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

Wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + rest of the independent clause + rest of the subordinate clause

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.

Text Box: Wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + rest of the sentence

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

Wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + rest of the sentence + preposition (sounds casual)

Formulas:

Preposition + wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + rest of the sentence (sounds formal)

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

Wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + rest of the main clause + rest of the subordinate clause

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

Text Box: If the wh-word you’re using is an adjective modifying another noun, that noun follows the normal rules for nouns that were discussed previously.

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

A wh-word that serves as a determiner, whether or not it is modifying a noun, follows the normal rules for nouns that were discussed previously.

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?

A: Simon. I haven’t seen him in ages.
A: I’m going to do some shopping downtown soon.

B: Oh, when?
A: Probably around one o’clock.

A: Hey, I found your glasses.
B: What? (Rising pitch out of surprise) Where?

A: Under the couch.
A: Guess what.

B: What? (Normal falling pitch)
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:

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?		~~Elections next year?~~
Does he want to stay?		~~He want to stay?~~
Have the boys eaten?		~~The boys eaten?~~
Can the dog swim?		~~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?		~~Do you to drink coffee?~~
Does she work here?		~~Does she to work here?~~
Can I go with you?		~~Can I to go with you?~~
Should we email her?		~~Should we to 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?		~~Do you want drink coffee?~~
Does she like to work here?		~~Does she like work here?~~
Did you need to go home?		~~Did you need 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?	no auxiliary for main verb be present & past

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.