Tag Questions en Detalle
En este módulo veremos los Tag Questions en detalle, llevando a cabo un proceso de construcción básico para entenderlos mejor.
Qué es un Tag Question
Los Tag Questions son formas gramaticales que sirven para hacer preguntas retóricas o preguntas de las cuales queremos estar seguros.
Identificamos un tag question porque es una frase compuesta por una afirmación (o negación, que es aquello de lo que no estoy seguro y quiero aclarar) seguido por una pregunta corta.
Veamos unos ejemplos en Español:
VENDRÁS A CASA CON NOSOTROS, CIERTO?
NO TIENES DINERO, VERDAD?
VÁMONOS DE VIAJE, TE PARECE?
Cómo Formamos un Tag Question
Para formar los Tag Questions en Inglés debemos tener en cuenta varios detalles importantes:
1. La estructura básica es:
FRASE INICIAL, PREGUNTA CORTA
La frase inicial puede ser una afirmación o negación, de aquello que quiero comprobar, confirmar o que no estoy seguro.
2. Si la frase inicial es una afirmación, la pregunta corta debe ser una negación y viceversa así:
| FRASE INICIAL | PREGUNTA CORTA |
| AFIRMATIVA | NEGATIVA |
| NEGATIVA | AFIRMATIVA |
3. El tiempo o modo verbal que se use en la frase inicial DEBE SER EL MISMO en la pregunta corta.
4. Si el sujeto de la frase inicial no está en términos de un pronombre personal, la pregunta corta debe ponerse en términos del pronombre correspondiente, ejemplos:
Julia (she)
My friends (they)
The teacher (he)
My wife and I (we)
Veamos esto con un ejemplo, para ello tomaremos una frase cualquiera y realizaremos el proceso paso a paso:
IMPORTANTE!
A continuación haremos un proceso paso a paso para formar un Tag Question a partir de una frase, este proceso es para ilustrar el concepto y los principios detrás de la gramática de los Tag Questions, sugerimos revisar estos pasos a manera de ejercicio hasta que podamos formar los Tag Questions de manera natural y espontánea.
MARY BOUGHT A NEW CAR
Es una afirmación en pasado simple, ahora invirtamos la frase, es decir, pongámosla en términos de una negación en pasado simple:
MARY DIDN´T BUY A NEW CAR
Ahora convirtamos esta frase en una pregunta, o forma interrogativa, así:
DIDN´T MARY BUY A NEW CAR?
Si la oración no hace referencia a un pronombre debemos ponerla en términos de éste, en este caso MARY corresponde a SHE:
DIDN´T SHE BUY A NEW CAR?
Y después hacemos que esta pregunta sea corta, eliminando todo lo que hay después del sujeto, tendríamos entonces:
DIDN´T SHE?
Este elemento es el que pondremos al final de la oración inicial para obtener el Tag Question así:
MARY BOUGHT A NEW CAR, DIDN´T SHE?
De esta manera hemos analizado cuales son los pasos a seguir para obtener un Tag Question a partir de una frase cualquiera.
Para hacer esto más claro veamos ejemplos en los diferentes tiempos y modos verbales:
A Partir del Presente Simple Afirmativo
YOU LIKE APPLES
YOU DON´T LIKE APPLES
DON´T YOU LIKE APPLES?
DON´T YOU?
YOU LIKE APPLES, DON´T YOU?
A Partir del Presente Simple Negativo
YOU DON´T RUN WITH US, DO YOU?
YOU RUN WITH US
DO YOU RUN WITH US?
DO YOU?
YOU DON´T RUN WITH US, DO YOU?
A Partir del Futuro Simple Afirmativo
SHE WILL READ THAT BOOK
SHE WON´T READ THAT BOOK
WON´T SHE READ THAT BOOK?
WON´T SHE?
SHE WILL READ THAT BOOK, WON´T SHE?
A Partir del Futuro Simple Negativo
THEY WON´T COME HOME TODAY
THEY WILL COME HOME TODAY
WILL THEY COME HOME TODAY?
