Question Tags (Tag Questions): Every Rule and Exception
Question Tags / Tag Questions (প্রশ্নবোধক লেজ — 'তাই না?')
Introductionভূমিকা
A question tag is the short question added to the end of a statement to check something or invite agreement: 'You're coming, aren't you?' In Bangla it works like 'তাই না?'. The main rule fits in one line — positive statement, negative tag — and that line earns most of the marks. The rest are exceptions: 'I am', 'Let's', imperatives, and sentences made negative by a word like 'never'. They are the same handful every year.
Question tag হলো বাক্যের শেষে যোগ করা ছোট্ট একটি প্রশ্ন, যা দিয়ে নিশ্চিত হওয়া বা সম্মতি চাওয়া হয় — বাংলায় যেমন 'তাই না?'। মূল নিয়ম এক লাইনেই শেষ: হ্যাঁ-বোধক বাক্যে না-বোধক tag। এই এক লাইনেই বেশিরভাগ নম্বর আসে। বাকিটা **ব্যতিক্রম** — 'I am', 'Let's', অনুজ্ঞা, আর 'never'-এর মতো শব্দে না-বোধক হয়ে যাওয়া বাক্য — আর প্রতি বছর একই কয়েকটাই ঘুরে আসে।
Definitionসংজ্ঞা
A question tag repeats the auxiliary (or modal) of the statement plus a pronoun, in the opposite polarity: a positive statement takes a negative tag, and a negative statement takes a positive tag.
Question tag-এ বাক্যের auxiliary (বা modal) ও একটি pronoun বিপরীত রূপে ফিরে আসে: positive বাক্যে negative tag, আর negative বাক্যে positive tag বসে।
Bangla Explanationবাংলা ব্যাখ্যা
SSC ইংরেজি দ্বিতীয় পত্রে আইটেমটির নাম **Tag questions**, নম্বর **৫**। **মূল নিয়ম — তিনটি অংশ:** 1. বাক্য হ্যাঁ-বোধক হলে tag **না-বোধক**, বাক্য না-বোধক হলে tag **হ্যাঁ-বোধক**। 2. বাক্যের **সহায়ক ক্রিয়াই** tag-এ বসে। সহায়ক ক্রিয়া না থাকলে **do / does / did** আনতে হয়। 3. কর্তা tag-এ **সর্বনাম** হয়ে যায়, আর না-বোধক রূপ সবসময় **সংক্ষিপ্ত** (isn't, don't, won't)। - He is a student, **isn't he?** - He isn't a student, **is he?** - They play football, **don't they?** - She went home, **didn't she?** বাংলাভাষীরা প্রায়ই সব বাক্যের শেষে 'isn't it?' বলে ফেলেন — এটি ভুল। সর্বনামটা কর্তার সাথে মিলতে হবে। **এখন ব্যতিক্রমগুলো — পরীক্ষার নম্বর এখানেই:** | বাক্য | Tag | |---|---| | I am late, | **aren't I?** (amn't I নয়) | | Let's go, | **shall we?** | | Let us go, (অনুমতি চাওয়া) | **will you?** | | Open the door, (অনুজ্ঞা) | **will you?** | | Don't go there, (নিষেধ) | **will you?** | | There is a problem, | **isn't there?** | | This is your book, | **isn't it?** | | These are yours, | **aren't they?** | | Everybody knows it, | **don't they?** | | Nobody came, | **did they?** | | Nothing happened, | **did it?** | | He has a car, (মূল ক্রিয়া have) | **doesn't he?** | | He has done it, (সহায়ক have) | **hasn't he?** | | He used to smoke, | **didn't he?** | | We ought to go, | **oughtn't we?** | | One should be careful, | **shouldn't one?** | **লুকানো না-বোধক শব্দ।** কিছু শব্দ বাক্যকে না-বোধক করে দেয়, যদিও 'not' নেই — তাই tag হবে **হ্যাঁ-বোধক**: **never, hardly, scarcely, rarely, seldom, barely, few, little, no, none, nobody, nothing, neither** - He never lies, **does he?** - Few students came, **did they?** - She hardly eats, **does she?** **সাবধান:** 'a few' ও 'a little' হ্যাঁ-বোধক, শুধু 'few' ও 'little' না-বোধক — 'A few students came, **didn't they?**' খাতায় লেখার সময় বাক্য ও tag-এর মাঝে **কমা**, আর শেষে **প্রশ্নবোধক চিহ্ন** দিতে ভুলবেন না।
Examplesউদাহরণ
- You are from Dhaka, aren't you?তুমি ঢাকার, তাই না?
- She can drive, can't she?সে গাড়ি চালাতে পারে, তাই না?
- They don't live here, do they?না-বোধক বাক্য, তাই tag হ্যাঁ-বোধক।
- I am your friend, aren't I?'amn't I' ইংরেজিতে নেই; নির্দিষ্ট ব্যতিক্রম 'aren't I'।
- Let's start now, shall we?'Let's' (প্রস্তাব) সবসময় 'shall we?' নেয়।
- Give me a pen, will you?অনুজ্ঞাবাচক বাক্যে সবসময় 'will you?'।
- He never tells a lie, does he?'never' বাক্যটাকে না-বোধক করেছে, তাই tag হ্যাঁ-বোধক।
- Nobody phoned, did they?Nobody না-বোধক, আর tag-এ 'they' বসে।
- He has two brothers, doesn't he?এখানে have মূল ক্রিয়া, তাই do-verb আনতে হবে।
- There were many people, weren't there?'there' কর্তার জায়গায় বসলে tag-এও 'there' থাকে।
Common Mistakesসাধারণ ভুল
He is a doctor, isn't it?
