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Lesson planB155 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Nice to Meet You at Last: question tags for networking
Students use question tags to check information and keep a conversation going while networking at a conference, then write a follow-up email to a new contact.
Question tags · Business · Networking · Conferences
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use question tags accurately
- Learn and use 15 words and phrases in 2 sets: Networking words, Starting and keeping a conversation going
- Read for detail: my first conference
- Writing task: a follow-up email
Stages · 55 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about business and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 10 minControlled practice: Ex. 2–3
- 5 minAccuracy practice: Ex. 4
- 5 minText structure: Ex. 5
- 10 minReading: Ex. 6
- 10 minWriting: Ex. 7
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 4 PDFs)Grammar notes
How question tags work
- A question tag is a short question at the end of a sentence: You work in marketing, don't you?
- Positive sentence, negative tag: It's a great venue, isn't it? Negative sentence, positive tag: You haven't met Priya, have you?
- Use the same auxiliary as the sentence (be, have, will, can…). With no auxiliary, use do, does or did: Your company makes software, doesn't it? You came last year, didn't you?
Special tags
- I'm … → aren't I? I'm next, aren't I?
- Let's … → shall we? Let's keep in touch, shall we?
Why we use them
- To check something you think is true: You're from Dublin, aren't you? (falling voice: you're fairly sure)
- To start or keep a conversation going: It's busy this morning, isn't it? (the other person usually agrees and adds something)
Study tips
- Practise three easy openers for networking: It's a great venue, isn't it? This is your first conference, isn't it? You work in sales, don't you?
- Find the auxiliary first, then make it positive or negative for the tag.
Glossary
- Networking words8 items
- Starting and keeping a conversation going7 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Words for networking
Match each word with its meaning. There is one extra meaning.
Tap an item…
…then its match
2
Choose the tag
Choose the correct question tag.
- a
You work in marketing, ___?
- b
It's a great venue, ___?
- c
You haven't met Priya before, ___?
- d
The first presentation was really interesting, ___?
- e
You'll be at the dinner tonight, ___?
- f
Your company makes software, ___?
- g
We can swap business cards, ___?
3
Complete the tags
Write the question tag.
- a
You're from Dublin, ?
- b
This is your first conference, ?
- c
You didn't come to the event last year, ?
- d
Lunch starts at one o'clock, ?
- e
You've worked in this industry for a long time, ?
- f
Let's keep in touch, ?
4
Find and correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake in the tag. Write the correct tag.
- a
You work for Greenway Foods, isn't it?
- b
She's giving a presentation later, doesn't she?
- c
You weren't at the conference last year, wasn't you?
- d
They make furniture, doesn't they?
- e
I'm speaking after lunch, amn't I?
5
Put the conversations in order
Put each conversation in the right order.
- a
Tap the sentences in order…
- b
Tap the sentences in order…
6
Read: my first conference
Read the text. Are the sentences true, false or not given?
Last month I went to my first big conference, a three-day event for people in the food industry. I was nervous because I didn't know anybody. The venue was huge, with more than two hundred company stands. On the first morning, a colleague gave me some good advice: "Start with something easy, like the weather or the coffee." So at the coffee bar I said to the woman next to me, "It's a great venue, isn't it?" She smiled and agreed, and we talked for twenty minutes. Her name was Amira, and she worked for a small bakery company. The next day I went to her presentation about healthy snacks. Afterwards we swapped business cards. Now we email each other every few weeks, and next month we're meeting to talk about working together. It was a good start to my career in sales!
- a
The writer had been to a lot of conferences before.
- b
A colleague told the writer to start with an easy topic.
- c
Amira worked for a large supermarket.
- d
Amira's presentation was on the second day.
- e
The writer and Amira had lunch together.
- f
They are planning to meet again next month.
7
Write: a follow-up email
Write a short email to someone you met at a conference.
You met someone at a conference yesterday. Write a short email to them (80–100 words). Say where you met and what you talked about, thank them for their time, and suggest a way to keep in touch (a call, a meeting or coffee). Include one question tag, for example: You're coming to the next event in May, aren't you? Word box: conference · industry · presentation · business card · venue · colleague · keep in touch · career Example: Dear Amira, It was great to meet you at the food conference yesterday. I really enjoyed your presentation…
Suggested minimum: 80 words
0 words · aim for at least 80
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Fix ItFind the mistake in each sentence, then correct it.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 15 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 2 sets.
Networking words
- conference
- a large meeting where people from the same type of work share ideas
- industry
- all the companies that make or do the same kind of thing
- presentation
- a talk to a group of people about a subject
- business card
- a small card with your name, job and contact details
- venue
- the place where an event happens
- colleague
- a person you work with
- career
- the jobs you do during your working life
- keep in touch
- to stay in contact with someone
Starting and keeping a conversation going
- by the way
- adds new information, for example your name
- Nice to meet you
- a friendly thing to say when you meet someone for the first time
- That's right
- says yes, the other person is correct
- Here's my business card
- offers your contact details
- Great to meet you
- a friendly thing to say when you meet someone for the first time
- isn't it
- a question tag after a positive sentence, to check or start a chat: It's a great venue, isn't it?
- aren't you
- a question tag after a positive sentence with you are: You're from Leeds, aren't you?
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