Question tags: isn’t it?

  • B1 · Intermediate
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min

Question tags with be, do and other helping verbs (Nice weather, isn't it? You haven't met my wife, have you?), and what a falling or a rising voice on the tag means. From small talk at a neighbor's barbecue to a role-play where you check facts about the other guests.

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isn't it?aren't they?doesn't he?

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Check the conversationListening comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find the question tagsGrammar exercise
  6. 6Question tagsGrammar rule
  7. 7Match the tagsGrammar exercise
  8. 8The pottery classGrammar exercise
  9. 9Up or down?Grammar exercise
  10. 10Find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  11. 11Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  12. 12At the barbecueSpeaking practice
  13. 13About youGrammar exercise
  14. 14Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: which tag?Grammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: at the dog parkGrammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: build the questionsGrammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: a conversation at a partyDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. How many of your neighbors do you know by name?
  2. Have you ever been to a party where you knew only one or two people?
  3. What is an easy thing to talk about with someone you have just met?

Grammar rule

Question tags

…, isn't it?

A question tag is a short question at the end of a sentence. We use it to check something we think is true, or just to make conversation.

The sentence has…The tag uses…Example
be: is, are, was, werethe same form of beThe stores are open late, aren't they?
a helping verb: have / has + a past participle, will, can, should, could, wouldthe same helping verbYour neighbors have moved, haven't they? · Your aunt can sew, can't she?
no helping verb: the present simple or the past simple (also have as a main verb, and have to)do / does / didYour dad likes jazz, doesn't he? You called her, didn't you? We have to pay, don't we?
  • A positive sentence takes a negative tag; a negative sentence takes a positive tag: It is far, isn't it? · It isn't far, is it?
  • The tag has a pronoun, not a name: Linnea has a big yard, doesn't she? · Your cousins live in Oregon, don't they? · That was fun, wasn't it?
  • A negative tag is a short form: isn't it, don't you (not is not it).

Your voice

Voice on the tagIt meansExample
goes down ↘You are sure. You expect the other person to agree, or you are just making conversation.What a view! The lake looks amazing, doesn't it?↘
goes up ↗You are not sure. It is a real question.You have a phone charger, don't you?↗ Mine is dead.

To answer, use the helping verb: "You like horror movies, don't you?" "Yes, I do." / "Actually, I don't."

Watch out

  • Not isn't it after every sentence: You live near here, don't you? (live → do)
  • does with he, she and it: She speaks Spanish, doesn't she? (not don't she)

Teach it live with video and a whiteboard, or print it: the PDF has every slide, the homework and the answers.

Teach this lesson
← Unit 5It must be…, it can’t be…