Tag Questions in English: Example Sentences + Dialogue

Tag questions can make your spoken English sentences sound friendlier, more fluent – and more natural.

This free lesson uses a typical English conversation to show you examples of tag questions – and how we use them in English.

Contents

What are tag questions?

Tag questions are questions made with short question phrases (or tags) like, “..isn’t it?” or “..haven’t you?”.

Examples of common tag questions you may know:

“You live in Oxford, don’t you?”
“You haven’t seen that movie, have you?”

Why do we need tag questions in English?

We use tag questions to make questions which sound more informal, relaxed or polite.

They are also useful for sharing opinions, confirming information or showing people you agree with them.

You don’t need to use tag questions to speak English, but they can help you communicate more naturally.
Learning to “notice” tag questions will help you understand native speakers more easily.

How to make tag questions

We make tag questions by adding question tags to statements:

You live in Oxford, don’t you? = Statement = you live in Oxford / Question tag = don’t you?

Tag question examples and rules

Most tag questions in English have a positive and a negative part.

If a tag question starts with a positive statement, the tag is usually negative.

Tag questions starting with negative statements always have positive tags.

If the statement part is positive, the meaning is usually also positive.
If the statement is negative, the meaning is probably also negative (or neutral).

“You live in Oxford,..” is positive and “..don’t you?” is negative. If we put these together, we get a positive + negative tag question:

You live in Oxford, don’t you? = I am pretty sure you live in Oxford, but please tell me! (positive meaning)

On the other hand, negative + positive tag questions start with a negative statement, e.g. “You don’t know Jane,..”, and end with a positive tag: “..do you?”:

You don’t know Jane, do you? = a) I really don’t know if you know Jane. b) I don’t think you know Jane, but please tell me! (negative meaning)

Verbs and tenses must match!

To make tag questions sound right, we need to use the same verb, verb form and and verb tense in both the statement and the tag.
If your tag question contains only TO BE, then this is easy:

Alison isn’t here, is she? = TO BE (3rd person “IS”) PRESENT SIMPLE + TO BE (3rd person “IS”) PRESENT SIMPLE
You were ill, weren’t you? = TO BE (2rd person “WERE”) PAST SIMPLE + TO BE (2rd person “WERE”) PAST SIMPLE
You were ill, ~~wasn’t~~ you? (incorrect)

But when we use all other verbs, we need to use an auxiliary (helper verb) in the tag, e.g. does, has, etc according to the verb tense and person.

In verbs with continuous or perfect aspects, the helper verb is in the statement, so we just copy it:

Alison hasn’t arrived yet, has she? = HAVE (helper verb) (3rd Person “HAS” ) present perfect simple

However, positive present simple and past simple statements do not have helper verbs. For this reason, it can be tricky to guess the right helper verb for the tag!

You went to London, didn’t you? Past simple – no helper verb in the statement, but we say DIDN’T in the tag!
She knows Jim, doesn’t she? Present simple – no helper verb in the statement, but we say DOESN’T in the tag!

Intonation with tag questions

It’s important to get intonation right when you use tag questions.

In general, if tag intonation rises, you need an answer, but if intonation falls, you already know the answer.

Question tags with rising intonation:

When your voice rises on a question tag, you probably don’t know the answer – and you need more information:

You’re not leaving now, are you? (rising intonation) = I thought you were staying here for longer. Are you leaving?
You’re a student, aren’t you? (rising intonation) I’m 75% percent sure you’re a student, but I’m not sure – please tell me.

Question tags with falling intonation:

When your voice falls on a question tag, you probably already know the answer – you don’t really need an answer, but you just want confirmation / agreement, etc.

You’re not leaving now, are you? (falling intonation) = I’m 99% sure that you’re staying, but I just want to make sure this is true.
You’re a student, aren’t you? (falling intonation) I already know you’re a student (or I’m 99% sure), but I just want to confirm.

Tag question examples: English conversation

Hannah and Laura are friends who work late night shifts at the same supermarket. They’re both complaining about their jobs. But why?

Listen!

TIP: Try listening to the audio before you read the transcript. This will help you recognise sounds and patterns in the conversation.

Listen carefully to find out why Hannah and Laura are so unhappy at work.
Listen again – what different kinds of tag question can you hear?
Can you hear any stress on the question tags? Do the speakers voices go up or down at each tag?

Dialogue transcript: review tag questions

Check the dialogue transcript while listening to the audio to review the tag question examples (in bold) in more detail:

Hannah: So, you’re on evening shifts, as well, now then, are you? = Wow! I’m surprised that you are here, too. (positive + positive tag)
Laura: Yeah, every night this week. I’m barely getting any free time at all! It’s rough, isn’t it? = Please agree with me.
Hannah: Yeah, and I hate the way they keep giving us more things to do. I mean, we’re not robots, are we? = Please agree with me.
Laura: .. and then they act surprised when we’re so exhausted, don’t they? = Have you also noticed this? And it’s not like we’re getting paid much more for these shifts, is it? = Please agree with me.
Hannah: No, it’s not much at all. It’s not really worth doing it for the money, is it? = Confirm this is true.
Laura: No, I know, it’s a nightmare, isn’t it? = Please agree with me.

