Wh-

Wh- Questions
Questions 11
Use question words in indirect
wh- questions.

The
Henew
alsoguy asked
asked how when
many the
next office
copies party make.
he could was. “When
“How is
many
the next
copies
office
can party?”
I make?”
 Word
Word Order
Order 11
Use statement word order (subject + verb), not
question word order, for indirect yes/no questions.

He asked me if I could turn

off the fax machine. “Can you turn off the
fax machine?”
 Word
Word Order
Order 22
Use statement word order (subject + verb), not
question word order, for indirect wh- questions about
the predicate (usually the last part of the sentence).

He asked why
the meetings lasted so long. “Why do the meetings
last so long?”
 Word
Word Order
Order 33
Use statement word order (subject + verb), not
question word order, for indirect wh- questions about
the subject (usually the first part of the sentence).
Subject

He asked who made the coffee. “Who made

the coffee?”
 Be
Be Careful!
Careful!
If a direct question about the subject has the form
question word + be + noun, then the indirect
question has the form question word + noun + be.

He asked what
was
the the dress
dress code.
code was. “What is the
dress code?”
 Auxiliaries
Auxiliaries
In indirect questions, do not use the auxiliary do,
does, or did.

He asked me doif II have

had
“Do you have any
anynew
any newvideo
videogames.
games. new video games?”
 Punctuation
Punctuation
In indirect questions, do not end with a question
mark (end with a period).

He asked me if I could wake

him up in an hour?. “Could you wake
me up in an hour?”

?
 Practice 2 Change the direct questions
into indirect questions.

Example:
“Where is my office?” She asked…
She asked where her office was.

1. “What’s the name of the company?” They asked…

They asked what the name of the company was.

2. “How many people work for the company?” We asked…

We asked how many people worked for the company.

3. “How long has the boss worked in the office?” I asked…

I asked how long the boss had worked in the office.
 References
References

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education and

its licensors. All rights reserved.