With direct word order.

You speak English… You speak English…
You don’t speak English… You don’t speak English…
You can’t speak French… You don’t speak French…

The second part is a short general question, consisting of an auxiliary or modal verb and a pronoun in the nominative case.

…don’t you?…isn’t it?
…do you?…really (yes)?
…can you?…really (isn't it)?

If the first part of the question is in the affirmative form, then the second part is negative. The auxiliary verb is placed in the same tense as the verb-predicate. For instance:

He is a part time student, isn't he?
He is an evening (correspondence) student, isn't he?

They are twins, aren't they?
They are twins, aren't they?

He had many foreign stamps, hadn't (didn't) he?
He had a lot of foreign stamps, didn't he?

my sister can speak English very well, can't she?
My sister speaks English very well, doesn't she?

You go to the swimming pool, don't you?
You go to the pool, don't you? (truth?)

He reads newspapers every day doesn't he?
He reads newspapers every day, doesn't he?

His sister went abroad, didn't she?
His sister went abroad, didn't she?

Ann, you have told them about our departure, haven't you?
Anna, you told them about our departure, didn't you?

If the first part of the question is a negative sentence, then the second part will be in the affirmative form.

The auxiliary or modal verb in the second part is put in the affirmative form.

You don't go to the swimming pool, do you?
You don't go to the pool, do you?

His sister didn't ‘ t go abroad, did she?
His sister didn't go abroad, did she?

They aren't twins, are they?
They are not twins, are they?

She couldn't skate last year, could she?
She couldn't skate last year, could she?

The intonation of dissected questions can be twofold - depending on what answer the speaker expects to his question. If he wishes to receive confirmation of his assumption, then both parts of the question are pronounced with a descending tone. If there is no assumption about the nature of the answer in the question, then the first part of the question is pronounced with a descending tone, and the second with an ascending tone.

In Russian, dissected questions (the second part in the form of a general question) correspond to interrogative phrases isn't it?, isn't it?, isn't it?, is it?, is it? or an intensifying particle, after all, as part of an interrogative sentence.

It's a nice picture isn't it?
(It's) a beautiful picture true (isn't it)?

You could have phoned me couldn't you?
You could call me is not it?

Mary didn't know that did she?
Mary didn't know this.

NOTE:

1. In dissected questions, auxiliary and modal verbs, as a rule, merge with the negation of not, forming abbreviated forms isn't, aren't, weren't, hasn't, won't, can't, etc.

But with the form of the verb to be in the 1st person singular. am abbreviated form is not used - the abbreviated form is used instead aren't.

I'm late, aren't I? I'm late, right?

2. The first part of a divided question is always separated by a comma from its second part. Answers to disjunctive questions are usually brief and express either agreement with the speaker or disagreement with him. Both parts of the answer must contain either an affirmation or a negation, i.e. be either positive or negative. For example: Yes, I do. or No,I don't.

You need to be very careful when answering the disjunctive questions, as there is a discrepancy between the use of Yes and No in English and Yes and Not In russian language.

In English, yes must be in the affirmative sentence, and No in the negative, while in Russian, negation can be used Not in an affirmative sentence ( No, I'll go...) and Yes in a negative sentence Yes, I'm not going...)

Hello friends! Dividing Questions, or Question Tags, are questions that are used to express doubt, surprise, and require confirmation or refutation of what has been said.

When asking disjunctive questions in English, the speaker does not seek additional information, but simply seeks agreement or disagreement with what has been said.

How tag questions are formed

If the first part of the question is in the affirmative form, then the second part is negative. The auxiliary verb is placed in the same tense as the verb-predicate.

For instance:

• He is a part time student, isn't he?
  He is an evening (correspondence) student, isn't he?
• They are twins, aren't they?
  They are twins, aren't they?
• My sister can speak English very well, can't she?
  My sister speaks English very well, doesn't she?
• You go to the swimming pool, don't you?
  You go to the pool, don't you? (truth?)
• He reads newspapers every day, doesn't he?
  He reads newspapers every day, doesn't he?
• His sister went abroad, didn't she?
  His sister went abroad, didn't she?
• Ann, you have told them about our departure, haven't you?
  Anna, you told them about our departure, didn't you?

If the first part of the question is a negative sentence, then the second part will be in the affirmative form.

For instance:

• You don't go to the swimming pool, do you?
  You don't go to the pool, do you?
• His sister didn't go abroad, did she?
  His sister didn't go abroad, did she?
• They aren't twins, are they?
  They are not twins, are they?
• She couldn't skate last year, could she?
  She couldn't skate last year, could she?

Exceptions to tag questions

There are a few special cases of constructing Tag questions that you should pay attention to.

1. If you see I am in the main part, then aren't I?

I am 29 years old, aren't I?

2. If there is a turnover in the main part, then it will need to be used in the tail, according to the basic rules:

There are twenty chairs in the assembly hall, aren't there?

3. If in the main part you see this is or that is, then at the end of the dividing question there will be isn’t it?
This is Greg's brother, isn't it?

4. If in the main part you see a sentence starting with Let's (Let us) - in a short question you need to use shall we? The tail in such sentences is not translated.

Let's change the kitchen design, shall we?- Let's change the design of the kitchen? / Why don't we redesign the kitchen?

5. If the first part of the dividing question begins with Let me, Let him, Let her, Let them, then the tail will be will you? or won't you?

Let Molly explain her position, will you?

6. If the first part of the disjunctive question is an imperative mood, then the short question will be will you? In the affirmative form of the imperative, you can also use won't you?

• Land me some money, will you?
• Don't shout at me, will you?

Exercises with answers

2. Complete the disjunctive questions, paying attention to the form of the verb in the main part.

eg: The film starts at 7 p.m., ……….? – The film starts at 7 p.m., doesn’t it? (The movie starts at 7pm, doesn't it?)

Ronald won't come, ……….? Ronald won't come, will he? (Ronald won't come, will he?)

1. Your sister isn't married, ……….?
2. You found my keys, ……….?
3. I am very smart, ……….?
4. Jack didn't pass his exams, ……….?
5. Our love will last forever, ……….?
6. You have never been to China, ……….?
7. Sandra has already got up, ……….?
8. My coffee and croissants are not cold, ……….?
9. They won't spend all their money, ……….?
10. Tim is fond of table tennis, ……….?
11. This palace was built in the 16th century, ……….?
12. Her son often rides a horse in the country, ……….?
13. The waiters were not polite, ……….?
14. Do you prefer seafood, ……….?
15. The students don’t speak French, ……….?
16. She can't play the violin, ……….?
17. They can see the mountains from the window, ……….?
18. Your boyfriend doesn’t earn much, ……….?
19. We must talk to our neighbors, ……….?
20. The train must not arrive late, ……….?

Answers

1. is she? (Your sister is not married, is she?)
2. didn't you? (You found my keys, didn't you?)
3. aren't I? (I'm very smart, right?)
4. did he? (Jack didn't pass his exams, did he?)
5. won't it? (Our love will last forever, won't it?)
6. have you? (the word "never" turns the first part of the sentence negative) (You've never been to China, have you?)
7. hasnt she? (Sandra is already up, isn't she?)
8. are they? (My coffee and croissants are not cold, are they?)
9. will they? (They won't spend all their money, will they?)
10. isn't he? (Tim is into table tennis, isn't he?)
11. wasn't it? (This palace was built in the 16th century, right?)
12. doesn't he? (Her son often rides a horse in the village, doesn't he?)
13. were they? (The waiters weren't polite, were they?)
14. don't you? (You prefer seafood, don't you?)
15. do they? (Students don't speak French, do they?)
16. can she? (She can't play the violin, can she?)
17. can't they? (They can see the mountains from the window, can't they?)
18. does he? (Your friend doesn't make much, does he?)
19. mustn't we? (We should talk to our neighbors, right?)
20. must it? (The train shouldn't arrive late, right?)

Tag Questions in English - Tag Questions

In the case when the speaker wants to get confirmation of a fact or his words, wants to find out if the interlocutor agrees with him, expresses bewilderment or doubt, in English the so-called. a disjunctive question (Disjunctive Question or Tag Question).

In Russian, in these cases, sentences are used with turns "isn't it?", "Isn't it?", "Yes?", "True?", "Really?" etc.

Unlike other types of English questions, which are characterized by reverse word order, the disjunctive question in its first part retains the direct word order, i.e. it looks like a normal declarative or negative sentence. Only in the second part the word order will be reversed - as in the question.

The second part of the disjunctive question consists of an auxiliary (or modal) verb, grammatically corresponding to the first part, and an equivalent subject pronoun (the table - it, my friends - they, etc.).

In this case, the following principle is observed: If the first part of the question is an affirmative sentence, then the auxiliary (or modal) verb in the second part will be in a negative form (usually in an abbreviated form). Conversely, if the first part of the question is negative, the verb in the second part will be in the affirmative form.

He is a chemist, isn't he? - He's a chemist, right?
He isn't a chemist, is he? He's not a chemist, is he?

You like fish don't you? - You like fish, don't you?
You don't like fish, do you? - You don't like fish, do you?

A question with an affirmative first part (and, accordingly, a negative second part) is used when the speaker expects to receive an affirmative answer. If the answer is supposed to be negative, the first part will be negative and the second part will be affirmative.

It should be remembered that divisive questions containing in the first part the words nothing (nothing), nobody, no one (no one), no (none), neither (none), never (never), scarcely, hardly, barely (hardly) etc., will be negative, so their second part must be affirmative:

So, they did nothing, did they? - So they didn't do anything, right?

In disjunctive questions with turnover, the pronoun in the second part is there:

There is a toilet on the train, isn't there? - There is a toilet on the train, right?

In disjunctive questions with the words anybody, anyone, these, those, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, no one, nobody, the pronoun in the second part is they.

Everybody knew it, didn't they? And everyone knew about it, right?

Attention: For everything, the pronoun is it.

In colloquial speech, the rule of grammatical correspondence between the first and second parts of the disjunctive question may be violated. So, the negative second part usually contains the verb in an abbreviated form: isn "t, aren" t, don "t, can" t, haven "t, etc. Since am not has no contraction, either the full form is used with the pronoun I (Am I not?), or (much more often) the form aren "t I?

I am late, am I not? - I'm late, right?
I am late, aren't I? - I'm late, right?

The dividing question can take the form of a request, a suggestion, or a prohibition (see also Imperative). In this case, if the first part is affirmative, the second can contain the following forms (both affirmative and negative): will you?/won’t you? can you?/can't you? could you?/couldn't you?

Be quiet, can't you? - Quiet, okay?

If the first part is negative, the second part is usually in the form will you?

Don "t touch this, will you? - Don't touch this, okay?

In separator questions that express an invitation to some action and begin with let "s, the second part uses the form shall we?

Let "s go to the theater, shall we? - Let's go to the theater, huh?

When the speaker really does not know the answer and wishes to receive information, the second part of the tag question is pronounced with a rising tone. If only confirmation of the fact or words of the speaker is required, the second part of the question is pronounced with a lower tone.

In the letter, the second part of the separator question is separated by a comma.

The second part of the dividing question can also be a separate sentence, when the interlocutor simply asks again: "Yes?", "Really?" etc. In this case, the affirmative question corresponds to the affirmative, and the negative question corresponds to the negation:

I like snakes. - I love snakes.
- Do you? - Truth?

I haven "t seen this film yet. - I have not watched this film yet.
- Haven "t you? - Really?

The answer to the disjunctive question is built according to the following principle. If the first part of the question is in the affirmative, then Yes will mean agreement, and No - disagreement. If the first part of the question is negative, then No will mean agreement, and Yes - disagreement. For instance:

You like vegetables, don "t you? - You like vegetables, right?
- Yes, I do. - I really love (agreement) / No, I don "t - On the contrary, I don't like (disagreement).

You don't like vegetables, do you? - You don't like vegetables, do you?
- No, I don "t - I really don't like (agreement) / Yes, I do. - On the contrary, I love (disagreement).

Disjunctive Questions in English seem at first glance to be the simplest of the rest. In fact, here you are waiting for all sorts of hidden difficulties, sometimes not listed even in the best English grammar textbooks. We tried to put together this big puzzle without missing a single piece.

