How to ask a dividing question in English. What is a tag question in English?

Tag Question is a question that is usually asked when you are almost sure of a positive answer, want to get the approval of the interlocutor or maintain a conversation.

Examples of separation questions

They are good students, aren’t they? — They are good students, aren't they?
The weather is fine, isn’t it? — The weather is beautiful, isn’t it?

How to ask a dividing question correctly?

By following the algorithm below (an algorithm is a sequence of actions), you can ask the dividing question correctly.

The dividing question consists of two parts: main part- to the comma, and " tail" - after the decimal point.

As a rule, all tasks boil down to the fact that you need to select the “tail” to the main part that is given.

EXAMPLE. They are at home (main part), ____ (tag-tail)?

How to ask a dividing question in English (sequence of actions)?

The short algorithm (sequence of actions) is as follows:

We place signs: “+, -” or “- , +”
Defining the auxiliary verb and put the same one in first place after the decimal point, taking into account the signs.
Replace D.L. pronoun (if necessary) and put a pronoun after the auxiliary word before the question mark.

Let's look at each point in more detail.

1) Place the signs according to the diagram:

“+, –” or “–, +”

Put «+» in the main part, if it Not contains negative particles "not", "no" or "never".
Put «-» , if the main part of the sentence contains a particle "not", "no" or "never".
If in the main part you put «+» , then according to the diagram, in the tail there will be «-« and vice versa.

We get => They are at home (+), ... (-)?

2) Find the auxiliary verb: be (am, is, are; was, were); have(has); did, will, can, could, should, would and underline it.

We get => They are at home (+), … (-)?

A more difficult case is if these verbs are not in the sentence. Then you need to determine the time at the end of the semantic verb and remember the corresponding auxiliary verb. Write it above the action.

Here is a hint table that shows You can determine the auxiliary verb (and accordingly) time by the main action verb.

Or briefly: D => do, Ds => does, Ded or D2 => did

3) We put an auxiliary verb after the comma according to the signs: if the tail is “+”, then the auxiliary verb will be in positive form, but if the tail is indicated “-“, then we add “not” to the auxiliary verb.

We get => They are at home (+), aren't … (-)?

4) After the auxiliary verb we put a pronoun (D.L.)

We get => They are at home (+), aren’t they (-)?

Tag Question. Self-test

Remember: I am..., aren't I?

Complete the assignment and take it to your teacher for review.

Separated question. Complex cases

You just have to remember how to ask a dividing question correctly in the cases below!

I am..., aren't I?
You have to do….., don’t you?
Let’s…., shall we?
These are/ Those are …. , aren't they?
This is/That is….., isn’t it?
Somebody, anybody, everybody, ….are they?
Don’t...., will you?
Please help me, can you?
They shouldn’t be late, should they?
The words “hardly ever”, “scarcely”, “little” correspond to “-“

Tag Question. Self-test (advanced)

1) Let’s go to the park, ___________?
2) Nobody phoned, ________?
3) I’m beautiful, _________?
4) They never quarrel, ________?
5) It’s no good, ________?
6) He has to get up early, __________?
7) It’s hardly rained this summer, _______?

Take the test and take it to your English teacher for review.

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You and I already know the formation and the main cases of using dividing questions. At first glance, everything is simple: the affirmative first part is the negative second and vice versa. However, we remember that we are dealing with English grammar, where there are always exceptions and even in simple things there are so many nuances that you can easily get confused, so we will begin to study the features of dividing questions, moving from simple to more complex.

Intonation

The meaning of the dividing question is largely depends on intonation. The affirmative part is usually pronounced with a falling tone. And the intonation of a short question can be rising or falling.

If the speaker is confident in the statement, tag (tail) also pronounced with falling intonation. If the speaker doubts the information in the first part, the intonation is rising. The second case is typical for sentences with the same affirmative or negative form in both parts.

Unusual dividing questions

Sometimes (and quite often!) native speakers use same shape (positive or negative) in both parts of the dividing questions. Why? The fact is that the same form of the auxiliary verb in both parts can express surprise, interest, emphasis on new information, and can also be used to attract the attention of the interlocutor. Sometimes such proposals change their stylistic coloring and acquire a hint of irony.

Positive statement / positive tag	Negative statement / negative tag

Example sentences

You have been to the cinema this week, have you?

You were at the cinema this week, weren't you? (new information) He is afraid of spiders, is he?

He's afraid of spiders, isn't he? (surprise) You lost the match, did you?

