SOFTSKILL BAHASA INGGRIS BISNIS 2
Indri Sugiastiwi
14213407
4EA18
1. WH-QUESTIONS
While yes-no questions are
usually answered with a YES or NO (or some variation of these words, e.g. YEAH
or NAH), a wh-question can expect any kind of information as a response.
Wh-questions begin with WH-WORDS, which signify that the speaker is asking a
question.
Here is a list of wh-words
(this includes HOW, which doesn’t begin with a WH). Also note that different
wh-words fall under different parts of speech, which will affect the way they
are used in sentences.
Who (asks about a person)—noun
Whose (asks about possession)—adj
Whom (variation of “who”
depending on its case)—noun
What (asks about a thing,
sometimes a quality)—noun/adj
When (asks about a time)—adv
Where (asks about a place)—adv
Why (asks about a reason)—adv
How (asks about a method or quality)—adv
How much/many (asks about an
amount)—adj/adv/noun
How + adj/adv (asks about an extent to
which something is true)—adv
Which (asks about a small set of
choices)—adj/noun
The following will explain
different ways to construct different wh-questions, as categorized by parts of
speech. Notice that many contain an inverted auxiliary verb and subject, just
like in yes-no questions.
a) NOUN AS THE SUBJECT
Wh-words: who, what, how much/many,
which
Formula:
(Notice that the wh-word simply replaces the
subject of the sentence)
Examples:
Who’s going to take care of the
dog while we’re gone?
·
(The neighbor is going to take care of the dog while
we’re gone.)
Who cooks the most in your
family?
·
(My mom cooks the most in my family.)
Who ate the rest of my pizza?
·
(Rohit ate the rest of your pizza.)
What’s going on?
·
Nothing’s going on.
What’s on TV right now?
·
‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ is on TV right
now.
b) NOUN AS THE DIRECT OBJECT
Wh-words: who(m), what, how
much/many, which
Formula:
Wh-word +
auxiliary verb + subject + rest of the sentence
Examples:
Who did they end up choosing for the lead role?
·
They ended up choosing Erin for the lead role.
Whom specifically will this new
policy affect?
·
This new policy will affect the working class,
specifically.
Who are you calling an idiot?
·
I’m calling you an idiot.
What are you cooking for dinner?
·
I’m cooking pasta for dinner.
Which do you like better? Jeans or
sweats?
·
I like jeans better.
Note: To be grammatically
correct, the pronoun WHO should take the form WHOM if it is the direct or
indirect object of the sentence. This, however, is usually reserved for formal
writing, and the word WHOM in everyday speech is falling out of usage.
Often, it will sound much
more natural to use WHO, no matter what case it takes (the case is the
grammatical role a noun plays in relation to other nouns, e.g. subject, direct object,
indirect object, etc.).
c) NOUN AS A COMPLEMENT
Wh-words: who, what, how much/many,
which
Formula:
(The term COPULA
simply refers to the linking verb TO BE)
Examples:
Who are all these people in the streets?
·
(All these people in the streets are protestors.)
Sorry, who are you?
·
(I’m Regan.)
Who are you going to be in the play?
·
(I’m going to be a supporting character in the
play.)
What is photosynthesis?
·
Photosynthesis is a process by which plants make
their own food.
Which is the best option out of
the two?
·
The best option out of the two is the first one.
d) NOUN WITH A PREPOSITION
Wh-words: who, what, how/much/many,
which
Formulas: |
(If you are beginning the sentence with the
word WHO, it’s normal to keep it as it is. However, if you choose to precede it
with a preposition, it’s best to change WHO to its object form WHOM.)
Examples:
Who were you on the phone with?
·
(I was on the phone with Jennifer.)
With whom was Mr. Ramos seen with
earlier this morning?
·
(Mr. Ramos was seen with his wife earlier this
morning.)
Who are you sending that package to?
·
(I’m sending this package to my cousin.)
What is this world coming to?
·
(Rhetorical question)
e) NOUN AS THE SUBJECT OF A SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
Wh-words: who, what, how much/many,
which
|
Formula:
Examples:
Who do you think should be president?
·
I think Elizabeth Warren should be president.
Who did you say tends to gossip a lot?
·
I said that Amity tends to gossip a lot.
