Unit 21: Question tags | Grammar | B1

A question tag is a short question added to the end of a statement to make it a question. Question tags are mostly used in spoken English. In negative tags, not is always contracted to n’t.

If there is an auxiliary or modal, the tag uses the same auxiliary or modal in its opposite form:
E.G. It’s warm today, isn’t it?
They were outside, weren’t they?
You can’t speak Japanese, can you?

affirmative ⇒ negative: You have brought the drinks, haven’t you?
negative ⇒ affirmative: He won’t be late, will he?

If the statement does not contain an auxiliary, we form the question tag using the appropriate form of do:
E.G. She likes chocolate, doesn’t she?
The climbers reached the top of the mountain, didn’t they?

As seen in the previous exercise, modals are used in question tags, too:
E.G. They can swim, can’t they? It won’t rain, will it?

When let’s is used to suggest doing something, you can add the tag shall we to check that the people you are talking to agree:
E.G. Let’s start again, shall we?

Similarly, we use shall I to check that the person agrees with what you are suggesting:
E.G. I’ll collect the books, shall I?

If you are telling someone to do something and you want to make your order softer or less forceful, you can add a tag (negative or affirmative):
E.G. Put that down on the chair, will you?
Remember to lock the door, won’t you?
Clean up that mess, will you?

When using a negative imperative, you can only use will you as a tag:
E.G. Don’t forget to feed the goldfish, will you?