Question Tags

Question Tags (সংক্ষিপ্ত অনুসর্গ-প্রশ্ন)

Question Tag কী?

Statement-এর শেষে যোগ করা ছোট question-কে question tag বলে। বক্তা confirmation, agreement, reassurance বা response চান।

• She is a teacher, isn't she?
• They have arrived, haven't they?

Basic Rule: Opposite Polarity

Positive statement → negative tag

• Rina is ready, isn't she?

Negative statement → positive tag

• Rina is not ready, is she?

Tag-এ appropriate auxiliary + pronoun ব্যবহৃত হয়।

Auxiliary Selection

Statement-এ auxiliary/modal থাকলে সেটিই tag-এ পুনরাবৃত্ত হয়।

• She is reading, isn't she?
• They have finished, haven't they?
• He can swim, can't he?
• You will come, won't you?

Do/Does/Did Tags

Statement-এ auxiliary না থাকলে tense ও subject অনুযায়ী do/does/did।

• You like tea, don't you?
• She likes tea, doesn't she?
• They went home, didn't they?

Tag Subject Must Be a Pronoun

Tag-এ noun পুনরাবৃত্ত না করে pronoun ব্যবহার হয়।

• Rina is ready, isn't she?
• The boys are playing, aren't they?
• The book is useful, isn't it?

Be Verb

• He is late, isn't he?
• They were ready, weren't they?
• She wasn't angry, was she?

I am → aren't I?

Standard special form:

• I am late, aren't I?

Negative statement:

• I am not late, am I?

Have: Auxiliary or Main Verb

Perfect auxiliary হলে have tag:

• She has finished, hasn't she?

Possession-এর main verb হিসেবে varieties আছে; formal British English-এ hasn't she?, do-support-এ doesn't she? দুটোই context/style অনুযায়ী হতে পারে।

• She has a car, hasn't she?
• She has a car, doesn't she?

Have to obligation হলে do-support সাধারণ:

• She has to leave, doesn't she?

Modal Tags

• You can help, can't you?
• She should study, shouldn't she?
• They must obey, mustn't they?
• He would agree, wouldn't he?
• We may enter, mayn't we? — formal/less common

Natural usage ও available option বিবেচনা করুন।

Negative Words Make a Positive Tag

never, hardly, scarcely, rarely, seldom, little, few, nobody, no one, nothing, neither negative sense বহন করে।

• He never lies, does he?
• She hardly speaks, does she?
• Few students understood, did they?
• Nothing happened, did it?

A few/a little positive sense, তাই negative tag:

• A few students came, didn't they?
• A little water remains, doesn't it?

Everyone, Everybody, Someone, Somebody

Tag pronoun সাধারণত they।

• Everyone is ready, aren't they?
• Somebody called, didn't they?
• No one objected, did they?

Modern standard English-এ singular they স্বাভাবিক।

Everything, Something, Nothing

Tag pronoun it।

• Everything is ready, isn't it?
• Something happened, didn't it?
• Nothing was lost, was it?

This and That

Tag pronoun it।

• This is your book, isn't it?
• That was surprising, wasn't it?

These and Those

Tag pronoun they।

• These are fresh, aren't they?
• Those were yours, weren't they?

There as Introductory Subject

Tag-এও there থাকে।

• There is a problem, isn't there?
• There were no mistakes, were there?

One

Formal style-এ one পুনরাবৃত্ত হতে পারে।

• One should keep one's promise, shouldn't one?

Informal usage-এ you/they context অনুযায়ী দেখা যায়, কিন্তু formal examination form-এ one নিরাপদ।

Imperative Sentences

Command/request-এর common tags: will you, won't you, would you, can you, could you। Tone অনুযায়ী নির্বাচন।

• Open the door, will you?
• Please help me, will you?
• Have another cup of tea, won't you?
• Don't make noise, will you?

Negative imperative-এ সাধারণত will you।

Let Us / Let's

Let's = suggestion including speaker

Tag: shall we?

• Let's begin, shall we?

Let us = permission/request in some contexts

Tag: will you?

