tag question

tag question (halespørsmål, tilhengerspørsmål): a type of interrogative which never constitutes a separate sentence, but is appended to a declarative or an imperative sentence. A tag question consists of an auxiliary and a pronoun, referring to the subject of the matrix clause. The auxiliary is do or another operator (see do-insertion). E.g. The book is out of print, isn't it? The book isn't out of print yet, is it? As shown, a tag question can be positive or negative; it tends to be negative when the matrix clause is positive, and vice versa. A tag question spoken with a rising tone can have a function similar to a yes/no-question, while a tag question spoken with a falling tone generally asks for the hearer's agreement.