Tag Questions in English

Flashcards defining core vocabulary, rules, and intonation principles for tag questions in English.

Tag question

A question that includes a short phrase called the tag at the end of a positive or negative sentence stem, used in spoken English for emphasis or confirmation.

Sentence stem

The positive or negative sentence or clause at the beginning of a tag question, preceding the short tag.

Tag

The short phrase placed at the end of a sentence stem in a tag question, formed by reversing the order of subject and verb.

Tag subject pronoun rule

The rule stating that the tag always takes a subject pronoun; if the sentence stem subject is a noun, it changes to a pronoun in the tag.

Tag verb polarity rule

The rule stating that the tag verb is always the opposite of the sentence stem verb; a positive stem gets a negative tag, and a negative stem gets a positive tag.

Simple present verb rule (Tag questions)

The rule stating that if the sentence stem uses a simple present verb other than be, the tag uses don't, do, doesn't, or does.

Simple past verb rule (Tag questions)

The rule stating that if the sentence stem uses a simple past verb other than be, the tag uses didn't or did.

Intonation

The rising or falling sound of someone's voice.

Rising intonation (Tag questions)

The intonation pattern used in the tag when the speaker is about 80 to 90% sure that someone will agree with them.

Falling intonation (Tag questions)

The intonation pattern used in the tag when the speaker is about 95% sure that someone will agree with them.