What is a tag question?

Definition
	A tag question is a constituent that is added after a statement in order to request confirmation or disconfirmation of the statement from the addressee. Often it expresses the bias of the speaker toward one answer.
	A tag question often includes a
	be verb predicate meaning ‘true’, and negative.

Examples (English, German, French)

The English isn’t he?, as in the following sentence:

He’s a pleasant fellow, isn’t he?
The German nicht wahr? ‘not true?’
The French n’est ce pas? ‘is it not?’

Source:

Sadock and Zwicky 1985 183

Generic
	A tag question is a kind of
	What is a question?

Sources
	Crystal 1985 304
	Hartmann and Stork 1972 233
	Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985 811
	Mish 1991 1201
	Sadock and Zwicky 1985 182–183

Context for this page:

Concept module: tag question
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): T
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

© 2004 SIL International