Introduction to Indirect Questions
There two types of questions which are the direct questions and the indirect questions. Then why do we have these two types of questions how are they different? Well, the direct question is frequently used in our daily conversation like, " Do you eat meat? Or what did she do 5 minutes ago?" There is nothing wrong to use direct questions but they are just too direct and they can be a bit impolite to overuse them. That is the reason why we need to know how to use the indirect Questions accurately and fluently since indirect Questions are way more polite than the direct questions. In this lesson, we are going to explore the indirect questions of Yes/No and Information Questions.
Introductory Phrases
- Can you tell me... តើអ្នកអាចប្រាប់ខ្ញុំបានទេថា
- Could you tell me ...តើអ្នកអាចប្រាប់ខ្ញុំបានទេថា
- Do you know .... តើអ្នកដឹងទេថា
- Can you explain ... តើអ្នកអាចពន្យល់បានទេថា
- Would you mind telling me... តើអ្នកប្រាកាន់ទេបើ
- Do you have any idea តើអ្នកមានគនិតអីទេ
- Would it be possible តើវាអាចទេដែល
- I want to know.. ខ្ញុំចង់ដឹងថាតើ
- I'd like to know...ខ្ញុំចង់ដឹងថាតើ
- I was wondering ខ្ញុំកំពុងឆ្ងល់ថាតើ
- I'm not sure ខ្ញុំអត់ច្បាស់ដែរថាតើ
- I don't know ខ្ញុំមិនដឹងទេថាតើ
Indirect Yes/No Question
Formula : Introductory phrase + if/whether + Sub + verb + ...........?
Direct Question : Do she speak Khmer?
Indirect Question : Do you know if she speaks Khmer?
Direct Question : Is Roza absent today?
Indirect Question : I want to know if ROZA is absent today?
As we can see in the example above, in the indirect question the words orders change from question to positive.
- Does she speak Khmer? > She speaks Khmer.
- Is ROZA absent today? > ROZA is absent today.
Here are more examples
- Direct question : Is Mr. BDM a teacher?
> Indirect Question : Can you tell me if Mr. BDM is a teacher?
- Direct Questions : Are they friendly?
> Indirect Question : Do you know if they are friendly?
- Direct Question : Does ROZA water the plant every morning?
> Indirect Question : I wan to know if ROZA waters the plant every morning?
- Direct Question : Did you return me the book yet?
> Indirect Question : I'm not sure if you returned me the book yet?
Indirect Wh-Question
Formula : Introductory phrase + Wh-word + sub + verb?
Direct : What time do you normally get up in the morning?
> Indirect : Could you tell me what time you normally get up in the morning?
Direct : Where did they visit on thier trip last week.
> Indirect : I want to know where they visited on their trip last week?
Direct : Why is ROZA very sad today?
> Indirect : I wonder why ROZA is very sad today?
Practice
Please change the following direct questions into the indirect Questions.
1. Do they play soccer every weekend?
2. Are they Cambodian?
3. Did he your dad watch TV last night?
4. Was ROZA absent yesterday?
5. What do you normally do when you feel stressed?
6. How often does she go to the gym
7. Where did they visit on their trip last month?
8. Which car did your dad buy yesterday?
9. Can you drive?
10. Are you single?
Common Mistakes
Direct question: Do they like drawing?
Indirect question: I want to know do they like drawing? ( Incorrect)
The indirect question above is incorrect because in indirect Yes/no question, auxiliary verbs do and does are not used. Here is the correct indirect question.
> I want to know if they like drawing. ( correct)
Direct Question : How did they do that?
Indirect question : Can you tell me how did they do that? ( Incorrect)
The indirect question above is incorrect because in indirect Wh-Question the auxiliary verbs do/does/did must be removed. Here is the correct indirect question.
> Can you tell me how they did that? (Correct)
Did in the direct question was removed and base verb do is change to past tense did because the tense in the direct question is simple past tense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1 : When or why do we use an indirect question?
Answer: We use an indirect question when we want so sound more polite.
Q2: What do we form the yes/no question of an indirect question?
Answer : Introductory phrase + if/whether + sub + verb?
Q3 : What is the formula of the indirect wh-question?
Answer : Introductory phrase + wh-word + sub + verb..?
Q4 : Do we still keep the auxiliary verb do/does/did in yes/no indirect question?
Answer : NO, please remove them. Ex. Do you paly sports? > I want to know if you play sports?
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Indirect Questions Unscramble Practice
Click the words in the correct order to make an indirect question.
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