中文（繁體）
中文（简体）
English
Primary English | Question Tags for Tutors — Three Rules, Five Exceptions, Four Errors
A pupil writes She likes tea, isn’t she because only the idea of adding a short question was remembered. This lesson splits the tag into two steps: find the auxiliary, then swap the subject for a pronoun.
Objectives — Pupils can: (1) state the three rules of question tags: positive with a negative tag, negative with a positive tag, and the same auxiliary; (2) build do, does or did when the sentence has no auxiliary, as in She likes tea, doesn’t she; (3) name the exceptions for I am, Let us and imperatives, and write one sentence of each.
01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)
If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.
| Skill | Quick check | Pass mark |
|---|---|---|
| Subject pronouns | Which pronoun replaces my brother? | he |
| Auxiliaries | Name the three basic auxiliaries for present and past | do, does, did |
| Contractions | What is the contraction of is not? | isn’t |
02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)
| Time | Stage | Tutor does | Student does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-5 min | Faulty sentence | Write She likes tea, isn’t she and ask who the question is about | Point out the mismatch |
| 5-14 min | Two steps | Model step one, find the auxiliary, and step two, swap in a pronoun | Draw two arrows under the sentence |
| 14-31 min | Three scripts | Run the three rules, the source of do and does, and the exceptions | Repeat one rule after each script |
| 31-39 min | Four item types | Model a gap fill, a correction, a matching task and a dialogue line | Do one of each alone |
| 39-43 min | Intonation | Read one tag with a rising tone and once with a falling tone | Copy both and say which one really asks |
| 43-45 min | Exit check | Collect three answers and mark them at once | Work alone |
03 Teaching script (read it out)
Scene 1: Script one: three rules at once
A question tag has only three rules. First, a positive sentence takes a negative tag: She likes tea, doesn’t she. Second, a negative sentence takes a positive tag: She doesn’t like tea, does she. Third, the tag repeats the same auxiliary. The third rule is the one exams test most.
A positive sentence takes a positive or a negative tag?
Scene 2: Script two: no auxiliary in the sentence
If you cannot see is, are, can or have, the sentence has only a main verb, so you build the auxiliary yourself. Likes is third person singular, so use doesn’t. Liked is past, so use didn’t. Like is base, so use don’t. Then replace the subject with a pronoun: She likes tea, doesn’t she, never doesn’t She likes tea.
Which three words can you build when a sentence has no auxiliary?
Scene 3: Script three: five exceptions
Five exceptions are worth memorising. I am late, aren’t I, never amn’t I. Let us go, shall we. Imperatives take will you, as in Open the door, will you. There is a park, isn’t there. Finally, never and hardly look positive but mean negative, so the tag stays positive: She never cries, does she.
What is the tag after I am?
04 Question types and worked steps
| Type | Example | Steps | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gap fill | She likes tea, ___? | Find the auxiliary, build doesn’t, then swap in the pronoun | doesn’t she |
| Correction | They didn’t come, didn’t they? | The sentence is negative, so the tag must be positive and reuse did | They didn’t come, did they? |
| Matching | Join five sentences to five tags | Check polarity first, then check the auxiliary matches | All five pairs reverse polarity and reuse the auxiliary |
| Dialogue | A: You have finished, ___? B: Yes, I have. | Have is already there, so take the negative haven’t plus you | haven’t you |
Sanity check (teach this): Reasonableness check: every tag must do two things at once, reverse the polarity and repeat the auxiliary. Fail either and the tag is wrong. She likes tea, isn’t she fails on the auxiliary, because there is no is in the sentence. They didn’t come, didn’t they fails on polarity. Two questions per sentence beat comparing with an answer key.
05 Independent practice (3 questions)
| Question | Answer | What to watch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gap fill | He can swim, ___? | Can is already there, so take the negative and swap in he | can’t he |
| Gap fill | You never eat beef, ___? | Never counts as negative, so the tag is positive: do you | |
| Correction | Let’s start, will we? | Let us always takes shall we | |
| Dialogue | A: Open the window, ___? B: Sure. | Imperatives take will you |
06 Common mistakes and what to say
| Mistake | Student writes | Say this |
|---|---|---|
| Swapping in another auxiliary | She likes tea, isn’t she? | There is no is in the sentence, so is cannot come back. Likes takes doesn’t, so doesn’t she. |
| Leaving the full subject in the tag | My brother is tall, isn’t my brother? | Only a pronoun goes in the tag: isn’t he. English never repeats the full noun there. |
| Two negatives | They didn’t come, didn’t they? | The sentence is already negative, so the tag must be positive: did they. Two negatives reverse the meaning. |
| Treating never as positive | She never cries, doesn’t she? | Never already carries a negative meaning, so the tag is positive: does she. |
07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)
- P5 English paper, Section A connectives — Section A A3, items 1 to 5: fill the connective, then add a question tag to each sentence
- P5 English paper, Section C writing — Section C: write four dialogue lines, two of them with a question tag, and read them with a rising tone
- Primary English chapter index — Full chapter list: tenses, verb patterns, reading strategies and writing steps
08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)
| Question | Answer | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| She likes tea, ___? | doesn’t she | isn’t she means the auxiliary step is missing; reteach script two |
| Let’s go, ___? | shall we | will we means the exceptions are not memorised; reteach script three |
| They didn’t come, ___? | did they | didn’t they means polarity is not secure; reteach script one |
09 Tutor FAQ
Do Primary 5 pupils need all five exceptions?
They should recognise and write all five, but only I am and Let us need explaining. The other three are recognition items that appear in school papers.
Why practise intonation?
A falling tag confirms, a rising tag really asks. Pupils who cannot hear the difference lose marks in dialogue tasks and later in secondary oral exams.
Can pupils just memorise sentence patterns?
Patterns only cover the same subject and verb. The two steps taught here, find the auxiliary and swap the pronoun, work on sentences the pupil has never seen.
Find a tutor — freeTutor Registration →
A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.