Les Question Tags en Anglais : isn't it, aren't they...

Definition

Qu'est-ce qu'un question tag ? Definition et fonction

Un question tag (ou tag question) est une courte question ajoutee en fin de phrase qui transforme une affirmation ou une declaration en une demande de confirmation ou d'accord. C'est l'une des caracteristiques les plus distinctives de l'anglais britannique parle, qui contribue a la fluidite et a la nature interactive de la conversation. En francais, l'equivalent le plus proche est l'ajout de "n'est-ce pas ?", "non ?", "si ?" ou "tu vois ?" en fin de phrase.

Les question tags remplissent plusieurs fonctions sociales et communicatives : chercher une confirmation, maintenir le contact avec l'interlocuteur, exprimer de la surprise ou de l'ironie, ou encore verifier que l'autre personne suit et approuve. Ils sont quasi-absents a l'ecrit formel mais omnicomputables dans la conversation anglaise de tous les jours, dans les reunions, les negociations et meme a l'oral des certifications de langue.

Structure generale du question tag

Regle de base

Formation des question tags : la regle d'inversion

La regle principale de formation des question tags est elegante et symetrique : si la phrase principale est affirmative, le tag est negatif. Si la phrase principale est negative, le tag est positif. Cette inversion s'applique sans exception dans les cas standards.

Regle 1 : Phrase affirmative + tag negatif

Phrase principale (affirmative)	Question tag (negatif)
She is a teacher,	isn't she?
They were there,	weren't they?
He can swim,	can't he?
You have finished,	haven't you?
She will come,	won't she?
We should leave,	shouldn't we?
It would be nice,	wouldn't it?

Regle 2 : Phrase negative + tag positif

Phrase principale (negative)	Question tag (positif)
She isn't a teacher,	is she?
They weren't there,	were they?
He can't swim,	can he?
You haven't finished,	have you?
She won't come,	will she?
We shouldn't leave,	should we?
It wouldn't be nice,	would it?

Regle 3 : Avec le present simple et le preterit (sans auxiliaire apparent)

Lorsque la phrase principale ne contient pas d'auxiliaire visible (present simple ou preterit des verbes ordinaires), on forme le tag avec DO/DOES/DID :

Phrase principale	Question tag	Explication
You speak English,	don't you?	Present simple, 2e personne
She works here,	doesn't she?	Present simple, 3e personne
He goes to the gym,	doesn't he?	Present simple, 3e personne
They arrived yesterday,	didn't they?	Preterit
She finished her report,	didn't she?	Preterit
You called me,	didn't you?	Preterit

Cas particuliers

Cas particuliers : I am, LET'S, imperatifs, NOBODY

Plusieurs situations grammaticales sortent du schema standard et requierent des formes specifiques de question tags. Les maitriser permet d'atteindre un niveau de precision linguistique caracteristique des locuteurs avances.

Cas 1 : I AM → aren't I ?

Le question tag de I am est normalement aren't I? (et non amn't I? qui est marginal) :

• I'm right, aren't I? (J'ai raison, n'est-ce pas ?)
• I'm the next in line, aren't I?

La forme tres formelle am I not? existe mais est rare dans la conversation courante.

Cas 2 : LET'S → shall we ?

Les suggestions commencant par Let's prennent toujours le tag shall we? :

• Let's go for a walk, shall we?
• Let's take a short break, shall we?
• Let's not argue about this, shall we?

Cas 3 : Imperatifs → will you ? / won't you ?

Les phrases a l'imperatif (ordres, invitations) prennent will you? ou won't you? comme tag :

• Close the door, will you? (Ferme la porte, tu veux bien ?)
• Be quiet, will you? (Tais-toi, s'il te plait.)
• Have a seat, won't you? (Asseyez-vous donc — plus poli, invitation)
• Don't forget to call me, will you?

Cas 4 : NOBODY, NOTHING, NEVER → tag positif

Les phrases avec des mots de sens negatif implicite (nobody, nothing, never, rarely, hardly, scarcely) prennent un tag positif :

• Nobody called, did they? (Personne n'a appele, si ?)
• Nothing happened, did it?
• She never complains, does she?
• He hardly ever comes, does he?

Cas 5 : THERE IS / THERE ARE

• There is a problem, isn't there?
• There are some chairs, aren't there?
• There wasn't anyone there, was there?

Cas 6 : USED TO et WOULD habitual

• She used to live here, didn't she?
• He would always bring flowers, wouldn't he?

Intonation

L'intonation des question tags : descendante vs montante

En anglais parle, l'intonation du question tag est aussi importante que sa forme grammaticale car elle change le sens communique. Les deux intonations principales - descendante et montante - signalent des intentions communicatives differentes et leur maitrise est caracteristique des locuteurs avances.

