![]() Again, we also don't usually need to 'backshift' (change the tense of the verb) as we do with reported questions. In the same way as with reported 'wh' questions, we use the question word and the word order of a normal positive sentence to make indirect 'wh' questions. Verb TenseĬan you tell me if David lives in London?Ĭan you tell me if Amanda called John yesterday? When we want to make indirect 'yes / no' questions using these tenses, we need 'if' and we don't need 'do / does / did'. These tense make direct questions by using 'do / does / did'. Sometimes you want to make an indirect question using the present simple of any verb except 'be' or the past simple of any verb except 'be'. 'Yes / no' questions with tenses that use 'do / does / did': Will he have been studying French for twenty years when he retires?Ĭan you tell me if he will have been studying French for twenty years when he retires? Will he have finished the report by tonight?Ĭan you tell me if he will have finished the report by tonight? Had she been living here long when she met you?Ĭan you tell me if she had been living here long when she met you?Ĭan you tell me if she will start her new job next week?Ĭan you tell me if it is going to rain later?Ĭan you tell me if Lisa will be meeting the boss later? Had she found this job when she moved here?Ĭan you tell me if she had found this job when she moved here? 'Yes / no' questions for tenses with inversion: Verb TenseĬan you tell me if the restaurant is closing now?Ĭan you tell me if he was late for the meeting?Ĭan you tell me if you were watching TV at 3pm?Ĭan you tell me if Lucy has been to Mexico?Ĭan you tell me if she has been living here long? To change from a direct 'yes / no' question with inversion to an indirect question, you add 'if' and change the word order back to a normal positive sentence. Of course, most tenses make questions by using 'inversion' (changing the word order). On the other hand, we don't usually need to 'backshift' (change the tense of the verb) as we do with reported questions. This is the same as for reported 'yes / no' questions. To make an indirect 'yes / no' question, we use 'if' and the word order of a normal positive sentence. They are very, very common in English, especially when you're talking to someone you don't know. ![]() Indirect questions are a way of being polite. However, we use indirect questions in a different way from reported questions. This is very similar to the grammar of reported questions. This is called inversion, and it is used to make direct questions in many verb tenses in English, but we don't use inversion in indirect questions. Notice that in the indirect question I put the verb ('is') after the subject ('the bank'), in the same way as I do with a normal positive sentence ('the bank is over there'), but in the direct question I put the verb 'is' before the subject 'the bank'. Indirect question: Could you tell me where the bank is? Indirect questions start with a phrase like 'could you tell me.' or 'do you know.'. I use indirect questions when I'm asking for help in the street, because they are very polite. And do you know if there's a supermarket near here? Person in the street: Yes, there's one next to the station. Could you tell me where the nearest station is? Person in the street: Certainly.
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