You are probably already familiar with direct questions, even if you don’t know them by that name. But what about indirect questions (also called embedded questions)?
Imagine you had to stop somebody on the street to ask for directions to the stadium. Would you say “Where is the stadium?” or “Do you know where the stadium is?”
Probably the latter, because it sounds more polite when we place the direct question within another question or statement.
This is just one example of an indirect question, but these grammatical structures are very common in English, so let’s look at some more ways to form them and reasons why we might use them.
What is an indirect question?
An indirect question is a type of question that is embedded within another question, statement, or request. This is why they are also referred to as embedded questions.
The easiest way to understand indirect questions is to compare them with direct questions.
Direct vs indirect questions
Direct questions are formed with a question word (what, which, how, why, etc.) or by starting the sentence with a verb (e.g. Is she happy?).
These are examples of direct questions:
- Is it going to rain today?
- How much does this TV cost?
- Whose coat is this?
- Why is the supermarket closed?
- Does she have any allergies?
To form an indirect question, we place the direct question within another question, statement, or request. See how the examples above are transformed when we convert them to indirect questions:
- I wonder if it is going to rain today.
- Please could you tell me how much this TV costs?
- Does anyone know whose coat this is?
- May I ask why the supermarket is closed?
- Could you ask her if she has any allergies?
You’ll see that some of the words from the original questions have changed order or form. We’ll go over the main indirect question grammar rules in just a moment so you understand how to form them yourself.
Other introductory phrases for indirect questions include:
- Do you know …?
- I was wondering …
- Could you tell me …?
- May I ask …?
- Would you mind …?
- Can you remember …?
- I wonder …
- I don’t understand …
- Let me know …
- I’d like to know …
- I’m trying to find out …
- I wanted to ask …
- Could you please check …?
- Would it be possible …?
- Do you have any idea …?
Why do we use indirect questions?
We use indirect questions as a polite way to make a request or ask for information. The bluntness of a direct question may come across as rude when you are speaking to a stranger or someone senior to you, or addressing someone in a formal situation.
Using an introductory phrase before asking the question or making a request also helps us signal that the question or request is about to follow. This can be helpful when asking clarifying questions.
We usually add ‘please’ to an embedded question to make it more polite, too. And if you’re interrupting someone or trying to get their attention, adding ‘Excuse me’ to the beginning is the best way to do it politely.
One other reason you might use an indirect question, specifically beginning “I wonder …”, is to show that you are thinking out loud, but not necessarily expecting an answer. This is an example of a rhetorical question.
Are indirect questions the same as embedded questions?
Yes, the terms ‘indirect question’ and ’embedded question’ are used interchangeably to refer to a question posed within another question or statement.
Grammar rules for forming indirect questions
Grammatically, one of the main differences between direct and indirect questions is that direct questions often use inversion and indirect questions do not.
You’re probably used to swapping the subject and verb around to form a question, e.g. “He is tall.” becomes “Is he tall?” This is known as inversion. But with indirect questions, we do not do this. The word order stays the same as in a statement.
Direct question: What is Hannah’s favorite color? (verb-subject)
Indirect question: I wonder what Hannah’s favorite color is. (subject-verb)
Statement: Hannah’s favorite color is yellow. (subject-verb)
Direct question: Are they happy living in Japan? (verb-subject)
Indirect question: Do you know whether they are happy living in Japan? (subject-verb)
Statement: They are happy living in Japan. (subject-verb)
Here are some more indirect question grammar rules, according to the type of question being asked.
Indirect questions with question words
When a question begins with a question word, we follow this structure to convert it to an embedded question:
Introductory phrase + question word + subject + verb
Here are some examples:
Direct: Where is the bathroom?
Indirect: I was wondering where the bathroom is.
Direct: Who is that man over there?
Indirect: I’d like to know who that man is over there.
Direct: Why did you decide to move to Germany?
Indirect: May I ask why you decided to move to Germany?
Direct: What time is it?
Indirect: Could you please tell me what time it is?
Direct: When is the meeting due to begin?
Indirect: Would you mind telling me when the meeting is due to begin?
Direct: Which dish would you recommend?
Indirect: I wanted to ask which dish you would recommend.
