Add a suitable question tag to the following sentence:
The new parking rule is unfair to the small shopkeepers, ________?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → isn’t it
Question tag after a word with “un-”:
This sentence has no “not”, “never” or “hardly”. “Unfair” has a negative meaning, but it does not make the sentence negative. So the sentence is positive and takes a negative tag. The verb “is” is repeated. “The new parking rule” is one thing, so the pronoun is “it”.
Complete sentence: The new parking rule is unfair to the small shopkeepers, isn’t it?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: is it — Incorrect. This is a positive tag. It goes with a negative sentence. Example: The canteen isn’t open yet, is it?
Option 3: doesn’t it — Incorrect. “Doesn’t” goes with a present sentence that has no helping verb, like “costs”. Example: This school bag costs too much, doesn’t it?
Option 4: wasn’t it — Incorrect. “Wasn’t” goes with a past sentence that has “was”. Example: The film was too long, wasn’t it?