Indirect questions in English: rules of use and education

Indirect questions in English can only be formally called such. They grammatically correspond to the norms of direct speech, and only transmit in it the original content of the request. The composition of the questions corresponds to the affirmative proposal. Such constructions are used in indirect speech. The question mark is not set. Forms of verbs, pronouns, adjectives and other parts of speech vary 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 for giving the question of politeness. In this regard, there is a whole range of introductory phrases that form indirect questions.

• Can I ask you? - May I ask you?
  
• I wonder / I was wondering? - I'm interested / I wonder ..
  
• 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 are you are going?

Where are you going? "Can you tell me where you're going?"

Why is the girl crying?

Do you happen to know why the girl is crying?

Why is the girl crying? "You, by chance, do not know why a girl is crying?"

When does he start working?

Can I ask you when he starts working?

When will it start working? "May I ask you when he starts working?"

General rules for converting direct questions to indirect ones

The direct question assumes the presence of an auxiliary verb do, does, did, or one of the question words who, Which, which, why, when, how many, how long, how much. Indirect same is built in a different way. It does not use auxiliary verbs. After the question words, the direct order of the sentence also follows. If there are none, then instead of them, you enter the union whether or if. Direct and indirect questions presuppose compliance with the rules for reconciliation of times in the transformation. To construct the latter, the first part of the sentence with verbs like ask, wonder, inquire, want to know and the like is introduced.

Examples:

Can she type?

He asked if she can type.

She can print? He asked if she could print.

Is it raining?

She was 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.

Summarizing the foregoing, we can distinguish the following three features of constructing an indirect question:

1. Presence of an opening phrase in the beginning.
2. Direct word order by type of affirmative sentence.
3. The absence of auxiliary verbs do, did, does.

Let us consider examples of transforming general and special questions into indirect ones separately. The first are introduced into the sentence by the if or whether unions, and the second ones require a question word (why, where, how, when, etc.).

Transformation of general and alternative questions into indirect ones

These questions are formed by using the auxiliary verb, which is put at the beginning of the sentence. They mean the answer is "Yes" or "No". To convert them into indirect questions, an introductory phrase, an if / whether association, a direct order of words, 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 came by bus.

Have you been to Paris before?

He asked if I had been to Paris before.

Have you already been to Paris? "He asked if I had previously been in Paris."

Transformation of special questions into indirect ones

This type of questions is transformed by using an introductory phrase, a question word and observing the direct order of the words in the 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 said to Marie, "Why are you so tired?" Joan asked Marie why she was so tired.

Harmonization of time in indirect matters

Since the indirect questions are narrative or retelling, if necessary, the rules for reconciling time are observed, as in the transition to indirect speech. It is necessary to adhere to the transformation formulas established for this. They are that indirect questions are built indefinitely back in the second part of the structure. For example, in proposals with Present Simple / Continuous / Perfect (Present Simple / Long / Complete Time), use Past Simple / Continuous / Perfect (Past Simple / Long / Complete Time). And in the case of the original past, the indirect sentence uses Past Perfect (past past time). In future cases, we use the rules of Future in the Past.

Examples:

He asked, "What are you watching?"

He asked what I was watching.

He asked: "What are you looking at?" - He asked me what I was looking at.

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 me where I was last night.

Indirect questions in the English language greatly expand the possibilities of communication, expressing thoughts and using grammatical structures. They make the speech more polite, and provide an opportunity to more fully describe or retell the events on their behalf or from a third party.