Embedded Questions

Form

An embedded question is a question tucked inside a statement or a longer question, and inside it the word order goes back to ordinary statement order.

Keep the question word, put the subject before the verb, and drop the auxiliary do, does or did (Where is the station? becomes Could you tell me where the station is?). For a yes/no question, use if or whether in place of a question word (Is it open? becomes Do you know if it is open?). The sentence takes a question mark only when the outer clause is itself a question (I don't know where he went. / Do you know where he went?).

When to Use It

1. 1

   Use an embedded question to ask something politely, because the indirect frame softens the request

   Could you tell me where the station is?

2. 2

   Keep the question word and follow it with subject then verb, dropping do, does and did

   I don't know what time the shop opens.

3. 3

   Use if or whether for anything that would get a yes or no answer

   Do you know if the meeting was canceled?

4. 4

   Leave the word order alone when the question word is already the subject

   Could you find out who is calling?

5. 5

   Use a question word plus to plus a base verb when you are asking about a procedure

   Can you explain how to use this machine?

6. 6

   End with a period when the outer clause is a statement, however question-like the rest sounds

   I wonder where she lives.

Common Mistakes

• Question order inside the statement: write I don't know what the strategy is, not I don't know what is the strategy — the subject comes before the verb once the question is embedded.
• Keeping do, does or did: write Can you tell me how much it costs?, not Can you tell me how much does it cost? — the auxiliary goes, and the main verb carries the tense.
• A yes/no question without if: write Do you know if he is coming?, not Do you know is he coming? — a yes/no question needs if or whether, and the subject still comes before the verb.
• A question mark after a statement: write I wonder where she lives., not I wonder where she lives? — only the outer clause decides the punctuation.
• How to without the to: write Can you explain how to use this machine?, not Can you explain how use this machine? — a question word plus to needs a base verb right after it.