Learn tag questions in English grammar: the golden rule, the auxiliary chart, and all the variations (let’s, imperatives, negative words, and more), with the a-few/a-little exception and 40 exercises for SSC, HSC, admission, and job exams.
“You know him, don’t you?” That little tail at the end, ‘don’t you?’, is a tag question. We use these all the time when we speak, to check something or to ask for agreement. A tag question looks tiny, but it hides a few clever rules, and that is exactly why exams love it. The good news is that once you learn the rules, tag questions become some of the easiest marks in SSC, HSC, admission, and job exams. This lesson covers every rule, two clear charts, teacher-style explanations, and thirty exercises with answers.
“You know him, don’t you?” শেষের ওই ছোট্ট লেজটি, ‘don’t you?’, একটি tag question। আমরা কথা বলার সময় সবসময় বাক্যের শেষে এগুলো ব্যবহার করি, কিছু যাচাই করতে বা সম্মতি চাইতে। একটি tag question দেখতে ছোট, কিন্তু এটি কয়েকটি কৌশলী নিয়ম লুকিয়ে রাখে, আর এই কারণেই বিভিন্ন পরীক্ষায় এর উপর প্রশ্ন এসে থাকে। সুখবর হলো, এই নিয়মগুলো একবার শিখলে tag question এর উপর SSC, HSC, ভর্তি ও চাকরির পরীক্ষার আসা প্রশ্নগুলো সঠিক উত্তর দেওয়া যায় এবং সহজে নম্বর নিশ্চিত করা যায়। তাহলে চলো, শুরু করা যাক।
What is a Tag Question?
A tag question is a short question added to the end of a statement to give it emphasis or to ask for agreement. It is made of two things: an auxiliary verb and a pronoun.
একটি tag question হলো একটি বিবৃতির বা বাক্যের শেষে যোগ করা একটি সংক্ষিপ্ত প্রশ্ন, যা এটিকে জোর দেয় বা সম্মতি চায়। এটি দুটি জিনিস দিয়ে তৈরি: একটি auxiliary verb এবং একটি pronoun।
Examples:
- He goes to school every day, doesn’t he?
- They are playing now, aren’t they?
- The girl has not published her poem, has she?
The Golden Rule: Flip the Statement
This is the heart of the whole topic, so learn it first. If the statement is affirmative (positive), the tag is negative. If the statement is negative, the tag is affirmative (positive). The tag always turns the opposite way to the statement.
এটাই পুরো বিষয়ের প্রাণ, তাই আগে এটি শেখো। যদি বিবৃতিটি হাঁ-বোধক হয়, tag হয় না-বোধক। যদি বিবৃতিটি না-বোধক হয়, tag হয় হাঁ-বোধক। tag সবসময় বিবৃতির বিপরীত দিকে ঘোরে।
- Affirmative statement + negative tag: He likes tea, doesn’t he?
- Negative statement + affirmative tag: He does not like tea, does he?
The Structure and the Three Steps
The structure of a tag is simple: statement, + auxiliary verb (+ not) + pronoun?
একটি tag এর গঠন সহজ: statement, + auxiliary verb (+ not) + pronoun?
To build any tag, ask yourself three quick questions in order.
যেকোনো tag গড়তে, ক্রমে নিজেকে তিনটি দ্রুত প্রশ্ন করো।
- Step 1: Is the statement affirmative or negative? (This decides the tag’s form.) (বাক্যটি হাঁ-বোধক না না-বোধক?)
- Step 2: What is the auxiliary verb for the tense? (This needs your knowledge of tenses.) (কোন tense, কোন auxiliary?)
- Step 3: What pronoun matches the subject? (Change a noun subject to a pronoun.) (subject এর pronoun কী?)
The Auxiliary Verb Chart (by Tense)
To pick the right auxiliary, you must know the auxiliaries of every tense. Here they are.
সঠিক auxiliary বাছতে, তোমাকে প্রতিটি tense এর auxiliary জানতে হবে। এগুলো এখানে দেওয়া হলো।
| Name of Tense (কাল) | Present form | Past form | Future form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite (সাধারণ) | do / does | did | shall / will |
| Continuous (ঘটমান) | am / is / are | was / were | shall be / will be |
| Perfect (পুরাঘটিত) | have / has | had | shall have / will have |
| Perfect Continuous (পুরাঘটিত ঘটমান) | have / has been | had been | shall have been |
Shortcut: Which Auxiliary to Use
Two quick points make choosing the auxiliary easy.
