A sentence that reports a question and ends with a period rather than a question mark
4
votes
1answer
133 views
Where does the verb go on this question? Is it even a reported question?
I understand that when I report a question, I put the subject back in front of the verb, as in: "He asked if she was going to be late."
But I always get puzzled when it comes to reporting a question ...
1
vote
5answers
493 views
“What's” in indirect questions
Lets consider the following:
The book doesn't explain, "What's the wisdom behind education?"
Changing this to an indirect question becomes the following:
The book doesn't explain what the ...
0
votes
1answer
338 views
When do “direct” and “indirect” questions become the same? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“I'm not sure what the right way is”
Direct and indirect questions are not usually the same:
What is your name? I don't know what your name is.
But ...
9
votes
4answers
5k views
“I can't seem to” vs “I can't”
I am wondering why would someone say "I can't seem to" instead of simply saying "I can't". Is there any specific difference between the two? Is the former usage informal? Is it correct to say that the ...
4
votes
5answers
565 views
Long subjects in indirect questions
I know that to indirectly ask:
What is your name?
I should say something like:
I don't know what your name is.
But what if the subject of question is longer than "your name"? Something ...
1
vote
2answers
626 views
Indirect questions using “do you think”
When we ask an indirect, closed question we usually use if:
Will he be home soon?
Can you tell me if he'll be home soon?
Do you know if he'll be home soon?
Why do we not use if with do ...
2
votes
3answers
564 views
Alternative to Indirect Questions
The syntax for indirect questions is that the verb goes after the subject such as,
I am wondering what the time is.
If not asked as an indirect or embedded question, what punctuation would you ...
3
votes
5answers
2k views
What is the correct punctuation for an indirect question?
I'm wondering how it is correct to structure sentence and what punctuation should be used. In particular, is the next sentence correct:
I was wondering if there's any progress on the issue.
Or ...
