question tags they're very short questions that are tagged on to the end of a statement separated with a comma question tags are used to turn statements into questions they're common in spoken english question tags are generally used to confirm information believed to be true we use them when we expect the listener to agree with us as an example let's say we think there is a meeting this afternoon but we would like to confirm this to do so we could use a question tag we have a meeting this afternoon don't we here is the question tag and here is the statement the statement is positive indicating the speaker believes there is a meeting if we believe there is no meeting we can use a question tag to confirm this in much the same way we use a statement in this case a negative statement and then add a question tag we don't have a meeting this afternoon do we here is the negative statement and here is the question tag here we can see the first rule when forming question tags when the statement is positive the question tag must be negative when the statement is negative the question tag must be positive [Music] work out whether we need positive or negative question tags for the following statements pause here while you work the first statement is negative so it needs a positive question tag jim doesn't like apples does he the second statement is positive so it needs a negative question tag she goes swimming on fridays doesn't she the third is positive so it needs a negative question tag the beaches are closed aren't they the last is negative so it needs a positive question tag it's not going to rain is it let's now look at how to form question tags question tags are made up of an auxiliary verb and a subject pronoun if the statement already has an auxiliary verb we simply use that auxiliary verb to form the question tag for example hannah and grace are friends the auxiliary verb is are so to form a question tag we use the verb are but because the statement is positive we'll have to make the question tag negative hannah and grace are friends aren't they notice the subject pronoun matches the subject [Music] it's important to note that negative question tags are usually contracted here's another example it is going to rain today here's the auxiliary verb is to form a question tag we use is but it must be negative because the statement is positive it is going to rain today isn't it [Music] a third example they haven't been gone very long the auxiliary verb is have and it's a negative haven't so we'll form a positive question tag using the verb have they haven't been gone very long have they notice we always use the personal pronoun in our question tags [Music] now it's your turn to practice adding question tags to statements that have an auxiliary verb pause here while you work here is the auxiliary verb in each sentence we'll need to use each in our question tags and remember to use the appropriate subject pronoun lindsay could look after the dog couldn't she the children are having fun aren't they the wind is blowing strongly isn't it jill and i aren't going are we i'm not running in this race am i natalie and anna haven't seen this movie have they now let's look at how to form question tags with statements that have no auxiliary verb as is the case in these sentences the dogs eat quickly he never runs out of energy the bottle smashed to the floor if there is no auxiliary verb we use do does or did depending on the subject and the tense our subject here is the dogs so we need to use the subject pronoun they the verb is present simple and so we use do not contracted to don't the dogs eat quickly don't they in the second example the verb is also present simple but it's negative so our question tag is does he he never runs out of energy does he the verb in the last example is past simple so we must use did and because the statement is positive we'll have to use didn't the bottle smashed on the floor didn't it now it's your turn to practice adding question tags to statements without an auxiliary verb remember to use the correct subject pronoun and to check whether the verb is present simple or past simple pause here while you work let's see how you went my dad and i look similar don't we she never saw him again did she finn and sandy never finish their work do they it rained heavily last night didn't it the guests drank a lot didn't they simon never comes out does he there is a strange exception with the negative question tag that follows an i am statement instead of using am not we use aren't for example i am going next aren't i before we finish let's quickly look at how we can respond to question tags we answer a question tag by using the same auxiliary verb used in the question if we agree and the statement is positive our answer will be positive for example it rained heavily last night didn't it yes it did positive positive if we agree and the statement is negative our answer will be negative for example they haven't seen this movie have they no they haven't negative negative the opposite is true if we disagree if we disagree and the statement is positive our answer will be negative for example lindsay could look after the dog couldn't she no she couldn't positive negative and if we disagree and the statement is negative our answer will be positive for example i'm not running in this race am i yes you are negative positive if we do disagree with a question it is common to add more information [Music] [Music] easyteaching.net