• Let us enter, will you?

Meaning দেখে distinction করতে হবে।

Let Me

Tag সাধারণত will you?

• Let me speak, will you?

Used to

Modern standard tag সাধারণত did।

• He used to live here, didn't he?

Ought to

Formal tag:

• We ought to help, oughtn't we?

Need and Dare

Modal use হলে একই modal tag:

• You needn't worry, need you?
• He dare not object, dare he?

Main verb use হলে do-support:

• She needs help, doesn't she?
• He dared to speak, didn't he?

Must: Meaning Matters

Obligation

• You must follow the rules, mustn't you?

Strong deduction

Tag কখনও underlying be/have/time অনুযায়ী হয়:

• He must be tired, isn't he?
• She must have arrived, hasn't she?

Exam context-এ sentence-এর intended meaning গুরুত্বপূর্ণ।

I Think / I Believe Structures

First-person introductory opinion হলে tag সাধারণত subordinate proposition অনুযায়ী।

• I think she is right, isn't she?
• I don't think he will come, will he?

অন্য subject হলে main clause অনুযায়ী tag বেশি স্বাভাবিক:

• She thinks he is right, doesn't she?

Compound Statements

Tag সাধারণত speaker-এর প্রধান assertion অনুযায়ী নির্ধারিত হয়।

• He came home and went to bed, didn't he?

দুটি স্বাধীন subject/claim থাকলে একটিমাত্র tag অস্পষ্ট হতে পারে; sentence পুনর্লিখন ভালো।

Exclamatory Statements

Underlying statement অনুযায়ী tag হতে পারে।

• What a beautiful day it is, isn't it?

Requests with Could/Would

Statement structure অনুযায়ী tag mechanicalভাবে তৈরি করা সবসময় natural নয়। Polite request-এ fixed tag/context বুঝুন।

• You could help me, couldn't you?
• You wouldn't mind waiting, would you?

Intonation and Meaning

Rising intonation

বক্তা সত্যিই confirmation চান বা অনিশ্চিত।

• You met her, didn't you? ↗

Falling intonation

বক্তা agreement আশা করেন বা প্রায় নিশ্চিত।

• It's a lovely day, isn't it? ↘

Written form একই হলেও spoken meaning intonation-এ বদলায়।

Same-polarity Tags

Surprise, challenge, sarcasm বা emotional reaction-এ positive-positive/negative-negative tag দেখা যেতে পারে।

• So you think you are clever, do you?
• You won't apologise, won't you?

এগুলি ordinary confirmation tag-এর basic rule নয়; context-sensitive marked usage।

Short Answers

Question tag-এর reply বাস্তব fact অনুযায়ী, tag-এর negative wording অনুযায়ী নয়।

• You don't know him, do you?
• Yes, I do. = আমি তাকে চিনি।
• No, I don't. = আমি তাকে চিনি না।

Common Errors

• Incorrect: She is ready, is she?

Correct ordinary tag: She is ready, isn't she?

• Incorrect: He plays well, isn't he?

Correct: He plays well, doesn't he?

• Incorrect: I am late, amn't I?

Standard: I am late, aren't I?

• Incorrect: Everyone is ready, isn't he?

Correct: Everyone is ready, aren't they?

• Incorrect: Nothing happened, didn't it?

Correct: Nothing happened, did it?

• Incorrect: Let's go, will you?

Correct: Let's go, shall we?

• Incorrect: There is a problem, isn't it?

Correct: There is a problem, isn't there?

• Incorrect: She hardly works, doesn't she?

Correct: She hardly works, does she?

A Reliable Solving Method

1. Statement-এর grammatical subject চিহ্নিত করুন।
2. Positive না negative sense নির্ধারণ করুন—negative word খেয়াল করুন।
3. Finite auxiliary/modal খুঁজুন; না থাকলে do-support নিন।
4. Subject-এর উপযুক্ত pronoun নির্বাচন করুন।
5. Imperative, let's, there, indefinite pronoun বা must-এর special rule আছে কি না দেখুন।
6. Opposite polarity দিয়ে tag গঠন করুন।