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Unit 52 — Question tags

do you? / isn’t it? etc.


A. Question tags

1. Study these examples

You haven’t seen Lisa today, have you?

No, I haven’t.


It was a good film, wasn’t it?

Yes, it was great.


2. 什么是 question tag?

have you?

和:

wasn’t it?

都是:

question tags

也就是:

放在句子末尾的“小问句”。

例如:

You haven’t seen Lisa today, have you?


3. Question tag 中使用助动词

在 question tag 中,我们通常使用:

auxiliary verb

例如:

  • have
  • was
  • will
  • can
  • should

等。


4. Present simple / Past simple 使用 do / does / did

对于:

present simple

和:

past simple

question tag 使用:

do / does / did

例如:

Karen plays the piano, doesn’t she?

“Well, yes, but not very well.”

Karen 会弹钢琴,对吧?

“嗯,会,不过弹得不是很好。”


另一个例子:

You didn’t lock the door, did you?

“No, I forgot.”

你没有锁门,对吧?

“对,我忘了。”


B. Positive sentence + negative tag

Negative sentence + positive tag

5. 肯定句后通常接否定 tag

通常:

positive sentence + negative question tag

例如:

Kate will be here soon, won’t she?

There was a lot of traffic, wasn’t there?

Joe should pass the exam, shouldn’t he?


6. 结构

positive sentence
        +
  negative tag

例如:

Kate will be here soon, won’t she?

There was a lot of traffic, wasn’t there?

Joe should pass the exam, shouldn’t he?


7. 否定句后通常接肯定 tag

通常:

negative sentence + positive question tag

例如:

Kate won’t be late, will she?

They don’t like us, do they?

You haven’t eaten yet, have you?


8. 结构

negative sentence
        +
   positive tag

例如:

Kate won’t be late, will she?

They don’t like us, do they?

You haven’t eaten yet, have you?


9. 最核心的正负规律

Main sentenceQuestion tag
positivenegative
negativepositive

也就是:

前肯后否

前否后肯


10. 常见例子

SentenceQuestion tag
Tom is here,isn’t he?
Lisa can swim,can’t she?
They will come,won’t they?
He likes coffee,doesn’t he?
You went there,didn’t you?
Tom isn’t here,is he?
Lisa can’t swim,can she?
They won’t come,will they?

11. Question tag 的代词

question tag 中通常不会重复完整名词,而使用代词。

例如:

Kate will be here soon, won’t she?

Kate → she


Joe should pass the exam, shouldn’t he?

Joe → he


The children are sleeping, aren’t they?

the children → they


12. there 的 question tag

如果前面是:

there is / there was / there will be

tag 中继续使用:

there

例如:

There was a lot of traffic, wasn’t there?

There is a problem, isn’t there?

There won’t be enough time, will there?


13. Negative sentence 的 yes / no

注意否定句后 question tag 的回答方式。

例如:

You’re not going out this morning, are you?

回答:

Yes. (= Yes, I am going out.)

意思:

是的,我要出去。


回答:

No. (= No, I am not going out.)

意思:

不,我不出去。


14. yes / no 根据事实回答

不要因为问题中有:

not

就反着理解 yes / no。

例如:

You’re not going out, are you?

如果实际上:

你要出去

回答:

Yes, I am.

如果实际上:

你不出去

回答:

No, I’m not.


C. Question tag 的语调和含义

15. Question tag 的意思取决于语调

The meaning of a question tag depends on how you say it.

也就是说:

question tag 是“确认”还是“真正提问”,要看语调。


16. Voice goes down — 降调

如果 question tag 使用:

降调 ↘

通常并不是真的在问问题。

而是:

说话者认为自己的判断正确,希望对方同意。


17. It’s a nice day, isn’t it?

It’s a nice day, isn’t it? ↘

“Yes, beautiful.”

天气很好,对吧?

“是啊,很漂亮。”

这里说话者已经认为:

今天是个好天气。

只是希望对方确认。


18. Paul doesn’t look well today, does he?

Paul doesn’t look well today, does he? ↘

“No, he looks very tired.”

Paul 今天看起来不太舒服,对吧?

“是的,他看起来很累。”


19. Lisa’s very funny, isn’t she?

Lisa’s very funny. She’s got a great sense of humour, hasn’t she? ↘

“Yes, she has.”

Lisa 很有趣,对吧?

她很有幽默感,不是吗?