Who does Pierre want to win the World Cup?
·
Pierre wants Barcelona to win the World Cup.
What do you think will happen if
I skip class again today?
·
I think the professor will notice.
Which do you think tastes better?
Soymilk or almond milk?
·
I think almond milk tastes better.
f) ADVERB
Wh-words: when, where, why, how, how
much, how + adv
Other possibilities: how many times, which way,
what time, etc.
Formula:
Examples:
When are you flying back to the
States?
·
I’m flying back to the States on the 5th.
When are you walking over to the
party?
·
I’m walking over to the party in an hour.
When did you start wearing
makeup?
·
I started wearing makeup about a year ago.
Where did you go while you were in
China?
·
While I was in China, I went to Beijing and
Shanghai.
Where on the map does this train
go?
·
This train goes to Wilmington on the map.
Why do you hate cats so much?
·
I hate cats so much because they scratch everything.
Why do stars twinkle?
·
Stars twinkle because of the way their light travels
through our atmosphere.
Why did your mom come to visit you last weekend?
·
My mom came to visit me last weekend to celebrate
her birthday.
How are you?
·
I’m fine, thank you.
How did you finish your food so
fast?
·
I finished my food that fast by not talking.
How can I become more productive?
·
You can become more productive by meditating.
How many times did you go on that rollercoaster?
·
I went on that rollercoaster five times.
How nicely do I need to dress for tonight?
·
You need to dress nice enough for tonight.
How well does she speak in public?
·
She speaks decently well in public.
Which way should I go to get to
the market?
·
You should go down the main road to get to the
market.
What time does the sun usually
set nowadays?
·
The sun usually sets around six nowadays.
g) ADVERB WITH A PREPOSITION
Wh-words: when, where
|
Formulas:
|
:
When do you plan on leaving the
city by?
·
I plan on leaving the city by 9 p.m.
When will the after party go
until?
·
The party will go until three in the morning.
By when do you think
you’ll finish your application?
·
I think I’ll finish my application by next week.
Where did you pass by on the way
here?
·
I passed by the golf course on the way here.
From where does the
first chapter of the dissertation begin?
·
The first chapter of the dissertation begins after
the roman numerals.
h) ADVERB IN A SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
Wh-words: when, where, why, how, how
much, how + adv
|
Formula:
Examples:
When do they say is the best time
to buy plane tickets?
·
They say the best to buy plane tickets is 47 days
before the flight.
When do you think we should have
lunch?
·
I think we should have lunch around noon.
Where did you say is your favorite
restaurant?
·
I said my favorite restaurant is Jin Ramen.
Where do you think is the best
place to live in California?
·
I think the best place to live in California is the
Bay Area.
How much do you think you’re
going to eat?
·
I think I’m only going to eat a little bit.
How quickly should I expect to be out of this meeting?
·
You should expect to be out of this meeting within
an hour.
i) ADVERB WITH AN ADJECTIVE
Wh-words: how + adj
Formulas: |
 |
Examples:
How scary is the haunted house?
·
The haunted house isn’t that scary.
How tall is your boyfriend?
·
My boyfriend is six feet tall.
How cool is that?
·
(Rhetorical question)
How big of a space are we going
to have for the performance?
·
We’re going to have a fairly big space for the
performance.
How cheap of a souvenir are you
looking to buy?
·
I’m looking to buy a souvenir less than twenty
dollars.
How romantic did you expect that movie to be?
·
I didn’t expect that movie to be too romantic.
How cold is it going to be outside?
·
It’s going to be very cold outside.
How casual do you want this paper to sound?
·
I want this paper to sound a little casual but not
too much.
j) ADJECTIVE WITH A NOUN
Wh-words: What, whose, which
Formula:
Examples:
Which car model did you end up
buying?
·
I ended up buying a Toyota.
Which runner on the team has the
best stamina?
·
Sophie has the best stamina on the team.
Which one should I pick?
·
You should pick the left one.
What kind of laptop is the best
for computer games?
·
PCs are the best for computer games.
What brand of clothing do you
usually like to buy?
·
I usually like to buy Zara.
What person would ever buy a
flight for four in the morning?
·
Rhetorical question
What area did you go to while
visiting Brooklyn?