দুটি দ্রুত পয়েন্ট auxiliary বাছাই সহজ করে দেয়।
- Point 1: If the sentence has only a principal verb (go, see, want, like, tell), use ‘do’, ‘does’, or ‘did’ in the tag, according to the tense. (principal verb থাকলে do / does / did)
- Point 2: If the sentence already has an auxiliary or modal verb (is, are, was, have, has, had, can, could, will, shall, must, and so on), just repeat that same verb in the tag. (auxiliary / modal থাকলে সেই একই verb)
For more on these verbs, see our lessons on the verb and modal verbs.
Turning the Subject into a Pronoun
The tag always uses a pronoun, never a noun. If the subject is already a pronoun, keep it. If it is a noun, change it using this chart. For more, see our lesson on the pronoun.
Tag সবসময় একটি pronoun ব্যবহার করে, কখনো একটি noun নয়। subject আগে থেকেই pronoun হলে, রেখে দাও। noun হলে, এই chart অনুসারে pronoun এ বদলাও।
| If the subject is … | Use in the tag |
|---|---|
| a male (ছেলে / পুরুষ) | he |
| a female (মেয়ে / নারী) | she |
| a thing (বস্তু) | it |
| many persons (অনেকজন) | they |
Tag Question Rules & Variations
Beyond the basic rule, there are special cases. Here is the master chart of variations. Study each one below.
মূল নিয়মের বাইরে, কিছু বিশেষ ক্ষেত্র আছে। এই হলো variation গুলোর master chart। নিচে প্রতিটি পড়ো।
| No | Statement contains | Tag |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Let’s (চলো) | Shall we? |
| 2 | Don’t / Let him / me / her / them (আদেশ / অনুরোধ) | Will you? |
| 3 | Request / order / advice (অনুরোধ / আদেশ / উপদেশ) | Will you / Would you / Can you / Could you? |
| 4 | Someone / somebody / everyone / everybody / none / nobody / anyone / anybody (কেউ / সবাই) | Auxiliary + they? |
| 5 | Something / everything / anything / nothing (কিছু / সবকিছু) | Auxiliary + it? |
| 6 | There, introductory (there দিয়ে শুরু) | Auxiliary + there? |
| 7 | Negative word: never / hardly / scarcely / rarely / seldom / few / little / none / nobody / without (না-বোধক শব্দ) | Affirmative auxiliary + pronoun? |
| 8 | Complex sentence (জটিল বাক্য) | Follow the principal clause |
| 9 | All of us / some of them / none of you, as subject (আমরা সবাই / তাদের কেউ) | Auxiliary + we / they / you? |
| 10 | sun / summer / fire = he; moon / ship / country / river = she (সাহিত্যিক রূপ) | traditional he / she |
| 11 | This / That is (এটি / ওটি) | isn’t it? (These / Those = aren’t they?) |
| 12 | Used to (অভ্যাস ছিল) | didn’t + subject? |
| 13 | Gerund or infinitive as subject (Speaking the truth …) | isn’t it? |
| 14 | Have to / has to (obligation) (করতে হয়) | haven’t / hasn’t or don’t / doesn’t? |
| 15 | ‘let’ as a past main verb (He let me go) | didn’t + subject? |
| 16 | X along with / as well as Y (X, তার সাথে Y) | tag follows X |
| 17 | Each of / one of / none of + noun (প্রত্যেকে / একজন) | Auxiliary + they? |
The Variations with Examples
Variation 1: Let’s becomes Shall we?
- When a sentence begins with ‘Let’s’ (a suggestion to do something together), the tag is always ‘shall we?’. Do not think about the tense here; just remember this one fixed tag.
- যখন একটি বাক্য ‘Let’s’ দিয়ে শুরু হয় (একসাথে কিছু করার প্রস্তাব), tag সবসময় ‘shall we?’। এখানে tense নিয়ে ভেবো না; শুধু এই একটি নির্দিষ্ট tag মনে রেখো।
Examples:
- Let’s play football, shall we?
