Curso de Inglés Avanzado Lección 5

This is a question has a 'tag' (coletilla) at the end of it. It’s called a "tag question" or "question tag" (coletilla interrogativa).

Tag questions are often used in English to check if information is correct, or to ask people to agree with us. The tags come at the end of a sentence, and when you’re really uncertain of the answer, the intonation rises.

Listen

- You’re from London, aren’t you?
- Yes, I am / no, I’m not (I’m from Brighton)

- Your name’s David, isn’t it?
- Yes, it is / no, it isn’t (It’s Simon)

- You haven’t been to Barcelona before, have you?
- No, I haven’t / yes, I have (I was here on holiday last year.)

Write the tags for the following questions.

1. You’re playing tennis tomorrow, ?
2. Nice day, ?
3. There was a meeting yesterday, ?
4. He doesn’t like me very much, ?
5. You’ll be okay, Sandra?
6. He’s a lovely baby, ?
7. You’ve drunk all the vodka, _?
8. You don’t like my hair, ?
9. Your dad can tell us that, ?
10. You can’t do anything right, ?
11. That’s a new car, ?
12. These batteries don’t last very long, ?
13. We haven’t got the receipt, ?
14. The banks close at three, ?
15. Terry’s a great singer, ?

Listen

Check your answers.

* When you check information that you're quite certain about, the intonation goes down.

* When you're really uncertain of the answer, the intonation goes up.

Listen

Ex. 1 You haven't been to Madrid before, have you? (a real question)
Ex. 2 You haven't been to Madrid before, have you? (making conversation / asking for agreement)

Listen to the sentences from the previous exercise, and decide if the tag questions have rising intonation (example 1) or falling intonation (example 2).

Listen

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Check your answers.

Listen again, repeat the sentences and copy the intonation.