Read the following sentence.

You will do it, won’t you?

This sentence can be said in two ways. If you say it with the voice falling on ‘won’t you’ it means, ‘I am sure, you will do it.’ But if you say it with the voice rising on ‘won’t you?’ it becomes a question. It means ‘I think you will do it – but I am not quite sure – please tell me if I am wrong.’

Exercise

Add tag questions to the following sentences and read them in the two ways indicated above.

1. He will come.
2. You won’t disappoint us.
3. The train is arriving on time.
4. You can help us.
5. It is worth the trouble.
6. We should buy some furniture.
7. He shouldn’t have said that.
8. He is an intelligent person.
9. The meeting is at ten.
10. You will lend me a pound.

Answers

1. He will come, won’t he?
2. You won’t disappoint us, will you?
3. The train is arriving on time, isn’t it?
4. You can help us, can’t you?
5. It is worth the trouble, isn’t it?
6. We should buy some furniture, shouldn’t we?
7. He shouldn’t have said that, should he?
8. He is an intelligent person, isn’t he?
9. The meeting is at ten, isn’t it?
10. You will lend me a pound, won’t you?

Notes

When the statement is affirmative, the tag question is negative and when the statement is negative the tag question is affirmative.