WILL THEY?
THEY WON´T COME HOME TODAY, WILL THEY?
A Partir del Pasado Simple Afirmativo
WE STUDIED LAST NIGHT
WE DIDN´T STUDY LAST NIGHT
DIDN´T WE STUDY LAST NIGHT?
DIDN´T WE?
WE STUDIED LAST NIGHT, DIDN´T WE?
A Partir del Pasado Simple Negativo
YOU DIDN´T BUY THAT CAR
YOU BOUGHT THAT CAR
DID YOU BUY THAT CAR?
DID YOU?
YOU DIDN´T BUY THAT CAR, DID YOU?
A Partir del Presente Continuo Afirmativo
HE IS EATING PIZZA
HE ISN´T EATING PIZZA
ISN´T HE EATING PIZZA?
ISN´T HE?
HE IS EATING PIZZA, ISN´T HE?
A Partir del Presente Continuo Negativo
YOU AREN´T WORKING WITH US
YOU ARE WORKING WITH US
ARE YOU WORKING WITH US?
ARE YOU?
YOU AREN´T WORKING WITH US, ARE YOU?
A Partir del Futuro Continuo Afirmativo
JOHN WILL BE STAYING THERE
JOHN WON´T BE STAYING THERE
WON´T JOHN BE STAYING THERE?
WON´T HE BE STAYING THERE?
WON´T HE?
HE WILL BE STAYING THERE, WON´T HE?
A Partir del Futuro Continuo Negativo
IT WON´T BE RAINING TODAY
IT WILL BE RAINING TODAY
WILL IT BE RAINING TODAY?
WILL IT?
IT WON´T BE RAINING TODAY, WILL IT?
A Partir del Pasado Continuo Afirmativo
MY WIFE AND I WERE TRAINING HARD
MY WIFE AND I WEREN´T TRAINING HARD
WEREN´T MY WIFE AND I TRAINING HARD?
WEREN´T WE TRAINING HARD?
WEREN´T WE?
WE WERE TRAINING HARD, WEREN´T WE?
A Partir del Pasado Continuo Negativo
SHE WASN´T DANCING WITH ME
SHE WAS DANCING WITH ME
WAS SHE DANCING WITH ME?
WAS SHE?
SHE WASN´T DANCING WITH ME, WAS SHE?
A Partir del Presente Perfecto Afirmativo
THE STUDENTS HAVE READ THAT BOOK
THE STUDENTS HAVEN´T READ THAT BOOK
HAVEN´T THE STUDENTS READ THAT BOOK?
HAVEN´T THEY READ THAT BOOK?
HAVEN´T THEY?
THEY HAVE READ THAT BOOK, HAVEN´T THEY?
A Partir del Presente Perfecto Negativo
HE HASN´T PAID THE BILLS
HE HAS PAID THE BILLS
HAS HE PAID THE BILLS?
HAS HE?
HE HASN´T PAID THE BILLS, HAS HE?
A Partir del Futuro Perfecto Afirmativo
WE WILL HAVE TRAVELED THERE
WE WON´T HAVE TRAVELED THERE
WON´T WE HAVE TRAVELED THERE?
WON´T WE?
WE WILL HAVE TRAVELED THERE, WON´T WE?
A Partir del Futuro Perfecto Negativo
YOU WON´T HAVE NEEDED THAT MONEY
YOU WILL HAVE NEEDED THAT MONEY
WILL YOU HAVE NEEDED THAT MONEY?
WILL YOU?
YOU WON´T HAVE NEEDED THAT MONEY, WILL YOU?
A Partir del Pasado Perfecto Afirmativo
HE HAD BEEN HERE BEFORE
HE HADN´T BEEN HERE BEFORE
HADN´T HE BEEN HERE BEFORE?
HADN´T HE?
HE HAD BEEN HERE BEFORE, HADN´T HE?
A Partir del Pasado Perfecto Negativo
IT HADN´T SNOWED LIKE THAT BEFORE
IT HAD SNOWED LIKE THAT BEFORE
HAD IT SNOWED LIKE THAT BEFORE?
