Question tags

Question tags

If you are a really ambitious learner of English, the sentence that you probably most dread to hear from a stranger is "Your English is very good!" This may sound like a compliment, but in fact it means that the person you are talking to has realized that English is not your first language. It is possible that your grammar, pronunciation and intonation are perfect, but you still don't sound like a native speaker. This may be because you don't use the many of the idioms and phrasal verbs that are so prevalent in spoken English, or because you don't use question tags.

Apart from the difficulty of knowing when to use question tags appropriately, the non-native speaker has to learn how to form them and how to say them. The general rule is that you finish a positive statement with a negative tag, and vice versa, using the main verb (if there is no auxiliary) or the first auxiliary verb (if there is an auxiliary).

For example:

• It's a lovely day, isn't it?
• You've been told about the meeting, haven't you?
• You didn't do your homework, did you?
• You wouldn't have been able to do it, would you?

How you say the tag depends on the function of the tag. The following sentence, when seen written down, is ambiguous.

• You haven't seen Sascha, have you?

This could be a genuine question; i.e. I don't know if you have seen him or not and I want you to tell me. (In this case the tag would be stressed and said with rising intonation). Or it could confirming what I know to be true and expecting an response like: "No, he hasn't been here all day." (In which case, the tag would not be stressed, and it would be said with falling intonation.)

Quiz

• You don't like me, ... ...?
• It isn't raining, ... ...?
• You've done your homework, ... ...?
• I'm not late, ... ...?
• I'm invited to your party, ... ...?
• You like German food, ... ...?
• You'll come to my party, ... ...?
• You remembered to feed the cat, ... ...?
• Let's play tennis, ... ...?
• There's a problem here, ... ...?
• He never says a word, ... ...?
• Nobody came to your party, ... ...?
• Don't forget, ... ...?
• You think you're clever, ... ...?
• So you think you're clever, ... ...?

Answers

• You don't like me, do you?
• It isn't raining, is it?
• You've done your homework, haven't you?
• I'm not late, am I?
• I'm invited to your party, aren't I?
• You like German food, don't you?
• You'll come to my party, won't you?
• You remembered to feed the cat, didn't you?
• Let's play tennis, shall we?
• There's a problem here, isn't there?
• He never says a word, does he?
• Nobody came to your party, did they?
• Don't forget, will you?
• You think you're clever, don't you?
• So you think you're clever, do you?

We use tags in spoken English but not in formal written English.

Making a tag is very mechanical. To make a tag, use the first auxiliary. If there is no auxiliary, use do, does or did. With a positive sentence, make a negative tag and with a negative sentence, make a positive tag.

• It's beautiful, isn't it?
• He has been, hasn't he?
• You can, can't you?
• It must be, mustn't it?
• You know him, don’t you?
• He finished it, didn't he?
• He will come, won't he?

• It isn't very good, is it?
• It hasn't rained, has it?
• It can't be, can it?
• Jenny doesn't know James, does she?
• They didn't leave, did they?
• He won’t do it, will he?

Notice these:

• There isn't an ATM here, is there?
• Let's have a cup of coffee, shall we?

To reply, use the same auxiliary:

• It's beautiful, isn't it? ~ Yes, it is. I think it's fabulous.
• It isn't very good, is it? ~ No, it isn't. In fact, it's terrible.

Although, the rules are very simple and mechanical, in order to use them easily in conversation, they have to be automatic. So you need to hear and practice them very often.

Pengertian Question Tag

Question tag adalah pertanyaan pendek yang ditambahkan di akhir pernyataan (declarative sentence) untuk menanyakan informasi atau meminta persetujuan.
Seperti idiom (ungkapan bahasa Inggris), question tag merupakan bagian yang sering digunakan dalam percakapan sehari-hari seorang native speaker. Walaupun grammar, pronounciation, dan intonation-nya baik, seseorang dapat mudah dikenali bukan sebagai native speaker jika tidak menggunakan question tag.

Rumus Question tag

linking verb “be”/auxiliary verb +/- not + pronoun

Keterangan:

• linking verb “be” yaitu: is, am, are, was, were, sedangkan auxiliary verb berupa primary auxiliary verb (be, do, have) atau modal auxiliary verb (will, would, may, may, might, can, could, shall, should) yang cocok dengan verb pada bagian pernyataan.
• Pronoun disesuaikan dengan subject pada bagian pernyataan.

