English Language · Lesson 12

Question tags

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: Lexis and Structure: question tags, sentence completion; mechanics of writing (punctuation)

WAEC: question tags; punctuation and mechanics in continuous writing)

NECO: question tags; punctuation and mechanics in continuous writing)

What you will learn

Form correct question tags for statements in every tense.
Handle negative adverbs and negative pronouns in tags.
Apply the special tags: I am, let’s, imperatives, there is, modals, used to, had better.
Use the full stop, comma, semicolon, colon, question mark and exclamation mark correctly.
Use apostrophes for possession and contraction without error.
Punctuate direct speech and avoid comma splices.

Key points

Tag = auxiliary of the statement + pronoun, with opposite polarity.
No auxiliary? Use do, does or did in the matching tense.
Hidden negatives (never, hardly, seldom, nobody, nothing, few, little) take a positive tag; "a few", "a little" are positive.
Special tags: I am → aren’t I; let’s → shall we; imperatives → will you; there is → isn’t there; used to → didn’t; had better → hadn’t.
Everyone/nobody → they; everything/nothing/this/that → it.
Only the first auxiliary goes into the tag; expand ’s and ’d first.
Indirect questions end with a full stop; avoid comma splices.
Apostrophes: possession and omission only; its vs it’s; never for plurals.
Direct speech: punctuation inside the quotation marks; new speaker, new paragraph.

Start here: What a question tag does

A question tag is a mini-question added to the end of a statement. We use it to check information or to invite agreement: "You are coming to the party, aren't you?" The speaker believes you are coming but wants you to confirm.

Three rules for every tag

Flip the polarity: a positive statement takes a negative tag; a negative statement takes a positive tag.
Repeat the auxiliary (be, have, do, or a modal) in the same tense.
Use a pronoun for the subject: Ada → she, the boys → they, my father → he.

Examples: "Chinedu is a prefect, isn't he?" (positive → negative; is → isn't; Chinedu → he). "They haven't paid, have they?" (negative → positive; haven't → have). "Your sister can cook, can't she?" (can → can't).

In the negative tag, the auxiliary and "not" are almost always contracted: isn't he, not is not he. The full form "is he not?" exists but sounds very formal and old-fashioned; the exam expects the contracted tag.

Worked example 12.1

Complete: "The students were late, ______?"

Auxiliary: were (past of be). We look for the helping verb first.
Statement is positive, so tag is negative: weren't.
Subject "the students" → they.

weren't they?

⚠️ Common mistake: the "Nigerian all-purpose tag" isn't it? or not so?, as in "You will come, isn't it?" It is common in speech but always wrong in the exam. The tag must match the statement: "You will come, won't you?"

Try it yourself. Complete: "Musa has finished his homework, ______?"

Show solution

The auxiliary is "has": hasn't he? (When "have" is a main verb meaning possess, as in "Musa has a bicycle", modern exam usage prefers doesn't he?)

A three-step routine for every tag item

Exam items on tags reward a calm routine rather than guessing by sound, because Nigerian everyday speech has trained many of us to accept tags that the examiner marks wrong. Step one: find the auxiliary in the statement; if there is none, decide between do, does and did. Step two: decide whether the statement is positive or negative, looking carefully for hidden negatives like hardly and nobody. Step three: change the subject into a pronoun. Then write the tag and read the full sentence quietly to check that it sounds natural. Practise the routine on ten sentences a day from your textbooks and newspapers, and within a week it becomes automatic.

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Practice questions

1. Choose the correct question tag: You are coming to the party, ___?

aren't you
are you
won't you
isn't it

Show answer

A: aren't you
Positive statement → negative tag with the same auxiliary.

2. I am your friend, ___?

am not I
amn't I
isn't it
aren't I

Show answer

D: aren't I
The standard tag for "I am" is "aren't I".

3. Let's start the meeting, ___?

don't we
can't we
shall we
will we

Show answer

C: shall we
"Let's" takes "shall we".

4. Nobody called while I was out, ___?

didn't he
did they
didn't they
did he

Show answer

B: did they
Nobody is negative → positive tag; standard usage uses "they".

5. He seldom comes late, ___?

does he
doesn't he
is he
isn't he

Show answer

A: does he
"Seldom" makes the statement negative → positive tag.

Key words

Question tag: A short question added to the end of a statement, e.g. isn’t it?
Auxiliary verb: A helping verb: be, have, do, and modals like can, will, must.
Modal verb: An auxiliary showing possibility or obligation: can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must.
Polarity: Whether a clause is positive or negative.
Imperative: A command or request: Close the door.
Indefinite pronoun: Words like everyone, nobody, somebody, nothing.
Contraction: A shortened form with an apostrophe: don’t, I’m.
Clause: A group of words with a subject and a verb.
Non-defining clause: A clause adding extra information, set off by commas.
Comma splice: The error of joining two sentences with only a comma.
Direct speech: The exact words spoken, inside quotation marks.
Reported (indirect) speech: Words reported without quotation marks.

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