20. 降调的核心感觉

Statement
   ↓
I think this is true.
   ↓
tag ↘
   ↓
Please agree with me.

也就是:

“我觉得是这样,你也同意吧?”


21. Voice goes up — 升调

如果 question tag 使用:

升调 ↗

那么它通常是:

真正的问题

说话者并不知道答案。


22. You haven’t seen Kate today, have you?

You haven’t seen Kate today, have you? ↗

“No, I haven’t.”

这里相当于真正问:

Have you seen Kate today?

也就是说:

说话者确实不知道你有没有见过 Kate。


23. 升调 vs 降调

语调意思
↘ 降调我认为是真的,想让你同意
↗ 升调我真的不知道,在问你

24. 同一句话可以因为语调不同而意思不同

例如:

You’re Tom, aren’t you?

如果:

aren’t you? ↘

意思:

我基本确定你是 Tom,只是在确认。

如果:

aren’t you? ↗

意思:

我不太确定,真的在问。


25. Negative sentence + positive tag 可以用来请求信息

我们也可以使用:

negative sentence + positive tag

来:

  • ask for things
  • ask for information
  • ask somebody to do something

这种情况下:

tag 通常使用升调 ↗


26. You couldn’t do me a favour, could you?

You couldn’t do me a favour, could you? ↗

你能帮我一个忙吗?

回答:

“It depends what it is.”

“要看是什么事。”

这里不是在说:

“你不能帮我,对吧?”

而是一种比较礼貌的:

请求


27. You don’t know where Karen is, do you?

You don’t know where Karen is, do you? ↗

你知道 Karen 在哪里吗?

回答:

“Sorry, I have no idea.”

“不好意思,我不知道。”

这里是:

真正在询问信息。


28. Question tag 的三个常见功能

① 确认 / 寻求认同

It’s nice, isn’t it? ↘


② 真正询问

You haven’t seen Kate, have you? ↗


③ 礼貌请求 / 询问信息

You couldn’t help me, could you? ↗


D. 特殊 Question tags

29. Let’s ... → shall we?

在:

Let’s ...

之后,question tag 使用:

shall we?

例如:

Let’s go for a walk, shall we? ↗

我们去散步,好吗?


30. 为什么是 shall we?

因为:

Let’s = Let us

所以固定搭配:

Let’s ..., shall we?

例如:

Let’s sit down, shall we?

Let’s have lunch, shall we?

Let’s go home, shall we?


31. Don’t ... → will you?

在:

Don’t ...

这种祈使句后,question tag 通常使用:

will you?

例如:

Don’t be late, will you? ↘

别迟到,好吗?


32. 更多例子

Don’t forget, will you?

别忘了,好吗?

Don’t tell anybody, will you?

别告诉别人,好吗?


33. I’m ... → aren’t I?

这是一个特殊情况。

如果句子是:

I’m ...

否定 question tag 通常使用:

aren’t I?

例如:

I’m right, aren’t I?

我是对的,对吧?

回答:

“Yes, you are.”


34. 为什么不是 amn’t I?

英语通常不说:

❌ amn’t I?

标准用法是:

aren’t I?

所以记成固定结构:

I’m ..., aren’t I?


35. 特殊结构总结

Main sentenceQuestion tag
Let’s go,shall we?
Don’t be late,will you?
I’m right,aren’t I?

36. 如何构造 Question tag

可以用 3 个步骤。

Step 1:找主句中的助动词

例如:

Kate will be here soon.

助动词:

will


Step 2:正负相反

主句是:

positive

所以 tag:

negative

will → won’t


Step 3:把主语换成代词

Kate → she

最终:

Kate will be here soon, won’t she?


37. 如果主句没有助动词怎么办?

例如:

Karen plays the piano.

这是:

Present Simple

没有显式助动词。

所以使用:

does

主句肯定:

plays

tag 否定:

doesn’t she?

最终:

Karen plays the piano, doesn’t she?


38. Past Simple

例如:

Tom went home.

使用:

did

主句肯定:

went

tag 否定:

didn’t

最终:

Tom went home, didn’t he?


39. 常见 Question tag 对照表

主句Tag
isisn’t
isn’tis
arearen’t
aren’tare
waswasn’t
wasn’twas
wereweren’t
weren’twere
havehaven’t
haven’thave
hashasn’t
hasn’thas
willwon’t
won’twill
cancan’t
can’tcan
shouldshouldn’t
shouldn’tshould

40. Present Simple 的 tag

如果主句是一般现在时:

I / you / we / they

使用:

do / don’t

例如:

You like coffee, don’t you?


he / she / it

使用:

does / doesn’t

例如:

Sarah likes coffee, doesn’t she?