Useful vocabulary from the conversation

evening shifts = work hours that take place in the evening, usually lasting until late at night.
exhausted = very tired.
barely = almost not at all. Example: “I’m barely getting any free time” = “I almost have no free time.”
I hate the way .. = I hate how..
..they keep giving us more things to do = they always add extra work or tasks. Example: “They keep giving us more things to do” means “They never stop adding more work for us.”
act surprised = to pretend to be shocked or amazed. Example: “They act surprised when we’re so exhausted” means “They pretend to be shocked when we’re very tired.”
paid much more = receiving extra money for extra work. Example: “It’s not like we’re getting paid much more for these shifts,” = “We are not earning much extra money for these shifts.”
worth (doing something) = valuable or deserving effort. Example: “It’s not really worth doing it for the money” = “The money isn’t enough to make this job worthwhile.”
a nightmare = something very bad or difficult. Example: “It’s a nightmare, isn’t it?” = “It’s really difficult, isn’t it?”

Different kinds of tag question

There are many different kinds of tag question! Here’s a breakdown of the most common types:

Positive Statement + Negative Tag

Positive + negative tags have a positive meaning. We often use them to confirm things we think are true or things that we think will happen, have happened, etc.

“You’re coming, aren’t you?” (I think you’re coming – please confirm)

Negative Statement + Positive Tag

We use negative + positive tags when we think something is not happening, not true etc, but when we need to check just in case. These kinds of tag question have a negative or neutral meaning:

“You aren’t coming, are you?” (I don’t think you’re coming – or I don’t know. I will be surprised if you say you are coming.)
We can also say: You‘re not coming, are you?

Positive Statement + Positive Tag

Positive + positive tag questions are common in the UK and Australia, but less common in North American English.

In Britain, we often use tag questions with “so .. then” patterns to confirm things we already know or to indicate surprise:

So, you’re going away to Spain next week, then, are you? = I already know you’re going to Spain. I’m just being friendly.

We also use positive + positive tag questions to show we are surprised by something unexpected:

“Oh, you’re here, are you?” = I thought you were somewhere else. I didn’t expect to see you here! What a surprise!

Using tag questions with different verb tenses

Here are some examples of tag question patterns in different verb tenses.

Present simple

With positive present simple tag questions, there is no “helper verb” in the statement, so we need to use “do” or “does” forms in the tag:

Positive statement: “She likes coffee, doesn’t she?“
Negative statement: “She doesn’t like coffee, does she?“

Past simple

We make past simple tags using “did” or “didn’t”:

Positive statement: “You went to the concert, didn’t you?“
Negative statement: “You didn’t go to the concert, did you?“

Present continuous

Present continuous tag questions use TO BE as a helper verb. To form the tag, we copy present simple TO BE (is, are) form in the statement:

Positive statement: “They are coming to the party, aren’t they?“
Negative statement: “They aren’t coming to the party, are they?“

Past continuous

Past continuous tag questions are made with “were(n’t)” or “was(n’t)”:

Positive statement: “He was studying last night, wasn’t he?“
Negative statement: “He wasn’t studying last night, was he?“

Present perfect simple

Present perfect simple question tags use “have(n’t)” or “has(n’t)” helper verb forms in the tag:

Positive statement: “You have finished, haven’t you?“
Negative statement: “You haven’t finished, have you?“

Past perfect simple

Past perfect question tags are either “had” or “hadn’t”:

Positive statement: “They had left by then, hadn’t they?“
Negative statement: “They hadn’t left by then, had they?“

Future with will / going to

We can also use tag questions with future tenses. “Going to” uses TO BE in the tag; In “future tense with will”, tags are either “will” or “won’t”:

Positive statement: “She will come, won’t she?“
Negative statement: “She won’t come, will she?“
Positive statement: “She’s going to come, isn’t she?“
Negative statement: “She’s not going to come, is she?”

Tags with modal verbs

Modal question tags simply repeat the modal in the statement, either in the negative or positive:

Can: “You can swim, can’t you?” / “You can’t swim, can you?“
Can’t (for deduction): He can’t be there, can he? = it’s not possible / he must be somewhere else
Could: “They could help, couldn’t they?” / “They couldn’t help, could they?“
Should: “We should go, shouldn’t we?” / “We shouldn’t go, should we?“
Must: “He must be here, mustn’t he?” but, ~~“He mustn’t be here, must he?“~~

Single word tags

Single-word tags are way easier to use than verb tags, but they can sound rude or overly casual in formal situations.

That said, if you’re someone who really struggles with tag questions – these simpler tags might save your life!

Right?

Example: “You’ll bring the snacks, right?“

Okay? / OK?

Example: “I’ll see you at 5, OK?“

Yeah? / No?

Example: “It’s just around the corner, yeah?“
Example: “So, you’re not going then, no?”

Tag Questions in English: Example Sentences + Dialogue

What are tag questions?

Why do we need tag questions in English?