| Mary: |
It’s a lovely day, isn’t it? |
| Joan: |
Beautiful. We’re having a glorious summer, aren’t we? |
| Mary: |
You haven’t heard a forecast for the weekend, have you? |
| Joan: |
No, I haven’t, but I think it’s going to stay sunny. |
A question tag is a short question added on to a statement.
When a tag is spoken, the voice can go up or down.
| FALLING ↘ |
| • It’s a lovely day, isn’t it? |
| With a falling intonation the speaker thinks the statement is true. Mary knows that it is a lovely day, and she is inviting Joan to continue the conversation. The tag is not really a question. |
| RISING ↗ |
| • You haven’t heard a forecast, have you? |
| With a rising intonation the speaker is less sure. Mary doesn’t know if Joan has heard a weather forecast or not. The tag is more like a real question. |
