0
Tmnt53 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
tag question
Please help me with this question:
The manager did not receive the phone. He must have been very busy, _____ ?
A. mustn’t he B. wasn’t he C. hasn’t he D. hadn’t he
I chose B because I think the complete sentence would be "He must have been very busy, wasn't he busy?". However, the correct answer is C. Can you tell me why? Thanks in advance.
The manager did not receive the phone. He must have been very busy, _____ ?
A. mustn’t he B. wasn’t he C. hasn’t he D. hadn’t he
I chose B because I think the complete sentence would be "He must have been very busy, wasn't he busy?". However, the correct answer is C. Can you tell me why? Thanks in advance.
Top answer
". No, that's not the complete sentence. " .
- ".
- No, that's not the complete sentence.
- " .
- The correct answer is C.
- I have to admit that, before reading everything, I was a little leaning to A, and I was really unsure whether it was A or C, but it looks like it's C.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
25 Answers
0
tmnt53I chose B because I think the complete sentence would be "He must have been very busy, wasn't he busy?".No, that's not the complete sentence. It would be "He must have been very busy, hasn't he been busy?". The correct answer is C.
I have to admit that, before reading everything, I was a little leaning to A, and I was reall
00
The correct answer is actually A.
He must have been very busy, mustn't he?
He was very busy, wasn't he?
He has been very busy, hasn't he?
He had been very busy, hadn't he?
"The manager did not receive the phone" does not make sense in this context. Perhaps it was supposed to say "did not answer the phone".
He must have been very busy, mustn't he?
He was very busy, wasn't he?
He has been very busy, hasn't he?
He had been very busy, hadn't he?
"The manager did not receive the phone" does not make sense in this context. Perhaps it was supposed to say "did not answer the phone".
00
I can't agree with you. Tag questions aren't so simple. However, thanks for your help.
00
tmnt53 I can't agree with you. Tag questions aren't so simple. However, thanks for your help.Which answer don't you agree with?
00
MrGuedesNo, that's not the complete sentence. It would be "He must have been very busy, hasn't he been busy?".That is not a correct sentence (it is a run-on sentence).
00
Thank you MrGuedes, I got it. By the way, I've just checked it on Wiki and found out that both question tag and tag question are correct.
00
Here is a very good resource for question tags and how to construct them:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/question-tags
The question tag uses the same verb as the main part of the sentence. If this is an auxiliary verb (‘have’, ‘be’)
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/question-tags
The question tag uses the same verb as the main part of the sentence. If this is an auxiliary verb (‘have’, ‘be’)
00
AlpheccaStarsHe must have been very busy, mustn't he___ ?Oh you think it's A. I'm sure it's wrong. Mustn't he have been busy? Have you ever made this kind of sentence?
00
Well, According the the British Council, a certifiable authority on the language and its usage, A would be correct.
I just copied from their "Learning English" page on question tags, which has all the rules and examples. (See the link I posted)
I just copied from their "Learning English" page on question tags, which has all the rules and examples. (See the link I posted)
tmnt53Mustn't he have been busy? Have you ever made this kind of sentence?Yes, I do, but extremely rarely: eg. He
00
Oh thanks I didn't notice that. to receive a phone? How ridiculous!
He must be daft. Isn't he daft?
AlpheccaStarsHe must be daft, mustn't he?He must be daft, isn't he? I'm sure about this point. The tag can't be created just that formulaic way. It must be alright if we rewrite it into a complete question:
He must be daft. Isn't he daft?
0
Related Questions