41. Past Simple 的 tag

一般过去时使用:

did / didn’t

例如:

You saw him, didn’t you?

You didn’t see him, did you?


42. 主句与 tag 的对应关系

Positive → Negative

He is here, isn’t he?

She can swim, can’t she?

They will come, won’t they?

Tom likes coffee, doesn’t he?

Lisa went home, didn’t she?


Negative → Positive

He isn’t here, is he?

She can’t swim, can she?

They won’t come, will they?

Tom doesn’t like coffee, does he?

Lisa didn’t go home, did she?


43. Question tag 和 Unit 51 的关系

Unit 51 学过:

auxiliary verbs

例如:

  • have
  • do
  • can
  • will
  • be

Question tag 本质上也是:

使用对应的 auxiliary verb

例如:

You’ve finished, haven’t you?

前面:

have

所以 tag:

haven’t


She can swim, can’t she?

前面:

can

所以 tag:

can’t


Tom went home, didn’t he?

Past Simple 没有显式助动词,所以:

使用 did


44. 最常见错误:助动词不对应

错误:

❌ She can swim, doesn’t she?

正确:

She can swim, can’t she?

因为前面已经有:

can

所以 tag 继续使用:

can


错误:

❌ You have finished, don’t you?

正确:

You have finished, haven’t you?


45. 最常见错误:正负不相反

错误:

❌ Tom is here, is he?

如果是普通 question tag,通常应该:

Tom is here, isn’t he?


错误:

❌ Tom isn’t here, isn’t he?

正确:

Tom isn’t here, is he?


46. 最常见错误:主语不用代词

不自然:

❌ Lisa is here, isn’t Lisa?

正确:

Lisa is here, isn’t she?

question tag 中通常使用:

pronoun


47. 最终思维模型

第一步:看主句是肯定还是否定

Positive
   ↓
Negative tag

Negative
   ↓
Positive tag

第二步:找到对应的助动词

例如:

is      → isn't / is
can     → can't / can
will    → won't / will
have    → haven't / have

如果是:

Present Simple
    ↓
do / does

如果是:

Past Simple
    ↓
   did

第三步:主语换成代词

Kate
  ↓
 she

Tom
  ↓
  he

the children
     ↓
    they

Example

Kate will be here soon.

Step 1

肯定句:

positive

所以 tag:

negative

Step 2

助动词:

will → won’t

Step 3

Kate:

she

最终:

Kate will be here soon, won’t she?


48. 语调思维模型

降调 ↘

I think this is true.
         ↓
Please agree with me.
         ↓
        ↘

例如:

It’s a nice day, isn’t it? ↘


升调 ↗

I don't know.
     ↓
I'm really asking.
     ↓
     ↗

例如:

You haven’t seen Kate, have you? ↗


49. Unit 52 核心结构表

类型结构Example
肯定 + 否定 tagpositive + negativeIt’s nice, isn’t it?
否定 + 肯定 tagnegative + positiveIt isn’t cold, is it?
Present Simpledo/doesShe works here, doesn’t she?
Past SimpledidHe left, didn’t he?
Let’sshall weLet’s go, shall we?
Don’twill youDon’t be late, will you?
I’maren’t II’m right, aren’t I?

50. 一句话记忆

基本规则

前肯后否,前否后肯。

例如:

She is here, isn’t she?

She isn’t here, is she?


助动词保持一致

She can swim, can’t she?

You have finished, haven’t you?


一般现在时

do / does

例如:

You like it, don’t you?


一般过去时

did

例如:

You saw him, didn’t you?


特殊结构

Let’s ..., shall we?

Don’t ..., will you?

I’m ..., aren’t I?


Unit 52 最核心总结

Question tag = 句尾的小问句

最基本规律:

Positive sentence + negative tag

Negative sentence + positive tag

例如:

Kate will be here soon, won’t she?

Kate won’t be late, will she?

Question tag 中:

使用和主句对应的助动词

一般现在时使用:

do / does

一般过去时使用:

did

语调也非常重要:

降调 ↘ = 我认为是真的,希望你同意

升调 ↗ = 我真的在问

特殊情况:

Let’s ..., shall we?

Don’t ..., will you?

I’m ..., aren’t I?