General English Level 2 V 3
UNIT 03 Getting around TOPIC 01 How do we get there?
LANGUAGE FOCUS 04 Tag questions
Tim and Jessica say
Jessica
...let's buy our tickets. We can buy tickets over there, can't we ?
Tim
Yes, okay...

Jessica thinks they can buy tickets there but she isn't sure. She asks, "… , can't we ? "

Tim and Jessica say
Jessica
22. It's on the left. We have time to buy a coffee, don't we ?
Tim
No, the train comes in 7 minutes. Let's go. We can get a coffee later.

Jessica thinks they have time to buy a coffee but she isn't sure. She asks, "..., don't we ?"

Tim and Jessica say
Jessica
The green one is the airport line, isn't it ?
Tim
Um, yes it is………

Jessica thinks the green one is the airport line but she isn't sure. She asks, "….., isn't it ?".

We can buy tickets over there, can't we ?, We have time to buy a coffee, don't we ? The green one is the airport line, isn't it ? are tag questions.

We use tag questions when we think we know the answer but we are not sure and we want to check.

We call the last part of a tag question, for example: can't we?, don't we? and isn't it? a question tag .

When the first part of the sentence is positive, we use a negative question tag.

It is 10 o'clock, isn't it?
She is your wife, isn't she?
They can speak French, can't they?
Positive sentence
Negative question tag
Answer
I can use this ticket, can't I? No, you can't.
We can park here, can't we? Yes we can.
It's cold, isn't it? Yes, it is.
This is the airport train , isn't No, it isn't.
It stops at the domestic airport, doesn't Yes it does.
He comes from Canada, doesn't he? Yes he does.
You like coffee, don't you? Yes I do.
We have enough time, don't we? Yes we do.


We can also use negative statements with positive question tags, for example:

That isn' t our train , is it ?
She is your wife, isn't she ?
They can speak French, can't they ?

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Click on the examples to listen.
3 Practise saying the examples.

Now go to 05 LANGUAGE FOCUS Tag questions - task.