English — Indirect questions
An indirect question wraps a question inside a polite phrase such as Could you tell me…? or I wonder…. The embedded part keeps statement word order, so we say Could you tell me where the station is? — not …where is the station.
How it works
After the polite opener, the embedded clause uses statement word order and drops the auxiliary do/does/did. Use if or whether when there is no wh-word: I wonder if the shop is open; Do you know whether he called? With wh-words the subject comes before the verb: Could you tell me where the station is?
Examples
| 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? |
| Is the shop open? | I wonder if the shop is open. |
| Did he call? | Do you know whether he called? |
| How much does it cost? | Could you tell me how much it costs? |
| Why did she leave? | I'd like to know why she left. |
| Can I park here? | Do you know if I can park here? |
Good to know
The commonest mistake is keeping question word order or the auxiliary inside the clause: not Could you tell me where is the station? or Do you know what time does it open? Keep statement order — where the station is, what time it opens. Note that the polite opener itself can still be a question and take a question mark: Could you tell me where the station is?