Question

No one was around to help us when we struggled financially,---------------------

• A. was there?
• B. wasn't there?
• C. were there ?
• D. weren't there ?

Answer 1

Answer:

A. was there?

Understanding Tag Questions

• Tag questions are short questions added at the end of a declarative statement.
• They are used to confirm information or to seek agreement.
• The structure of a tag question depends on the main statement.

Formation of Tag Questions

• If the main statement is positive, the tag question is negative.
• If the main statement is negative, the tag question is positive.
• The auxiliary verb or the main verb in the tag question should match the verb in the statement.
• The pronoun in the tag question should refer to the subject of the statement.

Analyzing the Given Statement

• The statement is "No one was around to help us when we struggled financially".
• This statement is inherently negative because of the word "No one".
• The main verb is "was" (past tense of 'to be').
• The subject is "No one", which is an indefinite pronoun.

Determining the Correct Tag Question

• Since the statement is negative, the tag question must be positive.
• The verb in the tag should be "was" (matching the statement).
• The pronoun for "No one" in a tag question is typically 'they' when referring to a group or unspecified individuals, or 'he' if a singular male is implied, but 'they' is more common and versatile in such contexts. For a generalized 'no one', 'they' is often preferred. However, when the verb is 'was' (singular), 'he' or 'she' might seem grammatically correct if referring to a singular 'no one'. But in common usage and especially in tag questions, 'they' is often used even with singular antecedents like 'everyone' or 'no one' to avoid gender specification. In this case, given the singular verb 'was', a singular pronoun would be expected. Let's re-evaluate: 'No one was...' - if we consider 'no one' as a singular entity, then 'was he?' or 'was she?' would be grammatically consistent. However, the most idiomatic and commonly accepted tag for 'No one was...' is often 'were they?'. This is because 'no one' implies a lack of people, and the question is often implicitly about the presence of *any* people. If we strictly follow the singular subject 'no one' and singular verb 'was', then 'was he?' or 'was she?' would be the most direct grammatical match for a singular pronoun. But the context implies a lack of any help, making a plural 'they' feel more natural in common parlance when asking if *anyone* was there. The common convention for 'no one' with a singular verb 'was' is to use a plural pronoun 'they' in the tag, and consequently, the verb might shift to plural 'were' to agree with 'they'. This leads to 'were they?'.
• Therefore, the correct tag question is "was there?". This uses the existential 'there' construction, which is common in tag questions when the subject of the statement implies existence or presence. "No one was around" implies that 'there was no one around'. So, the tag question effectively asks "was there?" to confirm the absence.

Common Pitfalls

• Incorrectly assuming the statement is positive.
• Mismatching the verb tense or form in the tag.
• Using the wrong pronoun.
• Forgetting that "No one" makes the statement negative.