Tag Questions en Inglés: Preguntas Coletilla

Question Tags / Preguntas Coletilla

Las Questions Tags (o Tag Questions) convierten una afirmación en una pregunta.

Las Questions Tags generalmente son utilizadas para confirmar información que creemos es cierta. Las Questions Tags generalmente son utilizadas para acuerdos o confirmaciones. Tienen un significado similar a: Am I right? o Do you agree?

Cuando la cláusula principal es positiva, la pregunta es negativa.

Ejemplo:

It's hot, isn't it?

Cuando la cláusula principal es negativa, la pregunta es positiva.

Ejemplo:

It isn't hot, is it?

La cláusula principal y la pregunta siempre deben estar en el mismo tiempo gramatical.

Obviamente la cláusula principal y la pregunta siempre deben estar separadas por coma.

Generalmente la pregunta (question tag) utiliza una contracción. Ejemplos:

aren't you?

isn't it?

wasn't she?

weren't they?

don't you?

doesn't he?

didn't you?

won't you?

can't you?

La pregunta siempre debe utilizar pronombres en lugar de sustantivos.

Excepciones

Hay una excepción en Las Questions Tags que te puede sonar un poco rara.

La Question Tag de I am es aren't I?

Ejemplo:

I am late, aren't I?

La Question Tag de Let's es shall we?

Ejemplo:

Let's go shopping, shall we?

La Question Tag del Imperativo es will you?

Ejemplo:

Open the door, will you?

Don't smoke here, will you?

Las oraciones que comienzan con nobody, nothing, none, neither, etc. son negativas. Por lo tanto la question tag debe ser positiva. Ejemplos:

Example	Translation
Nobody likes you, do they?	No le gustas a nadie, ¿verdad?
Nothing is forever, is it?	Nada es para siempre, ¿verdad?

Las Questions Tags se pueden utilizar con todos los tiempos gramaticales (Presente Simple, Presente Perfecto, Presente Continuo, Pasado Simple, etc) y con todos los verbos modales (can, could, should, must, etc).

Positive Statement/Declaración Positiva	Negative Tag/Pregunta Negativa
I	am	happy,	aren't I?
You	are	a doctor,	aren't you?
He	is	nervous,	isn't he?
She	was	sad,	wasn't she?
They	were	friends,	weren't they?
You	speak	Spanish,	don't you?
He	speaks	French,	doesn't he?
She	works	hard,	doesn't she?
We	play	soccer,	don't we?
You	did	your homework,	didn't you?
She	waited	for me,	didn't she?
They	went	to school,	didn't they?
You	will come	home,	won't you?
She	will make	dinner,	won't she?
You	have been	to Bolivia,	haven't you?
It	has rained	this month,	hasn't it?
You	had met	Carlos before,	hadn't you?
I	can use	your pen,	can't I?
You	should stop	smoking,	shouldn't you?
She	must go	home,	mustn't she?
He	would like	a sandwich,	wouldn't he?

A continuación más ejemplos:

Verb To Be/Verbo Ser Estar

Example	Translation
I am from Bolivia, aren't I?	Soy de Bolivia, ¿no?
I am tall, aren't I?	Soy alto, ¿no?
I am a doctor, aren't I?	Soy doctor, ¿no?
You are late, aren't you?	Llegas tarde, ¿no?
You are not happy, are you?	No eres feliz, ¿verdad?
Carmen and Sara were not busy, were they?	Carmen y Sara no estaban ocupadas, ¿verdad?

Simple Present/Presente Simple

Example	Translation
Pedro does not eat meat, does he?	Pedro no come carne, ¿verdad?
Pedro and Carlos play soccer every weekend, don't they?	Pedro y Carlos juegan fútbol todos los fines de semana, ¿no?
The Earth rotates around the sun, doesn't it?	La Tierra gira alrededor del sol, ¿no?
Water boils at one hundred degrees, doesn't it?	El agua hierve a cien grados, ¿verdad?
The sun rises in the east, doesn't it?	El sol sale por el este, ¿verdad?

Simple Past/Pasado Simple

Example	Translation
Juan ate chicken last night, didn't he?	Juan comió pollo anoche, ¿verdad?
I waited in line for one hour, didn't I?	Esperé en la cola durante una hora, ¿no?
Carmen studied English for one year, didn't she?	Carmen estudió inglés durante un año, ¿verdad?
You traveled to Japan last year, didn't you?	Viajaste a Japón el año pasado, ¿no?
They live in Rome, don't they?	Viven en Roma, ¿no?

Simple Future/Futuro Simple

Example	Translation
You will call me, won't you?	Me llamarás, ¿verdad?
Carmen will not travel to London, will she?	Carmen no viajará a Londres, ¿verdad?
We will get married next month, won't we?	Nos casaremos el mes que viene, ¿no?
You won't be late, will you?	No llegarás tarde, ¿verdad?
I won't tell your mother, will I?	No le diré a tu madre, ¿verdad?

Present Continuous/Presente Continuo

Example	Translation
You are studying English grammar right now, aren't you?	Estás estudiando gramática inglesa en este momento, ¿no?
Carla is not swimming right now, is she?	Carla no está nadando ahora, ¿verdad?
We are visiting our parents tonight, aren't we?	Estamos visitando a nuestros padres esta noche, ¿no?
They are complaining, aren't they?	Se están quejando, ¿no?
He is helping you, isn't he?	Él te está ayudando, ¿no?

Past Continuous/Pasado Continuo

Example	Translation
You were walking home, weren't you?	Estabas caminando a casa, ¿no?
He was eating pizza, wasn't he?	Estaba comiendo pizza, ¿no?
I was driving home, wasn't I?	Estaba conduciendo a casa, ¿no?
You were working, weren't you?	Estabas trabajando, ¿no?
She was not sleeping, was she?	Ella no estaba durmiendo, ¿verdad?

Present Perfect/Presente Perfecto

Example	Translation
He has been to Argentina, hasn't he?	Él ha estado en Argentina, ¿no?
It has not rained this year, has it?	No ha llovido este año, ¿verdad?
You haven't seen mom today, have you?	No has visto a mamá hoy, ¿verdad?
You have cleaned your room, haven't you?	Has limpiado tu habitación, ¿no?
She has seen 'The Matrix', hasn't she?	Ella ha visto 'The Matrix', ¿no?

Past Perfect/Pasado Perfecto

Example	Translation
I had met Gabriela before the party, hadn't I?	Había conocido a Gabriela antes de la fiesta, ¿no?
My mom had left before the accident, hadn't she?	Mi madre se había ido antes del accidente, ¿no?
The criminals had escaped when the police arrived, hadn't they?	Los delincuentes habían escapado cuando llegó la policía, ¿no?
You had saved your files when your computer crashed, hadn't you?	Habías guardado tus archivos cuando tu computadora se bloqueó, ¿no?
You had slept before 10pm, hadn't you?	Habías dormido antes de las 10pm, ¿no?

Modal Verbs/Verbos Modales

Example	Translation
You could play the piano before the arthritis, couldn't you?	Podrías tocar el piano antes de la artritis, ¿verdad?
Dad could ride a horse when he was younger, couldn't he?	Papá podía montar a caballo cuando era más joven, ¿no?
You must wear a seatbelt, mustn't you?	Debes usar el cinturón de seguridad, ¿no?
Mom should take her medicine, shouldn't she?	Mamá debería tomar su medicina, ¿no?
They must work harder, mustn't they?	Deben trabajar más duro, ¿no?
You would like a better job, wouldn't you?	Te gustaría un mejor trabajo, ¿no?