Direct questions are those that ask for information directly. They usually start with a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) or an auxiliary verb (is, are, can, do, etc.). For example:
- Direct yes/no question: "Is she coming?"
- Direct wh-question: "What are you doing?"
Indirect questions are more polite or formal. They often start with phrases like "I wonder," "Could you tell me," or "Do you know." The structure changes because the word order is different from direct questions.
For yes/no questions, the structure changes to a statement. For example:
- Direct: "Is she coming?"
- Indirect: "I wonder if / whether she is coming."
For wh-questions, the word order is similar to a statement. For example:
- Direct: "Where is the store?"
- Indirect: "Could you tell me where the store is?"
When forming indirect questions, keep these conditions in mind:
1. Use the appropriate introductory phrase: "I wonder," "Could you tell me," "Do you know," etc.
2. For yes/no questions, use "if" or "whether" to introduce the indirect question.
3. Maintain the statement word order in the indirect question.
4. No question mark is needed at the end of indirect questions that are part of a larger statement: "I wonder if the store is open right now."
Tense Change in Indirect Questions:
1. Present Tense to Present Tense: If the direct question is in the present tense, the indirect question can remain in the present tense.
- Example: Direct: "What does she want?" Indirect: "Can you tell me what she wants?"
2. Present Tense to Past Tense: If the reporting verb is in the past tense (e.g. 'asked'), the present tense of the verb in the direct question changes to the past tense in the indirect question.
- Example: Direct: "Where is the library?" she asked. Indirect: "She asked where the library was."
3. Past Tense: If the direct question is in the past tense, the indirect question remains in the past tense. You can show the sequence of events using the Past Perfect as well.
- Example: Direct: "Did he finish?" Indirect: "She asked if he finished / had finished."
