
Question tags или вопрос с «хвостиком»
Англичане часто добавляют к утверждению «хвостик», например, isn’t it? can you? didn’t they?, чтобы превратить утверждение в вопрос. Question tags более распространены в устной речи, чем в письменной. Мы часто используем вопрос с «хвостиком», когда ожидаем, что слушатель согласится с нашим утверждением. В этом случае, когда утверждение положительное, мы используем отрицательный «хвостик» . Если утверждение отрицательное, мы используем положительный Question tag.
A. Study these examples:
- A: ‘You haven’t seen Mary today, have you?’
- B: No, I’m afraid not.
- A: It was a good film, wasn’t it?
- B: Yes, I really enjoyed it.
Have you? and wasn’t it? are question tags (= mini-questions that we often put on the end of a sentence in spoken English).
In question tags, we use an auxiliary verb (have/was/will etc.).
We use do/does/did for the present and past simple:
- ‘Karen plays the piano, doesn’t she?’ ‘Well, yes, but not very well.’
- ‘You didn’t lock the door, did you?‘ ‘No, I forgot.’
B. Normally we use a negative question tag after a positive sentence:
positive sentence + |
negative tag
|
Mary will be here soon,
|
won’t she?
|
There was a lot of traffic,
|
wasn’t there?
|
Jim should pass the exam,
|
shouldn’t he?
|
…and a positive question tag after a negative sentence:
negative sentence + |
positive tag
|
Mary won’t be late
|
will she?
|
They don’t like us,
|
do they?
|
You haven’t got a car,
|
have you?
|
Notice the meaning of yes and no in answer to a negative sentence:
- You re not going out today, are you? Yes. (= Yes, I am going out)
- You re not going out today, are you? No. (= No, I am not going out)
C. The meaning of a question tag depends on how you say it. If your voice goes down, you aren’t really asking a question; you are only inviting the listener to agree with you:
- ‘It’s a nice day, isn’t it?’↓ ‘Yes, lovely.’
- ‘Tim doesn’t look well today, does he?↓’ ‘No, he looks very tired.’
- She’s very pretty. She’s got beautiful eyes, hasn’t she?↓
But if the voice goes up, it is a real question:
- ‘You haven’t seen Mary today, have you?↑’ ‘No, I’m afraid not.’ (= Have you seen Mary today by any chance?)
We often use a negative sentence + positive tag to ask for things or information, or to ask somebody to do something. The voice goes up at the end of the tag in sentences like these:
- ‘You haven’t got a pen, have you?↑’ ‘Yes, here you are.’
- ‘You couldn’t do me a favour, could you?↑’ ‘It depends what it is.’
- ‘You don’t know where Karen is, do you?↑’ ‘Sorry, I’ve no idea.’
D. After Let’s… the question tag is …shall we?:
- Let’s go for a walk, shall we?
After the imperative (Do… /Don’t do… etc.), the tag is usually …will you?:
- Open the door, will you?
- Don’t be late, will you?
Note that we say …aren’t I? (= am I not?):
- I’m late, aren’t I?
EXERCISES
1. Put a question tag on the end of these sentences.
- Tom won’t be late, ….will he?... No, he’s never late.
- You’re tired, …aren’t you?.. Yes, a little.
- You’ve got a camera,……………..? Yes, why? Do you want to borrow it?
- You weren’t listening,…………….? Yes, I was!
- Sue doesn’t know Ann,……………? No, they’ve never met.
- Jack’s on holiday,………………….? Yes, he’s in Portugal.
- Ann’s applied for the job,…………? Yes, but she won’t get it.
- You can speak German,…………..? Yes, but not very fluently.
- He won’t mind if I use his phone,…..? No, of course he won’t.
- There are a lot of people here,……..? Yes, more than I expected.
- Let’s go out tonight,……………….. Yes, let’s.
- This isn’t very interesting,…………..? No, not very.
- I’m too impatient,………………? Yes, you are sometimes.
- You wouldn’t tell anyone,……………..? No, of course not.
- Listen,…………………………? OK, I’m listening.
- I shouldn’t have lost my temper,,…..? No, but never mind.
- Don’t drop that vase,……………….? No, don’t worry.
- He’d never met her before,…………..? No, that was the first time.
2 Read the situation and write a sentence with a question tag. In each situation you are asking
your friend to agree with you.
- You look out of the window. The sky is blue and the sun is shining. What do you say to your friend? (beautiful day) …It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?..
- You’re with a friend outside a restaurant. You’re looking at the prices, which are very high. What do you say? (expensive) It………………………………………………………………………………………………
- You’ve just come out of the cinema with a friend. You really enjoyed the film. What do you say to your friend? (great) The film ………………………………………………………:………………………………..
- You and a friend are listening to a woman singing. You like her voice very much. What do you say to your friend? (a lovely voice) She ……………………………………………………………………………
- You are trying on a jacket. You look in the mirror and you don’t like what you see. What do you say to your friend? (not / look / very good) It…………………………………………………………………
- Your friend’s hair is much shorter than when you last met. What do you say to her/him? (have / your hair / cut) You ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
- You and a friend are walking over a wooden bridge. It is very old and some parts are broken. What do you say? (not / very safe) This bridge ………………;……………………………………………………..
3 In these situations you are asking for information and asking people to do things. Make sentences like those in Section C.
- You need a pen. Perhaps Jane has got one. Ask her. …Jane, you haven’t got a pen, have you?,.
- Jack is just going out. You want him to get you some stamps. Ask him. Jack, you ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
- You’re looking for Ann. Perhaps Kate knows where she is. Ask her. Kate, you………………………………
- You need a bicycle pump. Perhaps Helen has got one. Ask her. Helen …………………………………………….
- You’re looking for your keys. Perhaps Robin has seen them. Ask him. ………………………………… ………