indirect questions
Questions within statements
Indirect questions report or embed a question within a larger sentence without using question word order or a question mark: She asked where I was going, I wonder what time it is.
The shift from direct to indirect form changes syntax—"Where are you going?" becomes "where I was going." Indirect questions often sound softer or more polite than direct ones: Could you tell me where the bathroom is? rather than Where is the bathroom?
- embedded clausesSentences nested in sentences
- dependent clauseIncomplete grammatical unit needing support
- main clauseSelf-sufficient sentence portion
- interrogativeAsking in nature
- semanticsStudy of linguistic meaning
inquiry · information seeking · syntax · illocutionary force · grammar · conversation · suggests · communication · reported speech · subordinate clauses · implications · pragmatics · clause · dialogue · propositions · phrasing · word order · ellipsis
indirect questionsdirect questions
Queries without indirect phrasing
yes-no questions · interrogation · cross-examination · grilling · demands
indirect, indirectly, indirectness, direct, directly, direction, directional, director, directive