·
I went to Williamsburg while visiting Brooklyn.
k) DETERMINER
Wh-words: how much/many
|
Formula:
Examples:
How much cash do you have in your wallet?
·
I have about twenty dollars in my wallet.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a
lollipop?
·
It takes many licks to get to the center of a
lollipop.
A: Not a lot of people came
to the reception.
·
B: Really? How many showed up?
A: About twenty showed up.
We use question words to ask
certain types of questions. We often refer to them as WH words because they
include the letters WH (for example WHy, HoW).
Question Word
|
Function
|
Example
|
what
|
asking for information
about something
|
What is your name?
|
asking for repetition or
confirmation
|
What? I can’t hear you.
You did what? |
|
what…for
|
asking for a reason, asking
why
|
What did you do that for?
|
when
|
asking about time
|
When did he leave?
|
where
|
asking in or at what place
or position
|
Where do they live?
|
which
|
asking about choice
|
Which colour do you want?
|
who
|
asking what or which person
or people (subject)
|
Who opened the door?
|
whom
|
asking what or which person
or people (object)
|
Whom did you see?
|
whose
|
asking about ownership
|
Whose are these keys?
Whose turn is it? |
why
|
asking for reason, asking
what…for
|
Why do you say that?
|
why don’t
|
making a suggestion
|
Why don’t I help you?
|
how
|
asking about manner
|
How does this work?
|
asking about condition or
quality
|
How was your exam?
|
|
how + adj/adv
|
asking about extent or
degree
|
see examples below
|
how far
|
distance
|
How far is Pattaya from
Bangkok?
|
how long
|
length (time or space)
|
How long will it take?
|
how many
|
quantity (countable)
|
How many cars are there?
|
how much
|
quantity (uncountable)
|
How much money do you have?
|
how old
|
age
|
How old are you?
|
how come (informal)
|
asking for reason, asking
why
|
How come I can’t see her?
|
The “grammar” used with wh-
questions depends on whether the topic being asked about is the “subject” or
“predicate” of a sentence. For the subject pattern, simply
replace the person or thing being asked about with the appropriate wh-word.
(Someone has my baseball.)
(Something is bothering you.) |
Who has my baseball?
What is bothering you? |
For the predicate pattern,
wh- question formation depends on whether there is an “auxiliary” verb in the
original sentence. Auxiliary or “helping” verbs are verbs that precede main
verbs. Auxiliary verbs are italicized in the following
sentences.
I can do it.
They are leaving.
I have eaten
my lunch.
I should have finished
my homework.
To make a question using the predicate pattern,
first form a yes/no question by inverting the subject and
(first) auxiliaryverb. Then, add the appropriate wh- word to
the beginning of the sentence.
(You will leave some time.)
|
? will you leave
When will you leave? |
|
(He is doing something.)
|
? is he doing
What is he doing? |
|
(They have been somewhere.)
|
? have they been
Where have they been? |
If there is no
auxiliary and the verb is “be,” invertthe subject and
verb, then add the appropriate wh- word to the beginning of the sentence.
(He is someone.)
|
? is he
Who is he? |
|
(The meeting was some
time.)
|
? was the meeting
When was the meeting? |
If there is no
auxiliary and the verb is not “be,” add do to
the beginning of the sentence. Then add the appropriate wh-question word. Be
sure to “transfer” the tense and number from the main verb to
the word do.
(You want something.)
|
? do you
want
What do you want? |
|
(You went somewhere.)
|
? did you go (past
tense)
Where did you go? |
|
(She likes something.)
|
? does she like (third
person -s)
What does she like? |
until here how is the
progress? is there something to ask? if you want to ask about this material
please send the comment behind this material. for bonus i would like to give
some material, exercises behind to ensure that you can master this lesson.
1b. ONE-WORDED WH-QUESTIONS
While wh-words can be used to
construct fuller wh-questions, they can certainly be used by themselves in
conversation. The same rules of intonation apply here, especially with the word
WHAT which can often be said as an exclamation with a rising pitch.
A: Guess who I just
ran into today.
B: Who?
B: Who?
A: Simon. I haven’t
seen him in ages.
A: I’m going to do some shopping downtown soon.
A: I’m going to do some shopping downtown soon.