- Let’s go for a walk, shall we?
Variation 2: Don’t / Let him … becomes Will you?
- When an imperative sentence begins with ‘Don’t’, or with ‘Let him / me / her / them’, the tag is ‘will you?’. This holds no matter what the verb is.
- যখন একটি imperative বাক্য ‘Don’t’ দিয়ে, বা ‘Let him / me / her / them’ দিয়ে শুরু হয়, tag হয় ‘will you?’। verb যাই হোক, এটি একই থাকে।
Examples:
- Don’t make noise, will you?
- Let him finish his work, will you?
Variation 3: Request / Order / Advice becomes Will you / Would you / Can you / Could you?
- When an imperative sentence starts with a verb and gives an order, a request, or advice, use one of ‘will you / would you / can you / could you?’. The more polite you want to sound, the softer the tag: ‘would you’ and ‘could you’.
- যখন একটি imperative বাক্য একটি verb দিয়ে শুরু হয়ে আদেশ, অনুরোধ বা উপদেশ বোঝায়, ‘will you / would you / can you / could you?’ এর একটি ব্যবহার করো। যত বেশি ভদ্র শোনাতে চাও, tag তত নরম: ‘would you’ ও ‘could you’।
Examples:
- Finish the work soon, will you?
- Please help me, would you?
Variation 4: someone / everybody / nobody becomes they
- When the subject is a person-word like someone, somebody, everyone, everybody, nobody, none, anyone, or anybody, use ‘they’ in the tag, because these words can stand for many people.
- যখন subject হয় someone, somebody, everyone, everybody, nobody, none, anyone, anybody এর মতো একটি ব্যক্তি-বোধক শব্দ, tag এ ‘they’ ব্যবহার করো, কারণ এই শব্দগুলো অনেক মানুষকে বোঝাতে পারে।
Examples:
- Somebody called you, didn’t they?
- Everybody wants to be happy, don’t they?
Variation 5: something / nothing becomes it
- When the subject is a thing-word like something, everything, anything, or nothing, use ‘it’ in the tag. Remember that ‘nothing’ is negative, so its tag is positive.
- যখন subject হয় something, everything, anything, nothing এর মতো একটি বস্তু-বোধক শব্দ, tag এ ‘it’ ব্যবহার করো। মনে রেখো ‘nothing’ না-বোধক, তাই এর tag হাঁ-বোধক।
Examples:
- Everything is ready, isn’t it?
- Nothing is impossible, is it?
Variation 6: Introductory There becomes there
- When a sentence begins with the introductory ‘there’, keep ‘there’ in the tag instead of a pronoun, and match the auxiliary to the verb.
- যখন একটি বাক্য introductory ‘there’ দিয়ে শুরু হয়, একটি pronoun এর বদলে tag এ ‘there’ রাখো, আর auxiliary টি verb এর সাথে মেলাও।
Examples:
- There is a garden here, isn’t there?
- There were many guests, weren’t there?
Variation 7: Negative Words take a Positive Tag
- Remember, ‘no’ and ‘not’ are not the only negative signs. Words like never, hardly, scarcely, rarely, seldom, few, little, none, and nobody also make a sentence negative in meaning, so after any of them the tag becomes positive. But here is the trap students miss: ‘a few’ and ‘a little’ are positive, so they take a negative tag.
- মনে রেখো, ‘no’ ও ‘not’ ই একমাত্র না-বোধক চিহ্ন নয়। never, hardly, scarcely, rarely, seldom, few, little, none, nobody এর মতো শব্দও একটি বাক্যকে অর্থগতভাবে না-বোধক করে, তাই এদের যেকোনোটির পরে tag হাঁ-বোধক হয়। কিন্তু এই ফাঁদটি শিক্ষার্থীরা মিস করে: ‘a few’ ও ‘a little’ হাঁ-বোধক, তাই এরা না-বোধক tag নেয়।
Examples:
- You never tell a lie, do you?
- She hardly speaks, does she?
