Indirect questions in English can only formally be called as such. They grammatically correspond to the norms of direct speech, and only convey in it the original content of the request. The composition of the questions is in the affirmative. Such constructions are used in indirect speech. The question mark is not put. The forms of verbs, pronouns, adjectives and other parts of speech are changed according to the same rules as for indirect statements. Consider the general rules of education, as well as examples of use.
Examples of introductory phrases for constructing an indirect question
This grammatical construction is used mainly for retelling, or to give politeness to the issue. In this regard, there is a whole list of introductory phrases that form indirect questions.
- Can I ask you? - May I ask you?
- I wonder / I was wondering? - I'm interested / Interested ..
- Would you mind telling me? “Do you mind telling me?”
- Do you know / Do you happen to know? - You know?
- Can / could you tell me? “Could you tell me?”
Examples:
Where are you going?
Could you tell me where you are going?
Where are you going? “Can you tell me where you are going?”
Why is the girl crying?
Do you happen to know why the girl is crying?
Why is the girl crying? “Do you happen to know why the girl is crying?”
When does he start working?
Can I ask you when he starts working?
When will it start to work? “May I ask you when it will start working?”
General rules for converting direct questions to indirect ones
A direct question assumes the presence of the auxiliary verb do, does, did, or one of the question words who, whose, which, why, when, how many, how long, how much. Indirect is built differently. It does not use auxiliary verbs. Following the question words also follows the direct order of the sentence. If there are none, then a union of whether or if is entered instead. Direct and indirect questions imply compliance with the rules of the coordination of times during the transformation. To build the latter, the first part of the sentence is introduced with verbs of the type ask, wonder, inquire, want to know and the like.
Examples:
Can she type?
He asked if she can type.
Can she print? - He asked if she could print.
Is it raining?
She enquired if it was raining.
It's raining. - She asked if it was raining.
Where is the bus station?
The boy asked where the bus station was.
Where is the bus-stop? - The guy asked where the bus stop is.
Summarizing the above, the following three features of constructing an indirect question can be distinguished:
- The presence of an introductory phrase at the beginning.
- Direct word order by type of affirmative sentence.
- Absence of auxiliary verbs do, did, does.
Consider examples of converting general and special issues into indirect ones separately. The former are introduced into the proposal by the unions if or whether, while the latter require a question word (why, where, how, when, etc.).
Convert general and alternative questions to indirect ones
These questions are formed by using the auxiliary verb, which is posed at the beginning of the sentence. They imply a yes or no answer. To transform them into indirect questions, an introductory phrase, an if / whether conjunction, a direct word order and the absence of an auxiliary verb are used.
Examples:
Have you got a smartphone?
He asked if I had a smartphone.
Do you have a smartphone? - He asked if I have a smartphone.
Did you come by bus?
She asked whether I had come by bus.
Did you come by bus? - She asked if I arrived by bus.
Have you been to Paris before?
He asked if I had been to Paris before.
Have you been to Paris already? “He asked if I had been to Paris before.”
Convert special questions to indirect ones
This type of question is transformed by using an introductory phrase, an interrogative word and following the direct order of words in a sentence.
Examples:
"How old is your brother?", She asked.
She asked how old his brother was.
“ How old is your brother? " She asked. - She asked how old his brother was.
“When can we have breakfast?”, He asked.
He asked when they could have breakfast.
He asked: “ When can we have breakfast? “ - He asked when they could have breakfast.
Joanne said to Mary, "Why are you so tired?"
Joanne asked Mary why she was so tired.
Joanna told Marie: “Why are you so tired?” - Joan asked Marie why she was so tired.
Harmonization of times in indirect matters
Since indirect questions are of the nature of narration or retelling, if necessary, the rules for coordinating times are observed, as when switching to indirect speech. The conversion formulas established for this should be followed. They consist in the fact that indirect questions are constructed with an indent one time ago in the past in the second part of the structure. For example, sentences with Present Simple / Continuous / Perfect use Past Simple / Continuous / Perfect (Past Simple / Continuous / Completed). And in the case of the original past, the indirect sentence uses Past Perfect (past completed tense). For future cases, we use Future in the Past rules.
Examples:
He asked, "What are you watching?"
He asked what I was watching.
He asked: "What are you watching?" - He asked me what I was watching.
She asked, "Where have you been last night?"
She asked where I had been last night.
She asked, “Where were you last night?” - She asked where I was last night.
Indirect questions in the English language greatly expand the possibilities of communication, expression of thoughts and the use of grammatical structures. They make the speech more polite, and provide an opportunity to more fully describe or retell events on their own behalf or in the third person.