B: Oh, when?
A: Probably around one o’clock.
A: Probably around one o’clock.
A: Hey, I found your
glasses.
B: What? (Rising pitch out of surprise) Where?
B: What? (Rising pitch out of surprise) Where?
A: Under the couch.
A: Guess what.
A: Guess what.
B: What? (Normal falling pitch)
A: I’m moving to Denver in the spring.
B: Denver? Why
A: I’m moving to Denver in the spring.
B: Denver? Why
2. YES-NO QUESTIONS
The simplest type of question in English is the yes-no
question. Very simply, it’s a type of question that expects a YES or NO as
a response (though not limited to that). Take a look at the following
statement:
It is going to be cold tomorrow.
Now, let’s change it into a yes-no question:
Is it going to be cold tomorrow?
There are two things to note here. One, which you can’t
know simply by reading this on a screen, is that when asking this question, the
speaker’s tone of voice rises at the end, as opposed to a normal falling pitch
used during a declarative sentence.
The second is the change in the word. When a
declarative sentence becomes a yes-no question, the subject and its
corresponding auxiliary verb switch (in other words, they become inverted).
Therefore, IT IS denotes a declarative, while IS IT denotes a yes-no question.
Here are some other examples of yes-no questions:
·
Are you going to take the car today? (You’re going to
take the car today.)
·
Can you understand Cantonese? (You can understand
Cantonese.)
·
Would he mind switching seats with me? (He would mind
switching seats with me.)
·
Should I leave my things here while we’re gone? (I should
leave my things here while we’re gone.)
·
Will we be stopping by the gas station later? (We’ll be
stopping by the gas station later.)
Now, look at the following question:
Do you speak English?
The corresponding declarative sentences for this is:
YOU SPEAK ENGLISH. However, in a yes-no question, we need to add
the verb TO DO because an inversion must occur between the subject
and an auxiliary verb.
So, if you want to change YOU SPEAK ENGLISH into
a question, you must first add the auxiliary TO DO (YOU DO SPEAK ENGLISH), and
then make the inversion (DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?). It would sound weird for you
to ask, SPEAK YOU ENGLISH? or YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?
Here are more examples of yes-no questions with the
added TO DO auxiliary:
·
Do you like chocolate?
·
Does everything make sense?
·
Do I sound annoying when I talk?
·
Did Julie just walk out of the room?
Yes / No' Questions
To make an indirect 'yes / no' question, we use 'if' and the word order of a normal positive sentence. This is the same as for reported 'yes / no' questions. On the other hand, we don't usually need to 'backshift' (change the tense of the verb) as we do with reported questions.
Of course, most tenses make questions by using 'inversion' (changing the word order). To change from a direct 'yes / no' question with inversion to an indirect question, you add 'if' and change the word order back to a normal positive sentence. You don't need to use inversion.
'Yes / no' questions for tenses with inversion:
To make an indirect 'yes / no' question, we use 'if' and the word order of a normal positive sentence. This is the same as for reported 'yes / no' questions. On the other hand, we don't usually need to 'backshift' (change the tense of the verb) as we do with reported questions.
Of course, most tenses make questions by using 'inversion' (changing the word order). To change from a direct 'yes / no' question with inversion to an indirect question, you add 'if' and change the word order back to a normal positive sentence. You don't need to use inversion.
'Yes / no' questions for tenses with inversion:
Verb Tense
|
Direct Question
|
Indirect Question
|
Present simple with 'be'
|
Is he Spanish?
|
Can you tell me if he is Spanish?
|
Present continuous
|
Is the restaurant closing now?
|
Can you tell me if the restaurant is closing now?
|
Past simple with 'be'
|
Was he late for the meeting?
|
Can you tell me if he was late for the meeting?
|
Past continuous
|
Were you watching TV at 3pm?
|
Can you tell me if you were watching TV at 3pm?
|
Present perfect
|
Has Lucy been to Mexico?
|
Can you tell me if Lucy has been to Mexico?
|
Present perfect continuous
|
Has she been living here long?
|
Can you tell me if she has been living here long?
|
Past perfect
|
Had she found this job when she moved here?
|
Can you tell me if she had found this job when she moved here?
|
Past perfect continuous
|
Had she been living here long when she met you?