- He has few friends, does he? (few = negative)
- He has a few friends, doesn’t he? (a few = positive)
Variation 8: Complex Sentence follows the Principal Clause
- In a complex sentence with two clauses, build the tag from the principal (main) clause only, using its subject and verb. A quick trick: if there is a comma between the clauses, the clause after the comma is usually the principal one; if there is no comma, the first clause is principal. Learn more in our lesson on clauses.
- দুটি clause যুক্ত একটি complex sentence এ, শুধু principal (মূল) clause থেকে tag গড়ো, তার subject ও verb ব্যবহার করে। একটি দ্রুত কৌশল: clause দুটির মাঝে কমা থাকলে, কমার পরের clause টি সাধারণত principal; কমা না থাকলে, প্রথম clause টি principal।
Examples:
- As they phoned me, I went there, didn’t I?
- The boy waits here though I told him to leave, doesn’t he?
Variation 9: All of us / Some of them becomes we / they / you
- When the subject is a phrase like ‘all of us’, ‘some of them’, or ‘none of you’, use the subjective pronoun of its last part in the tag: all of us becomes we, some of them becomes they, none of you becomes you.
- যখন subject হয় ‘all of us’, ‘some of them’, ‘none of you’ এর মতো একটি phrase, tag এ এর শেষ অংশের subjective pronoun ব্যবহার করো: all of us হয় we, some of them হয় they, none of you হয় you।
Examples:
- All of us were present, weren’t we?
- None of us can do it, can we?
Variation 10: Personification (Sun = he, Ship = she)
- In the traditional, literary style that exams expect, some nouns take a special pronoun in the tag. The sun, summer, fire, and death are treated as ‘he’, while the moon, a ship, a country, and a river are treated as ‘she’. In everyday modern English, these can also be ‘it’.
- পরীক্ষায় প্রত্যাশিত ঐতিহ্যবাহী, সাহিত্যিক রীতিতে, কিছু noun tag এ একটি বিশেষ pronoun নেয়। সূর্য, গ্রীষ্ম, আগুন ও মৃত্যুকে ‘he’ ধরা হয়, আর চাঁদ, জাহাজ, দেশ ও নদীকে ‘she’ ধরা হয়। দৈনন্দিন আধুনিক ইংরেজিতে এগুলো ‘it’ ও হতে পারে।
Examples:
- The sun is very hot today, isn’t he? (traditional)
- The ship has arrived, hasn’t she? (traditional)
Variation 11: This / That becomes it
- When the subject is ‘this’ or ‘that’, use ‘it’ in the tag. When it is ‘these’ or ‘those’, use ‘they’.
- যখন subject হয় ‘this’ বা ‘that’, tag এ ‘it’ ব্যবহার করো। যখন ‘these’ বা ‘those’, ‘they’ ব্যবহার করো।
Examples:
- This is your pen, isn’t it?
- Those are your books, aren’t they?
Variation 12: Used to becomes didn’t
- ‘Used to’ shows a past habit, so treat it exactly like the past simple and use ‘didn’t’ in the tag.
- ‘Used to’ একটি অতীত অভ্যাস বোঝায়, তাই এটিকে হুবহু past simple এর মতো ধরো এবং tag এ ‘didn’t’ ব্যবহার করো।
Examples:
- You used to live here, didn’t you?
- She used to sing well, didn’t she?
Variation 13: Gerund or Infinitive Subject becomes it
- When the subject is a gerund phrase (like ‘Speaking the truth’) or an infinitive phrase (like ‘To tell a lie’), treat the whole idea as one thing and use ‘it’ in the tag.
- যখন subject একটি gerund phrase (যেমন ‘Speaking the truth’) বা একটি infinitive phrase (যেমন ‘To tell a lie’) হয়, পুরো ভাবটিকে একটি জিনিস হিসেবে ধরো এবং tag এ ‘it’ ব্যবহার করো।
Examples:
- Speaking the truth is a good habit, isn’t it?
- Working hard brings success, doesn’t it?
Variation 14: Have to / Has to (Obligation)
- When a sentence uses ‘have to’ or ‘has to’ to show obligation, the tag can be made two ways, and exams accept both: with ‘have / has’ (haven’t we, hasn’t he) or with ‘do / does’ (don’t we, doesn’t he). The ‘do / does’ form is the more modern choice.
