BUDLING
All grammar topics
Share

Question Tags

1 min
B1

Add a short tag to the end of a statement to check information or invite agreement — flip the polarity (positive statement → negative tag, negative statement → positive tag) and repeat the statement's own auxiliary verb, matched to its subject pronoun.

CEFR B1·other

Formula

,
? (You're tired, aren't you?)
,
? (You're not tired, are you?)

Examples

Positive
You are coming, aren't you?
Negative
She doesn't speak French, does she?
Question
They have arrived, haven't they?

Usage

  • •Check information or seek confirmation
  • •Invite agreement in conversation
  • •Rules: opposite polarity, use the same auxiliary, match the subject pronoun

Studying is free forever on Budling — no account needed to try it.

Try 5 cards free — no signup →

How do you form question tags?

Take the statement, reverse its polarity for the tag (positive → negative tag, negative → positive tag), and reuse the statement's own auxiliary or modal, matched to the subject pronoun: "You are coming, aren't you?" "She doesn't speak French, does she?" "They have arrived, haven't they?"

A handful of special cases don't follow the pattern literally: "I am" takes "aren't I?" (not "amn't I?"), "Let's..." takes "shall we?", and imperatives take "will/won't/can you?": "Open the door, will you?"

Why does "You're tired, aren't you?" use "aren't" and not "are"?

The core rule is opposite polarity: a positive statement gets a negative tag, so that the speaker is asking "am I right, or not?" rather than just repeating the statement. "You're tired, aren't you?" (positive statement + negative tag) is correct; "You're tired, are you?" would break the pattern and sound like something else — often sarcasm or genuine surprise, not a normal confirmation question.

What do rising and falling intonation mean in question tags?

A falling tone on the tag signals you already know the answer and just want agreement: "Nice day, isn't it ↘" A rising tone means you're genuinely unsure and are really asking: "You've met him, haven't you ↗"

British English uses question tags far more than American English, which often relies on "right?" or "yeah?" for the same conversational function instead.

Comparison Table

Question tag formation by statement type
FormStatement typeTagExample
Positive statementNegative tagYou're coming, aren't you?
Negative statementPositive tagYou're not coming, are you?
"I am..."aren't I?I'm late, aren't I?
"Let's..."shall we?Let's have coffee, shall we?
Imperativewill / won't / can you?Open the door, will you?
Save this comparison chart
Comparison diagram: Question tag formation by statement typeDownload PNG

More Examples

  • It's a beautiful day, isn't it?

    Inviting agreement (small talk)

  • You weren't at the meeting, were you?

    Confirming a negative

  • Let's have coffee, shall we?

    Special: "Let's..." → "shall we?"

  • Open the door, will you?

    Special: imperative → "will you?"

  • I'm late, aren't I?

    Special: "I am" → "aren't I?"

  • He has a car, doesn't he?

    When "have" is a main verb (US): use do/does

Common Mistakes

  • ✗Wrong auxiliary: "She speaks French, doesn't it?" — should match subject: "doesn't SHE?".
  • ✗Same polarity: "You're tired, are you?" — should be opposite: "aren't you?".
  • ✗Forgetting modal repetition: "He can swim, doesn't he?" → "He can swim, can't he?".

Tips

  • ✓Intonation matters: rising tone = real question, falling tone = expecting agreement.
  • ✓Quick rule: positive sentence → negative tag · negative sentence → positive tag · keep the same tense/auxiliary.

Advanced Notes

Question tags are deeply social — intonation changes the meaning entirely. A falling tone on the tag ("Nice day, isn't it ↘") signals you already know the answer and just want agreement; a rising tone ("You've met him, haven't you ↗") means you're genuinely unsure. British English uses question tags far more than American English, where "right?" and "yeah?" serve the same conversational function. Special cases trip up advanced learners: "I'm late, aren't I?" (not "amn't I?"), "Let's go, shall we?", imperative + "will/would/can you?".

FAQ

How do you form question tags?

Flip the polarity of the statement (positive statement → negative tag, negative statement → positive tag), then repeat the statement's own auxiliary or modal verb, matched to the subject as a pronoun: "You are coming, aren't you?" "He can swim, can't he?"

Positive statement, positive tag or negative tag?

A positive statement takes a negative tag: "You're tired, aren't you?" A negative statement takes a positive tag: "You're not tired, are you?" The tag always has the opposite polarity from the statement.

"I am late" — is the tag "aren't I" or "amn't I"?

"Aren't I?" — it's the one irregular case in the whole system. "Amn't I" isn't standard English, even though it would logically match the "am" → negative pattern.

"He can swim" — is the tag "doesn't he" or "can't he"?

"Can't he?" — the tag must repeat the statement's own auxiliary or modal, not default to do/does/did. Since the statement uses "can," the tag uses "can't," not "doesn't."

"Let's have coffee" — what's the tag?

"Shall we?" — this is a fixed special case for suggestions starting with "Let's," unrelated to the usual positive/negative flip rule.

Practice

  1. 1.You're coming, ?
  2. 2.She doesn't speak French, ?
  3. 3.They have arrived, ?
  4. 4.It's a beautiful day, ?
  5. 5.Let's have coffee, ?
Quiz loads as you scroll…

Compare With

Present Simple(A1)Past Simple(A1)