Part-2 (Imperative Sentence)
Part-3 (Complex Sentence)
Full Note:
Question Tag
- By Jafar
Sadik
Question tags are short
questions at the end of statements. They are mainly used in speech when we want
to confirm that something is true or not, or to encourage a reply from the
person we are speaking to.
Example: He is a
teacher, isn’t he?
1. Basic Rules.
- Identify the auxiliary
Verb
- Change Positive
Statement into Negative and Negative Statement into Positive by adding or
omitting ‘not’.
- Place the Personal
Pronoun after the Auxiliary Verb.
2. Positive Question
Tags
If the statement is
negative, the tag must be positive.
ü You haven't done your
homework, have you?
ü He isn’t from Kashmir,
is he?
ü It isn’t raining, is it?
ü You aren’t coming to my
party, are you?
ü She isn’t really good at
chess, is she?
ü They can’t swim, can
they?
ü Devika isn’t singing, is
she?
Change in Subject
Subject
|
Pronoun
|
He
|
He
|
She
|
She
|
They
|
They
|
The boy
|
He
|
The girl
|
She
|
Raju (Name of a Male)
|
He
|
Leela (Name of a Female)
|
She
|
Dog
|
It
|
Everyone
|
They
|
Everybody
|
They
|
None of us
|
We
|
Some of us
|
We
|
None of you
|
You
|
Some of you
|
You
|
None of the students
|
They
|
Let us
|
we
|
3. Negative Question
Tags
If the statement is
positive the tag must be negative.
ü You have done your
homework, haven’t you?
ü He is from Kashmir,
isn’t he?
ü It is raining, isn’t it?
ü You are coming to my
party, aren’t you?
ü She is really good at
chess, isn’t she?
ü They can swim, can’t
they?
ü Devika is singing, isn’t
she?
Exception: When “not” is
added with “am” it becomes "aren’t”.
ü I am the best, aren’t I?
ü I am clever, aren’t I?
Change in Auxiliary
Verbs
Positive
|
Negative
|
Is
|
isn’t
|
Am
|
aren’t
|
Are
|
aren’t
|
Was
|
wasn't
|
Were
|
weren't
|
Has
|
hasn’t
|
Have
|
haven’t
|
Had
|
hadn’t
|
Do
|
don’t
|
Does
|
doesn’t
|
Did
|
didn’t
|
Can
|
can’t
|
Could
|
couldn’t
|
Will
|
won’t
|
Would
|
wouldn’t
|
May
|
mayn’t
|
Might
|
mightn’t
|
Shall
|
shan’t
|
Should
|
shouldn’t
|
Must
|
mustn’t
|
Need
|
needn’t
|
Dare
|
daren’t
|
Used
|
didn’t
|
Ought
|
oughtn’t
|
4. Question Tags without
Auxiliary Verbs
If the main verb does
not use an auxiliary (i.e. it is in the simple present or simple past tense),
the tag will be formed using a form of the auxiliary do, just like the
interrogative and negative forms of these tenses.
ü You like me, don’t you?
ü He speaks Hindi, doesn’t
he?
ü You went to British
Council in Delhi, didn't you?
ü This one looks rather
interesting, doesn't it?
5. Question Tags with
Model Verbs
ü She can help him, can’t
she?
ü He will tell me, won’t
he?
ü They should learn for
the test, shouldn’t they?
ü It can’t be true, can
it?
6. Negative Statements
without ‘not’.
Although the negative
word ‘not’ is not in the sentence, the sentence can be negative. The adverbs,
given below, have a negative sense.
Little
|
Few
|
Hardly
|
Scarcely
|
rarely,
|
Seldom
|
We treat statements with
these words like negative statements, so the question tag is normally positive.
ü He hardly does any work,
does he?
ü He is seldom absent, is
he?
ü They
had little money to spend, had they?
ü Dad ate hardly
anything, did he?
ü She had few moments
on her own, had she?
ü I
can scarcely wait, can I?
ü They are hardly aware of
the increase in birth rate, are they?
ü There has never been an
exploitation in this company, has there?
ü People are rarely
worried about the bombings nowadays, are they?
ü He scarcely finished
university, did he?
ü You seldom go to the
beach, do you?
7. Tags of Main Verb,
Accompanied by several auxiliaries.
If the main verb is
accompanied by several auxiliaries, including modal auxiliaries, the tag
reflects back to the first of the auxiliaries used.
ü You should have been
paying more attention, shouldn't you?
