Add question tags to the statements given below.
14 Examples:
Mary will take her revenge on you, won't she?
Mary won't take her revenge on you, will she?
a Many animal races will die out if we keep on killing them.
b Your book will come out next week.
c She will have to settle down one day.
d They won't give up.
e We shall never surrender.
15 Examples:
Let's go to the disco, shall we?
Let's not give up now, shall we?
The complete form of
let's is
let us.
a Let's wind up the clock.
b Let's switch on the television.
c Let's call out the fire brigade.
d Let's ring them up tonight.
e Let's not stay out here in the rain.
16 Examples:
She would like that, wouldn't she?
She wouln't like that, would she?
a You would send her away.
b It wouldn't go off if you pressed that button.
c He would never forgive you.
d Penelope wouldn't let you down.
e Nancy would put her foot in it.
17 Examples: (imperatives
; the subject is not mentioned in the main clause.)
Take these pills, will you?
Don't take these sleeping pills, will you?
The meaning of
will you? here is similar to
please.
a Come this way.
b Don't be so stubborn.
c Take it easy.
d Don't talk that rubbish.
e Give her a second chance.
18 Revision exercise.
a Their chances of succeeding in life are very small.
b Mark can't put up with Tim's bad manners.
c Neither of them will take over their father's business.
d There's no point in arguing with your father about politics.
e We shall have to draw up a plan.
f She spoilt her children.
g They've got no apricots.
h I don't have to pretend that I'm very rich any longer.
i Don't be late.
j He never loses his temper.
k He fell off his horse.
l This is not the solution to all your problems.
m We didn't fail to send her mother a present.
n Don't cheat in examinations.
o This is not a gift.
p There was a mistake.
q Everybody thinks he is being disloyal to his friends.
r They hardly ever speak to each other.
s They will have to get down to work.
t My application has been turned down.
u Diana wouldn't cut that tree down.
v Put that cigar out.
w He was held up by the traffic.
x Let's not take her seriously.
y I'm the prettiest girl in the whole village.
z Do your flies up.
19 Examples:
She could play the piano when she was eight years old, couldn't she?
She couldn't play the piano when she was eight years old, could she?
a Tim couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Adrian dressed up as a woman.
b He could over-react.
c Molly could reimburse the money to you.
d You couldn't help loving her.
e The tiger couldn't scape from its cage.
20 Examples:
We must free her, mustn't we?
We mustn't free her, must we?
a They mustn't lock this door.
b He mustn't reject their offer.
c She must rest.
d After all she has done for us, we must back her up.
e This switch mustn't be turned on.
21 Example:
I needn't obey her orders, need I?
a They needn't come.
b We needn't tell your uncle.
c John needn't act this afternoon.
d We needn't write an essay.
e We needn't ring the bell.
22 Examples: (I, you, we, they have; he, she, it has; see
unit 7,
parts 5 and
6.)
You have been given the sack, haven't you?
You haven't been given the sack, have you?
a David hasn't reserved a table.
b You've missed the bus.
c They have never opened that door.
d The cat has just scratched him.
e We have just given up.
23 Examples: (See
unit 7, parts 7 and
8.)
They had finished their meal when he came in, hadn't they?
They hadn't finished their meal when he came in, had they?
a My wife had already cleaned the house.
b Her husband hadn't met her mother before.
c Maggie had never been dismissed before.
d Nothing had been done at that time.
e They had murdered him when the police arrived.
24 Examples:
We should sit down, shouldn't we?
We shouldn't sit down, should we?
Should and
ought to are usually interchangeable:
They ought not to rule out a shortfall in the budget, ought they?/They should not rule out a shortfall in the budget, should they? See units
1, (example 18),
2 (section 14) and
22 (sections 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 and 33).
a He shouldn't be removed from office.
b This should be handled carefully.
c We should cut across this field if we want to be there in good time for the sack race.
d I ought to smoke less.
e James should be sent to prison.
25 Revision exercise.
a We can't count them out.
b He is very vulnerable.
c They aren't acting badly.
d He's got a terrible illness.
e You should have your hair cut.
f That annoyed him.
g You don't think she's the right person for the post.
h They couldn't make out the castle in the distance.
i He doesn't miss her.
j I booked a room.
k I wouldn't be any use.
l Press that button.
m Don't forget what I've just said.
n He didn't forbid her seeing that boy.
o She enjoys watching the snow falling.
p Peter was making for the coast when he had an accident.
q Everyone forgot to telephone her.
r Nothing was said.
s We had better leave early
.
t We ought to lodge a complaint against them.
u They will join the club.
v Let's give her a lift.
w They mustn't touch this wire.
x Molly needn't come to work tomorrow.
y They had already forgotten her when she appeared again.
z This document will be sent to you at the due time.
26 Sometimes we use an affirmative tag after an affirmative statement, and the other way round. The latter
often sounds a little bit aggressive, and is not very common. This construction usually expresses anger, interest, surprise, and so forth. However, once again, the intonation is very important here, since it can suggest how the speaker feels about something, or if he or she wants to be told whether or not something is correct. These tags are not so usual as question tags.
Examples:
Oh, so the Government don't approve of that, don't they?
Oh, so the Government approve of that, do they?
This structure is similar to the following one:
Peter:
The Government don't approve of that.
Mary:
Don't they? (=
Really?)
Peter:
The Government approve of that.
Mary:
Do they? (=
Really?)
Add comments to the following statements, as seen above.
a You have broken my car.
b They don't want to come.
c He's got a big problem.
d The party was very boring.
e Ann is getting divorced.
f You don't want to leave me.
g Peter has invited Rita.
h They did not make a single mistake.
i He kissed her.
j Everybody understood her explanations.
k He was accused of murder.
l Marilyn beat Martha at chess yesterday.
m He is the heavyweight boxing champion of the world.
n She has left her studies.
o It broke into pieces.
p She didn't tell him a word.
q She spent all her money on clothes.
r John told her the truth.
s He's afraid of snakes.
t They won the lottery.
u He can't do it.
v You have read my diary.
w He was nicked for shoplifting .
x He was fined for driving too fast.
y They ran away from home last week.
z They hijacked the plane.
____________________
Shall is possible in place of
will with
I and
we:
We will have to break cover, won't we?/We shall have to break cover, shan't we?
We won't have to line up here in the rain, will we?/We shan't
have to line up here in the rain, shall we?
See
unit 7, part 10, and
unit 9, sections 51 and 52.
For further details about imperative sentences, see
unit 9, section 54.
Instead of
will you?, we may use
would you?,
can you?,
could you?,
won't you? or
can't you? if the imperative sentence is affirmative; if it is negative, only
will you? is possible.
Won't you? is chiefly found in invitations or offers:
Take a seat, won't you?
Take the phone off the hook, would you?
Don't get out of the car, will you?
Use
had in the tag.
This structure very often has a rising tone, because it expresses strong emphasis. It is therefore a real question.
Do they is equally possible.
Don't they is possible as well.
This structure is far more productive than the following one, which is very unusual: Oh, so
the Government don't approve of that,
don't they?