Fill in the blank with the appropriate question tag:
Shalini had to stand all the way to Pune in the bus, ________?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → didn’t she
Question tag after “had to”:
In “had to stand”, “had to” works like a main verb. It is not a helping verb here. So the tag uses “did”, just as it does after “stood”. The sentence is positive, so the tag is negative: “didn’t she”.
Complete sentence: Shalini had to stand all the way to Pune in the bus, didn’t she?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: hadn’t she — Incorrect. “Hadn’t” is the tag when “had” is a helping verb before a past participle (V3), as in “had finished”. Example: She had finished her homework before dinner, hadn’t she?
Option 2: wasn’t she — Incorrect. “Wasn’t” goes with a sentence that has “was”. Example: She was tired after the trek, wasn’t she?
Option 4: did she — Incorrect. This is a positive tag. It goes with a negative sentence. Example: She didn’t call you back, did she?