GUIDING THE 11TH FORM STUDENTS HOW TO USE TAG QUESTIONS EFFECTIVELY

When I teach my students how to use tag questions in part E of Unit 15 of the textbook of English 11 – basic curriculum, they seem to feel confused.. It is enthusiasm and career passion

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Reasons to choose the theme

Nowadays, English is playing a very important role in the globle development.

Therefore, the teaching of English has been improved in method of communicative The importance of English is acknowledged by the Vietnamese government and as

a result of the English language programes are made compulsory beginning at all levels of education

Tag questions are an essential part of everyday communication and perform many different functions at all levels However, these are really difficult topics when to use tag questions appropriately Because our students are too familiar with the use of auxiliary to make questions When I teach my students how to use tag questions in part E of Unit 15 of the textbook of English 11 – basic curriculum, they seem to feel confused

It is enthusiasm and career passion that motivate me to write this experience

innovation with aims to share some of my opinions on topic related to tag questions for grade- 11 students as well as help both my colleagues and my students partically remove the difficultly when teaching related lesson For this reason i choose the

theme- “GUIDING THE 11 TH FORM STUDENTS HOW TO USE TAG QUESTIONS EFFECTIVELY ”

2 Purposes of the research.

The main purposes of the research are:

- To help students understand the form of tag questions

- To help students know how to use tag questions

- To help students know how to respond to tag questions, and understand the

intonation used in tag questions

- To hope to provide reference materials for teachers or students who intend to master the language of English or want to make their English more natural and more fluent

3 Method of the research.

- Gathering the information from the internet and reference books

- Asking for experiences from my colleagues

- Teaching some classes based on the experience as the result of the reality of the long time process of my daily teaching at school

- Giving test for assessment

- Gathering students’ results and evaluate

4 Objective and Scope of the research.

The objective of the study is to help my students limit some common errors when they use tag questions and can do exercises related to tag questions well such as: chose the correct question tags to complete sentences, fill in blanks with

question tag Match the sentences with the correct question tags These exercises are collected from a variety of kinds of material sources The study was carried on students in two classes 11 B3 and 11B7 at Thach Thanh 2 high school

PART II: PROBLEM SOLVING 1 Theoretic basis of the problem

As mentioned, tag questions play a vital role in learning English Anyone who does not know them well are not considered as good learners or speakers

Tag questions mainly occur around the textbook of English 11 and are the main contents of part E – Language Focus in English 11 at unit 15 The only way to master them is to learn by heart and to practise them again and again This research hopes to be a good material for both teachers and students in their teaching and learning

2 Practical basis of the problem

Thach Thanh 2 high school is one of the mountainous schools in Thanh Hoa province People mainly live on rice and sugar canes, the living standard is very low As a result, students have not had much good chance of studying and using English until recently Students (and even their teachers) do not have an English environment to practice There has not been an even class for group D or A1 because most of the students here take part in the others groups such as: A, B, C Learning English here has not still been really important to students and people here As common in other high schools in Vietnam, the students in this school have

to take English as a compulsory subject in the curriculum and study it three periods

a week ( 1 period = 45 minutes), for 37 weeks a year Therefore, the English teachers have so much difficulty in teaching English

Working as a teacher for a long time, I myself understand the nature of the problem and usually find it necessary to find out the ways to improve the situation

I try my best to do this research with a view to getting my students and other teachers to benefit from it by giving them more opportunities to practise and to better their English

3 Solutions to the problem

After studying the content of the textbooks English 11, especially the part E – Language Focus of units 15, and taking deep investigation into this problem, I have found out some useful measures to deal with this problem

- For students who have not mastered grammar, school leaders or teachers need to increase more periods out of the curriculum in school

- Teachers need more than an illustration which is accurate, concise and

vivid for each grammar trait

- Teaching for different classes, different levels of students should be applied different methods of teaching For example, the theory of tag questions is so

complicated and it makes students confused so when i teach my students, I base on the reality of the problems: for elementary level and intermediate level

I elicite students’ awareness of the use of question tag in ordinary verbs on the other hand for advanced level or gifted students i introduce both the use of question tag in ordinary and special vebs

- For homework, besides asking students to do exercises in textbooks, teachers should have available amount of tests related to language focus

PART A : THEORY OF TAG QUESTIONS

The theory of tag questions is so complicated and it makes students confused

To help my students gain benefits from the lesson When teaching tag questions, I ask them to watch for 4 following points :

- What tense is the verb?