- যখন একটি বাক্য বাধ্যবাধকতা বোঝাতে ‘have to’ বা ‘has to’ ব্যবহার করে, tag দুইভাবে গড়া যায়, আর পরীক্ষায় দুটোই গ্রহণযোগ্য: ‘have / has’ দিয়ে (haven’t we, hasn’t he) বা ‘do / does’ দিয়ে (don’t we, doesn’t he)। ‘do / does’ রূপটি বেশি আধুনিক।
Examples:
- We have to work hard, haven’t we? (or don’t we?)
- He has to leave now, hasn’t he? (or doesn’t he?)
Variation 15: ‘let’ as a Past Main Verb becomes didn’t
- Be careful with ‘let’. When ‘Let me / Let him’ begins an imperative, the tag is ‘will you?’. But when ‘let’ is a past-tense main verb inside an ordinary statement (He let me go), the sentence is past simple, so the tag is ‘didn’t’.
- ‘let’ নিয়ে সাবধান। যখন ‘Let me / Let him’ একটি imperative শুরু করে, tag হয় ‘will you?’। কিন্তু যখন ‘let’ একটি সাধারণ বিবৃতির ভেতরে একটি past-tense main verb হয় (He let me go), বাক্যটি past simple, তাই tag হয় ‘didn’t’।
Examples:
- He let me make tea, didn’t he? (a statement)
- Let me make tea, will you? (an imperative)
Variation 16: X along with / as well as Y follows X
- When the subject is joined by ‘along with’, ‘as well as’, ‘together with’, or ‘with’, only the first part is the real subject. So make the tag agree with that first part, never the second.
- যখন subject ‘along with’, ‘as well as’, ‘together with’, বা ‘with’ দিয়ে যুক্ত হয়, শুধু প্রথম অংশটিই আসল subject। তাই tag কে সেই প্রথম অংশের সাথে মেলাও, কখনো দ্বিতীয়টির সাথে নয়।
Examples:
- I, along with my friends, am ready, aren’t I?
- The teacher, as well as the students, was there, wasn’t he?
Variation 17: Each of / One of / None of + noun becomes they
- When the subject is ‘each of’, ‘one of’, ‘none of’, ‘some of’, or ‘all of’ plus a noun, use ‘they’ in the tag, even though the verb may be singular. For a lone ‘one’ as subject, you may use ‘one’ or ‘they’.
- যখন subject হয় ‘each of’, ‘one of’, ‘none of’, ‘some of’, বা ‘all of’ এবং একটি noun, tag এ ‘they’ ব্যবহার করো, যদিও verb একবচন হতে পারে। subject হিসেবে একক ‘one’ এর জন্য, তুমি ‘one’ বা ‘they’ ব্যবহার করতে পারো।
Examples:
- Each of the boys has a pen, don’t they?
- None of the students was absent, were they?
The ‘am’ Exception
- There is one special case with the verb ‘am’, because we cannot say ‘amn’t’. So for a positive ‘I am’ statement, the tag becomes ‘aren’t I?’. But for a negative ‘I am not’ statement, the tag is simply ‘am I?’.
- ‘am’ verb এর ক্ষেত্রে একটি বিশেষ নিয়ম আছে, কারণ আমরা ‘amn’t’ বলতে পারি না। তাই একটি হাঁ-বোধক ‘I am’ বাক্যের জন্য tag হয় ‘aren’t I?’। কিন্তু একটি না-বোধক ‘I am not’ বাক্যের জন্য tag কেবল ‘am I?’।
Examples:
- I am your friend, aren’t I?
- I am not late, am I?
Some Common Confusions
- British vs American ‘have’: “He had a car, hadn’t he?” is the older British style, while “He had a car, didn’t he?” is the modern and American style. For everyday use, ‘didn’t’ is the safer choice.
- The short form ‘d can mean ‘would’ or ‘had’. If a base verb follows, it stands for ‘would’ (I’d help you, wouldn’t I?). If a past participle follows, it stands for ‘had’ (I’d finished, hadn’t I?).
