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Use if or whether in indirect yes/no questions.
Direct Questions
"Can you type?" she asked.
"Do you know how to use a fax machine?" he asked.
Indirect Questions
She asked me if I could type.
He wanted to know whether I knew how to use a fax machine.
People often use whether or not to report yes/no questions.
He wanted to know whether or not I knew how to use a fax machine.
Usage note: Whether is considered more formal than if.
Use question words in indirect wh- questions.
Direct Questions
"Where is your office?" I asked.
I asked, "How much is the salary?"
Indirect Questions
I asked where his office was.
I asked how much the salary was.
Be careful! Use statement word order, not question word order, for indirect yes/no questions and for indirect wh-questions about something in the predicate.
Direct Question
He asked, "Does the company provide good benefits?"
Indirect Question
He asked whether the company provided good benefits. NOT He
asked does the company provide good benefits.
Direct Question
"Have you started working there yet?" Sylvia asked.
Indirect Question
Sylvia asked whether I had started working there yet. NOT Sylvia asked have I started working there yet.
Direct Question
"Why did you leave your previous job?" she asked.
Indirect Question
She asked me why I had left my previous job. NOT She asked me why did I leave my previous job.
Direct Question
"How long had you worked there?" she asked.
Indirect Question
She asked how long I had worked there. NOT She asked how long had I worked there.
Notice that the indirect questions in the examples above end with a period (rather than a question mark) and do not use the auxiliary do, does, or did.
For indirect wh- questions about the subject, keep the same word order as direct questions.
Direct Questions
"Who got the job?" I asked.
"What caused the problem?" I asked.
Indirect Questions
I asked who had gotten the job.
I asked what had caused the problem.
The same verb tense changes and other changes occur in indirect questions as in indirect statements.
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