- What kind of verb is it?( tobe/ other verbs)

- Is the sentences affirmative or negative?

- Does the pronouns need to be changed?

1 DEFINITION OF TAG QUESTIONS.

A tag question is a special construction in English It is a statement followed by

a mini question added after a sentence that confirms the information someone is

asking or encouraging a reply from the person we are asking to They mean

something like “ is it right ?” or do you agree? They are very common in English

EX:

- He could speak French and Italian couldn’t he ?

- She didn’t go home last night Did she ?

2 Form of question tags

The basic structure of a tag question is:

Positive statement Negative tag

Negative statement Positive tag

2.1 Ordinnary verbs

S+ v( s,es,ed/ 2………….)…., don’t, doesn’t, didn’t + personal pronouns? S+ ( don’t, doesn’t, didn’t + v… )… , do, does, did + personal pronouns? 2.2 Special verbs

S+ Special verbs………., Special verbs + not+ S?

S+ Special verbs +not, ………Special verbs+ S?

3 RULES FOR TAG QUESTIONS.

There are lots of different questions tags.There are some main rules as below:

3.1 we use auxiliary verbs to make a sentence “negative of interrogative” so, to make a tag question we use auxiliary verbs They are different in different

tense.The sentence and the question tag must be in the same tense.

EX:

He doesn’t like fish, does he ? ( Present simple tense)

They have visited Halong bay, haven’t they ? (present perfect tense )

They went to school late last week, didn’t they? ( past simple tense )

3.2 Always use Personal pronouns in the question tag, not using proper names EX:

Nam is a good student, isn’t he? ( not isn’t Nam )

They are very kind, aren’t they ?

Hoa isn’t your best friend, is she ?

3.3 A negative statement is followed by a positive question tag

If the main part of a sentence is negative the question tag is positive

EX:

You aren’t a teacher, are you ?

He isn’t crazy, is he ?

He wasn’t relaxed, was he ?

They weren’t on time last night, were they ?

You don’t live in Thach Thanh, do you ?

Lan doesn’t often study hard , does she

He didn’t stydy for the test, did he?

You haven’t been here all weeks, have you?

You hadn’t done it before then , had you ?

He won’t do it again, will he ?

You shouldn’t be so busy, should you ?

3.4 A positive statement is followed by a negative question tag

If the main part of a sentence is positive the question tag is negative

EX:

You are a student , aren’t you?

He is very busy, isn’t he ?

Mrs Hoa is very kind , isn’t she ?

You were worried, weren’t they ?

You speak English, don’t you ?

He studies French, doesn’t he ?

Lan studied for the test, didn’t she?

You have been here all weeks, haven’t you?

You had done it before then , hadn’t you ?

He will study hard do it again, won’t he ?

You could do it for me , couldn’t you ?

You should go home on time, shouldn’t you ?

We must be patient , mustn’t we ?

You would like a new job , wouldn’t you ?

4 SOME SPECIAL CASES OF TAG QUESTIONS:

4 1 When the statement contains a word with a negative meaning, the question tag needs to be positive

EX:

He hardly ever eats fish, does he ?

They rarely eat in restaurants, do they ? She

never goes to school on foot , does she ?

You seldom drink wine, do you ?

I barely know you , do I ?

4.2 Imperative sentences

Sometimes we use question tags with imperative ( invitations, orders) , but the Sentences remains an imperative and does not require a direct answer We use “ won’t” for invitations , we use “ can, can’t, will, would” for order.”

EX:

Close the door , will you ? Don’t

talk in class Will you ? Let’s go

to the cinema, shall we ? Help me

can you ?

Close the door Would you ?

