We can add a tag question, a short question, to a statement to make it into a question.
If statements are positive then the tag questions are negative.
If statements are negative then the tag questions are positive.
The tag question is created: auxilary verb + pronoun
Examples:
Present tense
You are the best student, aren’t you?
Suzanne is your girlfriend, isn’t she?
We aren’t bad students, are we?
They read a lot of books, don’t they?
You don’t work in a factory, do you?
She doesn’t like wearing night dresses, does she?
Peter has a new car, doesn’t he?
They are going to the cinema, aren’t they?
Past Tenses
She was beautiful, wasn’t she?
We didn’t upset you, did we?
He was washing his car, wasn’t he?
You bought a new house, didn’t you?
Elena had cleaned the house, hadn’t she?
Future Tenses
You will be there at ten, won’t you?
Peter will not come, will he?
John and his wife will be flying to Moscow at this time tomorrow, won’t they?
Present Perfect Tenses
You have already been there, haven’t you?
She hasn’t worked recently, has she?
The players have not been training for the past three weeks, have they?
George has never been abroad, has he? (never = negative)
OTHER EXAMPLES
He can buy this book, can’t he?
We should learn more, shouldn’t we?
There were thousands of protesters, weren’t there?
Statements with I’m = the tag questions are I/aren’t I
I‘m a good boy, aren’t I?
I am not a bad student, are I?
Somebody, Someone, Everybody, Everyone, Nobody, No one always take the pronounthey in question tags
Somebody knocked at the door, didn’t they?
Nobody has come, have they? (nobody = negative)
Something, Everything, Nothing always take the pronoun it in question tags
Everything is prepared, isn’t it?
Nothing happened yesterday, did it?
NOTE:
Positive statements with positive tag questions can sometimes occur and they express a reaction such as interest, disappointment, suspicion, disapproval, etc…
They call this a simple project, do they? (= We certainly don’t think so.)
He is studying at the university, is he? (= Tell me more!)
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