Question Tags Exercise for Banking, SSC and CDS Exams

Question tags are the short questions that go at the end of statements. Examples are given below.

She is a receptionist, isn’t she?
You have paid the bill, haven’t you?
He arrived on time, didn’t he?

Things to remember when adding question tags to a statement.

A negative tag should be used after an affirmative statement.

He came, didn’t he.
You work hard, don’t you.

A non-negative tag should be used after a negative statement.

You didn’t see her, did you?
He hasn’t got a job, has he?
He won’t help, will he?

Question tags do not start with a capital letter.

The train was late, wasn’t it?

A negative tag should always be in the contracted form.

He got the job, didn’t he? (NOT did he not?)

Here is a list of contracted negative auxiliaries.

do + not = don’t
does + not = doesn’t
did + not = didn’t
is + not = isn’t
are + not = aren’t
was + not = wasn’t
were + not = weren’t
has + not = hasn’t
have + not = haven’t
had + not = hadn’t
will + not = won’t
would + not = wouldn’t
shall + not = shan’t
should + not = shouldn’t
can + not = can’t
could + not = couldn’t
may + not = mayn’t
might + not = mightn’t
must + not = mustn’t
need + not = needn’t
used + not = didn’t
dare + not = daren’t

Note that amn’t I is not used in question tags. Instead we write aren’t I.

I am right, aren’t I?

Usedn’t is not normally used in question tags. Instead, we use didn’t.

You used to play football, didn’t you? (NOT …usedn’t you?)
You used not to like him, did you?

If the given statement is in the simple present tense, use do or does in the question tag.
If the given sentence is in the simple past tense, use did in the question tag.

You took the money, didn’t you?
She writes novels, doesn’t she?
He missed the flight, didn’t he?
He works in a bank, doesn’t he?

A non-negative tag should be used after statements containing negative words like hardly, seldom, barely, no, neither, none, nobody, no one, nothing, scarcely, rarely.

She rarely watches TV, does she?
Nobody came, did they?
No one passed the test, did they?
He hardly works, does he?
Nothing happened, did it?

Use it in question tags to refer to nothing and everything.
Use they to refer to nobody, somebody, everybody and no one.

If the statement begins with an introductory subject like this or that, use it in question tags.
If the statement begins with an introductory subject like these or those, use they in question tags.

This isn’t the right thing to do, is it?
These apples aren’t ripe, are they?

If the subject contains a pronoun in the object form, its subject form should be used in the question tag.

Neither of them was there, were they? (NOT …was them?)
None of us can solve this problem, can we?

Exercise 1

Add appropriate question tags to the following statements.

1. The postman delivered the letter, ………………………?
2. She did not recognise you, ……………………….?
3. She failed the test, …………………………..?
4. You had lunch, ………………………..?
5. He will come, …………………………?
6. You went there yesterday, ………………………..?
7. She seldom goes out, ……………………..?
8. Yesterday, you had an argument with him, …………………………?
9. She fosters a lot of stray cats, ……………………….?
10. They took an hour to finish the job, ………………………..?
    Answers

1. didn’t he, 2. did she, 3. didn’t you, 4. didn’t you, 5. won’t he, 6. didn’t you, 7. does she, 8. didn’t you, 9. doesn’t she, 10. didn’t they