Question tags: it's your first day, isn't it? Question tags exercises for B1 students
About this lesson
This B1 drill lesson gives question tags exercises from isn't it? and don't you? to tags after has, can and will, and tricky ones such as aren't I?
- Grammar
- Positive statement, negative tag, and the other way around, with the statement's helper verb or do / does / did and a pronoun: Kim works in sales, doesn't she?
- Topic
- Yara's first day at Puddlejump Books, an invented publisher in Pittsburgh: a forum thread on small talk, then chats at the front desk, at lunch and in the kitchen.
- Activities
- Sorting by tag, choices, typed tags, matches, drag-and-drop, word order, find-the-mistake quizzes, tables, memory games and a kitchen chat.
What's inside
Chapter 1The rule
Chapter 2Tags with be and do
- Choose the right tag: be or do?Choose the optionTry it
- Fill in the gaps: present and past simpleFill in the gapsUnlock
- Match the statements and the tagsMatchUnlock
- Drag the tags into the gaps: dinner at a friend's houseDrag and dropUnlock
- Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right tagQuizUnlock
- Read the small talk at the bus stop and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 3Tags with have, can, will…
- Choose the right tag: have, can, will, should or could?Choose the optionUnlock
- Write the tags: present perfect and modal verbsFill in the gapsTry it
- Fill in the table: positive and negative statementsFill in the tableUnlock
- Drag the tags into the gaps: at the airportDrag and dropUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: statements and tagsMemory gameUnlock
- Complete the sentences: the tag tells you the verbFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
Chapter 4Tricky tags
- Choose the right tag: tricky statementsChoose the optionUnlock
- Sort the statements: negative or positive tag?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Write the tag: tricky statementsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right tag: he's, she's, you'd, they'dQuizUnlock
- Match the questions and the answersMatchTry it
- Drag the tags into the gaps: at the office partyDrag and dropUnlock
- Find the mistake: tricky tagsQuizUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: Day one at Puddlejump
- Read the forum threadReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the thread again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read the small talk at the front desk and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the small talk at lunch and choose the right tagsChoose the optionUnlock
- Read the office newsletter and drag the tags into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Yara in the kitchenChatTry it
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Choose the right question tag: on vacationChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the question tag: at the doctor'sFill in the gapsUnlock
- Match the statements and the question tags: a family dinnerMatchUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: sentences with tagsUnjumbleUnlock
- Sort the sentences: which question tag do they need?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Fill in the table: the tag and the short answersFill in the tableUnlock
- Drag the tags into the gaps: a road tripDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the correct sentence: every kind of tagQuizUnlock
- Complete the sentences: the tag gives you a clueFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: tricky tagsMemory gameUnlock
- Is the sentence correct? Mark true or false: tricky tagsTrue or falseUnlock
- Choose the right tag: I'm, there, nobody and moreChoose the optionUnlock
- Read Grandma Dorothea's email and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the messages before the game and drag the tags into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the right answer to the questionQuizUnlock
Grammar: question tags: statement + helper verb + pronoun
A question tag turns a statement into a short check: You're from Texas, aren't you? People add one to confirm something they think is true or to open small talk. Learners flip positive to negative and negative to positive, take the helper verb from the statement and finish with a pronoun.
Question tags: it's cold, isn't it?
Add a short tag at the end of a sentence to check something you think is true, or to start small talk.
Positive statement, negative tag
The tag goes the opposite way from the statement: We're late, aren't we? We aren't late, are we? It ends with a pronoun, so Sam becomes he and the bus becomes it. Never, nobody and nothing count as negative: Sam never calls, does he?
Statement + question tag
statementhelper verb: positive ↔ negativepronoun + ?
You're from Texas, aren't you?
Kim works in sales, doesn't she?
They didn't call back, did they?
Positive or negative?
Positive statement → negative tag
- The tag is the opposite of the statement.
- You know Sam, don't you?
- We're late, aren't we?
- The tag has a pronoun: Sam → he, the bus → it, your parents → they.
Negative statement → positive tag
- You don't know Sam, do you?
- We aren't late, are we?
- never, nobody, nothing, hardly ever make the statement negative: Sam never calls, does he?
Which helper verb goes in the tag?
Repeat the statement's helper verb: is, was, have, can, will or should. With no helper verb, the present and past simple borrow do, does or did: You live here, don't you? He called you, didn't he?
| In the statement | Positive → negative tag | Negative → positive tag |
|---|---|---|
| am / is / are | It's cold, isn't it? | You aren't busy, are you? |
| was / were | The show was long, wasn't it? | They weren't home, were they? |
| present simple → do / does | You live here, don't you? | She doesn't cook, does she? |
| past simple → did | He called you, didn't he? | You didn't go, did you? |
| have / has + past participle | You've met Ann, haven't you? | He hasn't paid, has he? |
| can / could | You can swim, can't you? | She couldn't come, could she? |
| will / would | It'll be fine, won't it? | You wouldn't lie, would you? |
| should | We should go, shouldn't we? | I shouldn't ask, should I? |
Tricky tags: aren't I, nobody, there, 's and 'd
I'm takes aren't I. Everybody and nobody take they; there is keeps there; this and that become it. The next word decides what 's and 'd mean: He's busy, isn't he? but He's gone, hasn't he?
| The statement | The tag | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I am / I'm | aren't I? (not: amn't I) | I'm in your group, aren't I? |
| never, nobody, nothing, hardly ever | a positive tag | She never complains, does she? |
| everybody, somebody, nobody | they | Everybody came, didn't they? |
| there is / there are | there | There's a meeting today, isn't there? |
| this / that | it | That was fun, wasn't it? |
| he's = he is or he has | isn't he / hasn't he | He's busy, isn't he? · He's gone, hasn't he? |
| she'd = she had or she would | hadn't she / wouldn't she | She'd left, hadn't she? · She'd help, wouldn't she? |
Answering a tag question
Answer about the facts, with a short answer and the tag's verb: You don't eat fish, do you? – No, I don't. Main-verb have takes do in American English (You have a car, don't you?), and many people simply say right?
