Question Tags: Checking, Confirming, Connecting

⏱ 5 Minutes · B1

📖 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 — 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.

📚 The Rule

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

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

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

✅ 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, ___?
💡 Check Answers
  1. doesn’t he
  2. did you
  3. haven’t we
  4. will it

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