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Yes, it is. And well done for using a question tag already.
You saw what I did there, didn't you?
I did.
So question tags. Let's get started.
Josie, what is a question tag?
Good question.
Well, first of all, can you tell us what a tag is?
Well, when you buy a new t-shirt, for example, you quite often have a little paper tag on it with the price or the brand or something like that.
And that's a tag.
That's right. So a tag is something that we add on to something else.
So this can help us to understand what a question tag is.
Okay.
Question tag is like a mini question that we put at the end of a statement.
And we do this to check that the information that we're saying is true.
So we think that the statement is true, but we just want to confirm that we want to check that it's true.
Exactly.
So I could ask you, Mark, it's not raining. Is it?
So you think that it's not raining.
And I'm pretty sure you're pretty sure what you want to check.
That's right.
So you ask, is it at the end of the sentence now?
Let's think about the sentence that Josie started with there.
It's not raining.
So she's making it a negative sentence.
It's not raining.
And then the question tag that you've added is the positive, the affirmative version.
Is it?
That's right.
So if we have a negative sentence, the question tag is positive or affirmative.
If we have an affirmative sentence, the question tag is negative.
Right. So swapping this around, if I were to see it's raining, then I would see, isn't it?
Exactly.
So it works the other week around.
That's right.
Let's talk a little more about how we actually make these question tags then.
Going back to our example, our first example, it's not raining.
The verb here in the sentence, the main verb is B. It is.
So this is the verb that we use for the question tag at the end.
We just take that verb and we keep the same subject, which is it.
So it is not raining.
Is it?
Yeah.
So it is not raining.
Can we do this with another verb?
Yes, definitely.
For example, if the first verb in the sentence that we want to check is can, the question tag is also with can or can't because we make it negative.
Yes. So you can speak Spanish.
Can't you?
Exactly.
And you're checking that I can speak Spanish.
Yeah.
Can't you, as like saying, can you not, in a sense?
That's right. Absolutely. Or I could say, you can't tap dance.
Can you?
No, I can't tap dance.
I just thought I should check.
So another verb, I mean, we can do this with all statements and sentences.
If the first verb, for example, is a modal verb or an auxiliary verb, this is the verb that we use in the question tag.
Right. So I think we need some examples of this.
Good idea.
I could say, you have been to Paris. Haven't you?
So there we're using an auxiliary verb. Have you have been to Paris?
And then you're taking have and making a haven't at the end. So haven't you?
You've been to Paris haven't you?
That's right.
Or we haven't seen that movie. Have we?
Okay. I see the pattern here. We haven't seen that movie in the negative becoming, have we in the positive for your tag?
That's right. Good.
To give you another example of doing this with modal verbs, we can take the verb should.
And I could say, it's called in here. We should shut the door. Shouldn't we?
So we should shut the door and the affirmative for the sentence. And then the question tag goes into the negative shouldn't we?
That's right. Yeah.
So can we do this with all verbs, juicy?
We can, but it doesn't work in the same way.
If we're using a verb in the present simple or the past simple tense, this is not an auxiliary verb or a modal verb.
For example, I can say, you like pizza. And what's the question tag?
I see where you're going here because we can't see like you not.
Yeah, like it to you.
Like it to you. I don't think you would see. Don't you?
Exactly. So just like when we make a question in the present simple, we need to use the auxiliary verb, the helping verb do.
And we do this with question tags as well. Do or don't. So you like pizza, don't you?
Or you don't like pizza. Do you?
Exactly. Yep.
And we can change the verb here. So you read that book, didn't you?
That's right. So if it's in the past, you read, we used did or didn't as the question tag.
So I could say, you didn't go to Spain. Did you?
Okay. This all makes sense. What I think would be good is if we do some practice of this.
And perhaps our listeners can help us here.
So we've got some sentences. We're going to find out how well we know each other.
And at the end of each sentence, there's going to be a question tag.
But we'll play a special sound. What's the special sound that we've got? Is it this one?
Yes. That's it. So we'll play that special sound.
And at that point, you can add the question tag yourself. And then we'll see the question tag.
That sounds like a good way to practice this, doesn't it?
Yes, it does.
Okay. Let's go.
So my first statement about you, Mark, is you are from Scotland.
So I'll try that again, remember to add the question tag. You are from Scotland.
Aren't you?
I am indeed from Scotland. Yes. Now, Josie, you don't like fish.
Did you get that one? Josie, you don't like fish.
Do you?
No, I don't. You're correct.
Now, Mark, you can speak 10 languages.
Did you get it? You can speak 10 languages.
Can't you?
Perhaps.
Maybe, maybe.
Okay, one more for you, Josie. You've never been skiing.
Okay, you've never been skiing. Have you?
You're right. I've never been skiing.
Okay. And the last one is for you, Mark.
You went to Manchester at the weekend.
You went to Manchester at the weekend.
Didn't you?
I did go to Manchester at the weekend.
I did go to Manchester at the weekend.
I did go to Manchester at the weekend.
I did go to Manchester at the weekend.
I did go to Manchester at the weekend.
I did go to Manchester at the weekend.
I did go to Manchester at the weekend.
I did go to Manchester at the weekend.
I did go to Manchester at the weekend.
I did go to Manchester at the weekend.
The blog post for this lesson and the link is in the description for this podcast.
And if you'd like a little more help with your English,
you can sign up to our regular free email lessons.
Just visit coffeebreaklanguages.com slash English.
Josie, we'll be back next week.
Would we?
Yes, we will.
In the meantime, look out for that next mini lesson in your inbox.
Season and happy coffee breaking.
You have been listening to a coffeebreaklanguages production for the RadioLingua network.
Copyright 2023 RadioLingua Limited.
Recording Copyright 2023 RadioLingua Limited.
All rights reserved.
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