Questions · CEFR C1 · Fluent
Tags that catch people out — English questions
A handful of tags do not follow the rule: I am takes aren't I, let's takes shall we, and a negative word in the sentence makes the tag positive.
The shape
I am… aren't I? · Let's… shall we? · Nobody came… did they?
Get the tag right when the sentence is awkward.
In Hindi
कुछ tag नियम से नहीं चलते — I am के साथ aren't I, let's के साथ shall we।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
Nobody called, didn't they? | Nobody called, did they? "Nobody" already makes the sentence negative, so the tag turns positive. |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Questions people ask
- What is the tags that catch people out used for?
- A handful of tags do not follow the rule: I am takes aren't I, let's takes shall we, and a negative word in the sentence makes the tag positive. In practice: get the tag right when the sentence is awkward.
- How do you form the tags that catch people out?
- I am… aren't I? · Let's… shall we? · Nobody came… did they?.
- What is the most common mistake with the tags that catch people out?
- Saying “Nobody called, didn't they?” instead of “Nobody called, did they?”. "Nobody" already makes the sentence negative, so the tag turns positive.
Where tags that catch people out fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
Tags that catch people out is a CEFR C1 structure — the fluent band — and it belongs to questions. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
Practise the tags that catch people out →