Example sentences

You lost the match, right? (irony)
1. How to correctly answer a negative dividing question?
If we confirm or agree with information in a negative statement, this will be expressed by a negative answer with a negative form of the auxiliary verb, disagreement - by a positive answer with a positive form of the auxiliary verb.
You don’t rememberhis phone number, do you?
- No, I don’t.
- Yes, Ido.
You don't remember his phone number, do you?
- Yes, I don’t remember.

- No, I remember.

Mrs Priestley doesn't know your father, does she? - No, she doesn’t. - Yes, shedoes.

Mrs. Priestley doesn't know your father, does she?

- Yes, he doesn’t know.

- No, he knows.

2. Disjunctive questions in the first person singular

Example sentences

If in the first part the subject and predicate are expressed “I am” in the second part it will have the form

"aren't I"

, which is a little unusual. they Important!

There is no shortened form of amn't in English. You may come across the following options for the name of this type of question:

Disjunctive question;
Question with a tail – Tag question or Tail question

Tag questions: rules of education

What are they? dividing questions in English? They consist of 2 parts. The first is affirmative or negative, the second is the “tail” - a short general question. Parts of a separating question are separated by a comma. The tail of the question is translated into Russian isn't it?, isn't it? , it is so?, is not it?

Greg knew that before, didn’t he? “Greg knew about this before, didn’t he?”
Lora hasn’t come yet, has she? “Laura hasn’t arrived yet, has she?”

If the first part of the Disjunctive question is affirmative, then the tail will be negative:

Paulin visited her grandma, didn’t she? – Pauline visited her grandmother, didn’t she?

If the main part is negative, then the “tail” will be positive:

Paulin didn’t visit her grandma, did she? Pauline didn’t visit her grandmother, did she?

If the affirmative first part of a sentence contains words that give the sentence a negative connotation, then the entire part will be considered negative and, therefore, the tail will be positive.

Here is a list of some of these words:

No, never, no one, nobody, scarcely, rarely, hardly, refuse, etc.
They never enjoy their holidays, do they? – They never enjoy their holidays, do they?
Nobody was there, were they? – There was no one there, was there?
Pronouns ending in one and body will change to they at the end of the question.
Everybody is present, aren’t they? – Everyone is present, isn’t it?

How to construct the “tail” of a dividing question?

The most difficult thing in the theory of Tag Questions is to correctly construct this very tag - a short question, that is, the tail.

In a dividing question, the short question consists of:

auxiliary verb
not particles, if we need a negative tail with an affirmative main part;
subject expressed by a personal pronoun.

The main thing here is to choose the right auxiliary verb. The following table will help you with this.

Question tags table

Main part	Quick question	Examples
am not	am	I am not tall, am I?
is	isn't	Greg is here, isn’t he?
are	aren't	Kids are at home, aren’t they?
is not /isn’t	is	Greg isn't here, is he?
are not/aren't	are	Kids aren't at home, are they?
was	wasn't	Greg was here, wasn’t he?
were	weren't	Kids were at home, weren’t they?
wasn't/wasn't	was	Greg wasn’t here, was he?
were not /weren't	were	Kids weren't at home, were they?
have	haven't	I have played chess, haven’t I?
has	hasn't	Paul has played chess, hasn’t he?
have not/haven't	have	I haven’t played chess, have I?
has not/hasn’t	has	Paul hasn’t played chess, has he?
had	hadn't	I had played chess, hadn’t I?
hadn't	had	Paul hadn’t played chess, had he?
will	won't	Molly will phone us, won’t she?
won't	will	Greg won't phone us, will he?
shall	shan't	We shall arrive soon, shan’t we?
Shall not / Shan't	shall	We shan’t arrive soon, shall we?
would	wouldn't	It would be possible, wouldn’t it?
would not/wouldn't	would	He wouldn't come, would he?
can	can't	Molly can swim, can’t she?
can't/can't	can	You cannot do this, can you?
could	couldn't	Molly could swim, couldn't she?
could not/couldn't	could	You couldn't do that, could you?
may	may not	I may be free, may not I?
may not / may not	may	I may not write here, may I?
might	mightn't	It might be true, mightn't it?
might not/mightn't	might	It mightn’t be so late, might it?
must	mustn't	You must keep calm, mustn’t you?
mustn't	must	You mustn’t panic, must you?
should	shouldn't	You should eat less, shouldn’t you?
shouldn't/shouldn't	should	You shouldn’t eat cakes, should you?
does not/doesn't	does	Greg doesn't like Jim, does he?
don't/don't	do	We do not like Greg, do we?
didn't / didn't	did	Molly didn’t come, did she?