|
Can you tell me if she had been living here long when she met
you?
|
Future simple with 'will'
|
Will she start her new job next week?
|
Can you tell me if she will start her new job next week?
|
Future simple with 'going to'
|
Is it going to rain later?
|
Can you tell me if it is going to rain later?
|
Future continuous
|
Will Lisa be meeting the boss later?
|
Can you tell me if Lisa will be meeting the boss later?
|
Future perfect
|
Will he have finished the report by tonight?
|
Can you tell me if he will have finished the report by tonight?
|
Future perfect continuous
|
Will he have been studying French for twenty years when he
retires?
|
Can you tell me if he will have been studying French for twenty
years when he retires?
|
Modal verbs
|
Should we start now?
|
Can you tell me if we should start now?
|
'Yes / no' questions with tenses that use 'do / does / did':
Sometimes you want to make an indirect question using the present simple of any verb except 'be' or the past simple of any verb except 'be'. These tense make direct questions by using 'do / does / did'. When we want to make indirect 'yes / no' questions using these tenses, we need 'if' and we don't need 'do / does / did'.
Verb Tense
|
Direct Question
|
Indirect Question
|
Present simple with any verb except 'be'
|
Does David live in London?
|
Can you tell me if David lives in London?
|
Past simple with any verb except 'be'
|
Did Amanda call John yesterday?
|
Can you tell me if Amanda called John yesterday?
|
Yes / No questions (closed questions)
In
English, there are two basic types of questions: Yes / No questions and Wh–
questions. Yes /
No questions are also
called closed questions because there are only two possible
responses: Yes or No.
When forming a Yes / No question, it must include one of
these verbs: BE, DO, HAVE,
or a modal
verb. It is impossible to ask a Yes
/ No question without one
of these verbs. correct
|
incorrect
|
|
Are elections next year?
|
||
Does he want to stay?
|
||
Have the boys eaten?
|
||
Can the dog swim?
|
Use the
verb BE to ask Yes / No questions about the identity or
description of a person, place, or thing.
question
|
response
|
|
Am I your friend?
|
Yes. / Yes, you are. / Yes, you are my friend.
|
|
Is this a good restaurant?
|
No. / No, it is not. / No, it is not a good
restaurant.
|
|
Are these islands Greek?
|
Yes. / Yes, they are. / Yes, these islands are Greek.
|
|
Was his idea interesting?
|
No. / No, it wasn’t. / No, his idea was not
interesting.
|
|
Were they happy?
|
Yes. / Yes, they were. / Yes, they were happy.
|
Note
that the response can be short (Yes. / No.), or long: Yes or No followed by the
subject and verb.
Use the
verb BE with a preposition to ask Yes
/ No questions about a
present or past location.
question
|
response
|
|
Am I at the correct location?
|
No. / No, you aren’t.
|
|
Are the keys under the books?
|
No. / No, they are not.
|
|
Was his house on an island?
|
Yes. / Yes, it was.
|
|
Were the demonstrations in the center of town?
|
No. / No, they weren’t.
|
Use the
verb BE to ask a Yes / No question about a current activity or
situation. This requires the present
progressive: BE + (verb+ing).
question
|
response
|
|
Am I going with you and Tom?
|
Yes. / Yes, you are.
|
|
Is she working today?
|
No. / No, she isn’t.
|
|
Are we seeing a play tomorrow?
|
Yes. / Yes, we are.
|
Use the
verb BE to ask a Yes / No question about a past activity or
situation. This requires the past
progressive: WAS / WERE + (verb+ing).
question
|
response
|
|
Was it raining?
|
Yes. / Yes, it was.
|
|
Were they playing?
|
No. / No, they weren’t.
|
Use the
verb BE to ask a Yes / No question with the passive voice.
question
|
response
|
|
Is gold mined in Canada?
|
Yes. / Yes it is.
|
|
Are flowers grown here?
|
No. / No, they are not.
|
|
Was the book read?
|
Yes. / Yes, it was.
|
Use the
verb HAVE to ask if somebody has done something or if some action has taken
place. Note that these Yes /
No questions use the present
perfect (HAVE + past participle).
question
|
response
|
|
Has your brother left?
|
No. / No, he hasn’t.
