People can ask a question using a question tag for
two reasons:
1) They are unsure of the answer, and want to
check if it's true.
2) They feel sure of the answer, and want someone
to agree with them.
They show the difference by the way they move their
voice on the question tag. Listen to these two
examples:
VOICE
GOES UP AT THE END = SPEAKER UNSURE
But it's not
really a sport,
is it? (Voice goes up at the end: the
speaker is unsure)
VOICE
GOES DOWN AT THE END = SPEAKER SURE
It wouldn't be an
Olympic sport if it was so easy,
would it? (Voice goes down at the end: the
speaker is sure)
You can practise this grammar in
the activity below.
Question tags:
pronunciation
ACTIVITY 291:
Now, listen carefully to these questions
using question tags and choose the best alternative (UP or
DOWN) from the menus. Then check your answers.
QUESTION 1
You need a good
body for this, don't you?
QUESTION 2
There's
nothing physically difficult about that, is there?
