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Forming polite and embedded questions.
An indirect question contains a question within another sentence and normally uses statement word order in the embedded question.
For example, Do you know where she lives? uses where she lives rather than where does she live.
An embedded question normally follows subject-verb order rather than direct-question inversion.
For example, Do you know where he lives? not Do you know where does he live?
A yes/no question embedded inside another clause is commonly introduced by if or whether.
For example, Is she coming? becomes Do you know if she is coming?
If can introduce an embedded yes/no question.
For example, I do not know if he is ready.
Whether can introduce an embedded yes/no question and is often preferred in formal writing or when alternatives are explicit.
For example, I do not know whether he is ready.
If and whether can both introduce many embedded yes/no questions, but whether is preferred in some formal structures and when alternatives are expressed.
For example, I do not know whether to stay or leave.
Whether or not emphasizes that the answer does not affect the main statement or that both possibilities are being considered.
For example, I will go whether or not you come.
Wh-words such as who, what, where, when, why, and how can introduce embedded information questions.
For example, Do you know where she works? and I wonder why he left.
What introduces an embedded question asking about a thing, information, action, or identity.
For example, Do you know what she wants?
Who can introduce an embedded question asking about a person and can be the subject or object of the embedded clause.
For example, Do you know who called? and Do you know who she called?
Where introduces an embedded question asking about location or destination.
For example, Do you know where the station is?
When introduces an embedded question asking about time.
For example, Do you know when the meeting starts?
Why introduces an embedded question asking about reason or cause.
For example, I wonder why she left early.
How introduces an embedded question asking about manner, method, degree, quantity, frequency, duration, or distance.
For example, Do you know how this works? and I wonder how long it will take.
When be occurs inside an indirect question, it remains after the subject because the embedded clause uses statement word order.
For example, Do you know where she is? not Do you know where is she?
Do-support used in a direct simple question normally disappears in the embedded question.
For example, Where does he live? becomes Do you know where he lives?
Modal verbs remain in their normal position after the subject in an indirect question.
For example, What can we do? becomes Do you know what we can do?
Perfect auxiliaries remain after the embedded subject rather than moving before it.
For example, Has she arrived? becomes Do you know whether she has arrived?
Progressive auxiliaries remain in normal statement order inside the embedded question.
For example, What is she doing? becomes Do you know what she is doing?
Indirect questions can make requests for information more polite, tentative, or less direct.
For example, Where is the station? can become Could you tell me where the station is?
Could you tell me ... is a common polite frame for introducing an indirect question.
For example, Could you tell me where the nearest bank is?
Do you know ... commonly introduces an indirect question requesting information.
For example, Do you know when the shop closes?
Would you mind telling me ... introduces a particularly polite request for information.
For example, Would you mind telling me how this works?
I wonder can introduce an indirect question that sounds tentative or less direct.
For example, I wonder where she is.
Do you have any idea ... can introduce an indirect question and emphasizes that the speaker is asking whether the listener knows the answer.
For example, Do you have any idea where he lives?
An indirect question can function as the object or complement of verbs such as know, wonder, ask, remember, and explain.
For example, I know where she lives and We asked whether they were ready.
An indirect question can be embedded inside a noun phrase to identify a question, issue, or uncertainty.
For example, the question of where we should go and uncertainty about whether they will agree.
Some embedded questions can be reduced to wh-word + to-infinitive when the subject and meaning are recoverable from context.
For example, I do not know what to do, where to go, or how to solve the problem.
Whether can be followed by a to-infinitive when the alternatives concern an action to be taken.
For example, I cannot decide whether to stay or leave.
A sentence containing an indirect question does not necessarily end with a question mark if the whole sentence is grammatically a statement.
For example, I do not know where she lives. is a statement, while Do you know where she lives? is a question.
A direct question quoted within a larger sentence can retain its own question mark according to the quotation and punctuation conventions being used.
For example, She asked, "Where are you going?" differs from She asked where I was going.
Indirect questions are common in formal correspondence, customer service, professional requests, and institutional communication.
For example, Could you please tell me when the application deadline is?
An indirect question can simply embed a question as part of another sentence, while a reported question describes a previous question and may involve tense or person changes according to reporting context.
For example, Can you tell me where he lives? is an indirect question, while She asked me where he lived reports a previous question.
Different introductory expressions allow speakers to adjust the politeness, formality, and directness of an information request.
For example, Where is the station? is direct, while Could you tell me where the station is? is more polite and indirect.
Use statement word order inside indirect questions and do not repeat direct-question inversion inside the embedded clause.
Common mistakes include Do you know where does he live?, Can you tell me what is she doing?, adding unnecessary do-support, and using a question mark after an ordinary statement containing an indirect question.