Let's start with the fact that disjunctive questions in English are asked to express bewilderment or doubt, to find confirmation of a fact, to find out whether the interlocutor agrees with us or not. They consist of two parts, with the first one being the original sentence you are asking the question about. You repeat it without change. Yes, yes, it is. No question words or auxiliary verbs are needed. All the salt in the second part, which is a small "tail" with a whole set of changing words. It’s good that it always translates the same way: isn’t it? is not it? Yes? is it true? right? OK? Okay? etc.

Question construction

Remember that the structure of the question depends solely on the type of sentence.

• If you are convinced that you are dealing with an affirmative phrase, then in the tail the auxiliary verb, particle not and a pronoun equivalent to the subject:

You will cook spaghetti and bacon for dinner, won't you? "You're making spaghetti and bacon for dinner, right?"

• If you come across a negative sentence, then the tail will consist of an auxiliary verb and a pronoun that replaces the subject:

they were not playing hide-and-seek at that time yesterday, were they? They weren't playing hide-and-seek at this time yesterday, were they?

Keep in mind that the words nothing (nothing), nobody (no one), no one (no one), no (none), neither (none), never (never), scarcely, hardly, barely (barely) etc. automatically make the sentence negative:

Nothing was mentioned about it at the meeting, was it? Nothing was mentioned at the meeting, was it?

You never visit your aunt do you? You never visit your aunt, do you?

Verbs in tails of disjunctive questions in English

As you can guess, there are plenty to choose from:

• When meeting with to be and we use it. And in sentences with there is/there are these two comrades need to be swapped. Be careful with multiple forms:

Jane was so happy last friday, wasn't she? Jane was so happy last Friday, wasn't she?

We are not talking about nora, are we? We're not talking about Nora, are we?

Jack is back home, isn't he? Jack came home, right?

There are flowers in all the rooms, aren't there? There are flowers in all the rooms, aren't there?

• WITH other verbs in all tense forms, the corresponding auxiliary verbs are used in the tail:

Nelly has lost her laptop, hasn't she? Nellie lost her laptop, didn't she?

Your cat purrs so sweetly doesn't it? Your cat purrs so cute, doesn't it?

We will be knitting tomorrow at 3 o'clock, won't we? We will knit tomorrow at 3 o'clock, right?

• If you got caught modal verb, then it will be useful to us for the tail:

Jerry can speak French, can't he? Jerry can speak French, can't he?

You must leave immediately, mustn't you? “You must leave immediately, right?

• If you need to neutralize a sentence in imperative mood, then:

1. In a request or command, use will you? won't you? can you? can't you? could you? couldn't you?

Please, buy some apples and bananas, will you? Buy some apples and bananas, please?

sit down, can't you? "Sit down, okay?"

2. In negative phrases, suitable will you:

Don't touch my books in the living room will you? — Don't touch my books in the hall, ok?

3. If the sentence starts with let's- come on (those), then you need to use shall we:

Let's have a party shall we? Let's have a party, okay?

4. Do not confuse the previous candidate with the words let+ pronoun in the objective case. Here focus on the tail won't you or will you:

Let me explain to you how to get to the station, won't you? “Let me explain to you how to get to the station, okay?”

Nuances of use

• If you come across this form to be, how am, then you have to use aren't I or are I in the tail, although, we admit that it sounds unusual:

I am late for the class aren't I? I'm late for class, aren't I?

• The words anybody, anyone, these, those, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, no one, nobody can easily mislead you. The fact is that if they are present, any question will end with they and not any other option:

Everybody is so nice out there, aren't they? Everyone there is so cute, right?

Someone has knocked on my door, haven't they? Someone knocked on my door, didn't they?

Similarly, we change that, this and everything to it:

Everything is so bright in Christmas Prague, isn't it? Everything is so bright in Christmas Prague, isn't it?

And finally, let's learn how to answer such questions.

• If the first part is affirmative, then you can agree with the help of Yes express disagreement with no:

You like mineral water with juice, don't you? - Yes, I do / No, I don't. You like mineral water with juice, don't you? - Not really.

• If it is negative, then no help you agree Yes- to disagree:

You didn't go to London last year, did you? No, I didn't/Yes, I did. You didn't go to London last year, did you? - Not really.