|
|
Have you driven before?
|
Yes. / Yes, I have.
|
|
Has the party started?
|
Yes. / Yes, it has.
|
Use the
verb DO to ask Yes / No questions in order to obtain facts
about people, places, or things.
question
|
response
|
|
Do they smoke?
|
No. / No, they don’t.
|
|
Does it rain here?
|
Yes. / Yes, it does.
|
|
Did the key work?
|
No. / No, it didn’t.
|
Use modal
verbs to ask Yes / No questions about possibilities or
uncertainties.
question
|
response
|
|
Can we stay?
|
Yes. / Yes, we can. / Yes, we can stay.
|
|
Could this be true?
|
Yes. / Yes, it could (be true).
|
|
Should they stop?
|
No. / No, they shouldn’t (stop).
|
|
May I help you?
|
Yes. / Yes you may (help me).
|
Remember:
When asking Yes / No questions with DO or a modal verb, the
main verb remains in the base
form (without to).
correct
|
incorrect
|
|
Do you drink coffee?
|
||
Does she work here?
|
||
Can I go with you?
|
||
Should we email her?
|
However,
if there are two verbs that follow DO, the second verb remains in the infinitive (with to).
correct
|
incorrect
|
|
Do you want to drink coffee?
|
||
Does she like to work here?
|
||
Did you need to go home?
|
Note
that there are several ways to answer Yes
/ No questions, especially
when using contractions.
question
|
response
|
Is he busy?
|
No.
|
No, he isn’t.
|
|
No, he’s not.
|
|
No, he is not.
|
|
No, he isn’t busy.
|
|
No, he’s not busy.
|
|
No, he is not busy.
|
2b.
NEGATIVE YES-NO QUESTIONS
Yes-no questions can also contain the word NOT,
which would come after the subject in the question. For example:
Do you not have any money?
Answering this kind of question, however, can be
tricky. In this situation, if you want to confirm that you have no money, you
would say, NO. If you answered with a YES on the other hand, this will probably
confuse the person who asked the question, and they will probably not know what
you mean until you clarify your answer.
This may sound counterintuitive to many foreigners,
and I find it to be a huge inconvenience of the English language.
A: Do you mind spotting me for dinner? (Normal
yes-no question)
B: Yeah, sure. Do you not have any money? (Negative
yes-no question)
A: No.
B: Okay, just pay me back later.
A: Do you mind spotting me for dinner?
B: Yeah, sure. Do you not have any money?
A: Yeah.
B: (Confused at A’s answer) Huh? So you do or you
don’t have money?
A: I don’t.
________________________________________
2c.
UNINVERTED YES-NO QUESTIONS
So far, inversions seem pretty crucial to yes-no
questions (and most questions in English). There are however, yes-no questions
where an inversion does not occur.
A: What are you doing this summer?
B: I’m going to Brazil.
A: Wait, you’re going to Brazil? My friend’s gonna
be there too!
B: Oh, no way!
In this situation, Speaker A is asking a question
not because he wants information, but because he is confirming something he
just heard out of surprise. You could still respond to this type of question
with a YES or a NO, but it’s not necessary, unless the speaker is trying to
confirm that they heard something correctly.
For example, if you think you misheard a piece of
information, you can restate it in the form of a question as a sign that you
didn’t hear it very clearly.
A: What are you doing this summer?
B: I’m going to Brazil.
A: (Didn’t quite catch what B said) Wait, you’re
going to Brazil?
B: Yeah.
A: Oh, that’s so cool!
This type of uninverted yes-no question can also
come in the negative form.
A: I’m going to stop by Starbucks. Do you want
anything?
B: No, I’m fine. I don’t like coffee.
A: Wait, you don’t like coffee? I can’t go a day
without it!
3. QUESTION
TAGS
Question
tags (sometimes called disjunctive questions), are small questions
that appear at the end of sentences to seek confirmation from the other person.
In other words, they expect the answer to be YES and are thus, a sort of
variation of the yes-no question.
You
might know this type of function from other languages, like Korean or Japanese,
where question tags are represented through attached verb endings. In English,
question tags are separate phrases that come at the end of statements in
several forms.
