Question Tags: Basics and Special Rules
Question tags are short phrases added to the end of a statement to turn it into a question, usually to confirm information or seek agreement. While the basic rule is straightforward—use a positive tag for a negative statement ("You aren't tired, are you?") and a negative tag for a positive statement ("She likes coffee, doesn't she?")—the exceptions can easily trip you up.
This challenge dives into the special rules and tricky edge cases of question tags. You will practice the unique first-person exception for "I am" (which becomes "aren't I?"), suggestions starting with "let's," and imperative sentences. You'll also tackle statements containing negative adverbs like "hardly" or "never," and figure out the correct tags to use when referring back to indefinite pronouns like "everyone" or "somebody."
You'll work through 12 questions featuring fun scenarios—from frantic chefs to medieval knights—using a mix of single-choice, multi-choice, drop-down, and drag-and-drop formats.
Try the quiz to check your knowledge!
Correct Answers
Help the slightly insecure superhero finish his dramatic sentence.
I am still the most terrifying hero in this city, _____?
The correct answer is aren't I.
Although the statement uses "I am", the standard negative question tag for "I am" is always "aren't I?". "Am not I" is not used in modern English, and "amn't I" is only found in a few specific regional dialects!
Complete the detective's observation about the suspiciously lazy suspect.
Your client hardly ever leaves his gaming couch, _____?
The correct answer is does he.
Words like hardly, barely, never, and seldom have a negative meaning. Because the main statement contains a negative word, it is treated as a negative sentence. Therefore, the question tag must be positive ("does he" instead of "doesn't he").
"Let's make sure the soup isn't burnt, shall we?"
Sentences starting with "Let's" (Let us) always use "shall we?" as their question tag.
"Don't drop that expensive caviar, will you?"
For negative imperative sentences (commands or requests starting with "Don't"), the standard question tag is "will you?".
"That giant lobster looks a little angry, doesn't it?"
"Looks" is a present simple action verb, so we use "does." The statement is positive, so the tag becomes negative ("doesn't it").
"I'm still the best hero in this city, aren't I?"
The question tag for "I am" is always "aren't I?" because "am not I" is not used in modern English, and "ain't I" is considered informal.
"You haven't seen my favorite cape anywhere, have you?"
If the main statement is negative ("haven't seen"), the question tag must be positive ("have you").
"We defeated the villain yesterday, didn't we?"
For past simple action verbs ("defeated"), we use the auxiliary verb "did." Since the statement is positive, the tag is negative ("didn't we").
The correct answers are He barely touched the vault, did he?, They never went to the museum, did they?, and You rarely forget your lockpicks, do you?.
Words like barely, hardly, never, rarely, and seldom have a negative meaning. Because the main sentence is considered negative, the question tag at the end must be positive. The incorrect options mistakenly use negative tags (didn't she, don't we).
Help the stressed event planner direct the medieval fair by dragging the correct question tags to finish their sentences.
Let's release the dragons at noon, shall we?
Don't forget to feed the court jester, will you?
Let's release the dragons at noon, shall we?
Suggestions starting with "Let's" (Let us) always take the question tag "shall we?".
Don't forget to feed the court jester, will you?
For imperative sentences (orders, requests, or commands), we typically use "will you?" as the question tag. This is especially true for negative commands starting with "Don't".
Help the dramatic roommate finish their complaints by dragging the correct question tags to the end of the sentences.
I'm the only one who cleans around here, aren't I?
You hardly ever take out the trash, do you?
I'm the only one who cleans around here, aren't I?
The pronoun "I" with the verb "am" is a special case in question tags. Instead of "amn't I" (which doesn't exist in standard English), we use "aren't I".
You hardly ever take out the trash, do you?
Words like "hardly," "barely," "never," and "rarely" give a sentence a negative meaning. Because the statement is already negative, the question tag must be positive (do you).
"Nobody brought the phantom punch, did they?"
"Nobody" is a negative word, so the tag must be positive. Even though "nobody" takes a singular verb in a sentence, its question tag uses the pronoun "they."
"Everyone is having a terrifyingly good time, aren't they?"
"Everyone" also uses the pronoun "they" in question tags. Because "they" is plural, the verb changes from "is" to "are," creating the negative tag "aren't they."