- Exclamatory sentences also take a tag, and it is usually ‘isn’t it?’: How fine the weather is, isn’t it?
- British ও American রীতি: “He had a car, hadn’t he?” হলো পুরনো British রীতি, আর “He had a car, didn’t he?” হলো আধুনিক ও American রীতি। দৈনন্দিন ব্যবহারে ‘didn’t’ বেশি নিরাপদ।
- সংক্ষিপ্ত রূপ ‘d দুটি জিনিস বোঝাতে পারে, ‘would’ বা ‘had’। এর পরে base verb থাকলে এটি ‘would’ বোঝায় (I’d help you, wouldn’t I?)। আর এর পরে past participle থাকলে এটি ‘had’ বোঝায় (I’d finished, hadn’t I?)।
- বিস্ময়সূচক বাক্যও একটি tag নেয়, আর সেটি সাধারণত ‘isn’t it?’: How fine the weather is, isn’t it?
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Never use a noun in the tag; always change it to a pronoun. Write “Rahim is here, isn’t he?”, not “isn’t Rahim?”.
- Always contract the negative in the tag: write ‘doesn’t’, ‘isn’t’, and ‘haven’t’, never ‘does not’ or ‘is not’.
- A positive statement takes a negative tag, and a negative statement takes a positive tag; never make the two match.
- Remember that ‘a few’ and ‘a little’ are positive, so they take a negative tag, while ‘few’ and ‘little’ are negative and take a positive tag.
- Tag এ কখনো একটি noun ব্যবহার কোরো না; সবসময় এটিকে একটি pronoun এ পরিবর্তন করো। লেখো “Rahim is here, isn’t he?”, “isn’t Rahim?” নয়।
- Tag এ না-বোধক রূপটি সবসময় সংক্ষিপ্ত করো: লেখো ‘doesn’t’, ‘isn’t’, ‘haven’t’, কখনো ‘does not’ বা ‘is not’ নয়।
- একটি হাঁ-বোধক বিবৃতি একটি না-বোধক tag নেয়, আর একটি না-বোধক বিবৃতি একটি হাঁ-বোধক tag নেয়; দুটিকে কখনো একরকম করো না।
- মনে রেখো ‘a few’ ও ‘a little’ হাঁ-বোধক, তাই এরা না-বোধক tag নেয়, আর ‘few’ ও ‘little’ না-বোধক, তাই এরা হাঁ-বোধক tag নেয়।
Practice Exercise with Answers
Add the correct tag question to each sentence.
প্রতিটি বাক্যে সঠিক tag question যোগ করো। নিজে চেষ্টা করার পরে উত্তর মিলিয়ে নাও।
- He plays cricket every day, ______?
- They are not coming today, ______?
- Let’s go home now, ______?
- Don’t tell a lie, ______?
- Please open the window, ______?
- Everybody loves music, ______?
- Nothing is impossible, ______?
- There is a mosque near here, ______?
- You never help me, ______?
- She hardly eats anything, ______?
- He has a few good friends, ______?
- He has few real friends, ______?
- As it was raining, we stayed home, ______?
- All of us are ready, ______?
- None of them came to the party, ______?
- This is your bag, ______?
- Those are her books, ______?
- You used to smoke, ______?
- I am your teacher, ______?
- I am not wrong, ______?
- We must obey the law, ______?
- She can swim well, ______?
- He will come tomorrow, ______?
- The children have finished their work, ______?
- It rained last night, ______?
- Rahim is a good boy, ______?
- Somebody knocked at the door, ______?
- Let him go now, ______?
- Seldom does he tell a lie, ______?
- The ship has sailed, ______?
- Speaking the truth is a good habit, ______?
- We have to work hard for this, ______?
- He let me use his pen, ______?
- I, along with my friends, am ready, ______?
- Each of the boys has a book, ______?
- Nobody believes a cheat, ______?
- A better life seldom comes without hard work, ______?
- Working hard can lead to success, ______?
- ‘But’ is a conjunction, ______?
- That’s why a few people lead a happy life, ______?
Answers
- doesn’t he?
- are they?
- shall we?
- will you?
- will you? (or would you?)
- don’t they?
- is it? (nothing = negative)
- isn’t there?