HAD IT?
IT HADN´T SNOWED LIKE THAT BEFORE, HAD IT?
A Partir del Modal CAN Afirmativo
JOHN CAN RUN FAST
JOHN CAN´T RUN FAST
CAN´T JOHN RUN FAST?
CAN´T HE RUN FAST?
CAN´T HE?
HE CAN RUN FAST, CAN´T HE?
A Partir del Modal CAN Negativo
HE CAN´T RUN FAST
HE CAN RUN FAST
CAN HE RUN FAST?
CAN HE?
HE CAN´T RUN FAST, CAN HE?
A Partir del Modal COULD Afirmativo
YOU COULD PLAY THE GUITAR
YOU COULDN´T PLAY THE GUITAR
COULDN´T YOU PLAY THE GUITAR?
COULDN´T YOU?
YOU COULD PLAY THE GUITAR, COULDN´T YOU?
A Partir del Modal COULD Negativo
YOU COULDN´T PLAY THE GUITAR
YOU COULD PLAY THE GUITAR
COULD YOU PLAY THE GUITAR?
COULD YOU?
YOU COULDN´T PLAY THE GUITAR, COULD YOU?
A Partir del Modal SHOULD Afirmativo
THE DOCTOR SHOULD TELL YOU THAT
THE DOCTOR SHOULDN´T TELL YOU THAT
SHOULDN´T THE DOCTOR TELL YOU THAT?
SHOULDN´T HE TELL YOU THAT?
SHOULDN´T HE?
HE SHOULD TELL YOU THAT, SHOULDN´T HE?
A Partir del Modal SHOULD Negativo
HE SHOULDN´T TELL YOU THAT
HE SHOULD TELL YOU THAT
SHOULD HE TELL YOU THAT?
SHOULD HE?
HE SHOULDN´T TELL YOU THAT, SHOULD HE?
A Partir del Modal WOULD Afirmativo
THEY WOULD GO TO THE DOCTOR
THEY WOULDN´T GO TO THE DOCTOR
WOULDN´T THEY GO TO THE DOCTOR?
WOULDN´T THEY?
THEY WOULD GO TO THE DOCTOR, WOULDN´T THEY?
A Partir del Modal WOULD Negativo
THEY WOULDN´T GO TO THE DOCTOR
THEY WOULD GO TO THE DOCTOR
WOULD THEY GO TO THE DOCTOR?
WOULD THEY?
THEY WOULDN´T GO TO THE DOCTOR, WOULD THEY?
Preguntas Cortas en Forma Imperativa
Podemos formar Tag Questions a partir de frases imperativas. Si la frase u oración imperativa no me incluye, la frase debe cerrarse con WILL YOU?
RUN FASTER, WILL YOU?
SHARE THIS ARTICLE, WILL YOU?
SUBSCRIBE NOW, WILL YOU?
Si la frase u oración imperativa me incluye, la frase debe cerrarse con SHALL WE?
LET´S TALK ABOUT THAT, SHALL WE?
LET´S GO, SHALL WE?
LET´S EAT, SHALL WE?
IMPORTANTE!!!
Si la frase inicial incluye la primera persona en afirmativo podríamos pensar en formar el Tag Question como lo hemos hecho anteriormente, peor esto es un error.
Veámoslo en un ejemplo:
I AM POPULAR
I AM NOT POPULAR
AM NOT I POPULAR?
AM NOT I?
I AM POPULAR, AM NOT I?
Esta forma es errónea, cuando tengamos en la frase inicial el pronombre I en forma afirmativa siempre usaremos la forma
AREN´T I?
I AM POPULAR, AREN´T I?
A Practicar!
Ahora que hemos visto los Tag Questions en detalle intenta construir oraciones usando preguntas cortas, teniendo en cuenta las estructuras que hemos aprendido y escribe la mayor cantidad de oraciones que puedas. Disfruta el ejercicio!
Revisa este material cuantas veces sea necesario, si tienes dudas puedes ponerte en contacto.