How to reply to question tags


English is not my native-tongue, so I always find it hard to grasp the concept of "question tags" and more importantly the way to answer to them. Let me explain with the help of this situation -


I am supposed to complete my homework and I haven't. My mom suspects that I haven't and asks me the below question. I want to confess that I haven't. What should I answer?


Mom : You didn't finish your homework, did you?


Me : Yes, I haven't [OR] No, I haven't?


I've always thought that it is "Yes, I haven't" because the questioner has already found out that I haven't and I should just assert it by saying 'Yes'. But a friend of mine says that it is "No, I haven't" because I am effectively answering the question "did you?".


Which of us is correct?



Answer



When someone asks a question by stating a negative fact, it would seem logical to answer affirmatively because the fact is true. However, it is more common to answer negatively to confirm the negativity.



Mom: You didn't finish your homework, did you?


You: No, I didn't


Mom: You finished your homework, didn't you?


You: No, I didn't



In both cases the Mom wants to know about the status of the homework and the questions are equivalent to



Mom: Did you finish your homework?



(The reason to use the tag form is to communicate the speaker's assumptions or surprise or expectations about the homework rather than just asking for a status update).


There is more explanation about this here.


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