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Unit 7: Grammar-Indirect questions

اللغة الإنجليزية - الصف المواد المشتركة توجيهي

UNIT 7, student's book,page 51

 Grammar: Indirect questions   

The function:

We use indirect questions to ask questions in a polite, formal way.

We can begin impersonal questions with:

Could you tell me ……?

                 Do you know …?

Do you mind telling me …?

Could you explain ….?

 'Yes / No' Questions 
To make an indirect 'yes / no' question, we use if or whether and the word order of a normal positive sentence.

This is the same as for reported 'yes / no' questions. Unlike reported questions we don't need to 'back shift' (change the tense of the verb) and the sentence ends in a question mark.

 To change from a direct 'yes / no' question to an indirect question, you add if or whether and change the word order back to a normal sentence. (You don't need to use inversion.) Do not forget to write a question mark.  
 Example:

 Do you know if/whether there’s a library near here, please?

Study the following table:

Verb Tense

Direct Question

Indirect Question

Present simple with 'be'

Is he Spanish?

Could you tell me if he is Spanish?

Present continuous

Is the restaurant closing now?

Could you tell me if the restaurant is closing now?

Past simple with 'be'

Was he late for the meeting?

Could you tell me if he was late for the meeting?

Past continuous

Were you watching TV at 3 pm?

Could you tell me if you were watching TV at 3 pm?

Present perfect

Has Lucy been to Mexico?

Could you tell me if Lucy has been to Mexico?

Present perfect continuous

Has she been living here long?

Could you tell me if she has been living here long?

Past perfect

Had she found this job when she moved here?

Could you tell me if she had found this job when she moved here?

Past perfect continuous

Had she been living here long when she met you?

Could you tell me if she had been living here long when she met you?

Future simple with 'will'

Will she start her new job next week?

Could you tell me if she will start her new job next week?

Future simple with 'going to'

Is it going to rain later?

Could you tell me if it is going to rain later?

Modal verbs

Should we start now?

Could you tell me if we should start now?

 

'Yes / no' questions with 'do / does / did':

For questions that begin with ‘Do, Does, or Did’, we delete ‘do, does, or did’ then we use if or whether. Here, we do not have to change the word order only pay attention to subject –verb agreement.

Verb Tense Direct Question Indirect Question
Present simple with any verb except 'be' Does David live in London? Could you tell me if David lives in London?
Past simple with any verb except 'be' Did Amanda call John yesterday? Could you tell me if Amanda called John yesterday?

 

  'Wh' Questions  
In the same way, as with reported 'wh' questions, we use the question word such as what, who, why, when, where, how, etc. and the word order of a normal positive sentence to make indirect 'wh' questions. We don't need to use inversion. Again, we also don't need to 'back shift' (change the tense of the verb) as we do with reported questions.

Example

       Could you tell me what the time is, please?

       Do you know who that man is?

       Do you mind telling me why the train is late?

       Could you tell me where the nearest bank is, please?

      Could you explain how you solved this puzzle?

Study the following table:

Verb Tense

Direct Question

Indirect Question

Present simple with 'be'

Why is he unhappy?

 Could you tell me why he is unhappy?

Present continuous

When is the restaurant closing?

 Could you tell me when the restaurant is closing?

Past simple with 'be'

Why was he late for the meeting?

 Could you tell me why he was late for the meeting?

Past continuous

What were you doing at 3 pm?

Could you tell me what you were doing at 3 pm?

Present perfect

Where has Lucy?

Could you tell me where Lucy has been?

Present perfect continuous

How long has she been living here?

 Could you tell me how long she has been living here?

Past perfect

Why had she quit her job before she moved here?

Could you tell me why she had quit her job before she moved here?

Past perfect continuous

How long had she been living here when she met you?

Could you tell me how long she had been living here when she met you?

Future simple with 'will'

When will she start her new job?

Could you tell me when she will start her new job?

Future simple with 'going to'

When is it going to rain?

Could you tell me when it is going to rain?

Future continuous

What time will Lisa be meeting the boss?

Could you tell me what time Lisa will be meeting the boss?

Modal verbs

What should we do now?

Could you tell me what we should do now?


'Wh' questions with 'do / does / did'
Questions with ‘do, does, or did’ ,  we don't need ‘do, does, or did’. Instead, we use a question word and we do not have to change the word order only pay attention to subject–verb agreement.

Verb Tense

Direct Question

Indirect Question

Present simple with any verb except 'be'

Where does David live?

Could you tell me where David lives?

Past simple with any verb except 'be'

Why did Amanda call John yesterday?

Could you tell me why Amanda called John yesterday?