A question tag turns a statement into a soft question. In Indian English, "isn't it?" is often attached to everything — a useful shortcut, but not standard.

The two rules

  1. The tag mirrors the auxiliary verb of the main sentence
  2. The tag flips the polarity — positive statement takes a negative tag, and vice versa

Examples

  • "You are coming, aren't you?"
  • "She can drive, can't she?"
  • "They have finished, haven't they?"
  • "He isn't ready, is he?"
  • "You didn't call, did you?"

When there is no auxiliary

Use do, does or did.

  • "You work here, don't you?"
  • "She likes coffee, doesn't she?"
  • "He left early, didn't he?"

Special cases

  • "I am right, aren't I?" — not "amn't I"
  • "Let's go, shall we?"
  • "Close the door, will you?"
  • "Nobody called, did they?" — negative words like nobody, never, nothing make the sentence negative, so the tag is positive

Intonation changes the meaning

  • Falling tone — you expect agreement: "Lovely day, isn't it?" (not a real question)
  • Rising tone — you are genuinely unsure: "You sent it, didn't you?" (real question)

The Indian English note

"You are coming, isn't it?" is completely understood across India and marks you immediately elsewhere. If your audience is international, match the auxiliary.

In fast speech you can sidestep tags entirely: "You're coming, right?" works everywhere and needs no agreement rule.