Direct: How much money did we lose as a result of this error?
Indirect: Do you have any idea how much money we lost as a result of this error?
Questions with do/does/did
Some direct questions are formed with a question word and the auxiliary verb ‘do’. For example:
- How did they get here?
- Where does she live?
- What do you do for a living?
To convert these to indirect questions, we add an introductory phrase, drop the verb ‘do’, and adjust the main verb to agree with the subject and tense (if applicable):
- I wonder how they got here.
- Do you know where she lives?
- May I ask what you do for a living?
Indirect yes/no questions
We use ‘if’ and ‘whether’ to form indirect questions with a yes/no answer, or with limited possible outcomes.
The grammatical structure of these questions is:
Introductory phrase + if/whether + subject + verb
Again, we do not use inversion here. The noun clause follows the word order of a statement rather than a direct question.
- Is it raining outside? > Do you know if it is raining outside?
- Have you finished the report yet? > I was wondering if you have finished the report yet.
- Are they joining us for dinner? > Could you please check whether they are joining us for dinner?
- Is this purchase refundable? > I’d like to know whether this purchase is refundable.
- Do you have any allergies? > May I ask whether you have any allergies?
- Should we bring any food to the party? > Do you know whether we should bring any food to the party?
- Would she prefer the chocolate or strawberry ice cream? > I wonder whether she would prefer the chocolate or strawberry ice cream. (This is not a yes/no answer, but presenting limited options.)
‘If’ and ‘whether’ are generally used interchangeably in embedded questions, but there is one distinction that may sometimes be relevant:
- IF is used for conditions
- WHETHER is used to present two or more options
This means there is a slight difference in meaning in cases like this:
- Please let him know if you would like a drink. = If you become thirsty and would like a drink, let him know.
- Please let him know whether you would like a drink. = Would you like a drink? Yes or no? Please tell him either way.
Sometimes people use the phrase ‘whether or not’ in this situation, to make it clearer that there are two possible options.
You can read more about the differences between if and whether in our separate guide.
Verb tenses in embedded questions
Whatever verb tense you would use in the direct question or statement form, it should stay the same in the indirect form.
- Where will they stay this weekend? > Do you have any idea where they will stay this weekend?
- How long have they been living here? > I wonder how long they have been living here.
- Why did he miss the party? > Does anyone know why he missed the party?
This is different from reported questions which require you to ‘backshift’ the tense, e.g. “Did you have a nice time?” becomes “They asked if we had had a nice time.” in a reported question.
Do not contract words at the end of an indirect question
A contraction is a shortening of two words into one with an apostrophe replacing any letters that are dropped. We don’t use contractions at the end of sentences or questions, and it’s important to remember this if your embedded question ends in a verbal phrase that could normally be contracted.
For example:
- I’m not sure where they are. (not “they’re”)
- Do you know what size it is? (not “it’s”)
- Can you remember how tall she is? (not “she’s”)
Note that it is fine to contract any other words that appear in the question, according to the normal rules of contractions in English.
Which punctuation mark is used with an indirect question?
Confusingly, not all indirect questions use a question mark. You need to look at whether it is grammatically a question or a statement, and then apply the appropriate punctuation.
For example:
- Do you know what time the show starts? (question)
- I wonder when the show starts. (statement)
- Would you mind explaining what she said? (question)
- I don’t understand what she said. (statement)
Can you use question tags with indirect questions?
There are some specific cases where you can use question tags with indirect questions. A tag question consists of a statement and a ‘tag’ like “is he” or “didn’t they”. We use these to confirm something that we already believe to be true.
So, the first requirement is that your indirect question is a statement rather than a question. The second requirement is that you are using the question to check or confirm something that you already believe to be true.
Here are some examples of indirect tag questions:
- You wanted to check how much this costs, didn’t you?
- She would like to know where the bank is, wouldn’t she?
In reality, it’s unlikely you will encounter this type of construction very frequently.
Conclusion
We hope this article has helped you understand the difference between direct and indirect questions and why we use them. Once you start looking out for them, you’ll probably realize just how common they are in English.
If you have any other examples you would like to share, or if you want to check that you are forming an indirect question correctly yourself, you are welcome to leave a comment below.
