Tag Question class 12 unit 1

 Tag Question

BASIC RULES (1–10):

1. Positive sentence → Negative tag

She is a teacher, isn’t she?

2. Negative sentence → Positive tag

They don’t like tea, do they?

A complete table of auxiliary verbs with "not" in both full form and contraction form (short form):

Full Form	Contraction (Short Form)
is not	isn't
are not	aren't
was not	wasn't
were not	weren't
have not	haven't
has not	hasn't
had not	hadn't
do not	don't
does not	doesn't
did not	didn't
will not	won't
would not	wouldn't
shall not	shan't
should not	shouldn't
cannot	can't
could not	couldn't
may not	mayn't (rare, formal)
might not	mightn't
must not	mustn't
need not	needn't
dare not	daren't
ought not	oughtn't
used not	usedn't (rare/old-fashioned)

Notes:

• "Won’t" is a special contraction of "will not", not willn't.
• Some contractions like "shan’t", "mayn’t", "daren’t" are considered formal, old-fashioned, or less common in modern English.
• "Can not" is usually written as one word: "cannot” and its contraction is "can't".

 

3. Use auxiliary (helping) verb from the main sentence

He has finished, hasn’t he?

4. If there's no auxiliary verb, use “do/does/did”

She sings well, doesn’t she?

5. Subject in the tag must be a pronoun

Ram and Shyam came early, didn’t they?

6. Verb tense in the tag must match the main sentence

He was at home, wasn’t he?

7. “I am” takes “aren’t I?” in tag

I am your friend, aren’t I?

8. Contractions are used in negative tags

You’re late, aren’t you? (Not “are not you?”)

9. Question mark (?) is used at the end of tag questions

They were happy, weren’t they**?**

10. Tag question reflects the speaker’s expectation

You like coffee, don’t you? (expecting yes)
You don’t like coffee, do you? (expecting yes)

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🟩 INTERMEDIATE RULES (11–20):

11. Use “they” in tags for indefinite pronouns (someone, everyone, etc.)

Everyone enjoyed the movie, didn’t they?

12. Use “they” in tags for “nobody”, “no one”, “none”

Nobody came, did they?

13. Use “it” for things like weather, time, distance, etc.

It’s cold today, isn’t it?

14. Use “there” in the tag if the sentence begins with “there”

There is a problem, isn’t there?

15. With “used to” use “didn’t” in the tag

He used to play football, didn’t he?

16. With “Let’s…” use “shall we?”

Let’s go home, shall we?

17. With imperative sentences (commands/requests):

• Positive imperative → will you?

Open the door, will you?

• Negative imperative → won’t you?

Don’t be late, won’t you?

18. “Never”, “hardly”, “seldom”, “scarcely” → positive tag

She never lies, does she?

19. “Neither”, “none”, “no one”, “nothing” → positive tag

None of them attended, did they?

20. Questions with modal verbs follow the same modal

He can swim, can’t he?
She won’t come, will she?

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🟦 ADVANCED RULES (21–30):

21. “Had better” takes “hadn’t” in the tag

You had better go now, hadn’t you?

22. “Would rather” → tag with “wouldn’t”

You’d rather stay home, wouldn’t you?

23. Sentences with “none of us” → tag with “we”

None of us complained, did we?

24. With “have got” (BrE) → tag with “haven’t”

He has got a car, hasn’t he?

25. “Everybody”, “somebody” → tag with “they”

Somebody was at the door, weren’t they?

26. “Neither of them” → use “they” in the tag

Neither of them came, did they?

27. Sentences beginning with “Each”, “Every” → use “they”

Every student was present, weren’t they?

28. “Few”, “little” (negative idea) → positive tag

Few people understood it, did they?

29. “A few”, “a little” (positive idea) → negative tag

A few students came, didn’t they?

30. Tag questions can be used rhetorically (speaker doesn’t expect a real answer)

You don’t think I’m stupid, do you?