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Question tags: isn’t it? don’t you?
B1 B1 grammar · lesson 14 of 23
Question tags are the short questions at the end of a sentence. Native speakers use them all the time to check information or to keep a conversation going.
The basic rule
A question tag uses the auxiliary verb of the sentence (be, do, have, can, will, etc.) and a pronoun.
- Positive sentence → negative tag: It’s cold, isn’t it?
- Negative sentence → positive tag: It isn’t cold, is it?
| Verb in the sentence | Positive + negative tag | Negative + positive tag |
|---|---|---|
| be | You’re tired, aren’t you? | She isn’t here, is she? |
| present simple | You live here, don’t you? | He doesn’t eat meat, does he? |
| past simple | They won, didn’t they? | You didn’t call, did you? |
| present perfect | You’ve met Ali, haven’t you? | She hasn’t left, has she? |
| modal verbs | We can park here, can’t we? | You won’t forget, will you? |
If the sentence has no auxiliary verb (present simple or past simple positive), we use do / does / did in the tag.
Anna speaks Greek, doesn’t she?
The train was late again, wasn’t it?
You haven’t seen my glasses, have you?
Tom will be at the party, won’t he?
They bought a new house, didn’t they?
Maria can’t drive, can she?
Special cases
- I am → aren’t I: I’m late, aren’t I?
- Imperatives → will you: Close the door, will you?
- Let’s → shall we: Let’s go, shall we?
- There is/are → isn’t there / aren’t there: There’s a bank near here, isn’t there?
- Words like never, nobody, nothing make the sentence negative, so the tag is positive: You never call me, do you?
Intonation
If your voice goes down on the tag, you are almost sure and just want the other person to agree. If your voice goes up, it is a real question: you are not sure.
Common mistakes
✗ You like pizza, isn’t it?
✓ You like pizza, don’t you?
✗ She went home, wasn’t she?
✓ She went home, didn’t she?
✗ Tom is here, isn’t Tom?
✓ Tom is here, isn’t he?