Intonation descendante (falling intonation) : la confirmation

L'intonation descendante sur le question tag signale que le locuteur est quasi-certain de ce qu'il dit et cherche simplement une confirmation, un accord ou un acquiescement de l'interlocuteur. C'est de loin le cas le plus frequent dans la conversation anglaise quotidienne :

Intonation montante (rising intonation) : la vraie question

L'intonation montante signale que le locuteur n'est pas certain et pose une vraie question ouverte. Il attend genuinement une reponse informatrice :

• You've been to Japan, have you? (montante : je ne savais pas, c'est vrai ?)
• She won't be late, will she? (montante : j'espere que non mais j'en doute)
• There's a train at 6, isn't there? (montante : je crois mais verifie)

Le tag ironique ou sarcastique : tag positif apres affirmation

Un tag positif apres une phrase affirmative (violation de la regle normale) exprime la surprise, l'ironie ou le sarcasme :

• So you think you're the best, do you? (sarcasme)
• You've decided to quit, have you? (surprise, peut-etre desapprobation)
• Oh, you know everything about it, do you? (ironie)

Reponses

Comment repondre a un question tag en anglais

Repondre correctement a un question tag est l'un des aspects les plus delicats pour les francophones, car la logique differe du francais. En anglais, la reponse se base sur la realite des faits et non sur la formulation negative ou positive du tag.

La regle fondamentale des reponses

On repond YES si la realite est affirmative, NO si la realite est negative — independamment de la forme du tag ou de la phrase principale :

Question tag	Realite positive → reponse	Realite negative → reponse
She isn't coming, is she?	Yes, she is. (si, elle vient)	No, she isn't. (non, elle ne vient pas)
You've met him, haven't you?	Yes, I have. (oui, je l'ai rencontre)	No, I haven't. (non, je ne l'ai pas rencontre)
He doesn't speak French, does he?	Yes, he does. (si, il parle francais)	No, he doesn't. (non, il ne parle pas francais)
They were there, weren't they?	Yes, they were. (oui, ils y etaient)	No, they weren't. (non, ils n'y etaient pas)

Les reponses courtes (short answers)

En anglais parle, on utilise presque toujours des reponses courtes plutot que des reponses completes. La structure est : Yes/No + pronom + auxiliaire :

• Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.
• Yes, she does. / No, she doesn't.
• Yes, they have. / No, they haven't.
• Yes, he can. / No, he can't.

Tableau complet

Tableau complet des question tags par temps et auxiliaire

Ce tableau de reference couvre les principaux temps grammaticaux et auxiliaires utilises en anglais et leurs question tags correspondants. Il constitue une reference pratique pour construire correctement n'importe quel tag.

Temps / Structure	Phrase affirmative + tag negatif	Phrase negative + tag positif
Present BE	She is here, isn't she?	She isn't here, is she?
Preterit BE	They were late, weren't they?	They weren't late, were they?
Present simple	He works here, doesn't he?	He doesn't work here, does he?
Preterit simple	She left early, didn't she?	She didn't leave early, did she?
Present perfect	You've met him, haven't you?	You haven't met him, have you?
Past perfect	He'd finished, hadn't he?	He hadn't finished, had he?
Present progressif	She's coming, isn't she?	She isn't coming, is she?
Futur WILL	They'll help, won't they?	They won't help, will they?
CAN	She can drive, can't she?	She can't drive, can she?
COULD	You could help, couldn't you?	You couldn't help, could you?
SHOULD	We should go, shouldn't we?	We shouldn't go, should we?
MUST	You must leave, mustn't you?	-
HAVE TO	She has to go, doesn't she?	She doesn't have to go, does she?
I AM	I'm right, aren't I?	I'm not right, am I?
LET'S	Let's go, shall we?	Let's not go, shall we?
Imperatif	Come here, will you?	Don't be late, will you?
THERE IS	There's a problem, isn't there?	There isn't a problem, is there?

Exercices

Exercices pratiques : formez les question tags

L'acquisition des question tags passe par la pratique intensive. Voici des exercices progressifs pour developper vos automatismes, suivis des reponses commentees.

Exercice 1 : Completer le question tag

#	Phrase incomplete	Question tag correct
1	She's a doctor, ___?	isn't she?
2	They haven't called, ___?	have they?
3	You work in London, ___?	don't you?
4	He won't be late, ___?	will he?
5	Let's take a break, ___?	shall we?
6	Nobody called, ___?	did they?
7	I'm next, ___?	aren't I?
8	There's a train at 8, ___?	isn't there?
9	She used to live here, ___?	didn't she?
10	Close the window, ___?	will you?
11	The meeting was cancelled, ___?	wasn't it?
12	They can speak English, ___?	can't they?
13	She never complains, ___?	does she?
14	You should call him, ___?	shouldn't you?
15	Nothing happened, ___?	did it?

Exercice 2 : Choisir la bonne reponse courte

Pour approfondir vos connaissances en grammaire anglaise, consultez nos guides sur le participe passe en anglais, les quantifieurs, l'apposition en anglais et quand utiliser THE.

FAQ

Questions frequentes sur les question tags en anglais