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UNIT 50 Tag questions (are you? Doesn’t he?, etc.)
a. You’re not working late, are you? It was a good film, wasn’t it?
Are you? and wasn’t it? are tag question (= mini-question that we put on the end of a sentence). In tag questions we use the auxiliary verb (see Unit 49). For the present and past use do/does/did: They came by car, didn’t they?
b. Normally we use a positive tag question with a negative sentence:
Negative sentence + positive tag
Tom won’t be late, will be?
They don’t like us, do they?
That isn’t George over there, is it?
And normally we use a negative tag question with a positive sentence:
positive sentence + negative tag
Ann will be here soon, won’t she?
Tom should pass his exam, shouldn’t he?
They were very angry, weren’t they?
Notice the meaning of yes and no in answers to tag questions:
You’re not going to work today, are you? Yes, (= I am going)
No, (= I’m not going)
c. The meaning of a tag question depends on how you say it. If he voice goes down, you aren’t really asking a question; you are only asking the other person to agree with you:
“Tom doesn’t look very well today, does he?” “No, he looks awful.”
She’s very attractive. She has beautiful eyes, doesn’t she?
But if the voice goes up, it is a real question:
“You haven’t seen Ann today, have you?” “No, I’m afraid I haven’t.” (= Have you seen Ann today?)
We often use a negative sentence + positive tag to ask for things or information, or to ask someone to do something. The voice goes up at the end of the tag in sentences like these:
“You wouldn’t have a cigarette, would you?” “Yes, here you are.”
“You couldn’t do me a favor, could you?” “It depends what it is.”
“You don’t know where Ann is, do you?” “Sorry, I have no idea.”
d. After Let’s… the tag question is shall we?
After the imperative (do/don’t do something) the tag is will you?
Open the door, will you?
Notice that we say aren’t I? (= am I out):
I’m late, aren’t I?
UNIT 50 Exercises
50.1 Put a tag question on the end of each sentence.
Examples: Tom won’t be late, will he? They were very angry, weren’t they?
1. Ann’s on vacation, ___________?
2. You weren’t listening, ___________?
3. Sue doesn’t like onions, ___________?
4. Jack applied for the job, ___________?
5. You have a camera, ___________?
6. You can type, ___________?
7. He won’t mind if I leave early, _______?
8. Tom could help you, ___________?
9. There are a lot of people here, ________?
10. Let’s have dinner, ___________? (do we?)
11. This isn’t very interesting, __________?
12. I’m too fat, ___________?
13. You wouldn’t tell anyone, ___________?
14. I shouldn’t have gotten angry, ________?
15. They had to go home, ___________?
16. He’d never seen you before, _________?
50.2 Read the situation and then write a sentence with a tag question. In each example you are asking your listener to agree with you.
Example: You are with a friend outside a restaurant. You are looking at the prices. It’s very expensive. What do you say? It’s very expensive, isn’t it?
1. You look out of the window. It’s a beautiful day. What do you say to your friend? It’s __________________________
2. You’ve just come out of a movie theater with your friend. You both really enjoyed the movie. You thought it was great. What do you say? The movie __________________________
3. Bob’s hair is much shorter. Clearly he has had his hair cut. What do you say to him? You __________________________
4. You are shopping. You are trying on a jacket. You look in the mirror: it doesn’t look very good. What do you say to your friend? It __________________________
5. You are talking about Bill. You know that Bill works very hard. Everyone knows this. What do you say about Bill? Bill __________________________
50.3 In these situations you are asking people for information, asking people to do things, etc. Make sentences like those in section c. Example: You want a cigarette. Perhaps Tom has one. Ask him.
Tom, you don’t have a cigarette, do you?
1. Jack is just going out. You want him to get some stamps. Ask him.
Jack, you couldn’t __________________________
2. You’re looking for Ann. Perhaps Alan knows where she is. Ask him.
Alan, you __________________________
3. You need some paper. Perhaps Tom has some. Ask him.
Tom, __________________________
4. Ann has a car, and you don’t want to walk home. You want her to give you a lift. Ask her.
Ann __________________________
5. You’re looking for your purse. Perhaps Liz has seen it. Ask her __________________________ |
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