Direct questions – yes / no questions in English.
1. He likes swimming.
2. He can swim long distances.
3. He is a good swimmer.
To make sentence 1 into a question, you need to add does. The does goes before he.
Does is only used if the subject is he, she or it – in all other cases, use do.
The verb like goes after the subject, but it doesn't have an 's' on the end.
Remember: after auxiliary verbs (like do, does, have, can, etc.) the verb is in the infinitive, without 'to'.
"Does he like swimming?" Not "Does he likes swimming?" or "Do he like swimming?"
If the sentence is in the past tense (he liked swimming), we use the past form of 'do' or 'does', which is did. The verb 'like' is still in the infinitive without 'to'.
For example, "Did he like swimming?" Not "Did he liked swimming?"
To make sentence 2 into a question, you don't need to use 'does' because you already have an auxiliary verb – can. So you put the can before he.
"Can he swim long distances?" Not "Can swim he long distances?" or "Does he can swim long distances?"
To make sentence 3 into a question, use is as the auxiliary.
"Is he a good swimmer?" Not "Does he is a good swimmer?" or "Does he be a good swimmer?"
Direct questions – "wh" questions
What is your name?
Why do you want this job?
How much do you earn?
How soon can you start?
When did you see the advertisement?
Where do you live?
Which newspaper did you see the advertisement in?
Who gave you my name?
After the "wh word" (what, why, how, when, etc) comes the auxiliary (do, does, did or can), then the subject (you) , then the rest of the question.
Note: if 'who', 'which' or 'what' are the subject of the question, you don't need an auxiliary.
For example, "What happened?" Not "What did happen?" The thing that happened is what – the subject of the question.
"Who saw you?" Someone saw you – who was it?
Compare with "Who did you see?" You saw someone – who was it?)
"Which company made a profit?" A company made a profit – which company was it?
Compare with "Which company did you work for?" You worked for a company – which one was it?
Indirect questions in English
If you want to ask a question that is quite sensitive, try using one of the indirect phrases below:
Can you tell me…
Could you tell me…
I'd be interested to hear…
I'd like to know…
Would you mind telling me…
These questions are followed by either about, a "wh word" or if. Then you add the subject, then the sentence.
You don't need an 'auxiliary', such as 'do', 'does', 'did', or 'can'.
"Can you tell me what you like most about your present job?" Not "Can you tell me what do you like?"
"I'd be interested to hear about your experiences."
"Would you mind telling me if you have applied for a similar position before?"
44 comments on “Direct and Indirect Questions in English”
Tell me in which situation what type of question should be asked?
For example:
1) Did you see the movie?
2) Have you seen the movie?
3) You saw the movie?
Are they all right questions, if yes, which one is right for which situation.
Question 1 and 2 ask much the same thing. Question 1 refers to a past event, whereas question 2 asks whether you have had the experience of seeing the movie.
Question 3 is not really a question, but if you had rising intonation (on the movie?) it sounds like a question. We would use this if we were surprised:
I saw Departed.
You saw the movie?
I'm a little confusing about which word I have to use in this question:
How long does the train (Tour , travel , voyage or journey ) from London to Edinburg take ?
Either train or journey.
these three kind of questions; really useful.
thank you so much
jafar ali
Which one is correct? "Do you know who is this?" or "Do you know who this is?".
"Do you know who this is?" is correct.
I just want to know that when we ask a negative question,where do we place "not"? for example:
1) haven't you seen the movie?
2) Have you not seen the movie?
The first one is more common, as we tend to abbreviate the auxiliary form "haven't".
I just want to know that when we ask a negative question,where do we place "not"? for example:
why you did not come last night?
why did you not come last night?
The first one is correct. (After the auxiliary.)
for indirect questions shall I place the verb to be at the end? what is the rule.
The verb goes at the end:
What is your name? (Direct question)
Can you tell me what your name is? (Indirect question)
The word order of indirect questions looks like a positive statement, with noun + verb.
