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IntermediateQuestion Tags & Echo Responses
How speakers seek confirmation, express doubt, or echo statements in Spanish, English and Chinese.
Compare languages
English has grammaticalized question tags that invert polarity. Spanish uses verdad/que no. Chinese uses 吗/吧/对不对/是不是/是吧.
Overview
Question tags turn statements into questions seeking confirmation. Echo questions repeat part of a previous utterance with rising intonation to express surprise or request clarification.
- Spanish: Uses invariable tags (¿verdad?, ¿no?, ¿cierto?) rather than verb inversion. The tag is a separate word or phrase.
- English: Has a grammaticalized system where the tag copies the auxiliary and inverts polarity (positive → negative tag, negative → positive tag). Intonation determines whether it’s a real question or a statement.
- Chinese: Uses sentence-final particles (吗, 吧) or reduplicative structures (对不对, 是不是, 对吧). Echo questions simply repeat the key element with surprise intonation.
Spanish
Verdad / no (standard tags)
Spanish does not invert the verb. The tag is a separate invariable word:
- Vienes, ¿verdad? (You’re coming, right?)
- Está aquí, ¿no? (He’s here, isn’t he?)
- No viene, ¿verdad? (He’s not coming, right?)
- No está aquí, ¿o sí? (He’s not here, is he? — surprise)
Cierto / correcto / a que sí
- Ella ganó, ¿cierto? (She won, right?)
- Tienes razón, ¿correcto? (You’re right, correct?)
- Va a llover, ¿a que sí? (It’s going to rain, isn’t it?)
Regional variants
| Variant | Region | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ¿vale? | Spain | Vienes, ¿vale? |
| ¿o? | Mexico, Central America | Vienes, ¿o? |
| ¿o no? | General | Vienes, ¿o no? |
| ¿no es cierto? | Formal | Es verdad, ¿no es cierto? |
Echo questions
- ¿Cómo dices? (What did you say?)
- ¿Qué hiciste? (You did what?)
- ¿A dónde fuiste? (You went where?)
Rhetorical tags
- ¿A que no sabes? (I bet you don’t know.)
- ¿O qué? (Or what? — confrontational)
Intonation
Spanish question tags always use question intonation (rising pitch). There is no distinction between “real question” and “statement with tag” intonation as in English.
English
Standard question tags
The tag copies the auxiliary (or uses do/does/did) and inverts polarity:
| Statement | Tag |
|---|---|
| You’re coming, | aren’t you? |
| He’s here, | isn’t he? |
| She can swim, | can’t she? |
| They have left, | haven’t they? |
| He likes it, | doesn’t he? |
| You went there, | didn’t you? |
Negative statement + positive tag
| Statement | Tag |
|---|---|
| You’re not coming, | are you? |
| He isn’t here, | is he? |
| She can’t swim, | can she? |
| They haven’t left, | have they? |
| He doesn’t like it, | does he? |
| You didn’t go, | did you? |
Intonation distinction
Falling intonation (statement, expecting agreement):
- You’re coming, aren’t you. ↘
Rising intonation (real question, unsure):
- You’re coming, aren’t you? ↗
Exceptions
Let’s uses shall we:
- Let’s go, shall we?
Imperatives:
- Open the door, will you?
- Don’t be late, will you?
- Have a seat, won’t you?
I am uses aren’t I (not amn’t I):
- I’m late, aren’t I?
This/That uses it:
- This is good, isn’t it?
Non-standard tags
| Tag | Register | Example |
|---|---|---|
| innit? | British non-standard | He’s late, innit? |
| right? | informal | You’re coming, right? |
| yeah? | very informal | You like it, yeah? |
| huh? | informal US | You’re done, huh? |
| eh? | Canadian/informal | It’s cold, eh? |
Echo questions
Stress the wh-word with rising pitch:
- You did WHAT?
- You went WHERE?
- You paid HOW MUCH?
- You saw WHO?
Statement of opinion tags
- It’s a nice day, isn’t it?
- The film was terrible, wasn’t it?
- You’d agree, wouldn’t you?
Chinese
吧 (soft confirmation)
吧 at the end of a statement softens it into a request for confirmation:
- 你会来，对吧？(You’ll come, right?)
- 很好，是吧？(It’s good, isn’t it?)
- 他不在，是吧？(He’s not here, right?)
Note: 吧 implies the speaker expects agreement. It is softer than 吗.
吗 (neutral yes/no)
吗 turns a statement into a yes/no question:
- 你会来吗？(Will you come?)
- 他在吗？(Is he here?)