He is a doctor, isn't he?
The tag pronoun must match the subject — 'isn't it' is the commonest Bangla-speaker habit and it is wrong.
She works hard, isn't she?
She works hard, doesn't she?
When the statement has no auxiliary, the tag uses do, does or did.
I am right, amn't I?
I am right, aren't I?
English has no contraction 'amn't'. The fixed exception is 'aren't I'.
Let's go out, will we?
Let's go out, shall we?
'Let's' is a proposal and takes 'shall we'. 'Let us' asking permission takes 'will you'.
He never comes late, doesn't he?
He never comes late, does he?
'Never' already makes the statement negative, so the tag must be positive.
Everyone was present, wasn't he?
Everyone was present, weren't they?
Everyone, somebody and nobody are answered with 'they' in the tag.
Tipsটিপস
- Positive statement, negative tag; negative statement, positive tag. — Positive বাক্যে negative tag, negative বাক্যে positive tag।
- Find the auxiliary first. If there isn't one, the tag needs do, does or did. — আগে সহায়ক ক্রিয়া খুঁজুন। না থাকলে tag-এ do / does / did আনতে হবে।
- Scan for never, hardly, seldom, few, little, no, nobody, nothing — they hide a negative. — never, hardly, seldom, few, little, no, nobody, nothing — এগুলো লুকানো না-বোধক, খুঁজে নিন।
- The tag's subject is always a pronoun, never a noun: 'Rahim is ready, isn't he?' — Tag-এর কর্তা সবসময় সর্বনাম, কখনো বিশেষ্য নয় — 'isn't he?', 'isn't Rahim?' নয়।
- Learn the six fixed exceptions — I am, Let's, Let us, imperative, There is, have as main verb. — ছয়টি নির্দিষ্ট ব্যতিক্রম মুখস্থ করুন — I am, Let's, Let us, অনুজ্ঞা, There is, মূল ক্রিয়া have।
Quizকুইজ
Tap an answer to check yourself — a free preview of the full graded quiz in the app.
1. Add the tag: 'You are a student, ___?'
2. Add the tag: 'He seldom visits us, ___?'
3. Add the tag: 'Let us go home, ___?'
4. Add the tag: 'There is nobody here, ___?'
5. Add the tag: 'She has a nice voice, ___?'
6. Add the tag: 'He can swim, ___?'
Practiceঅনুশীলন
Try each one, then reveal the answer.
1. Add the tag: 'They live in Sylhet, ___?'
Hint: No auxiliary, positive statement → do + n't.
2. Add the tag: 'You used to live in Khulna, ___?'
Hint: 'Used to' is treated as a past simple verb.
3. Add the tag: 'Don't touch it, ___?'
Hint: A negative imperative still takes 'will you'.
4. Add the tag: 'Few people understood him, ___?'
Hint: 'Few' without 'a' is negative.
5. Add the tag: 'Everything is ready, ___?'
Hint: 'Everything' takes 'it', unlike 'everyone' which takes 'they'.
6. Add the tag: 'We ought to help them, ___?'
Hint: 'Ought to' repeats itself in the tag; 'shouldn't we' is also accepted.
Related Lessonsসম্পর্কিত পাঠ
- Auxiliary Verbs (Be, Do, Have)Auxiliary verbs in Bangla and English: how be, do and have help build tenses, questions and negatives, with rules, examples, common mistakes and a free quiz.
- Modal Verbs (Can, Could, May, Might, Must)Learn modal verbs (can, could, may, might, must) in Bangla and English: rules for ability, permission, possibility and obligation, with examples and a free quiz.
- Substitution Table: How to Make Five Correct SentencesSubstitution table for SSC English 2nd paper: how to build five meaningful sentences from the columns, with Bangla explanation, worked examples and practice.
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Practise with the AI teacher →Frequently Asked Questionsসাধারণ জিজ্ঞাসা
Are 'question tags' and 'tag questions' the same thing?
Yes. Grammar books usually say 'question tags'; the SSC English second paper calls the item 'Tag questions'. The rules on this page are the same for both names.
How many marks are tag questions worth in SSC?
Five marks in English second paper — five statements, one mark each. Because the exceptions repeat every year, it is one of the most predictable items on the paper.
Why is it 'aren't I' and not 'amn't I'?
English simply has no contraction for 'am not' in a question tag, so 'aren't I' filled the gap and became standard. It is an exception to memorise, not a rule to work out.
What is the difference between 'Let's' and 'Let us' in tag questions?
'Let's' is a proposal that includes the listener, so it takes 'shall we'. 'Let us' asking someone for permission is a request to that person, so it takes 'will you'.
Does a tag question always need a comma?
Yes. The statement is separated from the tag by a comma, and the tag ends with a question mark: 'He is ready, isn't he?'