Answering a question tag
Answer about the facts, with a short answer. You don't eat fish, do you? — No, I don't. (I don't eat fish.) Yes, I do. (I eat fish.) Use the helper verb of the tag: …, aren't you? — Yes, I am. …, hasn't she? — No, she hasn't. (Not: Yes, I'm.)
Good to know
have for things you own: You have a car, don't you? (American English uses do / does / did here.) After an order, people say will you? or could you?: Close the door, will you? Let's start, shall we? is more British. In everyday American English, people also say right?: You're new, right?
Common mistakes
The classic slip is isn't it after every sentence: Your brother plays chess, isn't it? needs doesn't he. Watch don't she too (it's doesn't she), didn't he after has, and amn't I for aren't I.
Common mistakes
Your brother plays chess, isn't it?
Your brother plays chess, doesn't he?
plays → does; brother → he
She likes jazz, don't she?
She likes jazz, doesn't she?
he / she / it → does
He has finished, didn't he?
He has finished, hasn't he?
has in the statement → has in the tag
I'm wrong, amn't I?
I'm wrong, aren't I?
I am → aren't I
Examples
- It's a beautiful day, isn't it?small talk
- You're Tom's sister, aren't you?checking what you think is true
- You don't like horror movies, do you?negative statement → positive tag
- Nobody laughed, did they?nobody: a positive tag, and they
- Your sister's moved to Rome, hasn't she?'s moved = has moved
- I'm on time, aren't I?I'm → aren't I
More lessons on this grammar: Questions lessons and exercises
Try the question tags exercises
Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.
What's in the lesson
- 42 auto-checked exercises
- 4 games
- 1 real-life document
- 1 grammar scheme
- 1 picture
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- take the tag from the verb in the statement: Your dad is retired, isn't he? but Your dad plays golf, doesn't he?
- turn positive into negative and back: You haven't seen my keys, have you? We should leave soon, shouldn't we?
- handle the tricky ones: I'm next, aren't I? Nobody called, did they? There's a bank near here, isn't there?
- read 's and 'd the right way: He's moved to Texas, hasn't he? She'd already left, hadn't she?
- answer a tag question about the facts: You don't eat meat, do you? – No, I don't.
This is lesson 19 of English Grammar Practice · B1, and it belongs on the questions page. Before it comes lesson 18, Indirect questions: could you tell me where it is?; after it, lesson 20, Gerunds and infinitives: enjoy doing or decide to do? A drill lesson adds no words to learn, so it slots in beside whatever course a group already follows.
Chapter 1 has a picture, the scheme and four quick drills, including a sort of statements into four tag columns. Tags with be and do ends with small talk at a bus stop, Tags with have, can, will… adds a table and a memory game, and Tricky tags covers aren't I, nobody and short answers. Day one at Puddlejump follows Yara through a forum thread, the front desk, lunch, the office newsletter, a chat in the kitchen and a 12-question test.
The homework's 15 tasks mark themselves: tags on vacation, at the doctor's, at a family dinner and on a road trip, a table of tags and short answers, a memory game of tricky tags, Grandma Dorothea's email to Linus at college and two friends' messages before a basketball game.
- Grammar:
- question tags · helper verbs · aren't I · positive and negative tags
- Topic:
- grammar practice · small talk · first day at work · office life
Teaching tips
- Open with the weather, like OfficeOwl in the forum thread: It's freezing today, isn't it? Students mingle and start three conversations with a tag, and each partner replies with a short answer.
- Circle the helper verb before writing the tag. If there isn't one, students write do, does or did above the main verb, then make it negative or positive.
- List the odd ones on the board: I'm … aren't I, nobody … they, there's … isn't there, this … it. Leave the list up for Tricky tags, which drills each one.
- Say every 's and 'd in full before tagging: He's gone is he has gone, so hasn't he; She'd help is she would help, so wouldn't she.
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The whole course: English Grammar Practice · B1
English Grammar Practice · B1 has 28 drill lessons, one grammar point each: the present perfect continuous, narrative tenses, future forms, modals of deduction, the second conditional, the passive, relative clauses, reported speech, question tags and linkers. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words.See the course
- 1Present perfect continuous: how long have you been doing it?
- 2Present perfect simple or continuous: how many or how long?
- 3Past perfect: what had happened before?
- 4Narrative tenses: telling a great story
- 5Future forms: plans, promises and timetables
- 6Future time clauses: I'll call you when I land
- 7Used to, be used to, get used to: settling in
- 8Modal verbs: can, must, should or might?
- 9Could, was able to, managed to: did you make it?
- 10Modals of deduction: whose bag could it be?
- 11Second conditional: what would you do?
- 12Conditionals compared: real or imagined?
- 13Present and past passive: how is it made?
- 14Passive in other tenses: what's being done?
- 15Relative clauses: the person who, the place where
- 16Reported statements: who said what?
- 17Reported questions and commands: what did they ask you?
- 18Indirect questions: could you tell me where it is?
- 19Question tags: it's your first day, isn't it?
- 20Gerunds and infinitives: enjoy doing or decide to do?
- 21Reflexive pronouns: did you make it yourself?
- 22Although, however, despite: great view, tiny room
- 23So, such and because of: what a storm!
- 24Phrasal verbs: who's going to clean it up?
- 25All, both, either, neither, none: two or a whole group?
- 26-ed and -ing adjectives: bored or boring?
- 27Advanced comparatives: the more, the better
- 28Articles with place names: the Nile, but Lake Como