"Nothing ever goes wrong at these parties, does it?"
"Nothing" is a negative word and refers to an object/concept, so it takes the pronoun "it." Since the statement is negative, the tag must be positive ("does it").
Complete the detective's musings on a slightly absurd crime scene by dragging the appropriate question tags to the blanks.
Everyone saw the giant penguin escape, didn't they?
Nothing about this case makes sense, does it?
Everyone saw the giant penguin escape, didn't they?
When using indefinite pronouns referring to people (like everyone, somebody, nobody), we use the plural pronoun "they" in the question tag. Since the statement is positive and in the past tense, the tag is negative (didn't they).
Nothing about this case makes sense, does it?
Indefinite pronouns referring to things (like nothing, something, everything) use the pronoun "it" in the tag. Because "nothing" makes the statement negative, the tag must be positive (does it).
The correct answers are will you?, would you?, and can you?.
When making a request or giving an imperative (command), we can use several different question tags depending on how polite or forceful we want to be. "Will you", "would you", "can you", and "could you" are all grammatically correct ways to soften a command into a request! "Shall we" is only used when the sentence starts with "Let's".
The correct answers are Everybody loved my spicy soup, didn't they?, Nobody remembered to buy the truffles, did they?, and Someone left the oven on, didn't they?.
When the subject of a sentence is an indefinite pronoun referring to people (like everybody, somebody, nobody, anyone), we use the pronoun they in the question tag.
Also, remember that nobody makes the sentence negative, so it requires a positive tag (did they? instead of didn't they?).
Choose the right phrase to complete the hungry roommate's midnight suggestion.
Let's sneak down to the kitchen and steal the last slice of pizza, _____?
The correct answer is shall we.
When we make a suggestion starting with "Let's" (which is short for "Let us"), the standard question tag to use is always "shall we?".
Questions
Direct vs indirect questions: direct questions invert and end with ? (Where does she live?). Indirect questions DON'T invert and end with a period (I wonder where she lives.). Mixing these up — I wonder where does she live? ❌ — is one of the most common structural errors.
Questions in English use inversion/do-support. Types: yes/no, wh-, negative, tag. Direct questions invert; indirect don't.
Diagnostic: is your question embedded inside a statement (I wonder, Do you know, Can you tell me)? → DON'T invert. Is it a standalone question? → invert.
Auxiliary verb
Auxiliary vs main verb: a main verb carries the action (run, eat, think); an auxiliary verb carries the grammar — tense, negation, questions, aspect, voice. In She has been eating, eating is the main verb; has and been are auxiliaries.
The English auxiliaries are be, have, do (primary) and the modal verbs (can, will, must…). They always precede the main verb.
Diagnostic: can the word stand alone as the only verb in the sentence and still carry action? Yes → main verb. No → auxiliary.
English Grammar Basics
Basics vs intermediate/advanced grammar: if you're unsure whether to study articles or conditionals, tense basics or reported speech — you need to check whether your foundations are solid first. Basics covers everything up to A2.
English Grammar Basics groups the core building blocks: nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, present/past tenses, questions, and negation.
Diagnostic: if you still hesitate over she don't vs she doesn't, or a vs an — start here. Master these and intermediate topics stop feeling random.
A2 | Elementary | Pre-intermediate
A2 vs B1: A2 handles routine transactions and simple past narration. B1 handles connected discourse, explaining reasons, and understanding main points in clear standard speech. If you can tell what happened but not why it matters, you're still A2.
A2 is the elementary level of the CEFR: past simple, present perfect, first conditional, basic modals, and routine communication about familiar topics.
Diagnostic: can you link ideas with because, although, so that and hold a conversation beyond scripted topics? No → A2. Yes → moving into B1.
Medium
Medium vs Easy: Easy has one obviously correct answer and clearly wrong distractors. Medium has one correct answer but plausible distractors — you need to actually know the rule, not just guess from sound.
The Medium tag filters for A2–B1 challenges with realistic difficulty: one rule per question, plausible alternatives, everyday contexts.
Diagnostic: if you're scoring 90%+ on Easy, move here. If you're below 60% on Medium, go back to Easy for that topic. Target 70–80% accuracy for maximum learning.