EMBEDDED QUESTION

An embedded question is a question

that is inside another question or
statement. 
 WH QUESTION PATTERN
• What (Question Word) did (Aux V) he (S)
say (V)?

Question Word+ auxiliary V+ S+ V?

What did he say?
 QUESTION PATTERN
• Do (Aux V) you (S) like (V) pizza (O)?

• Do you like pizza?

• AuxV S V O?
 SENTENCE PATTERN
• A normal English sentence follows this
pattern: Subject + Verb (+ Object) or SVO.
• She (S) sang (V).
• The girl (S) walked (V) her dog (O).
• SUBJECT + VERB+ OBJECT
 TWO TYPES OF EMBEDDED QUESTIONS

• 1. Embedded Questions within Questions

Here are some examples of an embedded question within another question.

Do (Aux V) you (S) think (V) [if we (S) need (V) more time (O)]?

• 2. Embedded Questions within Statements

• I (S) don’t know (V) [what (question word) I (S) should do (V)].

* Embedded Question Pattern

• In an embedded question, the question inside the statement or other question
follows a sentence pattern instead of a question pattern: SVO. The introductory
phrases follow the normal sentence (SV) or question (VS) patterns.

apply : S+ V+ 0
Follow: S+V+0= Sentence Pattern
Follow: S+V+0= Sentence Pattern
introduce: whether or not or if
 USES
• 1. To be more polite
• What time is it? (normal question)

• Could you (please) tell me what time it

is? (embedded question = more polite)
• IT+ IS = SUBJECT+ VERB
 USES
• 2. To give more information
• I wonder if she’ll call me. (expresses curiosity)
• I don’t know where my bag is. (expresses lack
of knowledge)
• I want to know when this meeting will
start. (expresses desire for knowledge)
 USES
• 3. To change direct speech to
reported (indirect) speech
• “What do you want to know?” (direct speech)
• He asked me what I wanted to
know. (reported speech)
 Embeded as a noun clause
• Notes
• Note #1
• Embedded questions are a type of noun clause. A
noun clause is a complete sentence (SVO) that
serves as a subject or object of another sentence.
• What do you mean? (SV)
• I don’t know (SV) [what you meant (SV)]. (What
you meant serves as the object of the sentence I
don’t know.)