Indirect Questions
Learn how a question can be placed inside a larger sentence, why the usual inversion disappears once it is embedded, and how if and whether are used when there is no question word.
Asking more politely
An indirect question sits inside a larger sentence.
An indirect question places a question inside a larger sentence, introduced by a phrase such as could you tell me or I wonder. It often sounds more polite than asking the same question directly.
In the sentence Could you tell me what time it is?, the embedded question what time it is keeps the subject it before the verb is, without the inversion a direct question, What time is it?, would use.
When the embedded question has no question word, if or whether is used to introduce it instead.
Before you begin
Indirect questions are one pattern of question formation.
This lesson focuses on indirect questions specifically. Question formation as a whole includes three other patterns, each covered in its own lesson.
If you would like an overview of how questions are formed in general, begin with the Question Formation page.
The central idea
Once a question is embedded, its word order changes.
Compare a direct question with the same question asked indirectly.
01
Direct Question
What time is it?
02
Indirect Question
Could you tell me what time it is?
The useful question is: has the question been placed inside another sentence?
Once the question what time is it is placed inside could you tell me, the subject and verb return to their normal order, exactly as they would in a statement.
Common introductory phrases
Several phrases can introduce an indirect question.
Could you tell me… → Could you tell me where the station is?
Do you know… → Do you know what time the shop closes?
I wonder… → I wonder why she left early.
I’d like to know… → I’d like to know how this works.
Would you mind telling me… → Would you mind telling me who called?
The word order returns to normal
The embedded question keeps the subject before the verb.
Direct: the auxiliary verb moves before the subject
Where does she live?
Indirect: the subject returns before the verb
Do you know where she lives?
The auxiliary verb does disappears entirely here, since the embedded verb takes its own present-tense ending once it is no longer inverted.
Embedding a yes/no question
If or whether introduces an embedded question with no question word.
Direct yes/no question
Did she call?
Indirect, with if
Do you know if she called?
Indirect, with whether
Do you know whether she called?
If and whether can generally be used in the same way here, though whether is more common before or not.
Matching the end punctuation to the introduction
The punctuation depends on the introductory phrase, not the embedded question.
A question mark, when the introduction is a question
Could you tell me where the station is?
A period, when the introduction is a statement
I wonder where the station is.
I wonder is a statement about the speaker’s own thought, so the sentence ends with a period, even though a question is embedded inside it.
A useful decision guide
Ask what kind of question is embedded, and how it is introduced.
01
Does the embedded question have a question word?
If so, keep it; if not, use if or whether.
02
Has the subject returned to its normal position?
The embedded question should not use inversion.
03
Is the introductory phrase a question, or a statement?
The end punctuation follows the introduction, not the embedded question.
04
Does the situation call for a more polite tone?
An indirect question often sounds gentler than the same question asked directly.
Common mistakes
An embedded question drops its inversion, and needs if or whether when there is no question word.
The embedded question should not keep the inversion.
Not: Do you know where does she live?
Correct: Do you know where she lives?
Once the question is embedded, the subject returns before the verb.
A yes/no question needs if or whether once embedded.
Not: Do you know she called?
Correct: Do you know if she called?
Without a question word or if/whether, the sentence no longer reads as a question at all.
The end punctuation follows the introduction, not the embedded question.
Not: I wonder where the station is?
Correct: I wonder where the station is.
I wonder is a statement, so the sentence ends with a period.
Check your understanding
Which version is a correctly formed indirect question?
Choose the correct answer for each pair.
Which sentence correctly embeds the question?
✅ Exactly! The embedded question keeps the subject before the verb.
❎ Not quite. Check whether the subject and verb have returned to statement order.
Does the embedded question still use inversion?
Which sentence correctly embeds a yes/no question?
✅ Exactly! With no question word, if introduces the embedded question.
❎ Not quite. A yes/no question needs a word like if or whether once it is embedded.
There is no question word here, such as where or who.
Which sentence uses the correct end punctuation?
✅ Exactly! I wonder is a statement, so the sentence ends with a period.
❎ Not quite. Look at the introductory phrase, not the embedded question, to decide the punctuation.
Is “I wonder” itself a question, or a statement?
Choose the best explanation
Select the sentence that explains the indirect question correctly.
Why is “Do you know where does she live?” not correctly formed?
✅ Exactly! Once embedded, the question returns to statement word order.
❎ Not quite. This question already has a question word, where.
Why does “Could you tell me she called?” need to be corrected?
✅ Exactly! Without if or whether, the sentence no longer signals that a question is embedded.
❎ Not quite. Check whether there is a question word, or a word like if, anywhere in the sentence.
Try it another way
Complete each indirect question.
Type the missing word.
✅ Exactly! There is no question word here, so if introduces the embedded question.
❎ Not quite. Think about the word used to embed a yes/no question.
✅ Exactly! Without an auxiliary verb, the embedded verb takes its own present-tense ending.
❎ Not quite. Since “does” is not used here, the main verb needs its own ending.
Quick review
An embedded question drops its inversion and follows the punctuation of its introduction.
An indirect question places a question inside a larger sentence, often to sound more polite.
The embedded question uses statement word order, with the subject before the verb, rather than the inversion used in a direct question.
When there is no question word, if or whether introduces the embedded yes/no question.
The end punctuation matches the introductory phrase: a question mark if it is a question, a period if it is a statement.
Remember
Once a question is embedded, it behaves like a statement.
Keep the subject before the verb, add if or whether when there is no question word, and let the introductory phrase decide the punctuation at the end.