Asking and answering questions
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Using tag questions | page 2 of 6 |
Tag questions consisting of positive declarative + negative tag
The first type of tag question has a positive declarative followed by a negative question tag:
You're quite clear about that, aren't you? (Bank of English)
People were very worried, weren't they? (Bank of English)
These tag questions can be spoken in two ways. First, if they are asked with a rising tone on the tag, they are real questions, which expect a yes answer:
A: He was best known as a playwright, wasn't he? ( ) B: Yes. When I first knew him, he talked to me about the plays he wrote.
(Bank of English)
Second, if the tag questions are said with a falling tone on the tag, they are more like statements rather than questions. A major function of such tag questions is to invite the addressee to agree with the speaker:
A: This is a political judgement, isn't it? (¯ ) And you can't, there can be no finality in this argument ... (Bank of English)
Notice that in this example the speaker does not stop speaking after the tag question since the addressee is not expected to give an answer. Instead, he or she is expected to express agreement with the speaker.
Introduction
Tag questions consisting of positive declarative + negative tag
