TAG QUESTIONS

TAG QUESTIONS

NINTH GRADE

SECOND WORKSHOP


Tag questions is a special construcction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini question.We use tag questions to ask for confirmation.They mean something like: "Is that right? "or" Do you agree?" They are very common in English.

THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF A TAG QUESTIONS

Positive statement	Negative tag
Snow is white,	isn't it?

Negative statement	Positive tag
You don't like me,	do you?

EXAMPLES


1.  You are coming , / aren't you?
2. We have finished, / haven't we?
3.You do like coffee, / don't you?
4.They will help, / won't they?
5. We must go, / musn't we?


NEGATIVE STATEMENT TAG QUESTIONS

Look at these examples with negative statements . Notice that the negative verb in the original  statement is changed to positive in the tag. example:

1. It isn't raining, / is it?
2. We have never seen that, / have we?
3. They won't report us,  / will they?
4. You aren't English, / are you?
5. Jhon wasn't there, was he?

Here are some more examples, with correct answers:

• The moon goes round the earth, doesn't it? Yes, it does.

• The earth is bigger than the moon, isn't it? Yes.

• The earth is bigger than the sun, isn't it? No, it isn't!

• Asian people don't like rice, do they? Yes, they do!

• Elephants live in Europe, don't they? No, they don't!

• Men don't have babies, do they? No.

• The English alphabet doesn't have 40 letters, does it? No, it doesn't.

ESPECIAL CASES

Negative adverbs

The adverbs never, rarely, seldom, hardly, barely and scarcely have a negative sense. Even though they may be in a positive statement, the feeling of the statement is negative. We treat statements with these words like negative statements, so the question tag is normally positive. Look at these examples:

positive statement treated as negative statement	positive tag
He never came again,	did he?
She can rarely come these days,	can she?
You hardly ever came late,	did you?
I barely know you,	do I?
You would scarcely expect her to know that,	would you?

Now, let's check your understanding of tag questions, shall we?

WORKSHOP: (TALLER)

Read,practice and traslate.

Lee la conversación que ocurre en un show de televisión y luego en la parte inferior escoge la opción correcta para completar el ejercicio de Tag Questions:

Samantha: Good evening Javier. Welcome to our show.Javier: Thank you very much. I’m happy to be here.Samantha: I heard you are a celebrity in your country, 1. ________?Javier: Hahaha, yes. Well, I am a famous actor in Mexico and now I am working here in the U.S.A.Samantha: Your fans love you so much, 2. ________?Javier: Yes. They’re the best fans in the world. I’m very charming, aren’t I?Samantha: Yes, of course. You are very charming and good-looking. I believe your wife is Brazilian, 3. ________?Javier: Yes, she is. But she lived in Mexico for many years.Samantha: She didn’t come with you to Los Angeles, 4. ________?Javier: No, she didn’t. She is in Miami right now.Samantha: So, you speak Spanish, Portuguese and English perfectly, 5. ________?Javier: I’m still learning to speak English.Samantha: I found out you have worked in 10 soap operas in Latin America, 6. ________?Javier: Actually 20 since I started my career.Samantha: Awesome. And you had worked as a waiter before becoming an actor, 7. ________?Javier: It’s true.Samantha: I suppose you won’t go back to Mexico soon, 8. ________?Javier: No, I won’t. I want to stay here and act in American movies.Samantha: I have read about your private life and I know you can also dance very well, 9. ________?Javier: Yes, I can dance different Latin rhythms such as salsa, merengue, and bachata.Samantha: Great. Thank you for coming to our show. I hope to have you here again.Javier: See you next time. Goodbye.

LET'S WATCH THIS VIDEO

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