Tag Questions Aren’t Confusing, Are They?
Tag and negative questions are used frequently in conversation and can be confusing for the English language learner. Tag questions can be used to seek agreement, show politeness, emphasis, expectation of a negative response, and a number of other intentions. The message is in both the question's structure and speaker’s intonation. So how do you know what they mean?
The Basic Structure of a Tag Question
A tag question is made of a statement and a modal tag, which is in the opposite form (positive or negative).
For example:
Positive Statement. --- Negative Tag
The children can swim, can't they?
Negative Statement --- Positive Tag
You didn't add sugar, did you?
Tag Questions that Start With A Negative Statement
Starting with a negative statment is a way to ask for information or help. It also may imply that you expect the answer to be no, depending on intonation.
• You don't know of any good jobs, do you?
• You can't cover for me this weekend, can you?
• You haven't got $10 to lend me, have you?
Why do these questions all have different meanings?
Tag and negative questions are used to show the speaker’s expectations and what they believe to be true. Intonation is extremely important in tag questions and carries much of the message. Although these questions all seem similar, the speaker meaning is different for each.
You don’t speak Spanish, do you?
You speak Spanish, don’t you?
You don’t speak Spanish?
Don’t you speak Spanish?
Indentifying the Speaker's Beliefs or Expectations
To understand the speakers meaning, you must pay attention to structure and intonation. Below are 4 similar questions. The speaker's beliefs or expecations are in italic under the question.
You don’t speak Spanish, do you?
rising tone on tag: I'm not sure if you speak Spanish, but it's possible.
falling tone on tag: I believe you probably don't speak Spanish.
You speak Spanish, don’t you?
I believe you speak Spanish.
You don’t speak Spanish?
Rising intonation = Surprise. I believed you speak Spanish, but you don't.
Don’t you speak Spanish?
I believe you speak Spanish, and I want to confirm it.
How to Answer Tag or Negative Questions
Answer a tag or negative question according to the truth of the situation. Your answer reflects the real facts, not (necessarily) the question. For example, if you speak Spanish, you will answer yes to any of the following questions: If you don’t speak Spanish, your answer will always be no.
You speak Spanish, don’t you? (Yes, I speak Spanish)
You don’t speak Spanish, do you? (Yes, I speak Spanish)
You don’t speak Spanish? (Yes, I speak Spanish)
Don’t you speak Spanish? (Yes, I speak Spanish)
In some languages, people answer a question like "You don't speak Spanish, do you?" with "Yes" (meaning "Yes, I agree with you"). This is the wrong answer in English!