对不对 / 是不是 / 好吗
Reduplicative tag structures:
- 你明白，对不对？(You understand, right?)
- 他是老师，是不是？(He’s a teacher, isn’t he?)
- 你好，好不好？(You’re well, aren’t you?)
是吧 / 对吧
Shortened forms common in spoken Chinese:
- 很好，对吧？(Good, right?)
- 他不知道，是吧？(He doesn’t know, right?)
Echo questions
Chinese echo questions simply repeat the key element:
-
A: 我花了一千块。(I spent a thousand.)
-
B: 多少？(什么？) (How much? [What?])
-
A: 我去了北京。(I went to Beijing.)
-
B: 哪儿？(Where?)
Rhetorical confirmation
- 不是吗？(Isn’t that so?)
- 对不对？(Right or wrong?)
- 难道不是吗？(Could it not be? — rhetorical)
啊 / 呀 / 啦 (intonation)
- 你会来啊？(You’ll come, huh?)
- 是吗？(Is it? / Really?)
Comparison at a glance
| Type | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral confirmation | ¿verdad? | isn’t it? / doesn’t he? | 对吗？ |
| Soft confirmation | ¿no? | right? / yeah? | 对吧？ |
| Negative statement tag | ¿verdad? / ¿o sí? | is he? / does he? | 是吧？ |
| Echo question | ¿Cómo dices? | You did WHAT? | 你说什么？ |
| Rhetorical | ¿A que sí? | Isn’t that so? | 不是吗？ |
| Imperative tag | ¿vale? | will you? / won’t you? | 好吗？ |
| Let’s tag | ¿no? | shall we? | 好吗？ |
Examples in context
You’re coming, aren’t you?
- ES: Vienes, ¿verdad?
- EN: You’re coming, aren’t you?
- ZH: 你会来，对吧？
He isn’t here, is he?
- ES: No está aquí, ¿verdad?
- EN: He isn’t here, is he?
- ZH: 他不在，是吧？
You did WHAT?
- ES: ¿Qué hiciste?
- EN: You did WHAT?
- ZH: 你做了什么？
Common mistakes
-
Spanish speakers learning English: You’re coming, no? → You’re coming, aren’t you? (verb inversion required)
-
English speakers learning Spanish: Vienes, ¿no vienes? → Vienes, ¿verdad? (no verb inversion)
-
English speakers learning Chinese: 你会来吗？ when seeking soft confirmation → 你会来，对吧？ (吧 for expected agreement)
-
Chinese speakers learning English: You are come, yes? → You’re coming, aren’t you?
Related topics
- Questions: How yes/no and wh-questions work
- Sentence-Final Particles: How particles encode speaker stance
- Hedges: How softening works
- Formal vs Informal: How register affects tag choice
Examples
You're coming, aren't you?
Vienes, ¿verdad? / Vienes, ¿no?
He's not here, is he?
No está aquí, ¿verdad? / No está aquí, ¿o sí?
You understand, right?
Entiendes, ¿verdad?
It's hot, isn't it?
Hace calor, ¿verdad? / Hace calor, ¿no?
Echo question (You did WHAT?)
¿Cómo dices? / ¿Qué hiciste?
Rhetorical confirmation
¿A que sí? / ¿No es cierto?
Tag based on verb
No (uses invariable tag)
Universal tag (eh?)
¿no? / ¿vale? (Spain) / ¿o? (some regions)
Examples
You're coming, aren't you?
You're coming, aren't you?
He's not here, is he?
He's not here, is he?
You understand, right?
You understand, right? / You understand, don't you?
It's hot, isn't it?
It's hot, isn't it?
Echo question (You did WHAT?)
You did WHAT? / You went WHERE?
Rhetorical confirmation
Isn't that so? / Don't you think?
Tag based on verb
Yes (tag matches auxiliary: is, do, have, modals)
Universal tag (eh?)
innit? (non-standard) / right? / yeah?
Examples
You're coming, aren't you?
你会来，对吧？ / 是吧？
He's not here, is he?
他不在，是吧？
You understand, right?
你明白，对不对？
It's hot, isn't it?
很热，是吧？ / 对吧？
Echo question (You did WHAT?)
你说什么？ / 什么？
Rhetorical confirmation
不是吗？ / 对不对？
Tag based on verb
No (uses 吗/吧/对不对)
Universal tag (eh?)
