Direct and Indirect Questions in English
Direct and Indirect Questions in English
Direct and Indirect Questions in English
Direct questions are the “normal” questions that we can ask friends, family members, and
people who we know well.
Indirect questions are a little more formal and polite. We use them when talking to a person
we don’t know very well, or in professional situations, and their form is a little different.
(Usamos las preguntas indirectas cuando hablamos con una persona a la quien no
conocemos mucho o en una situación profesional. Las preguntas indirectas son más
formales que las directas)
( Estas son las más comunes, existen otras que luego usaremos)
In indirect questions with is/are, the verb (is) comes after the subject (Market Street).
In indirect questions, we don’t use the auxiliary verbs do/does/did. Also, you can see that
the verb is “open” in the direct question, and “opens” in the indirect question.
Again, there is no auxiliary verb did in the indirect question. In fact, this indirect question isn’t
even a question – it’s more of a statement that invites the other person to give more
information.
If the direct question is a “yes or no” question (it has no question word such as what, who,
when, where, why, or how), then the indirect question will have if.
I. Change the direct questions into indirect questions. Use 'could you tell me'.
3) Is she hungry?
4) What is this?
7) Is he a lawyer?
Change the direct questions into indirect questions. Use 'do you know'.
If you want to look for others write “ indirect question exercises” in your browser