COMMUNICATIVE GRAMMAR IV

Indirect Questions

César Ochoa Cueva, M.S.Ed.

Indirect Yes/No Questions 1

Indirect Yes/No Questions 1

Use if or whether in indirect yes/no questions.

“Can you type?" she asked.

She asked me if I could type.

“Do you know how to use a scanner?” he asked.

He wanted to know whether I knew how to use a scanner.

Indirect Yes/No Questions 2

Indirect Yes/No Questions 2

Whether is more formal than if. We often use whether or not to report yes/no questions.

“Is the report ready?” my boss asks.

My boss wanted to know whether or not the report was ready.

Wh- QuestionsWh- Questions

Use question words in indirect wh- questions.

“Where is your office?” I asked.

I asked where his office was.

“How much sugar do you want?” I asked.

I asked how much sugar he wanted.

Word Order 1Word Order 1

“Did they like pizza?” I asked.

I asked if they had liked pizza.

“Can you play the piano?” I asked.

I asked if she could play the piano.

Use statement word order (subject + verb), not question word order, for indirect yes/no questions.

Word Order 2Word Order 2

“Why do you like soccer?” I asked.

I asked why he liked soccer.

“Where did they live?” I asked.

I asked where they had lived.

Use statement word order (subject + verb), not question word order, for indirect wh- questions about the predicate (usually the

last part of the sentence).

Word Order 3Word Order 3

“Which factory fired Tom?” I asked.

I asked which factory had fired Tom.

“What plants grow in Alaska?” I asked.

I asked what plants grew in Alaska.

Use statement word order (subject + verb), not question word order, for indirect wh- questions about the subject (usually the

first part of the sentence).

Attention!Attention!

If a direct question about the subject has the form question word + be + noun, then the indirect question has the form question

word + noun + be.

“What is the name of the book?” I asked.

I asked what the name of the book was.

“Who is your favorite actor?” I asked.

I asked who his favorite actor was.

• Fuchs, M. & Bonner, M., Focus on Grammar 4 Pearson Education , White Plains, NY 10606,

2006• http://www.myenglishteacher.net

• Photo credit: Microsoft Office

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