- do you? (never = negative)
- does she? (hardly = negative)
- doesn’t he? (a few = positive)
- does he? (few = negative)
- didn’t we? (principal clause: we stayed home)
- aren’t we?
- did they? (none = negative)
- isn’t it?
- aren’t they?
- didn’t you? (used to)
- aren’t I? (the ‘am’ exception)
- am I? (negative ‘I am not’)
- mustn’t we?
- can’t she?
- won’t he?
- haven’t they?
- didn’t it?
- isn’t he?
- didn’t they? (somebody = they)
- will you?
- does he? (seldom = negative)
- hasn’t it? (or, traditional, hasn’t she?)
- isn’t it? (gerund subject)
- haven’t we? (or don’t we?) (have to)
- didn’t he? (let as a past main verb)
- aren’t I? (along with, so follow ‘I’)
- don’t they? (each of + noun)
- do they? (nobody = negative, so they)
- does it? (seldom = negative)
- can’t it? (modal can; gerund subject = it)
- isn’t it? (‘but’ as a word = it)
- don’t they? (a few = positive, so a negative tag)
A Tip for the Exam
Build every tag in the same three steps, and you will never get lost. First, check the statement: positive means a negative tag, negative means a positive tag. Second, find the auxiliary: if there is a modal or ‘be’ or ‘have’, repeat it; if there is only a plain verb, use do, does, or did. Third, turn the subject into the right pronoun. Then watch for the special words, let’s takes ‘shall we’, imperatives take ‘will you’, and hidden negatives like never, hardly, and few take a positive tag, while ‘a few’ and ‘a little’ take a negative one. Follow this order calmly, and every tag falls into place.
প্রতিটি tag এর ক্ষেত্রে তিনটি নিয়ম অনুসরন করো, তাহলে কখনো ভুল হবে না। প্রথমে, বিবৃতিটি দেখো: বাক্যটি হাঁ-বোধক মানে না-বোধক tag হবে আর বাক্যটি না-বোধক মানে হাঁ-বোধক tag হবে। দ্বিতীয়ত, auxiliary খুঁজে বের করো: একটি modal বা ‘be’ বা ‘have’ থাকলে সেটি আবার লেখো; শুধু একটি সাধারণ verb থাকলে do, does বা did ব্যবহার করো। তৃতীয়ত, subject কে সঠিক pronoun এ পরিণত করো। তারপর বিশেষ শব্দগুলোর দিকে খেয়াল রাখো, let’s থাকলে হবে ‘shall we’, imperative থাকলে হবে ‘will you’, আর never, hardly, few এর মতো লুকানো না-বোধক শব্দ নেয় হাঁ-বোধক tag, কিন্তু ‘a few’ ও ‘a little’ নেয় না-বোধক tag।
Related Lessons
Keep building your grammar with these lessons:
- 12 Tenses in English Grammar: Full Classification
- Verb: Types, Finite, Non-Finite, and Auxiliary Verbs
- Modal Verbs in English Grammar: Rules, Uses & Examples
- Pronoun: Types, Rules & Examples
- Clauses in English Grammar: Types, Rules & Examples
- Kinds of Sentences in English Grammar
- Right Forms of Verbs: All Rules, Examples & Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a tag question?
A tag question is a short question added to the end of a statement to confirm it or ask for agreement, such as “You are coming, aren’t you?”. It is made of an auxiliary verb and a pronoun.
What is the main rule of tag questions?
If the statement is positive, the tag is negative; if the statement is negative, the tag is positive. The tag always turns the opposite way to the statement.
What tag is used with ‘let’s’ and with imperatives?
Use ‘shall we?’ with a sentence starting with ‘Let’s’. Use ‘will you?’ (or would you, can you, could you) with an imperative sentence like an order or request.
Why does ‘few’ take a positive tag but ‘a few’ take a negative tag?
Because ‘few’ has a negative sense (almost none), so the tag is positive. But ‘a few’ has a positive sense (some), so the tag is negative.
What tag do we use with ‘I am’?
For a positive statement, use ‘aren’t I?’ (I am right, aren’t I?), because ‘amn’t’ is not used. For a negative statement, use ‘am I?’ (I am not late, am I?).