This is what your dividing questions will look like if they clearly contain an auxiliary verb. I hope these are numerous examples of questions with a tail will be useful.

In two cases you will not be able to find the auxiliary verb in the first part. What are these cases?

The affirmative part in the Present Simple.

If your main part is affirmative and is in the Present Simple, then you will see either just a semantic verb, or a semantic verb with the ending –s/es. In this case, use don’t / doesn’t.

I roll the bones very well, don’t I? – I play backgammon well, don’t I?
Greg rolls the bones well, doesn’t he? Greg is good at backgammon, isn’t he?

The affirmative part in the Past Simple.

If the main part of your dividing question is affirmative and is in the Past Simple, then you will see the semantic verb in the past tense form (irregular verb or verb ending in –ed). In this case, use didn't.

Molly came late on Thursday, didn’t she? – Molly was late on Thursday, wasn’t she?
Molly rolled the bones well in her childhood, didn’t she? - Molly played backgammon well as a child, didn't she?

Special cases of constructing dividing questions

There are a few special cases of constructing Tag questions that I want to focus on.

If in the main part you see I am, then in the tail there won’t be I?

I am 29 years old, aren’t I?

If there is a phrase in the main part, then it will need to be used in the tail, according to the basic rules:

Table of dividing questions with the turn there is. Question tags table 2.

There are twenty chairs in the assembly hall, aren’t there?

If in the main part you see this is or that is, then at the end of the separating question there will be isn’t it?

This is Greg’s brother, isn’t it?

If in the main part you see a sentence starting with Let’s (Let us) - in a short question you need to use shall we? The tail in such sentences is not translated.

Let's change the kitchen design, shall we?- Let's change the kitchen design? / Why don’t we change the kitchen design?

If the first part of the dividing question begins with Let me, Let him, Let her, Let them, then the tail will be will you? or won't you?

Let Molly explain her position, will you?

If the first part of the disjunctive question is an imperative mood, then the short question will be will you? In the affirmative form of the imperative mood you can use and won’t you?

Lend me some money, will you?

Don’t shout at me, will you?

Intonation design of dividing questions.

Usually the short question at the end of the Tag question is pronounced with a rising tone. However, if the speaker does not doubt the answer at all, and the entire sentence is rather in the nature of a statement, then the tone in the tail decreases.

Dividing questions in English are one of the most interesting types among existing issues.

After all, despite what is called “dividing”, in fact they do not separate absolutely anything, but rather confirm or refute the words of the speaker.

It is a gray cat, isn’t it?- It's a gray cat, isn't it?

Construction of a dividing question in English

Now we will tell you how to correctly use separating questions in English. Keep in mind that there is absolutely nothing complicated about this! After all, when constructing such questions, the direct word order is preserved, which means it is almost impossible to construct an interrogative sentence incorrectly!

In order to ask a dividing question, you will simply need to compose a narrative sentence in its “primordial” form, and add a clarifying particle at the end.

The only thing worth knowing when building dividing questions in English- this is what kind of particle should be added at the end. We will tell you about this in the next paragraph.

In outline

To construct a dividing question in English you need to make two parts:

the main part, expressed by a standard affirmative (or even negative) sentence with direct word order: It is a very angry dog,
a short tail question, known in narrow circles as a “tag”: isn't it?

This, by the way, is where the name of dividing questions comes from, which sounds like “tag-questions/question with a tail.”

This “tail” can be translated into Russian with words like: is not it? is not it? right? and so on.

This is a very angry dog, isn't it?

Tail in dividing questions of the English language

The second part of the question is a short question and consists of an auxiliary or modal verb (depending on the context) and a pronoun that replaces the subject.

It is important to remember that if the first part is expressed as a statement, then the question will contain a negation, but if the first part expresses a negation, then the question will contain an affirmation.

In the case of modal verbs (can, should, must) and the verb to be in the first part of the separating question, the tail question also uses a modal verb or the verb to be in the appropriate form. In the case of ordinary verbs, an auxiliary verb (do, does, did) is used in the tail question.

Let's look at a few examples.

1. Standard situation. Affirmation in the first part, negation in the second:

You play every day, don’t you? – You play every day, don't you?
She talks a lot, doesn’t she? – She talks a lot, doesn't she?

And vice versa:

We don’t sing much, do we? – We don't eat much, do we?
He doesn’t go to school, does he? – He doesn't go to school, does he?

2. In the first part, the affirmative form of the verb to be (or the modal verb can, could, should) is used; in the tail the same verb will be used in the negative form.

He is rich, isn’t he? – He's rich, isn't he?
You can swim, can’t you? – You can swim, can't you?
You should tell her, shouldn’t you? – You should tell her, shouldn't you?

And vice versa:

We aren't old, are we? – We're not old, right?
He couldn’t swim, could he? – He couldn't swim, could he?
She shouldn’t come, should she? – She shouldn't have come, should she?

Well, where without exceptions?

Everywhere we come across exceptions and notes. It would not have been possible without them divisive issues.

1. I am in the first part of the sentence turns into a tail question aren’t I?
– I am kind, aren’t I? – I'm kind, aren't I?

2. With Let’s in the first part of the sentence the question shall we? (invitation)
– Let’s go to the party, shall we? – Let's go to the party, shall we?

3. With Let us in the first part we use will you? (getting permission)
- Let us go to the party will you? - Let us go to the party, will you?

4. After everyone, someone, anyone, no one used in a ponytail they
– Someone should do that, shouldn’t they? – Someone has to do it, right?

5. With adverbs never, rarely, rarely, hardly, barely and negative pronouns nothing, nowhere, none, nobody The tail question is always positive:
– She could hardly go, could she? – She can barely walk, can't she?
– He found nobody, did he? – He didn't find anyone, did he?

With direct word order.

You speak English... You speak English...
You don’t speak English...
You can’t speak French... You don’t speak French...

The second part is a short general question, consisting of an auxiliary or modal verb and a pronoun in the nominative case.

…don’t you?…isn’t that right?
…do you?…really (yes)?
…can you?…really (isn’t it)?

If the first part of the question is affirmative, then the second part is negative. The auxiliary verb is placed in the tense in which the predicate verb appears. For example:

He is a part time student, isn't he?
He is an evening (correspondence) student, isn't he?

They are twins aren't they?
They are twins, aren't they?

He had many foreign stamps, didn't (didn't) he?
He had a lot of foreign brands, didn't he?

My sister can speak English very well, can't she?
My sister speaks English very well, doesn't she?

You go to the swimming pool, don't you?
You go to the pool, don't you? (Truth?)

He reads newspapers every day doesn't he?
He reads newspapers every day, doesn't he?

His sister went abroad, didn't she?
His sister went abroad, didn't she?

Ann, you have told them about our departure, haven't you?
Anna, you told them about our departure, didn't you?

If the first part of the question is a negative sentence, then the second part will be in the affirmative form.

The auxiliary or modal verb in the second part is put in the affirmative form.

You don't go to the swimming-pool, do you?
You don't go to the pool, do you?

His sister didn't ‘ t go abroad, did she?
His sister didn't go abroad, did she?

They aren't twins are they?
They're not twins, are they?

She couldn't skate last year could she?
She couldn't skate last year, could she?

The intonation of dissected questions can be twofold - depending on what answer the speaker expects to his question. If he wants to receive confirmation of the assumption he has made, then both parts of the question are pronounced with a descending tone. If the question makes no assumption about the nature of the answer, then the first part of the question is pronounced with a descending tone, and the second with a rising tone.

In Russian, divided questions (the second part in the form of a general question) correspond to interrogative phrases isn't it?, isn't it?, really?, yeah?, really? or an intensifying particle is part of an interrogative sentence.

It's a nice picture, isn't it?
(It's) a beautiful picture true (isn't it)?

You could have telephoned me, couldn't you?
You could call me is not it?

Mary didn't know that, did she?
Mary didn't know this.

NOTE:

1. In dissected questions, auxiliary and modal verbs, as a rule, merge with the negation not, forming the abbreviated forms isn’t, aren’t, weren’t, hasn’t, won’t, can’t, etc.

But with the form of the verb to be in the 1st person singular. am the abbreviated form is not used - the abbreviated form is used instead aren't.

I’m late, aren’t I? I'm late, right?

2. The first part of a dissected question is always separated by a comma from its second part. Answers to disjunctive questions are usually brief and express either agreement with or disagreement with the speaker. Both parts of the answer must contain either an affirmation or a negation, i.e. be either in an affirmative form or in a negative form. For example: Yes, I do. or No, I don't.

It is necessary to be very careful when answering dividing questions, since there is a discrepancy in the use of Yes and No in English and Yes And No In russian language.