对吧？ / 是吧？
Comparison at a glance
| Grammar concepts | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| You're coming, aren't you? | Vienes, ¿verdad? / Vienes, ¿no? | You're coming, aren't you? | 你会来，对吧？ / 是吧？ |
| He's not here, is he? | No está aquí, ¿verdad? / No está aquí, ¿o sí? | He's not here, is he? | 他不在，是吧？ |
| You understand, right? | Entiendes, ¿verdad? | You understand, right? / You understand, don't you? | 你明白，对不对？ |
| It's hot, isn't it? | Hace calor, ¿verdad? / Hace calor, ¿no? | It's hot, isn't it? | 很热，是吧？ / 对吧？ |
| Echo question (You did WHAT?) | ¿Cómo dices? / ¿Qué hiciste? | You did WHAT? / You went WHERE? | 你说什么？ / 什么？ |
| Rhetorical confirmation | ¿A que sí? / ¿No es cierto? | Isn't that so? / Don't you think? | 不是吗？ / 对不对？ |
| Tag based on verb | No (uses invariable tag) | Yes (tag matches auxiliary: is, do, have, modals) | No (uses 吗/吧/对不对) |
| Universal tag (eh?) | ¿no? / ¿vale? (Spain) / ¿o? (some regions) | innit? (non-standard) / right? / yeah? | 对吧？ / 是吧？ |
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Side-by-side comparison
| Grammar concepts | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| You're coming, aren't you? | Vienes, ¿verdad? / Vienes, ¿no? | You're coming, aren't you? | 你会来，对吧？ / 是吧？ |
| He's not here, is he? | No está aquí, ¿verdad? / No está aquí, ¿o sí? | He's not here, is he? | 他不在，是吧？ |
| You understand, right? | Entiendes, ¿verdad? | You understand, right? / You understand, don't you? | 你明白，对不对？ |
| It's hot, isn't it? | Hace calor, ¿verdad? / Hace calor, ¿no? | It's hot, isn't it? | 很热，是吧？ / 对吧？ |
| Echo question (You did WHAT?) | ¿Cómo dices? / ¿Qué hiciste? | You did WHAT? / You went WHERE? | 你说什么？ / 什么？ |
| Rhetorical confirmation | ¿A que sí? / ¿No es cierto? | Isn't that so? / Don't you think? | 不是吗？ / 对不对？ |
| Tag based on verb | No (uses invariable tag) | Yes (tag matches auxiliary: is, do, have, modals) | No (uses 吗/吧/对不对) |
| Universal tag (eh?) | ¿no? / ¿vale? (Spain) / ¿o? (some regions) | innit? (non-standard) / right? / yeah? | 对吧？ / 是吧？ |
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Examples in context
You're coming, aren't you?
Spanish
Vienes, ¿verdad? / Vienes, ¿no?
English
You're coming, aren't you?
Chinese
你会来，对吧？ / 是吧？
He's not here, is he?
Spanish
No está aquí, ¿verdad? / No está aquí, ¿o sí?
English
He's not here, is he?
Chinese
他不在，是吧？
You understand, right?
Spanish
Entiendes, ¿verdad?
English
You understand, right? / You understand, don't you?
Chinese
你明白，对不对？
It's hot, isn't it?
Spanish
Hace calor, ¿verdad? / Hace calor, ¿no?
English
It's hot, isn't it?
Chinese
很热，是吧？ / 对吧？
Echo question (You did WHAT?)
Spanish
¿Cómo dices? / ¿Qué hiciste?
English
You did WHAT? / You went WHERE?
Chinese
你说什么？ / 什么？
Rhetorical confirmation
Spanish
¿A que sí? / ¿No es cierto?
English
Isn't that so? / Don't you think?
Chinese
不是吗？ / 对不对？
Tag based on verb
Spanish
No (uses invariable tag)
English
Yes (tag matches auxiliary: is, do, have, modals)
Chinese
No (uses 吗/吧/对不对)
Universal tag (eh?)
Spanish
¿no? / ¿vale? (Spain) / ¿o? (some regions)
English
innit? (non-standard) / right? / yeah?
Chinese
对吧？ / 是吧？
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Key Takeaways
Spanish: Uses invariable tags (¿verdad?, ¿no?, ¿cierto?) rather than verb inversion. The tag is a separate word or phrase.
English: Has a grammaticalized system where the tag copies the auxiliary and inverts polarity (positive → negative tag, negative → positive tag). Int...
Chinese: Uses sentence-final particles (吗ma, 吧bā) or reduplicative structures (对duì不bù对duì, 是shì不bù是shì, 对duì吧bā). Echo questions simply repeat the k...
Key concepts compared: You're coming, aren't you?, He's not here, is he?, You understand, right?.
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Last updated: June 4, 2026