Question Tags with Imperatives and Exclamatives
Question tags can be added to imperative and exclamative sentences to invite the listener's agreement or consent. Let's explore how they work in detail.
Imperative Sentences and Question Tags
Question tags are often appended to imperative sentences to soften the tone or seek agreement. The choice of auxiliary and subject in the tag can change the level of insistence or politeness.
Positive Imperatives
For positive imperatives, the auxiliary in the tag is usually "won't" for the negative and "will" for the positive, with "you" as the subject:
✧ Open the door, won't you?
✧ Open the door, will you?
The level of insistence varies with the choice of auxiliary. "Will you" is the most insistent, while "won't you" is softer.
Other Auxiliaries and Subjects
Other auxiliaries and subjects can also be used, depending on the context:
✧ Open the door, can't you?
✧ Hand me a knife, won't somebody?
✧ Turn on the light, will somebody or other?
✧ Save us a seat, can one of you?
✧ Have another one, why don't you?
Negative Imperatives
Negative imperatives are less commonly followed by question tags. The most common tag for negative imperatives is "will you?" with a falling tone:
✧ Don't make a noise, will you?
The tag serves as a persuasive softener of the imperative. However, if the "will you?" is non-nuclear (i.e., not emphasized), it can increase the directive's peremptoriness.
Note: Other question tags used with imperatives include "would you?", "could you?", "can you?", "won't you?", "can't you?", "wouldn't you?", "couldn't you?", and the familiar wh-question "why don't you?":
✧ Take a rest, why don't you?
Directives with Third Person Subjects
Directives with third-person subjects can use either second or third-person pronouns in the question tag:
✧ Somebody open this door, will you? / will they?
First Person Plural Imperatives
First-person plural imperatives may take "shall we?" as a question tag:
✧ Let's play another game, shall we?
✧ Let's not discuss it now, shall we?
Note: Imperatives with "let" as an introductory particle should be kept separate from the ordinary second-person imperative of "let" as a transitive verb.
For example, "Let us go" in the sense of 'Permit us to go' cannot be abbreviated to "Let's go." The full verb "let" is followed by a question tag with "you" as the subject:
✧ Let us go, will you?
However, the first-person imperative (with "let" as an introductory particle) is followed by a question tag with "we" as the subject:
✧ Let's go, shall we?
Let's Don't Forget
In American English, the phrase "Let's don't forget" has become institutionalised. This means it is widely accepted and commonly used, even though it deviates from traditional grammatical rules.
✧ Let's don't forget, shall we?
Question Tags with Exclamatives
Question tags can also be appended to exclamatives to invite the hearer's agreement:
✧ How thin she is, isn't she?
✧ What a beautiful painting it is, isn't it? ['Or don't you agree?']
The tag may also be appended to abbreviated, verbless exclamations:
✧ What a beautiful painting, isn't it?
✧ How odd, isn't it?
