Tag Questions

How to use Tag Questions?

Tag questions are used at the end of statements to turn the statements into questions. These questions have a few different uses but are mainly used in the context of confirmation of information. In other words, you can use question tags to check something you think you know or you think is true. 

Rules

1.  If the statement is positive, the tag question is negative.

2.  If the statement is negative, the tag question is positive. 

3.  When using I am in a positive sentence make sure to use the tag "aren't I" 

4.  Statements with auxiliary or modal verbs repeat the auxiliary or the modal in the tag question. 

5.  Tag questions maintain the same tense as the statement. 

6.  If the subject is anybody, anyone, everybody, everyone, somebody, or someone use the pronoun they in the tag question:

7.  If the subject is nobody or no one, the tag must be positive: 

Forms and Tenses Formal

Verb to be:

1.  He is friendly, isn't he?

2. We aren't on time, are we?

3.  I am hungry, aren't I?

Present simple:

1.  She likes to eat ice cream, doesn't she?

2. They don't work here anymore, do they? 

Past simple:

1.  It didn't work, did it?

2.  You didn't have a good time, did you?

Future Simple:

1.  I will go to the store, won't I?

2.  You won't be on time, will you?

Present Continuous:

1.  We are sleeping in this morning, aren't we?

2.  He isn't eating breakfast, is he?

Past Continuous:

1.  She was working late last night, wasn't she? 

2.  They weren't having a good time, were they?

Future Continuous: 

1.  You will be playing at the park, won't you?

2.  They won't be drinking coffee anymore, will they?

Present Perfect: 

1.  He has driven for hours, hasn't he? 

2.  You haven't thought about this before, have you?

Past Perfect: 

1.  It had been a long time, hadn't it? 

2.  I hadn't lived in Costa Rica before I moved, had I? 

Future Perfect: 

1.  I will have seen the movie by the time you come, won't I? 

2.   He won't have finished eating by that time, will he?

Present Perfect Continuous: 

1.  You have been sitting for a while, haven't you?

2.  She hasn't been cleaning, has she?

Past Perfect Continuous: 

1.  We had been seeing each other off and on, hadn't we? 

2.  You hadn't been teaching today, had you?

Future Perfect Continuous: 

1.  It will have been raining for 5 hours by the time we arrive, won't it?

2.  She won't have been working here for that long, will she?

Modals:

With Modals, we use it in a similar way as we do other tenses with auxiliaries. We use the Modals, Can, Might, Could, Should, Would, and Must. We rarely use modals like May. 

1.  I can run, can't I?

2.  You can't sing, can you?

3.  We might be late, mightn't we?   

4.  She might not be on time, might she? 

5.  They could go, couldn't they?

6. They could not be more wrong, could they?

7.  We should head home, shouldn't we?

8.  We should not eat that, should we? 

9. He would like more sugar, wouldn't he?

10. He must be at the dentist, mustn't he?

11. We must not smoke here, must we? 

Forms and Tenses Informal 

The informal way of tag questions is much easier than using it in a formal way. 

Instead of using it with the verb to be, Auxilary verbs, or modals, we can replace it with the phrase "Right"

Examples:

1. You will not be on time, right?

2. She is here, right? 

3. I have been working all day, right? 

4. We can not go, right? 

5. You might be late, right?