In INDIRECT or REPORTED questions, word order changes to AFFIRMATIVE ORDER (subject + verb, no inversion) and the question mark is REMOVED. "Where is he?" (direct) -> "She asked where he WAS" (reported: affirmative order, past tense). The direct question inversion disappears in indirect questions.
DIRECT QUESTIONS: have INVERSION (auxiliary goes BEFORE the subject) and end with a question mark (?). "Where is the meeting?" (Is = aux, the meeting = subject: inversion). "When does the project start?" (Does = aux, the project = subject). "What time will the decision be announced?" (Will = aux, the decision = subject). "Who called the office this morning?" (exception: WHO as subject has no inversion). Direct questions are asked directly to a person to obtain an immediate answer. Yes/no direct questions: "Have you received the report?" WH-questions: "Where did they go?" "Why was the meeting cancelled?"
"When will the board announce its decision regarding the proposed restructuring, and what criteria will it use to evaluate the competing options on the table?"
"Has the legal team completed its review of the acquisition agreement, and are there any outstanding issues that need to be resolved before the signing ceremony scheduled for next Thursday?"
"Why was the regional director's proposal excluded from the final shortlist, and who made the decision to remove it without consulting the wider stakeholder group?"
INDIRECT (EMBEDDED) AND REPORTED QUESTIONS: when a direct question becomes part of an affirmative sentence (reported, indirect, or embedded), three changes happen: (1) AFFIRMATIVE ORDER: the auxiliary no longer goes BEFORE the subject. "Where IS the meeting?" -> "I wonder where the meeting IS." (2) NO QUESTION MARK: the reported question is part of an affirmative sentence. (3) TENSE SHIFTS BACK ONE LEVEL (if the main clause is in past): "Where is he?" -> "She asked where HE WAS." (present IS -> past WAS). YES/NO QUESTIONS IN INDIRECT FORM: use IF or WHETHER: "Did he arrive?" -> "I don't know IF / WHETHER he arrived." FREQUENT STRUCTURES: "I wonder + WH", "Could you tell me + WH", "Do you know + WH/IF", "She asked + WH/IF", "I'd like to know + WH."
Several committee members have indicated that they would like to know when the board expects to announce its decision and what criteria it will use to evaluate the competing proposals.
Could you tell me whether the legal team has completed its review of the acquisition agreement and whether there are any outstanding issues that still need to be resolved before Thursday?
The shareholders wanted to understand why the regional director's proposal had been excluded from the final shortlist and who had made that decision without consulting the broader stakeholder group.
Common mistake
THE FOUR MOST FREQUENT ERRORS: (1) KEEPING INVERSION IN THE INDIRECT QUESTION: "I want to know WHERE IS the meeting" = INCORRECT. Correct: "I want to know WHERE THE MEETING IS" (affirmative order: subject + verb). (2) ADDING A QUESTION MARK AT THE END: "I wonder when will she arrive?" = INCORRECT (the sentence is affirmative, not a direct question). Correct: "I wonder when she will arrive." (3) NOT USING IF/WHETHER FOR YES/NO QUESTIONS: "Do you know did he call?" = INCORRECT. Correct: "Do you know IF/WHETHER he called?" (4) NOT BACKSHIFTING THE TENSE: "She asked me where I LIVE" = possible (if still true), but the most common in most contexts is "She asked me where I LIVED" (backshift: present -> past).
Trick to remember it
THE INDIRECT QUESTION FORMULA: [Introductory expression] + [WH-word or IF/WHETHER] + [AFFIRMATIVE ORDER: subject + verb] (no inversion, no question mark). "I want to know" + "where" + "the meeting is." "Could you tell me" + "whether" + "he called." AFFIRMATION TRICK: mentally convert the question to an affirmation before embedding it. "Where IS the meeting?" -> Affirmation: "The meeting IS in room 5" -> Indirect: "I want to know where THE MEETING IS in room 5" -> simplified: "where the meeting is." BACKSHIFT RECORD: present -> past. simple past -> past perfect. will -> would. can -> could.
Quick rule
Direct question: inversion (aux + subject) + question mark. Indirect question: affirmative order (subject + verb) + no question mark. Yes/no indirect: yes/no direct = IF or WHETHER. "I want to know WHERE THE MEETING IS" (not "where IS the meeting"). "Do you know IF he called?" (not "did he call"). Backshift: present -> past if main clause is past.
Did you know?
Indirect questions (embedded questions) are one of the most frequent structures in PROFESSIONAL AND DIPLOMATIC ENGLISH, precisely because of their less confrontational nature. In direct English, "Where is the data?" sounds like a direct demand. In indirect/diplomatic English, "I was wondering if you might be able to share where the data is currently held" sounds like a polite request. This pragmatic difference is especially important in British English and diplomatic English, where indirectness is a marker of politeness and authority. Research on business English has shown that more senior executives tend to use MORE indirect questions (not fewer) than their subordinates — contrary to the intuition that "speaking with authority" requires being more direct. Indirectness signals confidence and situational control in many high-formality contexts.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Could you tell me _____ the executive committee has reached a final decision on the proposed acquisition, or whether the matter will be deferred to the next scheduled board meeting?
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The compliance officer asked the procurement team _____ all vendor contracts had been reviewed in accordance with the updated due diligence protocol introduced at the beginning of the year.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Direct question: inversion (aux + subject) + question mark. Indirect question: affirmative order (subject + verb) + no question mark. Yes/no indirect: yes/no direct = IF or WHETHER. "I want to know WHERE THE MEETING IS" (not "where IS the meeting"). "Do you know IF he called?" (not "did he call"). Backshift: present -> past if main clause is past.
THE FOUR MOST FREQUENT ERRORS: (1) KEEPING INVERSION IN THE INDIRECT QUESTION: "I want to know WHERE IS the meeting" = INCORRECT. Correct: "I want to know WHERE THE MEETING IS" (affirmative order: subject + verb). (2) ADDING A QUESTION MARK AT THE END: "I wonder when will she arrive?" = INCORRECT (the sentence is affirmative, not a direct question). Correct: "I wonder when she will arrive." (3) NOT USING IF/WHETHER FOR YES/NO QUESTIONS: "Do you know did he call?" = INCORRECT. Correct: "Do you know IF/WHETHER he called?" (4) NOT BACKSHIFTING THE TENSE: "She asked me where I LIVE" = possible (if still true), but the most common in most contexts is "She asked me where I LIVED" (backshift: present -> past).
THE INDIRECT QUESTION FORMULA: [Introductory expression] + [WH-word or IF/WHETHER] + [AFFIRMATIVE ORDER: subject + verb] (no inversion, no question mark). "I want to know" + "where" + "the meeting is." "Could you tell me" + "whether" + "he called." AFFIRMATION TRICK: mentally convert the question to an affirmation before embedding it. "Where IS the meeting?" -> Affirmation: "The meeting IS in room 5" -> Indirect: "I want to know where THE MEETING IS in room 5" -> simplified: "where the meeting is." BACKSHIFT RECORD: present -> past. simple past -> past perfect. will -> would. can -> could.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy