WAEC 2020 English Language · Question 25

Mary shouldn't have disobeyed the teacher, … ?

Question

From the words or group of words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best completes each of the following sentences. Mary shouldn't have disobeyed the teacher,_________?

A.should she
B.didn't she
C.did she
D.could he

Answer: A. should she

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question This tests question tags. The sentence is "Mary shouldn't have disobeyed the teacher, __?"

Concept A question tag is formed from the auxiliary verb in the main statement:

A negative statement takes a positive tag.
A positive statement takes a negative tag.
The tag uses the same auxiliary verb and a pronoun matching the subject.

Solution

The statement is negative: "shouldn't have disobeyed".
The auxiliary verb is should (the first auxiliary in "shouldn't have disobeyed"). So the tag needs should, in positive form.
The subject is Mary, so the pronoun is she.
The tag is therefore "should she?"

Checking the other options

B. didn't she: wrong, because it is a negative tag after a negative statement, and the auxiliary is wrong.
C. did she: the tag is positive, but the auxiliary did doesn't match should.
D. could he: wrong auxiliary and wrong pronoun (Mary is female).

Answer: Mary shouldn't have disobeyed the teacher, **should she?

Exam tip Find the first auxiliary verb, flip positive to negative or negative to positive, and match the pronoun to the subject. For example, "She can sing, can't she?" and "They haven't left, have they?"

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