Indirect questions
Could you tell me where the station is? Do you know if it's open? Polite questions with the word order of a statement.
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An indirect question starts with a phrase like Could you tell me ...? or Do you know ...? and then puts the real question inside. It sounds more polite than a direct question, and we use it a lot with people we don't know. The question inside has the word order of a statement: subject + verb, with no do, does or did.
Direct and indirect
Direct question | Indirect question |
|---|---|
Where is the station? | Could you tell me where the station is? |
What time does it open? | Do you know what time it opens? |
Where did you buy it? | Can I ask where you bought it? |
Is the museum open today? | Do you know if the museum is open today? |
Common beginnings: Could you tell me ...? Can you tell me ...? Do you know ...? Do you have any idea ...? Can I ask ...? and, without a question, I'd like to know ..., I wonder ..., I'm not sure ..., I don't know ...
Statement order after the question word
After the question word, put the subject first and then the verb, as in an ordinary sentence.
- Could you tell me where the toilets are?
- Do you know how much this jacket costs?
- I'm not sure what time the meeting starts.
- Incorrect: Can you tell me where is the station?
- Correct: Can you tell me where the station is?Inside an indirect question, the subject comes before the verb.
No do, does or did
Do, does and did only make the outside phrase a question. The question inside doesn't take them, so the main verb takes the ending it would have in a statement.
- Do you know what time the film starts?
- Can I ask where you bought that coat?
- Incorrect: Do you know what time does the film start?
- Correct: Do you know what time the film starts?No does inside: the film starts, as in a statement.
- Incorrect: Could you tell me where did you park the car?
- Correct: Could you tell me where you parked the car?No did inside: the past simple form parked carries the past.
Yes/no questions: if or whether
A question without a question word (Is it ...? Do you ...? Can she ...?) becomes if or whether + statement order. Whether is a little more formal.
- Do you know if the bank is open on Saturdays?
- I wonder whether she got my message.
- Can you tell me if there's a cash machine near here?
- Incorrect: Do you know is the museum open today?
- Correct: Do you know if the museum is open today?A yes/no question needs if or whether, and then statement order.
When who or what is the subject
When the question word is the subject (Who lives here? What happened?), the direct question already has statement order and no do. The indirect question keeps the same words.
- Who lives in that house? → Do you know who lives in that house?
- What happened? → Can you tell me what happened?
Question mark or full stop
The punctuation follows the beginning. If it is a question (Do you know ...?), end with a question mark. If it is a statement (I wonder ..., I'd like to know ...), end with a full stop.
- Do you know where she is?
- I don't know where she is.
A short form like 's or 're can't be the last word, so say where she is, not where she's.
Reported questions
The same word order is used when we report a question that someone asked: She asked me where I lived. Reported speech, with its changes of tense, has its own page.