Why do high jumpers go backward? Question tags to check facts and ask for agreement

Q: What are question tags?

Question tags are short questions added to the end of a sentence , such as didn't it? or was he? People use them to check a fact or to ask someone to agree: It looked strange, didn't it? He wasn't the favorite, was he? They are also called tag questions. The B1 lesson Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai teaches them through the Fosbury Flop.

Q: How do you form tag questions?

Take the sentence's helper verb and flip it : positive becomes negative and negative becomes positive, followed by a pronoun. The mat is soft, isn't it? You can't jump six feet, can you? With no helper verb, use do , does or did : Abel coaches the team, doesn't he? The tag never repeats the name, and everyone takes they : Everyone uses it, don't they?

Q: Why is it "aren't I" and not "isn't I"?

Aren't I is the standard negative tag after I'm , even though I are isn't English: I'm a natural, aren't I? Isn't I is a mistake. After I'm not , the tag is positive and uses am : I'm not late, am I? Jade's line after her first jump in Why do high jumpers go backward? , a B1 lesson on edio.ai, is the model, and a drill offers isn't I as the trap.

Q: Is it "it looked strange, isn't it" or "didn't it"?

It's didn't it , because looked is the past simple , and a past simple sentence takes did in the tag. Isn't it would need is in the sentence: It is strange, isn't it? The same check works for the present perfect: You've tried it, haven't you? , not didn't you . A quiz in Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai sets both traps.

Q: Does your voice go up or down in a question tag?

Either, and the meaning changes . The voice goes down when you're sure and want the other person to agree: It's a great story, isn't it? It goes up when you aren't sure and it's a real question: The bar isn't too high, is it? In Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai, a scheme tip explains the two, and two quiz items ask which way the voice goes.

Q: What is the Fosbury Flop?

The Fosbury Flop is the backward high jump, headfirst over the bar . Dick Fosbury, a teenager in Medford, Oregon, developed it from age 16, and in 1968 he won Olympic gold with it in Mexico City, with an Olympic record of 2.24 meters (7 feet 4¼ inches). The name came from a Medford newspaper, which described him “flopping” over the bar like a fish on dry land. At the 1972 Olympics, 28 of the 40 high jumpers used it.

Q: Did Dick Fosbury invent the Fosbury Flop?

Not exactly: he made it famous . Other jumpers had gone over backward before him, and Debbie Brill of Canada developed a similar style, the “Brill Bend,” at about the same time. Fosbury worked out his own backward jump in high school and was the first to win Olympic gold with it, in 1968. Riley's feature in Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai checks this, and so does the chat with Erica.

Q: How do I teach question tags to B1 students?

Start with facts the class already half knows , so the tags sound natural: Fosbury was from Oregon, wasn't he? Show the flip from positive to negative first, then the helper verbs one by one: be , do , did , have , can , will . Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai moves from Riley's feature and Jade's first jump to the scheme and five drills.

Q: What's a good game for practicing question tags?

Play “I bet I know you” : each student makes three guesses about a partner with tags, such as You like soccer, don't you? or You can't swim, can you? , and scores a point for each yes . The open boxes in Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai include this round, plus one that checks three facts from the lesson with tags.

Q: What's good homework for question tags?

Good homework moves from single tags to a real conversation : a choice of tags, tags to write after sentences such as I'm not too late, …? , short answers to pick, then a chat with gaps. All nine homework tasks in Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai check themselves, and the last two are Lloyd and Wayne's chat about missing spikes and Jade's answer to Lloyd.

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches question tags, or tag questions, through the Fosbury Flop, the backward high jump that won Olympic gold in 1968.

Grammar: Positive sentence, negative tag (It looked strange, didn't it?); negative sentence, positive tag (He wasn't the favorite, was he?); the helper verb, a pronoun, aren't I and intonation.
Topic: Dick Fosbury of Medford, Oregon, who made his backward jump famous, and the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, with words such as clear, bar, takeoff and landing mat.
Activities: Riley's feature, Jade's first high jump with a coach and a jumper's voice message, self-checking drills, a fact-checking chat with a friend and open boxes.

What's inside

Chapter 1Warm-up: raise the bar!
- PictureUnlock
- Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
- Study the words: the high jumpVocabularyTry it
- Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock
Chapter 2Let's read: the boy who jumped backward
- Look at the photo: over the bar backwardPictureUnlock
- Read the story: the boy who jumped backwardArticleUnlock
- Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 3Let's listen: Jade takes off
- Listen to Jade and Coach AbelListeningTry it
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
- Listen to the Listener's TakeListeningUnlock
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
Chapter 4Grammar: it looked strange, didn't it?
- Study the scheme: question tagsGrammar schemeTry it
- Choose the correct option: the tagChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: add the question tagsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Drag the tags into the gapsDrag and dropTry it
- Fill in the table: question tags for every personFill in the tableUnlock
- Choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 5Let's talk: you've tried it, haven't you?
- Choose the right replies: check the factsChatTry it
- Open a box and answer: sporting momentsOpen the boxUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
- Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: write the question tagsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
- Drag the tags into the gaps: a chat between teammatesDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the correct option: Jade's answer to LloydChoose the optionUnlock

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

bar
technique
landing mat
backward
takeoff
curve
headfirst
sawdust
natural

Grammar: question tags

A question tag is a short question at the end of a sentence, used to check a fact or to ask someone to agree. With Dick Fosbury's backward jump, learners flip positive to negative in the tag, and back, repeat the helper verb with a pronoun, learn aren't I and hear when the voice goes up or down.

It looked strange, didn't it?

A question tag is a short question at the end of a sentence. Use it to check a fact or to ask someone to agree.

Positive sentence, negative tag, and back

A positive sentence takes a negative tag: It looked strange, didn't it? A negative sentence takes a positive one: He wasn't the favorite, was he? The answer repeats the helper verb too: Fosbury won gold in 1968, didn't he? – Yes, he did.

Positive → negative, negative → positive

positive sentence + negative tag

It looked strange, didn't it?
Fosbury was from Oregon, wasn't he?
You've tried the flop, haven't you?

negative sentence + positive tag

He wasn't the favorite, was he?
Jade didn't knock the bar off, did she?
You can't jump six feet, can you?

At the track

Fosbury won gold in 1968, didn't he? – Yes, he did.
He wasn't the favorite, was he? – No, he wasn't.
The landing mat is really soft, isn't it?
Jade cleared the bar, didn't she?
You've never done the high jump, have you?
Lloyd's teammates use the flop, don't they?

The tag repeats the helper verb

Be, can and will repeat themselves in the tag: The mat is soft, isn't it? The present simple takes do or does, the past simple did, and the present perfect have or has: Abel coaches the team, doesn't he? You've seen it, haven't you?

The tag repeats the helper verb

In the sentence	In the tag	Example
am / is / are / was / were	the same verb	The mat is soft, isn't it?
present simple	do / does	Abel coaches the team, doesn't he?
past simple	did	She cleared the bar, didn't she?
have / has + past participle	have / has	You've seen it, haven't you?
can	can	Lloyd can clear six feet, can't he?
will	will	Jade'll try again, won't she?

Every person

Who	be	present simple	past simple, negative
I	I'm late, aren't I?	I jump well, don't I?	I didn't fall, did I?
you	You're late, aren't you?	You jump well, don't you?	You didn't fall, did you?
he	He's late, isn't he?	He jumps well, doesn't he?	He didn't fall, did he?
she	She's late, isn't she?	She jumps well, doesn't she?	She didn't fall, did she?
it (the bus)	It's late, isn't it?	It stops here, doesn't it?	It didn't leave, did it?
we	We're late, aren't we?	We jump well, don't we?	We didn't fall, did we?
they	They're late, aren't they?	They jump well, don't they?	They didn't fall, did they?

A pronoun, never the name

The tag never repeats a name or a noun: Fosbury jumped, didn't he? The bar fell, didn't it? With everyone and everybody, the tag takes they: Everyone on the team uses the flop, don't they?

Use a pronoun in the tag

The tag never repeats the name: Fosbury jumped, didn't he? The bar fell, didn't it? Jade and Abel laughed, didn't they? With everyone and everybody, use they: Everyone on the team uses the flop, don't they?

Aren't I, never, and the voice

I'm takes aren't I: I'm a natural, aren't I? Never makes a sentence negative, so its tag is positive: You've never done this, have you? The voice goes down when you're sure and up for a real question: The bar isn't too high, is it?

Watch out: I'm and never

With I'm, the negative tag is aren't I: I'm a natural, aren't I? (Not: isn't I.) With I'm not, use am I: I'm not late, am I? Never makes a sentence negative, so the tag is positive: You've never done this, have you?

Up or down?

Your voice goes down ↘ at the end when you're sure and you want the other person to agree: It's a great story, isn't it? ↘ It goes up ↗ when you're not sure and it's a real question: The bar isn't too high, is it? ↗

Common mistakes

It looked strange, isn't it?
It looked strange, didn't it?
past simple → did
Everyone uses it, doesn't he?
Everyone uses it, don't they?
everyone → they
He wasn't the favorite, wasn't he?
He wasn't the favorite, was he?
negative sentence → positive tag
You've tried it, didn't you?
You've tried it, haven't you?
present perfect → have / has

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

18 auto-checked exercises
4 games
1 article
1 grammar scheme
1 set of word cards
2 audio clips
2 pictures
2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

add a negative tag to a positive sentence: It looked strange, didn't it? Fosbury was from Oregon, wasn't he?
add a positive tag to a negative sentence: He wasn't the favorite, was he? Jade didn't knock the bar off, did she?
choose the helper verb and the pronoun: You've tried the flop, haven't you? Everyone on the team uses the flop, don't they? I'm a natural, aren't I?
answer a tag with a short answer, and let the voice fall to check or rise to ask: Fosbury won gold in 1968, didn't he? – Yes, he did.

Lesson 28 closes Sporting moments, unit 7 of English B1.1 · Stories That Travel. It builds on the short answers of A2.1 lesson 6 (Yes, she did.) and on the present perfect of B1.1 lessons 1 and 2, which comes back in tags such as haven't you? Lesson 29 opens the last unit with both… and, either… or and neither… nor. A surprising story, a teenager's backward jump that later won Olympic gold, gives the class plenty of facts to check with tags.

Students spin a wheel of questions about sports, gym class and doing things their own way, then learn twelve words, from clear and lean back to sawdust and natural, with pictures and audio. They read Riley's feature on Dick Fosbury, then hear Jade try her first high jump with Coach Abel at a high school track, and Lloyd, a 17-year-old jumper from Oregon, send her a challenge, both AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking drills, among them a table of tags for every person. In the speaking chapter, Erica, a friend, checks the episode's facts with the student in a chat, and open boxes ask for tags about classmates and the lesson.

All nine homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram and a gap-fill for the words, then a choice of tags, tags to write, word order, a quiz on short answers and intonation, Lloyd and Wayne's chat with tag gaps, and Jade's answer to Lloyd.

Grammar:: question tags · positive and negative tags · aren't I? · short answers
Topic:: high jump · Fosbury Flop · Dick Fosbury · track and field · the 1968 Olympics · Medford, Oregon · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

Start with guesses about the class: tell three students something you think is true, such as You like soccer, don't you?, and let them reply with a short answer. Tags check what you think you know.
Before the feature, draw the scissors, the straddle and the flop as three quick stick figures. Students guess which style won Olympic gold in 1968, then read to check.
Play Jade's jump twice: first for what happens at the bar, then for the tags, which students write down and sort into positive and negative ones.
Say one sentence two ways: The bar isn't too high, is it? once with a rising voice, as a real question, and once falling, as a check. Students guess which one you meant.

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The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, each built around a true story. Riley, Jade and Darius make a podcast in Kansas City about true American stories, and each lesson tells one, from a seaplane airport in Alaska to the Marfa Lights of West Texas. Learners compare the present perfect with the past simple, use future forms, modals and quantifiers, and give their own opinions. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

Unit 1 Travel smart
the present perfect vs the past simple, for and since, indirect questions, be used to and get used to
Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs
will have to and won't be allowed to, the present perfect continuous, simple vs continuous, would vs used to
Unit 3 Space and discovery
it's + adjective + to, What's it like to…?, future forms compared, future time clauses, too and enough + to
Unit 4 Life online
the more…, the more…, be supposed to, ought to and had better, let, make and allow
Unit 5 Screen and page
-ed and -ing adjectives, gradable and extreme adjectives, present tenses for a plot, articles for things in general
Unit 6 Green living
few and a few, little and a little, all, most, some and none, each and every, fewer and less
Unit 7 Sporting moments
could, was able to and managed to, for, during and while, present tenses for live commentary, question tags
1. Lesson 25From a leg brace to three goldsCould, was able to and managed to
2. Lesson 26A doctor and an Olympic champion?For, during and while
3. Lesson 27Who's that runner coming from behind?Present simple and continuous for live commentary
4. Lesson 28 · you're hereWhy do high jumpers go backward?Question tags
Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds
both… and, either… or and neither… nor, uncountable nouns, how sure we are about the future, unless, as long as and in case

Questions about this lesson

What are question tags?

Question tags are short questions added to the end of a sentence, such as didn't it? or was he? People use them to check a fact or to ask someone to agree: It looked strange, didn't it? He wasn't the favorite, was he? They are also called tag questions. The B1 lesson Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai teaches them through the Fosbury Flop.

