Question Tags: ..., Isn't It?

Question tags are everywhere in spoken English, and they follow a mechanical rule that is easy to learn and easy to get slightly wrong.

The basic rule: opposite polarity

Positive sentence → negative tag. Negative sentence → positive tag.

It's cold today, isn't it?

It isn't cold today, is it?

You've finished, haven't you?

You haven't finished, have you?

Which auxiliary?

Repeat the auxiliary from the sentence. If there isn't one, use do / does / did.

Sentence	Tag
She is ready	isn't she?
They have left	haven't they?
He can swim	can't he?
You like it	don't you?
She works here	doesn't she?
They went home	didn't they?
You must go	mustn't you?
We used to live there	didn't we?
You'd better ask	hadn't you?

With there is / there are, the tag keeps there as if it were the subject:

• There's a problem, isn't there?
• There weren't many people, were there?

The irregular ones worth memorising

• I am late, aren't I? (not amn't I)
• Let's go, shall we?
• Open the window, will you? (after an imperative)
• Nobody called, did they? (words like nobody, no one, someone take they)
• Nothing happened, did it?

Careful with hidden negatives. Words like never, hardly, rarely, nobody already make the sentence negative, so the tag stays positive:

He never calls, does he?

Same-polarity tags

A positive sentence with a positive tag is not a mistake — it signals that you have just worked something out, and it carries interest, suspicion or sarcasm depending on the tone.

• So you're the new manager, are you?
• You think that's funny, do you?

Use it sparingly: said flatly it can sound confrontational.

Answering a tag

Answer the fact, not the wording of the tag. English does not flip yes and no to agree with a negative question the way some languages do.

• You haven't eaten, have you? — No, I haven't. (correct: I haven't eaten)
• You haven't eaten, have you? — Yes, I have. (correct: I have eaten)

Intonation changes the meaning

This is the part that matters in real conversation.

• Falling intonation → you are not really asking. You expect agreement.

  Lovely day, isn't it? ↘ (small talk — just say yes)

• Rising intonation → a genuine question. You are not sure.

  You locked the door, didn't you? ↗ (I actually want to know)

Answering a falling tag as though it were a real question makes the conversation stall.

What tags are really for — they soften a flat statement into something the other person can respond to. That's expensive is a verdict; That's expensive, isn't it? is an invitation to agree.

A tag doing each job

A: Long queue, isn't it? ↘

B: Awful. You've been waiting a while, haven't you? ↗

A: Half an hour. They don't open the second desk, do they.

B: Never. So you come here often, do you?

The first is small talk, the second a real question, the third a resigned complaint, and the fourth a same-polarity tag showing mild interest.

Test yourself

The quiz below covers the mechanics and the irregulars.