When do we use "do" in questions vs. when do we use "be" in questions? Is there a hard and fast rule?
Sarah Mallery » Use "be" in questions where the verb is the verb "to be":
She is French.
Is she French?
Use "do" in questions when there is a "lexical" verb, such as live, work, eat etc
She eats vegetables and fruit.
Does she eat meat?
how to make this sentence indirect:
A child asked in wonder,"who created the heavens and all the beautiful things around us?"
raul roliga » A child asked who had created the heavens and all the beautiful things around us.
Phitcha » We use "be" when the verb is "to be", so "Are you free?" and not "Do you be free". We use the "do" for most verbs: "Do you like pizza?" or "Do you know him?"
I just want to ask about what is the structure for this question.
Do you know where the cat is?
Thank you!^^
grace » A direct question is "Where is the cat?"
But in indirect questions, we have an introductory phrase like "Do you know" or "I'd like to know". Then you have the question word (where / what / why etc), plus noun and verb.
An important thing to remember is that in indirect questions, the word order of the question looks more like a statement (noun – verb). In direct questions (Where is the cat?) you have an inversion, with question word – verb – noun.
Try this one:
What's the time?
Do/know?
Do you know what time it is?
Why do we put "it" in the indirect form?
Why not:
Do you what the time is?
Hmm
Phil » You can say "Do you know what the time is?" as well as "Do you know what time is it?"
The direct question is either "What time is it?" (indirect "Do you know what time it is?") and "What's the time?" (indirect "Do you know what the time is?")
Hope that helps.
what would be the indirect question.
he asked what is your name?
tahir khan » He asked me what my name was.
how to make this sentence indirect:
would you accept a cash settlement?
Dasha » I asked if he / she / they would accept a cash settlement.
How do I change this question to an Indirect question. "How many stars are on the flag of Singapore?"
Milciades Salinas » He / she asked how many stars there were on the flag of Singapore.
Hi. I just need to know what is correct?
The little girl wants to know what is at the end of the rainbow.
or
The little girl wants to know what at the end of the rainbow is.
Walrus » The first one is correct.
how to change the sentence, " The sun's heat in the morning is a good source of vitamin D." in question using What does?
would it be possible?
jocelyn » What does the sun's heat provide in the morning?
when we use the word of "if"
for example "do you know if he lives around there" how can we make it direct question
thanks..
hasan » Does he live around here?
Could someone write me whether
"It was the girls who won the match" is grammatically correct or not?
Yes, it's correct, though you could also say "The girls won the match".
I would like to know about intonation in indirect questions is it rising or falling or both as it is formed of two questions please waiting for your answer
It's falling intonation.
what is an information question?
Is the following question an information question or a yes or no question?
Have you got any idea who invented the first washing machine?
I think it's a yes/no question, as the answer to "Have you got any idea…." is either yes or no.
Hi..
I have a question… If I say "What's wrong?"… Is there an indirect question???
She asked me what was wrong.
Dear Clare
I have confusion about "have had" in sentences. please tell me where i can use "have had" in sentence. and possible please also describe waht does it mean,
Thanks & regards
It's the present perfect form of "have":
I have had a good day today.
See the page on the present perfect in the grammar section of the site for more information about using the present perfect tense.
I understand Dirct and Indirect questioning. Thank you. Please could you explain Reflective, Attitudinal, Open and Closed questioning. Closed questioning seems to be very similar to Direct questioning.
Thanks for your time.
Could you give me examples of what you mean?
hi Clare
what's about indirect (yes, no) question?
He asked me if I knew the answer.
Do you know if this is correct?
I am wondering why the direct question:
-Could you help me?
can be written indirectly:
-Do you know if you could help me?
but there is no "if" when we say:
-Do you think you could help me?
The first one sounds strange, as we'd use it when we weren't sure if the other person knew the answer:
Do you know if the Number 20 bus stops here?
You don't need "if" in the second question, as it's a direct request (not asking for information). The answer is either yes or no!