Question Tags

Tag questions

You haven't bought milk today , have you?  No, I´m sorry

No has comprado leche hoy, verdad? No lo siento

It was a good film, wasn't it? Yes, it was fantastic.

Ha sido una pelicula buena, no? Si, fue fantastica

En los ejemplos anteriores "have you?"  y "wasn´t  it?" son lo que en lengua inglesa  llamamos Question Tag , es decir mini-preguntas que a menudo ponemos al final de la oración en Spoken English. En las "question tag" usamos un verbo auxiliar (have/was/will etc..). Usaremos do/does/did para el presente y el pasado simple. La traducción del "question tag" es bastante flexible es como  cuando nosotros al preguntar algo añadimos  "Verdad?, no es asi?, a que si ?, no ?... "esperando que el oyente nos conteste o se ponga de acuerdo con nosotros.

Kevin plays football, doesn´t he? Yes, but  not very well.

(Kevin juega al futbol , verdad? Si pero no muy bien)

You didn´t closed the window, did you? No, I forgot.

(No has cerrado la ventana, verdad? No , se me olvidó)

Normalmente usamos una "question tag" negativa después de una oración afirmativa y una "question tag" afirmativa después de una oración negativa.

Positive sentence  +    question tag negativo

Mum will be at home soon, won`t she? (Mama estará en casa pronto, no?)

There was a lot of noise, wasn`t there? (Habia mucho ruido , no?)

James should go to the doctor, shouldn´t he? (Jaime deberia ir al médico ,verdad?)

Negative Sentence + Positive -questiion tag

Mary won't be late., will she? (Maria no llegará tarde, verdad?)

They don´t study every day, do they? (Tu no estudias cada dia , verdad?)

You haven´t got a motorbike, have you? (Tu no tienes moto, no?)

El significado de una "question tag "dependerá de cómo se dice. Si tu voz desciende, realmente no estás preguntando simplemente estas intentando  contrastar información a ver si el oyente este de acuerdo o no  contigo.

It´s a nice morning, isn´t it? Yes , it´s beautiful. (Bonita mañana, verdad? Si es bonita.)

John doesn´t work today, does he ? No  he is ill. (Juan no trabaja hoy , no? No el está enfermo.)

Pero si por el contrario el tono de voz es ascendente  es una pregunta real  con la cual tu deseas obtener información.

You haven´t done your homework today, have you? No, I´m afraid I haven´t.

(No has hecho los deberes hoy, verdad? No me temo que no.)

También podemos usar una oracion negativa + una" question tag en afirmativa para pedir cosas o información , o incluso para pedir a alguien que haga algo. El tono de voz será ascendente al final del question tag.

You haven`t got a rubber, have you? Yes , here you are (Tienes goma, no? Si aquí tienes.?)

You couldn`t do me a favour, could you? It depends what do you need. (Me podías hacer un favor, no? Depende de lo que necesites)

You don´t know where Nania lives, do you? Sorry , I can´t help you. (No sabes donde vive Tania , no? Lo siento , no puedo ayudarte.)

Hay que prestar atención en algunos casos:

·         Después de Let´s ... la question tag es  Shall we?

  Let´s go to the cinema, shall we? (voz ascendente al final) (Vamos al cine, no?)

·         Después de imperativo negativo  Don´t...., la quetion tag es  Will you?

   Dont speak in class, will you? (tono de voz descendente)(No hableis en clase)

·         Después de imperativo positivo:  Stop singing, will you? (Para de cantar)

·         Después de I´m ... la "question tag" negativa es Aren´t  I?

I´m right, aren´t I? (Tengo razón , no?)

·        Después de There is / are..... la question tag es are there/ is there.

There aren't any spiders in the bedroom, are there?

(No hay arañas en la habitación, verdad?)

·         Después de  this/ that is ...... la question tag será  isn´t it?

         This / that is - This is Paul's pen, isn't it?

Aqui os  dejo mas ejemplos con los diferentes tiempos verbales que os podéis encontrar.

Present Simple "be"             She's Spanish, isn't she?

Present simple other verbs    They live in Valencia, don't they?

Present Continuous               We're travelling tomorrow, aren't we?

Past simple "BE"                   It was hot last week, wasn't it?

Past Simple other verbs        He went to Madrid  yesterday, didn't he?

Past Continuous                    We were standing at the traffic light, weren't we?

Present Perfect                    They've visitied  Sevilla, haven't they?

Present Perfect Continuous    She's been working  a lot recently, hasn't she?

Past perfect                          He had lost  his schoolbag, hadn't he?

Past Perfect Continuous        We'd been studying, hadn't we?

Future Simple                     She'll finish at ten , won't she?

Future Continuous              They'll be landing  soon, won't they?

Future perfect                   They'll have started before six, won't they?

Future Perfect  Continuous  She'll have been studying all day, won't she?

Modals                                They can work, can't  they?

Modals                               Janet must study, mustn't she?

Negative sentences, with positive tags

Present Simple " Be"                We aren't wrong, are we?

Present simple other verb         She doesn't have any money, does he?

Present Continuous                  The train isn't coming, is it?

Past Simple Be                          He wasn't at school  last week, was he?

Past Simple other verbs            They didn't go to the disco last Saturday, did they?

Past Continuous                        You weren't sleeping, were you?

Present Perfect                        She hasn't finished all the homework, has she?

Present Perfect Continuous      He hasn't been waiting , has he?

Past Perfect                             We hadn't lived in Leon , had we?

Past Perfect Continuous        They hadn't been working, had they?

Future Simple                         You won't be late, will you?

Future Continuous                He'll be travelling next week, won't he?

Future Perfect                      He won't have larrived home before seven, will he?

 Future Perfect Continuous   She won't have beensleeling  all day, will she?

 Modals                                   She can't speak German, can she?

Modals                                    They mustn't arrive late , must they?