English Teaching

Question Tags: Checking, Confirming, Connecting

⏱ 5 Minutes · B1

πŸ“– From Experience

The hardest part of English small talk, for me, was the question tag. At the casino, regulars would say: “Lovely evening, isn’t it?” And I’d freeze β€” not because I didn’t know the words, but because the logic of the tag felt backwards. It isn’t backwards. Once you see the rule, it clicks.

πŸ“š The Rule

Positive sentence β†’ negative tag
She works here, doesn’t she?

Negative sentence β†’ positive tag
He doesn’t know, does he?

Match the auxiliary (be, do, have, will, can…)

βœ… Examples

  • It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?
  • You haven’t eaten, have you?
  • They were late, weren’t they?
  • She can swim, can’t she?
✏️ Your Turn

Add the correct tag:

  1. He works in finance, ___?
  2. You didn’t call, ___?
  3. We’ve met before, ___?
  4. It won’t take long, ___?
πŸ’‘ Check Answers
  1. doesn’t he
  2. did you
  3. haven’t we
  4. will it

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