Tag quetions

Tag Questions
You speak English, don`t you?

 



A "tag" is something small that we add to something larger. For example, the little piece of cloth added to a shirt showing size or washing instructions is a tag.



A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. The whole sentence is a "tag question", and the mini-question at the end is called a "question tag".
We use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: "Am I right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English.
The basic structure is:
+ Positive statement,
- negative tag?

Snow is white,
isn`t it?

- Negative statement,
+ positive tag?

You don`t like me,
do you?

Look at these examples with positive statements:
positive statement [+]
negative tag [-]
notes:

subject
auxiliary
main verb
 
auxiliary
not
personal pronoun (same as subject)
 

You
are
coming,
 
are
n`t
you?
 

We
have
finished,
 
have
n`t
we?
 

You
do
like
coffee,
do
n`t
you?
 

You

like
coffee,
do
n`t
you?
You (do) like...

They
will
help,
 
wo
n`t
they?
won`t = will not

I
can
come,
 
can
`t
I?
 

We
must
go,
 
must
n`t
we?
 

He
should
try
harder,
should
n`t
he?
 

You
 
are
English,
are
n`t
you?
no auxiliary for main verb be present & past

John
 
was
there,
was
n`t
he?


Look at these examples with negative statements:
negative statement [-]
positive tag [+]

subject
auxiliary
 
main verb
 
 
auxiliary
personal pronoun (same as subject)

It
is
n`t
raining,
 
 
is
it?

We
have
never
seen
 
that,
have
we?

You
do
n`t
like
 
coffee,
do
you?

They
will
not
help,
 
 
will
they?

They
wo
n`t
report
 
us,
will
they?

I
can
never
do
 
it right,
can
I?

We
must
n`t
tell
 
her,
must
we?

He
should
n`t
drive
 
so fast,
should
he?

You
 
 
are
n`t
English,
are
you?

John
 
 
was
not
there,
was
he?

Some special cases:
I am right, aren`t I?
aren`t I (not amn`t I)

You have to go, don`t you?
you (do) have to go...

I have been answering, haven`t I?
use first auxiliary

Nothing came in the post, did it?
treat statements with nothing, nobody etc like negative statements

Let`s go, shall we?
let`s = let us

He`d better do it, hadn`t he?
he had better (no auxiliary)

Here are some mixed examples:
But you don`t really love her, do you?
This will work, won`t it?
Well, I couldn`t help it, could I?
But you`ll tell me if she calls, won`t you?
We`d never have known, would we?
The weather`s bad, isn`t it?
You won`t be late, will you?
Nobody knows, do they?
Notice that we often use tag questions to ask for information or help, starting with a negative statement. This is quite a friendly/polite way of making a request. For example, instead of saying "Where is the police station?" (not very polite), or "Do you know where the police station is?" (slightly more polite), we could say: "You wouldn`t know where the police station is, would you?" Here are some more examples:
You don`t know of any good jobs, do you?
You couldn`t help me with my homework, could you?
You haven`t got $10 to lend me, have you?
Intonation