Disjunctive Questions or Tag-Questions do not pose a threat to the exam score or your ego, if you push yourself and learn all the possible tails and exceptions, you can consider yourself lucky, if only because the first part of the question does not need to be changed. So up your nose!

We continue talking about tag questions, dividing questions, and continue to go into the wilds and dive into the depths. The main grammatical constructions have already been sorted out, but there are a few cases that are worth paying attention to.

Negative proposal. It will never be the same, … ?

Negative sentence is not only don't, isn't and others wouldn't– but this and all sorts of never, nowhere, nobody – no, never, nothing etc. Accordingly, tag in these cases must be positive:

You have nothing to declare, do you? You don't have anything to declare, right?
We have never done anything illegal, have we? We've never done anything illegal, have we?

Moreover, not only “never and with no one” get here, but also such adverbs as rarely, seldom, hardly and many others meaning "rarely" and "barely".

I hardly know you, do I? I hardly know you, do I?
They rarely visit their grandmother these days, do they? They rarely visit grandma now, don't they?

Separating question to there is

There is can lead to some confusion - the subjects here, apparently there, but which pronoun to use? In this case, the pronoun there from turnovers there is, there are nothing changes, but it stays that way there.

There is something about this guy, isn't there? There's something about this guy, right?
There is nothing to talk about, is there? Nothing to talk about here, right?

Question to "Let's". Let's do it, … ?

First, let's deal with the English "let's". Let's is let us, so the pronoun in the tag question is we. And with a verb (do not look for a logical explanation for this, it just happened) - shall. And it will always look like this in its entirety: shall we?»

Let's get wasted, shall we? Let's get drunk, shall we?
Let's never talk about it ever again, shall we? Let's never talk about it again, okay?

And here with this shall we? You can safely take it out of context and use it as a polite invitation, adding a verb if necessary: shall we dance?(Let me invite you to dance, ma'am) shall we?(Well, gentlemen, let's start our meeting already). Let's continue shall we?

First person question. I am a student, … ?

And how to put a tag question to to be in the first person, singular? We've all heard about isn't and aren't, but we've never heard of amn't - and we didn't hear it right, because there is definitely no such option. But to ask a disjunctive question with I possible in three ways:

• ain't I? ain't is such a very, very colloquial form that is almost never mentioned in any textbooks, but exists perfectly in colloquial speech and songs.
• am I not?- grammatically flawless, but it sounds a bit "dramatic", it remains to stand in an actor's pose and raise your hands to the sky. I am indeed a prince of Denmark, am I not? Am I Prince of Denmark or not?
• aren't I?- the most common form. Yes, grammatically, it “does not climb into any gates” and you are unlikely to meet it in academic grammars, but ordinary Americans would say that

How to answer a disjunctive question

Now let's move on to the other side of the conversation - how do you answer a tag question? For example, to the question " Are you from Russia, aren't you?» Say “yes, from Russia” or “no, from Russia”? But what if the main sentence contains a negative? " You aren't a spy, are you?"-" Yes, not a spy" or "No, not a spy" ...

Answer the main part of the question (not the tag), and whether it contains a negation or not - always as if there were no particle not. Namely:

Are you from Russia, aren't you? You - are - from Russia. That's right, from Russia. Yes, I am.

You aren't a spy, are you? You-are-a spy(ignore not). No-no-no, not a spy, it’s just that everything here is arranged so interestingly, I want to know about everything ... No, I'm not.

The Earth is rotating around the Sun, isn't it? Yes it is.
You haven't eaten all cookies, have you? No, I haven't. Maybe it has been stolen by raccoons…

Separating question for requests

Another rather rare use of tag questions is to make your request a little more polite. Just add can you, can't you, will you, won't you, would you at the end:

Pass me the bottle, can you? Pass the bottle, please.
Don't forget the secret passcode again, will you? Please don't forget the secret code, okay?

Separating question without inversion

And finally, a comment for advanced students. Sometimes, in moments of great surprise, excitement, anger, etc. the verb in the tag question is not inverted.

Oh my god, are you getting married, are you? Lord, you're getting married, right?
So you never stole my money, didn't you? So you didn't steal my money, I take it?

Well, that's probably all about dividing questions. Good luck.