Direct and indirect questions (English grammar)

Direct and indirect questions exercises

Exercise 1: Change direct questions to indirect questions.

Examples:
What did she do? - Can you tell me what she did?
Do we have enough sugar? - I wonder if we have enough sugar.

Why did she cry? - Can you tell me ?

Does she speak Greek? - I'd like to know Greek.

Where is Joe? - Do you know ?

What time does the show start? - Do you have any idea ?

Will they be all right? - I wonder all right.

What did he want? - Would you mind telling me ?

Whose car was it? - Could you let me know ?

Is this the right train? - Do you have any idea the right train?

When will they get married? - I wonder .

How long has she known him? - I'd like to know him.

Could you babysit tonight? - I was wondering tonight.

What is her name? - Can you tell me ?

Do they have any free tickets? - Could you let me know some free tickets?

Where were the boxes? - Can you remember ?

Which countries did she visit? - Do you know ?

Try some more exercises:

Indirect questions exercises with answers + PDF worksheets.

Direct and indirect questions

Unlike direct questions, indirect questions are not normal questions. They have the same word order as statements and we do not use the verb do to form a question.

Indirect questions examples:

What did she want? - Do you know what she wanted?
Where was it? - Do you remember where it was?
Will they come? - I wonder if they will come.

They usually come after introductory phrases combined with interrogative pronouns and adjectives (who, whom, what, which, whose), adverbs (when, where, how, why) or if, whether.

We can use many introductory phrases such as I ask, I wonder, I want/would like to know, I can't remember, I have no idea, I am sure etc., or they can be introduced by expressions such as Can you tell me, Do you know, Do you remember, Have you any idea.

Examples:

How much is it? - I'd like to know how much it is.
Is this seat free? - He is asking if this seat is free.
Where did she go? - Have you any idea where she went?
Does he want to buy it? - Do you know whether he wants to buy it?

The indirect question is more common in English than in some other languages. It is more polite and more formal.

Examples:

Why did you do it? - Could you tell me why you did it?
Could I use your telephone? - Do you think I could use your telephone?
Are you married? - I wonder if you are married.

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