One way
to form a question tag is to take the subject (converted to a pronoun) and its
corresponding auxiliary verb (if there is none, use the auxiliary verb TO DO)
and form a negative yes-no question from them.
For
example, IT IS will become ISN’T IT? and YOU CAN will become CAN’T YOU?
Note that question tags are usually contracted. You could say something like IS
IT NOT? or CAN YOU NOT? at the end of a statement, but it would sound strange.
Here are
some examples of question tags:
- You’re old enough to drink, aren’t you?
- The president of the company retired last
year, didn’t he?
- I should probably apologize, shouldn’t I?
Another
common question tag is the word RIGHT. It, as well as any word that can be used
to seek confirmation (no matter how casual), can be considered a question tag.
- You’re old enough to drink, right?
- It’s going to be a long car ride, huh?
- Brian’s gonna be covering your shift
tomorrow, yeah?
You can
also turn an entire sentence into a question tag by inverting the subject and
auxiliary verb within the actual sentence, and similarly making it negative.
Once again, always contract the auxiliary with the word NOT. Otherwise, the
sentence will sound like a negative yes-no question, which we talked about
earlier.
- Aren’t you old enough to drink?
- Didn’t the president of the company retire last year?
- Doesn’t he like romantic comedies?
A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a
statement followed by a mini-question. The whole sentence is a “tag question”,
and the mini-question at the end is called a “question tag”.
A “tag”
is something small that we add to something larger. For example, the little
piece of cloth added to a shirt showing size or washing instructions is a tag.
We use
tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean
something like: “Am I right?” or “Do you agree?” They are very common in
English.
The
basic structure is:
+
Positive statement, |
–
negative tag? |
Snow
is white,
|
isn’t
it?
|
–
Negative statement, |
+
positive tag? |
You
don’t like me,
|
do
you?
|
Look at
these examples with positive statements:
positive
statement [+]
|
negative
tag [-]
|
notes:
|
|||||
subject
|
auxiliary
|
main
verb
|
auxiliary
|
not
|
personal
pronoun (same as subject) |
||
You
|
are
|
coming,
|
are
|
n’t
|
you?
|
||
We
|
have
|
finished,
|
have
|
n’t
|
we?
|
||
You
|
do
|
like
|
coffee,
|
do
|
n’t
|
you?
|
|
You
|
like
|
coffee,
|
do
|
n’t
|
you?
|
You
(do) like…
|
|
They
|
will
|
help,
|
wo
|
n’t
|
they?
|
won’t
= will not
|
|
I
|
can
|
come,
|
can
|
‘t
|
I?
|
||
We
|
must
|
go,
|
must
|
n’t
|
we?
|
||
He
|
should
|
try
|
harder,
|
should
|
n’t
|
he?
|
|
You
|
are
|
English,
|
are
|
n’t
|
you?
|
no
auxiliary for main verb be present & past
|
|
John
|
was
|
there,
|
was
|
n’t
|
he?
|
||
Look at
these examples with negative statements:
negative
statement [-]
|
positive
tag [+]
|
||||||
subject
|
auxiliary
|
main
verb
|
auxiliary
|
personal
pronoun (same as subject) |
|||
It
|
is
|
n’t
|
raining,
|
is
|
it?
|
||
We
|
have
|
never
|
seen
|
that,
|
have
|
we?
|
|
You
|
do
|
n’t
|
like
|
coffee,
|
do
|
you?
|
|
They
|
will
|
not
|
help,
|
will
|
they?
|
||
They
|
wo
|
n’t
|
report
|
us,
|
will
|
they?
|
|
I
|
can
|
never
|
do
|
it
right,
|
can
|
I?
|
|
We
|
must
|
n’t
|
tell
|
her,
|
must
|
we?
|
|
He
|
should
|
n’t
|
drive
|
so
fast,
|
should
|
he?
|
|
You
|
are
|
n’t
|
English,
|
are
|
you?
|
||
John
|
was
|
not
|
there,
|
was
|
he?
|
||
Some
special cases:
I am
right, aren’t I?
|
aren’t
I (not amn’t I)
|
You
have to go, don’t you?
|
you
(do) have to go…
|
I have
been answering, haven’t I?
|
use
first auxiliary
|
Nothing
came in the post, did it?
|
treat
statements with nothing, nobody etc like negative statements
|
Let’s
go, shall we?
|
let’s
= let us
|
He’d
better do it, hadn’t he?
|
he had
better (no auxiliary)
|
Here are
some mixed examples:
- But you don’t really love her, do you?
