Level B1

Tag Questions

A tag question is a short question at the end: it repeats the helping verb with the opposite sign. She is happy, isn't she? You don't like tea, do you? No helping verb: do, does or did (He likes coffee, doesn't he?).

She is happy, isn't she?

Look: She is happy, isn't she? We check that we are right.

Forms

• She is happy, isn't she? — a positive sentence, a negative tag
• You don't like tea, do you? — a negative sentence, a positive tag
• He likes coffee, doesn't he? — no helping verb: does

A common mistake

Wrong: He likes coffee, isn't he?

Right: He likes coffee, doesn't he?

A common mistake is isn't after a verb like likes. We say: He likes coffee, doesn't he?

More examples

They went home, didn't they?

In the past, it is did: They went home, didn't they?

You can swim, can't you?

With can, the tag repeats can: You can swim, can't you?