Canonical form

A tag question is a subordinate interrogative clause consisting of the operator of a preceding (often main) clause, typically with reverse polarity (if the preceding-clause operator is affirmative, the tag-clause operator is negative, and vice versa), followed by a pronoun whose antecedent is the subject of the preceding clause: Julia can help, can't she? James can't help that, can he? When the tag is negative, the contraction n't is usual. The tag question normally occurs at the end of the preceding clause, as in the examples cited. It may have either the rising intonation often associated with yes/no-questions, or the falling intonation associated with statements. In written form, a terminal question mark does not necessarily indicate intonation, but may be only conventional. A terminal period, however, is likely to suggest falling intonation. If there is no operator in the preceding clause, the appropriate form of do is used in the tag question: They came, didn't they?

The tag question is a common-core English construction, but it has some specifically British forms and uses (Algeo 1988a).

Anomalous forms

Constant polarity

Affirmative polarity

Constant affirmative polarity, although not the norm, is nevertheless quite normal, in the sense of being acceptable and not infrequent. Constant affirmative-polarity tag questions ask for confirmation of a statement whose truth is assumed, especially when they have falling intonation.

1. are you <Anyway, you're letting them go, are you?> 1977 Barnard 132.

2. did you <You put your heart into it, did you?> 1985 Mann 165.

3. do they <They do, do they?> 2003 Rowling 441.

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