- This will work, won’t it?
- Well, I couldn’t help it, could I?
- But you’ll tell me if she calls, won’t you?
- We’d never have known, would we?
- The weather’s bad, isn’t it?
- You won’t be late, will you?
- Nobody knows, do they?
Notice that we often use tag questions to ask for information
or help, starting with a negative statement. This is quite a friendly/polite
way of making a request. For example, instead of saying “Where is the police
station?” (not very polite), or “Do you know where the police station is?”
(slightly more polite), we could say: “You wouldn’t know where the police
station is, would you?” Here are some more examples:
- You don’t know of any good jobs, do you?
- You couldn’t help me with my homework, could you?
- You haven’t got $10 to lend me, have you?
Intonation
We can
change the meaning of a tag question with the musical pitch of our voice. With
rising intonation, it sounds like a real question. But if our intonation falls,
it sounds more like a statement that doesn’t require a real answer:
intonation
|
|||
You
don’t know where my wallet is,
|
do
you?
|
/
rising
|
real
question
|
It’s a
beautiful view,
|
isn’t
it?
|
\
falling
|
not a
real question
|
A question tag is the “mini-question” at the
end. A tag question is the whole sentence.
How do we answer a tag question? Often, we just say Yes or
No. Sometimes we may repeat the tag and reverse it (…, do they? Yes, they do).
Be very careful about answering tag questions. In some languages, an oposite
system of answering is used, and non-native English speakers sometimes answer
in the wrong way. This can lead to a lot of confusion!
Answer a
tag question according to the truth of
the situation. Your answer reflects the real facts, not (necessarily) the
question.
For
example, everyone knows that snow is white. Look at these questions, and the
correct answers:
tag
question
|
correct
answer
|
||
Snow
is white, isn’t it?
|
Yes
(it is).
|
the
answer is the same in both cases – because snow IS WHITE!
|
but
notice the change of stress when the answerer does not agree with the
questioner
|
Snow
isn’t white, is it?
|
Yes it is!
|
||
Snow
is black, isn’t it?
|
No it isn’t!
|
the
answer is the same in both cases – because snow IS NOT BLACK!
|
|
Snow
isn’t black, is it?
|
No (it
isn’t).
|
In some
languages, people answer a question like “Snow isn’t black, is it?” with “Yes”
(meaning “Yes, I agree with you”). This is the wrong
answer in English!
Here are
some more examples, with correct answers:
- The moon goes round the earth, doesn’t it? Yes,
it does.
- The earth is bigger than the moon, isn’t it? Yes.
- The earth is bigger than the sun, isn’t it? No, it isn’t!
- Asian people don’t like rice, do they? Yes, they do!
- Elephants live in Europe, don’t they? No, they don’t!
- Men don’t have babies, do they? No.
- The English alphabet doesn’t have 40 letters,
does it? No, it doesn’t.
Question
tags with imperatives
Sometimes
we use question tags with imperatives (invitations, orders), but the sentence
remains an imperative and does not require a direct answer. We use won’t for invitations. We use can,
can’t, will, wouldfor orders.
imperative
+ question tag
|
notes:
|
|
invitation
|
Take a
seat, won’t you?
|
polite
|
order
|
Help
me, can you?
|
quite
friendly
|
Help
me, can’t you?
|
quite
friendly (some irritation?)
|
|
Close
the door, would you?
|
quite
polite
|
|
Do it
now, will you?
|
less
polite
|
|
Don’t
forget, will you?
|
with
negative imperatives only will is possible
|
Same-way
question tags
Although the basic
structure of tag questions is positive-negative or negative-positive, it is
sometime possible to use a positive-positive or negative-negative structure. We
use same-way question tags to express interest, surprise, anger etc, and not to
make real questions.
- So you’re having a baby, are you? That’s
wonderful!
- She wants to marry him, does she? Some chance!
- So you think that’s amusing, do you? Think again.
Negative-negative
tag questions usually sound rather hostile:
- So you don’t like my looks, don’t you?
References: