1. THEORETICAL BASIS ‘TAG QUESTIONS’ IS A GRAMMAR LESSON IN LANGUAGE...

2.1. Theoretical basis

‘Tag questions’ is a grammar lesson in Language Focus, Unit 15, ‘Tieng Anh

11’. This kind of questions is often used in daily communication as well as in

written tests of English.

 The question can be divided into two parts separated by a comma:

+ Main clause: is a statement (in affirmative or negative form)

+ Question tag: is formed with: Auxiliary – S (personal pronoun).

 If the statement is affirmative, the auxiliary is negative and on the reverse.

Ex: - Mary is an excellent, isn’t she ?

(RP: Yes, she is/ No, she isn’t)

- You didn’t meet Peter yesterday afternoon, did you ?

(RP: Yes, I did/ No, I didn’t)

- Paul will become a famous singer soon, won’t he?

(RP: Yes, he will/ No, he won’t)

 Meaning:

If the speaker rises his voice at the end of the question, he wants to get

information from the listener; otherwise, if his voice is down, he expects the

agreements from the listener.

 Some notes for special cases:

+ I am ………., aren’t I? But: I am not ………, am I?

+ If the statement contains hardly, seldom, rarely, never, no one, nobody, nothing,

no – Noun, neither of …, none of …, without …, the auxiliary is affirmative.

Ex: You paid no attention to what he said, did you?

+ If the S in the statement is someone or somebody, anyone, anybody, no one,

nobody, none of …, neither of …, everyone, everybody, the S in the question tag is

they. And if the S in the statement is something, or nothing, everything, the S in the

question tag is it.

Ex: Someone is waiting for me in the office, aren’t they?

Everything is ready now, isn’t it?

+ If the statement is in imperative form, the question tag is will you?

Ex: Study harder for the coming exam, will you?

Never repeat the mistake again, will you?

+ Let’s ………., shall we?

But: Let me ………, may I?

Ex: Let’s go to the stadium this Sunday afternoon, shall we?

Let me pay for the meal, may I?

+ If the statement contains 2 clauses like: I(we) think/ believe/ suppose/ figure/

assume/ fancy/ imagine/ reckon/ expect/ seem/ feel – S – V – , the question tag is

formed according to S – V –

Ex: I think he has been working very hard, hasn’t he?

+ There – be – N, … there?

Ex: There are over 40 students in your class, aren’t there?

+ If the statement is This (That) – be – N –, the question tag is formed according to

the N and be

Ex: This is a very beautiful cave, isn’t it?

Since I started my teaching work is school, I have been concerned about how to

help the students access the knowledge and do exercises in tag questions in the

easiest way because this is an important lesson in ‘Tieng Anh 11’ and in addition,

tag question often appears in some important written tests (GCSE, University

Entrance Examination, …).

Some examples of tag questions in some written tests:

+ Mary rarely uses social networks, ______?

A. isn't she B. does she C. doesn't she D. is she

(From the GCSE 2018, Code 401)

+ Canned food is not as healthy as fresh food, ______?

A. isn’t it B. doesn’t it C. is it D. does it

(From the GCSE 2016, Code 168)

+ There has been a great increase in retail sales, ______?

A. hasn’t there B. isn’t it C. isn’t it D. doesn’t it

(From the University Entrance Examination 2013, Group D, Code 359)

In fact, the lesson may not cause problems to the excellent students; however,

for students with lower levels, especially average and weak levels, they can get

confused when choosing the right forms for each question because tag question is

related to the use of auxiliaries in different tenses.

To help the students with different levels learn and practice the lesson

effectively, I have decided to study ‘Teaching tag questions for class 11A3, Cam

Thuy 3 High School’.