Fill in the blank with the appropriate question tag:
The fishermen in our village go out to sea before dawn, ________?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → don’t they
Question tag after a simple present verb with a plural subject:
“Go” is in the simple present and has no helping verb. So the tag uses “do” or “does”. With a plural subject like “the fishermen”, it is “do”. The sentence is positive, so the tag is negative. “The fishermen” becomes “they”.
Complete sentence: The fishermen in our village go out to sea before dawn, don’t they?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: doesn’t they — Incorrect. “Doesn’t” goes with he, she, it or one person or thing, never with “they”. Example: The watchman sleeps in the afternoon, doesn’t he?
Option 2: aren’t they — Incorrect. “Aren’t” is the tag only when the sentence has “are”. Example: The boats are back in the harbour, aren’t they?
Option 4: do they — Incorrect. This is a positive tag. It goes with a negative sentence. Example: The shops don’t open before ten, do they?