ü They could have lost all
their money in Mumbai, couldn't they?
ü He ought to have been
able to answer all the questions, oughtn't he?
ü They can't have had to
stop already, can they?
ü He might have had to buy
a new car, mightn't he?
8. Question Tag for ‘Let
us’ and ‘Let’.
ü Let’s go, shall we?
ü Let’s play, shall we?
ü Let’s dance, shall we?
ü Let’s go home, shall we?
ü Let’s get together for a
party, shall we?
ü Let’s go to the beach,
shall we?
ü Let’s have a coffee,
shall we?
ü Let him speak, will you?
ü Let them go, will you?
9. Question Tags of
Imperative Sentences
In an imperative
sentence we use 'you' as the only pronoun in the tag and 'will' is
used as the helping verb in the question tag.
Positive Imperative
Sentences: In
a positive imperative sentence question tag can be positive or negative. will
you or won't you can be used alike.
ü Kindly sign these files,
won't you / will you?
ü Close the window, won't
you / will you?
ü Open the door, won't you
/ will you?
ü Have chocolate, won't
you / will you?
ü Have a coffee, won't you
/ will you?
ü Be careful when you ride
on a bike, won't you / will you?
ü Pass me the sugar, won't
you / will you?
Negative
Imperative: In negative imperative sentences, the question tag is always
positive.
ü Don’t sign these files,
will you?
ü Don’t close the window,
will you?
ü Don’t have chocolate,
will you?
ü Don't smoke in this
room, will you?
ü Don't look at me like
that, will you?
Impatience or
Irritation: if there is a sense of impatience or irritation, ‘can’t you’ is
used as a tag.
ü Shut your mouth, Can’t
you?
ü Keep quiet, Can’t you?
ü Listen to me, Can’t you?
10. Question Tags for
“needn’t”, “need”, “needs” and “needs”
The question tag for
‘needn’t’ is ‘need’ whereas the tags for “need”, “needs” and “needs” are
‘does’, ‘do’ and ‘did’ respectively.
Needn’t
ü I needn't do that, need
I?
ü I need not stay long,
need I?
Need
ü You need money, don't
you?
ü They need some new
clothes, don't they?
Needs
ü The car needs repairing,
doesn't it?
ü He needs to eat soon,
doesn't he?
Needed
ü He needed glasses,
didn’t he?
ü She needed to get her
car, didn’t he?
11. Question Tag of
Complex Sentence
A sentence having one
main clause and one or more subordinate clause is known as a complex sentence.
Generally, the tag of the main clause is used as the question tag for a complex
sentence.
ü Rakesh said that he
would meet the expense, didn't he?
ü Tell him that he will
get all concessions, will you?
ü When he reached the
railway station, the train had left, hadn't it?
ü Let's hope that we will
be proficient in grammar soon, shall we?
ü Hope, he will win, won't
he?
ü You think you are right,
don’t you?
ü I think I am right,
aren’t I?
Explanations:
· Rakesh said that
he would meet the expense, didn't he? – here the main clause is “Rakesh Said”.
· Tell him that he will
get all concessions, will you? - The
main clause of this complex sentence is, "tell him" and it is in the
form of a positive meaning imperative sentence.
· When he reached the
railway station, the train had left, hadn't it? - Here 'the train had left' is
the main clause. so, we write the tag of this clause.
· Let's hope that we will
be proficient in grammar soon, shall we? - Here the main clause begins with
'let's'. so, the question tag of the sentence is “shall we”.
· Hope he will win, won't
he? - Though the sentence looks like an imperative sentence, it is really the
spoken form or weak form of the complex sentence in written form, as "I
hope that he will win".
· Normally in spoken form,
the first-person subject 'I' is not mentioned when the following verb of the
sentence is hope, think, wish, suspect, expect, be sure, be afraid or suppose,
etc. So, here the subject of the main clause is the first person 'I'. The
question tag of the main clause is normally written for a complex sentence.
but, if the subject of the main clause is first-person 'I', its question tag is
not used. instead, the question tag of the subordinate clause is used. so here
the subordinate clause 'he will win' is considered and the tag is 'won't he?'.
· You think you are right,
don’t you? – Here, as the sentence is a complex sentence (You think that you
are right) main clause ‘you think’ is considered as the main verb.
· I think I am right,
aren’t I? – Apart from the previous question, here, although the main verb is
‘I think’, the subject is first-person ‘I’. So, the subordinate considered.