Question tag question

Question

Choose and Would you mind telling me the reason.
In your opinion, Ahmed is clever, isn't it/ don't you?

Answer 1

The correct tag question for (In your opinion,) Ahmed is clever would be isn't he?

 

The rules for forming tag questions in English are very similar to those for creating "yes/no" questions, i.e., questions that can be most simply answered by "Yes" or "No," as opposed to information questions that begin with an interrogative pronoun, e.g., Who, What, When etc. That is, to make a tag or "yes/no" question you invert (switch the positions of) the auxiliary, if there is one (if there isn't, you resort to "do-support," i.e., you introduce do as the auxiliary, making sure to keep it in the same tense as the main verb and agreeing in number with the subject), and the subject (and if the main verb is a form of be, use just that in the tag question). And different from "yes/no" questions, in tag questions you always change the subject of the sentence to the appropriate subject pronoun (if the subject isn't a pronoun already), i.e., matching the subject in gender and number.

 

And perhaps most importantly, a tag question is always "logically opposite" the affirmative (a.k.a. "positive") or negative assertion of the main clause, which is just a fancy way of saying that when the main clause is affirmative (i.e., doesn't contain any grammatically negative word), the tag question must include a--normally--contracted not negating the auxiliary of the tag question, and vice versa, i.e., negative sentence --> affirmative tag question.

 

Examples:

 

affirmative main verbs, negative tag questions:

• Ahmed posts many good questions here, doesn't he?
• He learns a lot by doing that, doesn't he?
• Ahmed's sister posts many good questions here, doesn't she?
• Ahmed and his friends post many good questions here, don't they?
• Ahmed posted many good questions here, didn't he?
• Ahmed has posted many good questions here, hasn't he?
• Ahmed had posted many good questions here, hadn't he?
• Ahmed is very smart to post questions here, isn't he? (note that the main verb of the sentence is just is)
• Ahmed is learning a lot by posting questions here, isn't he?
• Ahmed should keep posting his good questions, shouldn't he?

 

negative main verbs or sentences, affirmative tag questions:

• Ahmed doesn't have to stop posting questions here, does he?
• Ahmed didn't thank me for answering his questions (sob, sob), did he?
• Ahmed isn't going to like my whining, is he?
• Ahmed hasn't seen the last of my answers, has he?
• Ahmed can't believe the pomposity of this tutor, can he?
• Ahmed won't curse the tutor and this crazy English language, will he?
• Ahmed has had no rest from my tiresome answers, has he?