Everything you need to use question tags correctly: the formula, when to use it, signal words, common mistakes and exercises with answers.
A question tag is added to the end of a sentence to confirm or check something. The main rule: Positive sentence, negative auxiliary + subject? | Negative sentence, positive auxiliary + subject?; With auxiliary verbs: be/have/do/will/can/... → repeat that same auxiliary; Special cases: I am → aren't I? | Let's → shall we? | Imperative → will you? Signal words: ..., isn't it?, ..., don't you?, ..., can't he?, ..., won't they?, ..., haven't we?, ..., shall we? (Let's).
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| The main rule | Positive sentence, negative auxiliary + subject? | Negative sentence, positive auxiliary + subject? You like coffee, don't you? | You don't like coffee, do you? | She is a teacher, isn't she? Positive sentence → negative tag. Negative sentence → positive tag. |
| With auxiliary verbs | be/have/do/will/can/... → repeat that same auxiliary She is → isn't she? | They have → haven't they? | He can → can't he? | They have finished, haven't they? No auxiliary in the sentence → use do/does/did: She likes coffee, doesn't she? |
| Special cases | I am → aren't I? | Let's → shall we? | Imperative → will you? I am late, aren't I? (NOT: am not I?) | Let's go, shall we? | Open the door, will you? | I am right, aren't I? |
Asking to make sure what you believe is right
Let's + ..., shall we? invites someone to join in
Imperative + will you? / won't you?
A sentence with nothing/nobody/never counts as negative, so the tag is positive
| Word | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|
| isn't/aren't | It's cold, isn't it? | If the sentence uses is/are, the tag uses isn't/aren't |
| don't/doesn't | You like pizza, don't you? | If the sentence has no auxiliary, use do/does |
| didn't | She went home, didn't she? | Past simple: use didn't |
| aren't I | I am late, aren't I? | An exception: I am → aren't I (never 'am not I') |
| shall we | Let's go, shall we? |
Fill in the blank, then open the answer to check it.
Options: didn't she · does she · doesn't she · isn't she
doesn't she. She likes is positive with no auxiliary, so the tag is doesn't she?
Options: did they · didn't they · don't they · weren't they
didn't they. They went is positive and past, so the tag is didn't they?
Options: am I · am not I · aren't I · isn't I
aren't I. An exception: I am → aren't I?
Options: do they · does he · doesn't nobody · don't they
do they. 'nobody' is negative, so the tag is positive, and nobody takes 'they'.
Options: does he · doesn't he · is he · never he
does he. 'never' is negative, so the tag is positive: does he?
Options: do you · shall we · will you · won't you
will you. An imperative takes will you? or won't you?
Options: are they · aren't they · isn't everyone · isn't it
aren't they. 'Everyone' takes 'they' in the tag, and 'is' is positive, so aren't they?
Options: did it · didn't it · didn't they · does it
did it. 'Nothing' is negative, so the tag is positive, and nothing takes 'it'.
Options: did she · does she · doesn't she · is she
does she. 'rarely' means hardly ever, which counts as negative, so the tag is positive: does she?
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