TAG QUESTION

1. A “tag question” é sempre formada por um verbo auxiliar e um pronome.

Quando a frase é negativa, a tag question é afirmativa e vice-versa.

A tag question negativa é sempre contraída com “not”.

He likes coffee, doesn’t he?

He doesn’t like coffee, does he?

You wrote the letter, didn’t you?

You didn’t write the letter, did you?

They will travel, won’t they?

They won’t travel, will they?

She is working, isn’t she?

She isn’t working, is she?

They were playing, weren’t they?

They weren’t playing, were they?

She has arrived, hasn’t she?

She hasn’t arrived, has she?

They had called, hadn’t they?

They hadn’t called, had they?

You can help me, can’t you?

You can’t help me, can you?

2. NOTAS:

She may come late, may she not?

There are four students, aren’t there?

(FONTE: Graded English 3; Elisabeth Prescher Martins, Ernesto Pasqualin, Eduardo Amos; Editora Moderna, 2ª edição (1992), pág 91,92)

3. Quando a frase está no imperativo, a “tag question” será sempre “will you”.

Stop that noise, will you?

Don’t speak loud, will you?

4. Quando a frase começa por “Let’s” ou “Let’s not”, a “tag question” deve ser sempre “shall we?”

Let’s go, shall we?

Let’s not be unpleasant, shall we?

5. Quando a frase começa por “I am”, a “tag question” será sempre “aren’t I”.

I am on your side, aren’t I?

6. Com palavras ou expressões negativas, tais como, nobody, never, hardly, hardly ever, seldom, nothing, scarcely, barely, a "tag question" deve ficar na afirmativa.

They hardly ever visit us, do they?

There was nobody home, was there?

(FONTE: English Of Course 2; Abel de oliveira; Editora Scipione (1992); pág. 88,89,90).