4.3 Tag questions with pronouns

- After a clause with somebody, someone, everybody ,anyone, nobody,

noone , some, the tag pronoun is normally “they”

EX:

Someone tasted my coffee, didn’t they?

All can’t speak at a time, can they?

Somebody wanted a drink, didn’t they ?

Neither of them offered to help you, did they ?

Everybody realized the danger, did they ?

Few people knew the answer, did they?

A few people knew the answer, didn’t they?

- After a clause with everything, nothing, anything, little, something, that, this The tag pronoun is normally “it”

EX:

Everything will be all right, won’t

it ? Nothing is important to you, is it?

Nothing can happen, can it ?

A little progress has been made, hasn’t it?

Very little progress has been made, has it ?

4 4 Tag questions with could , would rather , had better

EX:

You would rather go , wouldn’t you ?

You used to go to school late , didn’t you ?

He’d better stay, hadn’t he ?

4.5.Tag questions with subject “ I” followed by verbs: think, believe, suppose, figure, assume, fancy, imagine, reckon, expect , seem, feel We use surbondinate clause to make question tag

EX:

I think he will come, won’t he ?

I don’t believe Mary can do it, can she ?

Noted : as above model but if subject is not “I” we use main clause to make

question tag :

EX:

She thinks he will come , doesn’t she ?

She doesn’t believe Mary can do it, does she ?

4.6 Tag questions with It seems that + clause We use surbodinate clause to

make question tag

EX:

It seems that you are right, aren’t you?

It seems that he likes going out at night, doesn’t he ?

4.7 Tag questions in noun clause We use “ it” to put at the end of the sentence Ex:

What you have said is wrong, isn’t it?

Why he killed himself seems a secret, doesn’t it?

4.8 Tag question with I am

The negative question tag “ am I not “ has no contraction Because a question tag

with no contraction sounds very pendatic, we prefer a very ungrammatical

constructions but which is correct for question tag: “aren’t I” EX:

I am late, aren’t I ?

I am unlucky , aren’t I ?

4.9 Tag question with MUST:

When we use Must with tag questions, there are some rules when using this and This depends on each situation:

- When we use Must with the idea of obligation We use must to make

the question tag

EX:

You mustn’t come late, must you?

You mustn’t jump on the grass, must you ?

- When we use Must with the idea of assumption / deduction we use another

auxiliary verb to make the tag question such as tobe or do/ does.

EX:

You have worked a lot You must be tired, aren’t you?

He must be a very intelligent student, isn’t he?

She must speak English very well, doesn’t she?

- When we use Must to make predictions in the past We use have/has + v pp

to make question tag

EX:

You must have stolen my bike, haven’t you? She

must have gone out last night, hasn’t she ? Mr

John mustn’t have known about that, has he?

- When we use Must to give necessity We use needn’t to make question

tags EX:

They must study hard, needn’t they?

They must obey the law, needn’t they ?

You must finish the test on time, needn’t you ?

4.10 Tag questions with WISH followed by a question tag: May

Ex: I wish to go out, may I ?

4.11 Intonation

We can change the meaning of a tag question with a musical Pitch of our voice With rising intonation, sound like a real question But if our intonation falls, it sound More a statement that doesn’t require a real answer:

EX:

You don’t know where my wallet is, do you ? ( rising− real question)

It is a beautiful day, isn’t it ? ( falling− not a real question)

PART B: PRACTICE ON TAG QUESTIONS

1 Exercises and suggested answers

EXERCISE 1: Add tag questions to the following.

1/ They want to come,……….?

2/ Elizabeth is a dentist, ……… ?

3/ They won’t be here, ………?

4/ That is your umbrella, ……….?

5/ There aren’t many people here yet, ……… ?

6/ He has a bicycle,………?

7/ Peter would like to come with us to the party, …………?

8/ Those aren’t Fred’s books, ………?

9/ You have never been to Paris,…………?

10/ Something is wrong with Jane today, ………… ?

11/ Everyone can learn how to swim, ……… ?

12/ Nobody cheated in the exam, ……… ?

13/ Nothing went wrong while I was gone, ………… ?

14/ I am invited, ……….?

15/ This bridge is not very safe,……… ?

