Home Grammar Girl Question Tags

Question Tags

January 26, 2012
Punctuation

iTunes

Podcast RSS

Article RSS

Tools

Download MP3

Comments (6)

Facebook

Twitter

Stumbleupon

Digg

Delicious

Tip Sponsored By

by Mignon Fogarty

How do you turn a statement into a question? With a question tag, of course!

A question tag isn't a piece of paper you hang around a statement's neck or stick on its lapel, it's a little add-on question at the end of a statement. Question tags can make a huge difference in the tone and meaning of a sentence:

You remembered my birthday! (Statement. Happy.)
You remembered my birthday, right? (Question. Hesitant or accusing.)

He wouldn't forget my birthday. (Statement. Confident.)
He wouldn’t forget my birthday, would he? (Question. Uncertain.)

Related Articles

Do Rhetorical Questions Need a Question Mark?
Punctuating Questions

Get more tips like this in The Grammar Devotional:

Print: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s

E-book: Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple iBook

Facebook Twitter Stumbleupon Reddit Digg Delicious

Was this Tip Helpful?

Yes

Comments for Question Tags

Subscribe to Comments

John
1/29/2012 9:10:25 PM

In most cases, I'd say you could just leave it singular: "Eat Your Heart Out" would be a perfectly acceptable slogan, unless there's a specifically plural referent. In which case, yes, "hearts" would be correct

Angie
1/26/2012 8:09:42 PM

Grammar Girl, how do you punctuate a tag question that's not really a question, but is actually an accusation (eg, "You ate the last brownie, didn't you.")? Do the same rules apply?

Jonathan
1/26/2012 5:43:34 PM

Robin, "hearts" should not be possessive. If "hearts" were to be possessive, the meaning of that sentence would be that "out" is owned by the "heart," and you would be telling the other person to eat it.

Perry
1/26/2012 3:45:10 PM

Just 'hearts'. No apostrophe needed.

Hasan
1/26/2012 3:00:40 PM

Good, Mignon.

Robin
1/26/2012 1:39:56 PM

I'm designing a promotional piece using the phrase "Eat Your Hearts Out" which I'd like to use as name of the restaurant awards program - should "hearts" be possessive and if so, "heart's or hearts'? Help!!!

Thanks,
Robin

Add Comment


Name:	*
Email:	*
Comment:	*
	*

	Fields marked with "*" are required.

Have a Question or a Tip For Us? Submit it Here!

Subscribe

To Grammar Girl's Free Newsletter

Question Tags

How do you turn a statement into a question? With a question tag, of course!

A question tag isn't a piece of paper you hang around a statement's neck or stick on its lapel, it's a little add-on question at the end of a statement. Question tags can make a huge difference in the tone and meaning of a sentence:

You remembered my birthday! (Statement. Happy.)

You remembered my birthday, right? (Question. Hesitant or accusing.)

He wouldn't forget my birthday. (Statement. Confident.)

He wouldn’t forget my birthday, would he? (Question. Uncertain.)

Do you speak Dog 101? Start now.