He had gone out, hadn’t he? vs He had gone out, didn’t he?

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. The first phrase, 'he had gone out, hadn't he?', is used in British English to form a tag question. The second phrase, 'he had gone out, didn't he?', is used in American English for the same purpose. The choice between 'hadn't he' and 'didn't he' depends on the regional variation of English being used.

Last updated: April 01, 2024 • 970 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in British English to form a tag question.

"He had gone out, hadn’t he?"

This phrase is used in British English to confirm information or seek agreement. It is a tag question that reflects the tense of the main clause.

Show examples from the web [+]

Already in the morning he had gone out without saying anything to me.
One night he had gone out drinking... and had found his mother in his godfather's arms.
He was an unemployed workman, his wife earned a living cleaning staircases around their neighbourhood, and he had gone out to buy some bread to have for breakfast with his four children.
When we were on the field trip, I thought he was like us and trying to escape, so I told him we were planning it, but that was before I knew he had gone out there to join the gnomes.
I had gone out to bring the cows in.
I thought Miss Ives had gone out.
Julia had gone out... on the water alone.
The pizzazz had gone out of our lives.
Your lamp had gone out before the blaze began.
I had gone out to tend the goats.
Diana asked if someone had gone out last night.
So Jeff went out, and he stayed out long enough to make them believe he had gone back to the office.
Ginger and I had gone out a few times.
It was like being in a car where the steering had gone out of control and you were going towards the edge of a cliff.
I didn't want to go home until me mam had gone out with her boyfriend.
It was as if the light had gone out in our house.
Thomas and Eliot had gone out to play in the woods down by Hanger's Pond.
If I come in the normal way you... would have told Sellers to say that you had gone out or abroad or something.
This was the first time that anyone had gone out and asked ordinary people how they thought and felt.
because the men had gone out to hunt dinosaurs.

This phrase is correct and commonly used in American English to form a tag question.

"He had gone out, didn’t he?"

This phrase is used in American English to confirm information or seek agreement. It is a tag question that reflects the tense of the main clause.

Show examples from the web [+]

Already in the morning he had gone out without saying anything to me.
One night he had gone out drinking... and had found his mother in his godfather's arms.
He was an unemployed workman, his wife earned a living cleaning staircases around their neighbourhood, and he had gone out to buy some bread to have for breakfast with his four children.
When we were on the field trip, I thought he was like us and trying to escape, so I told him we were planning it, but that was before I knew he had gone out there to join the gnomes.
I had gone out to bring the cows in.
I thought Miss Ives had gone out.
Julia had gone out... on the water alone.
The pizzazz had gone out of our lives.
Your lamp had gone out before the blaze began.
I had gone out to tend the goats.
Diana asked if someone had gone out last night.
So Jeff went out, and he stayed out long enough to make them believe he had gone back to the office.
Ginger and I had gone out a few times.
It was like being in a car where the steering had gone out of control and you were going towards the edge of a cliff.
I didn't want to go home until me mam had gone out with her boyfriend.
It was as if the light had gone out in our house.
Thomas and Eliot had gone out to play in the woods down by Hanger's Pond.
If I come in the normal way you... would have told Sellers to say that you had gone out or abroad or something.
This was the first time that anyone had gone out and asked ordinary people how they thought and felt.
because the men had gone out to hunt dinosaurs.

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He had gone out, hadn’t he? vs He had gone out, didn’t he?