16/ These sausages are delicious, ……….?

17/ You haven’t lived here long, …………?

18/ The weather forecast wasn’t very good, ……… ?

19/ He’d better come to see me, ?

20/ You need to stay longer, ?

21/ He might be Jack and laura’s father,

22/ She said paris was the most romantic city in the world, ?

23/ Give me a call as soon as you arrive at the airport, ?

24/ I am the only representative of Vietnam in this competition, ?

25/ The price of crude oil used to be a great deal lower than now, ?

ANSWER:

1 don't they

2 isn't she

3 will they

4 isn't it

5 are there

6 doesn't he

7 wouldn't he

8 are they

9 have you

10 isn't it

11 can't they

12 did they

13 did it

14 aren't I

15 is it

16 aren't they

17 have you

18 was it

19 hadn't he

20 don't you

21 mightn’t he

22 wasn’t it

23 will you

24 aren’t i

25 didn’t it

EXERCISE 2: Correct the mistake in question tags below :

1 He couldn’t swim, couldn’t him?

2 Nobody cheated in the exam, didn’t they?

3 You have seen this film, don’t you?

4 His name is Messi, isn’t he?

5 Let’s have a drink, will we?

6 He can speak three languages, isn’t he?

7 I think she is a good teacher, don’t I?

8 You went on a picnic last week, did you?

9 I am a good worker, amn't I ?

10 Jacques and Alicia are students, isn't he?

11 You know that's right, would you ?

12 Neither of the boys came to school today, didn’t they ?

13 Open the door for me, will it ?

14 No-one likes the cake, does she ?

15 I never said I love him, didn’t I ?

16 There’s nothing we can do to help the boys, isn’t there?

17 He seldom goes fishing, doesn’t he ?

18 He used to sell traditional handicrafts, wasn’t he ?

19.She had to do the shopping for her neighbour, hadn’t she ?

20 I ought to have heard by now, oughtn’t to I ?

ANSWER:

1 He couldn’t swim, couldn’t him?  could he

2 Nobody cheated in the exam, didn’t they?  did they

3 You have seen this film, don’t you?  haven’t you

4 His name is Messi, isn’t he?  isn’t it

5 Let’s have a drink, will we?  shall we

6 He can speak three languages, isn’t he?  can’t he

7 I think she is a good teacher, don’t I?  isn’t she

8 You went on a picnic last week, did you?  didn’t you

9 I am a good worker, amn't I ?  aren’t I

10 Jacques and Alicia are students, isn't he?  aren’t they

11 You know that's right, would you ?  don’t you

12 Neither of the boys came to school today, didn’t they ? did they

13 Open the door for me, will it ?  will you

14 No-one likes the cake, does she ?  do they

15 I never said I love him, didn’t I ?  did I

16 There’s nothing we can do to help the boys, isn’t there?  is there

17 He seldom goes fishing, doesn’t he ?  does he

18 He used to sell traditional handicrafts, wasn’t he ? didn’t he didn’t he

19 She had to do the shopping for her neighbour, hadn’t she ?  didn’t she

20 I ought to have heard by now, oughtn’t to I ?  oughtn’t i

EXERCISE 3: Read the situations and write a sentence with a tag question In

each situation you are asking your friend to agree with you

1 You’re with a friend outside a restaurant You’re looking at prices, which are very high

What do you say ?( expensive) It………

2 You’ve just come out of the cinema with a friend You really enjoyed the

film What do you say to your friend ? ( great)

The film………

3 You and your friend are listening to a woman singing You like her voice very much What do you say to your friend? ( a lovely voice)

She………

4 You are tryingon a jacket You look in the mirrow and you don’t like what you see What do you say to your friend ? ( not/ look / very good)

It………

5 Your friend’s hair is much shorter than when you last met What do you say

to her/ him ? (have/ your hair/ cut )

You………

Answer :

1 It is expensive, isn’t it ?

2 The film was great, wasn’t it ?

3 She has a lovely voice, doesn’t she ?

4 It doesn’t look very good, does it ?

5 You’ve had your hair cut, haven’t you ?