Grammar: Clause: Using clauses to interact
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Tag questions | |
Less straightforward tag questions
The forms of some types of tag questions do not seem to follow the expected rules. Note the following special cases:
After let's, we use shall we in the tag:
Let's play a game, shall we?
After used to, we use a form of do and omit to in the tag:
Grandpa used to smoke, didn't he?
After ought to, we omit to in the tag:
We ought to go to bed now, oughtn't we?
After negative words such as never, seldom, nobody and nothing, the tag is positive:
| negative Statement | positive tag |
| The children are not at home today, | are they? |
| He's never been to Japan, | has he? |
| They seldom go out, | do they? |
| Nobody knows the way, | do they? |
| Nothing seems to work, | does it? |
Pronouns such as somebody and nobody tend to be picked up by they in the tag:
Somebody has been playing with my things, haven't they?
Tell me more ... What are tag questions |
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