sunday at your mother's house! Jill: Oh you do, do you? We'll see about that! Jack: I just won't go back! Jill: Oh you won't, won't you? l l l

l In most languages, tag questions are more common in colloquial spoken usage than in formal written usage. They can be an indicator of politeness or emphasis They may suggest confidence or lack of confidence; they may be confrontational, defensive or tentative. Although they have the grammatical form of a question, they may differ from questions in that they do not expect an answer. In other cases, when they do expect a response, they may differ from straightforward questions in that they cue the listener as to what response is desired. In legal settings, tag questions can often be found in a leading question. According to a specialist children's lawyer at the NSPCC, children find it difficult to answer tag questions other than in accordance with the expectation of questioner. [1

Exercises l Change the following sentences into questions by adding question tag l i) They play cards everyday ii) He should write a letter iii)You will read this book. iv) He collects used stamps v)His father teaches at the college. vi) I should have cut the grass Vii) He mustn’t come. Viii)He could do better if he tried Ix) Pick up those books. l l l l