Grammar of the day... Question tags We use tags in spoken English but not in formal written English. They are not really questions but are a way of asking the other person to make a comment and so keep the conversation open. Making a tag is very mechanical. To make a tag, use the first auxiliary. If there is no auxiliary, use do, does or did. With a positive sentence, make a negative tag and with a negative sentence, make a positive tag. Its beautiful, isnt it? He has been, hasnt he? You can, cant you? It must be, mustnt it? You know him, don’t you? He finished it, didnt he? He will come, wont he? It isnt very good, is it? It hasnt rained, has it? It cant be, can it? Jenny doesnt know James, does she? They didnt leave, did they? He won’t do it, will he? Notice these: There isnt an ATM here, is there? Lets have a cup of coffee, shall we? To reply, use the same auxiliary: Its beautiful, isnt it? ~ Yes, it is. I think its fabulous. It isnt very good, is it? ~ No, it isnt. In fact, its terrible. Although, the rules are very simple and mechanical, in order to use them easily in conversation, they have to be automatic. So you need to hear and practice them very often.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 09:56:42 +0000