How do you form tag questions?

Take the sentence's helper verb and flip it: positive becomes negative and negative becomes positive, followed by a pronoun. The mat is soft, isn't it? You can't jump six feet, can you? With no helper verb, use do, does or did: Abel coaches the team, doesn't he? The tag never repeats the name, and everyone takes they: Everyone uses it, don't they?

Why is it "aren't I" and not "isn't I"?

Aren't I is the standard negative tag after I'm, even though I are isn't English: I'm a natural, aren't I? Isn't I is a mistake. After I'm not, the tag is positive and uses am: I'm not late, am I? Jade's line after her first jump in Why do high jumpers go backward?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, is the model, and a drill offers isn't I as the trap.

Is it "it looked strange, isn't it" or "didn't it"?

It's didn't it, because looked is the past simple, and a past simple sentence takes did in the tag. Isn't it would need is in the sentence: It is strange, isn't it? The same check works for the present perfect: You've tried it, haven't you?, not didn't you. A quiz in Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai sets both traps.

Does your voice go up or down in a question tag?

Either, and the meaning changes. The voice goes down when you're sure and want the other person to agree: It's a great story, isn't it? It goes up when you aren't sure and it's a real question: The bar isn't too high, is it? In Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai, a scheme tip explains the two, and two quiz items ask which way the voice goes.

What is the Fosbury Flop?

The Fosbury Flop is the backward high jump, headfirst over the bar. Dick Fosbury, a teenager in Medford, Oregon, developed it from age 16, and in 1968 he won Olympic gold with it in Mexico City, with an Olympic record of 2.24 meters (7 feet 4¼ inches). The name came from a Medford newspaper, which described him “flopping” over the bar like a fish on dry land. At the 1972 Olympics, 28 of the 40 high jumpers used it.

Did Dick Fosbury invent the Fosbury Flop?

Not exactly: he made it famous. Other jumpers had gone over backward before him, and Debbie Brill of Canada developed a similar style, the “Brill Bend,” at about the same time. Fosbury worked out his own backward jump in high school and was the first to win Olympic gold with it, in 1968. Riley's feature in Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai checks this, and so does the chat with Erica.

How do I teach question tags to B1 students?

Start with facts the class already half knows, so the tags sound natural: Fosbury was from Oregon, wasn't he? Show the flip from positive to negative first, then the helper verbs one by one: be, do, did, have, can, will. Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai moves from Riley's feature and Jade's first jump to the scheme and five drills.

What's a good game for practicing question tags?

Play “I bet I know you”: each student makes three guesses about a partner with tags, such as You like soccer, don't you? or You can't swim, can you?, and scores a point for each yes. The open boxes in Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai include this round, plus one that checks three facts from the lesson with tags.

What's good homework for question tags?

Good homework moves from single tags to a real conversation: a choice of tags, tags to write after sentences such as I'm not too late, …?, short answers to pick, then a chat with gaps. All nine homework tasks in Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai check themselves, and the last two are Lloyd and Wayne's chat about missing spikes and Jade's answer to Lloyd.

How do you practice question tags one-to-one?

Check facts about each other's week: the teacher says You went to the gym on Monday, didn't you?, and the student confirms or corrects with a short answer, then turns the tables. The chat in Why do high jumpers go backward? on edio.ai needs no partner: Erica checks the episode's facts, and the student picks replies such as No, it wasn't. It was in 1968.

Are there interactive exercises for question tags?

Yes: drag-and-drop tags and a chat that mark every answer. Without an account, this page plays three parts of Why do high jumpers go backward?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Jade's first high jump with Coach Abel, a drill that drops the right tag into eight sentences, and the chat with Erica that checks the facts with tags. The rest of the lesson is locked.

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About this lesson

What's inside

Vocabulary

Grammar: question tags

Positive sentence, negative tag, and back

Positive → negative, negative → positive

At the track

The tag repeats the helper verb

The tag repeats the helper verb

Every person

A pronoun, never the name

Aren't I, never, and the voice

Common mistakes

Try the question tags exercises

What's in the lesson

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

Teaching tips

Teach the whole lesson in edio

Start a free trial

Open the lesson

Teach it live or as homework

The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

Unit 1 Travel smart

Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs

Unit 3 Space and discovery

Unit 4 Life online

Unit 5 Screen and page

Unit 6 Green living

Unit 7 Sporting moments

Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds

Questions about this lesson

Teach this lesson with your students