Explanation
Use question tags to check information or ask for agreement.
In "You work here, don't you?", "You work here" is the main sentence. "don't you?" is the tag, and it repeats the subject with the helper verb "do" in the negative. Because the main sentence is positive, the tag is negative. Japanese often uses "〜ですよね?" without changing the verb, but English must match the verb and subject.
相手に確認したり、同意を求めたりするときに question tag を使います。
たとえば "You work here, don't you?" では、"You work here" が本体の文です。"don't you?" が tag で、主語 you を残したまま、助動詞 do を否定形で使っています。前の文が肯定なので、tag は否定形になります。日本語では「ここで働いていますよね？」のように言えますが、英語では動詞の形に合わせて助動詞と主語を変えます。
Examples
- It's warm today, isn't it? 今日は暖かいですね。
- You work here, don't you? ここで働いていますよね。
- She likes sushi, doesn't she? 彼女は寿司が好きですよね。
- They aren't late, are they? 彼らは遅れていないよね。
- You're going to call her, aren't you? 彼女に電話するつもりなんだよね。
- You met him yesterday, didn't you? 昨日彼に会いましたよね。
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often choose the wrong helper verb in the tag.
Wrong: "You like coffee, isn't it?"
Right: "You like coffee, don't you?"
Wrong: "She is a doctor, doesn't she?"
Right: "She is a doctor, isn't she?"
Match the tag to the verb in the main sentence.
日本語話者は、付加疑問の助動詞を間違えやすいです。
誤り: "You like coffee, isn't it?"
正解: "You like coffee, don't you?"
誤り: "She is a doctor, doesn't she?"
正解: "She is a doctor, isn't she?"
前の文の動詞に合わせて、tag の助動詞を選びます。