Contoh Question Tag:

• You love math, don’t you? (Kamu suka matematika kan?)
• You don’t love math, do you? (Kamu tidak suka matematika kan?)

Pembentukan Question Tag

Berdasarkan general rule (aturan umum) positive question tag dapat mengikuti negative sentence (kalimat negatif). Begitu pula sebaliknya,  negative question tag dapat mengikuti positive sentence (kalimat positif).
Question tag terdiri dari main verb (jika berupa linking verb “be”), dummy auxiliary verb “do/does/did” (jika main verb bukan berupa linking verb) atau auxiliary verb yang pertama (jika terdiri dari main verb dan satu atau lebih auxiliary) +/- not + subjek (pronoun) yang disesuaikan dengan kalimat utama.

negative sentence, positive question tag	negative sentence, positive question tag
Ahmad didn’t come late, did he? (Ahmad tidak datang terlambat kan?)	Ahmad came late, didn’t he? (Ahmad datang terlambat kan?)
The man isn’t stingy, is he? (Pria tsb tidak pelit kan?)	The man is stingy, isn’t he? (Pria tsb pelit kan?)
You haven’t finished your homework, have you? (Kamu belum menyelesaikan PR-mu kan?)	You have finished your homework, haven’t you? (Kamu telah menyelesaikan PR-mu kan?)
They won’t attend the seminar, will they? (Mereka tidak akan menghadiri seminar kan?)	They will attend the seminar, won’t they? (Mereka akan menghadiri seminar kan?)

Intonasi pada Question Tag

Tujuan dari penggunaan question tag adalah untuk menanyakan informasi atau meminta persetujuan. Ketika menggunakannya untuk menanyakan informasi, posisi speaker tidak tahu apakah informasi tersebut benar atau salah. Pada kondisi tersebut, question tag diberi penekanan dengan intonasi naik (rising intonation).
Adapun ketika question tag digunakan untuk meminta persetujuan, speaker yakin bahwa informasi yang diketahui benar, namun mengharapkan jawaban yang mendukung keyakinannya. Pada situasi itu question tag dilafalkan tanpa penekanan dengan intonasi turun (falling intonation).

Contoh Kalimat Question Tag:

You didn’t drink alcohol, did you? (Kamu tidak minum alkohol kan?)

• Jika speaker tidak tahu apakah lawan bicaranya minum alkohol dan dia ingin tahu jawabannya, question tag diberi penekanan dengan intonasi naik.
• Jika speaker hanya ingin tahu bahwa lawan bicaranya tidak minum alkohol dan hanya mengharapkan penegasan, question tag diucapkan tanpa penekanan dengan intonasi turun.

Lebih Banyak Contoh Kalimat Question Tag

Beberapa dari contoh kalimat question tag berikut mungkin tidak terlalu mengikuti general rule sehingga mungkin agak membingungkan.

Contoh Kalimat Question Tag
I’m right, aren’t I?	spoken English
I’m right, am I not?	formal English
Everybody likes him, don’t they?	digunakan they sebagai gender neuter pronoun.
Nothing is impossible, is it?	Nothing = no thing, sehingga kalimat menjadi negatif, maka question tag-nya positif.
Nobody came late, did they?	Nobody = no body, sehingga kalimat menjadi negatif, maka question tag-nya positif. Digunakan they sebagai gender neuter pronoun.
You will never regret it, will you?	Never = not ever, sehingga kalimat menjadi negatif. Oleh karena itu question tag-nya positif.
Everything is nice, isn’t it?    Let’s go now, shall we?
Don’t speak, will you?    This/that is his bag, isn’t it?
These/those are your tools, aren’t they?   There is an old house, isn’t there?
Complete the sentences with the correct question tags. Mr McGuinness is from Ireland, isn't he ? The car isn't in the garage, is it ? You are John, aren't you ? She went to the library yesterday, didn't she ? He didn't recognize me, did he ? Cars pollute the environment, don't they ? Mr. Pritchard has been to Scotland recently, hasn't he ? The trip is very expensive, isn't it ? He won't tell her, will he ? Hugh had a red car, didn't he ? ·  She is collecting stickers, isn't she? ·  We often watch TV in the afternoon, don't we? ·  You have cleaned your bike, haven't you? ·  John and Max don't like maths, do they? ·  Peter played handball yesterday, didn't he? ·  They are going home from school, aren't they? ·  Mary didn't do her homework last Monday, did she? ·  Kevin will come tonight, won't he? ·  He could have bought a new car, couldn't he? ·  I'm clever, aren't I?