This topic asks you to complete or judge the short tag added after a statement. Build it in a fixed sequence: decide the statement's polarity, choose the matching auxiliary, and replace the subject with the right pronoun.
Use a three-part method
Start with meaning, not just the presence of not. An affirmative statement normally takes a negative tag, while a negative statement takes a positive one. Nobody, no one and nothing already make a clause negative. Next copy the first auxiliary: The lift has stopped, hasn't it? and The lights aren't on, are they? If there is only a lexical verb, supply the correct form of do: Jon called, didn't he? Finally, reduce the subject to a suitable pronoun.
| Statement pattern | Tag-building signal |
|---|---|
| Affirmative with be, perfect have or a modal | Use the negative form of that same auxiliary, followed by the subject pronoun. |
| Negative with be, perfect have or a modal | Use the positive form of that same auxiliary, followed by the subject pronoun. |
| A lexical verb with no auxiliary | Supply do, does or did to match its tense and agreement, then reverse polarity. |
| Nobody or no one as subject | Treat the statement as negative and use a positive tag with they: No one complained, did they? |
| Nothing or everything as subject | Use it as the tag pronoun; nothing gives negative meaning, while everything is affirmative. |
| Existential there | Repeat there rather than replacing it with it: There are two seats, aren't there? |
Learn three common fixed patterns separately. The usual contracted negative tag after an affirmative I am clause is aren't I, as in I'm early, aren't I? The uncontracted am I not is also standard. A joint suggestion beginning with let's takes shall we: Let's pause, shall we? A neutral imperative commonly takes will you: Pass the folder, will you? Won't you can suit a polite invitation, but use the tone or requested construction given in the sentence. One more general point: when a negative tag is written without a contraction, the order becomes auxiliary + pronoun + not - did they not, is she not - and that full form is just as correct as the contracted one.
Where the wrong forms come from
| Tempting form | How to reject it |
|---|---|
| A tag with the same polarity as the statement | For neutral confirmation, reverse the polarity. Check negative-meaning subjects as well as explicit not forms before choosing the tag. |
| Do, have or a modal chosen without reading the verb phrase | Copy the first auxiliary already present. Supply do, does or did only when the statement has a lexical verb and no auxiliary. |
| It or he used merely because the subject looks singular | Match the established tag subject: a plural noun takes they, nobody takes they, existential there repeats there, and everything takes it. |
Try it
Which sentence uses the wrong polarity in its question tag?
- The parcel arrived, didn't it?
- Marta can drive the minibus, can't she?
- The freezer isn't working, isn't it?
- They weren't delayed, were they?
Complete the question tag: The neighbours reported the leak, ___?
Complete the standard tag: I'm next on the waiting list, ___?