Question Tags: Rules, Examples & Exercises

Question tags or Tag questions? It doesn’t really matter, does it? Let’s have a quick test.

Was this too hard? Study the article below and to the exercises at the bottom of the page.

Question tags are short questions that we add at the end of a sentence to confirm information or ask for agreement. They are often used when we want to check if something is true or if others agree with us.

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How do we form question tags?

The question tag depends on the main sentence. Here are some important rules:

1. If the main sentence is positive (affirmative), the question tag is negative.
2. If the main sentence is negative, the question tag is positive.

Let’s look at some examples:

Positive sentences with negative question tags:

• You are happy, aren’t you?
• She likes pizza, doesn’t she?
• They are coming tomorrow, aren’t they?

In these examples, the main sentence is positive, so the question tag is negative. We use the auxiliary verb “are” or “do” (depending on the verb in the main sentence), and the subject changes to match the subject of the main sentence.

Negative sentences with positive question tags:

• You are not tired, are you?
• He doesn’t like coffee, does he?
• They haven’t finished yet, have they?

Here, the main sentence is negative, so we use a positive question tag. Again, the auxiliary verb matches the one used in the main sentence (like “have” or “do”).

Table of question tag formation

Exercises on Tag Questions

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