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I'm wondering about the sentence structure when you use wonder.
Take for instance:
I wonder when will my money be refunded.
I wonder when my money will be refunded.
I wonder when is my money going to be refunded.
I wonder when my money is going to be refunded.
Are all these sentences correct or only some of them? By "correct" I mean "grammatically correct".
Could you provide examples of sentences starting with [subject]+wonder, and without it while conveying the same idea?
As @Mitch comments, whilst it's relatively common in casual speech, I wonder shouldn't really be followed by an actual question (an interrogative).
Taking a typical interrogative, such as who are you, I don't know the specific grammatical term for the reordered version who you are, so I'll just call it a "wh- noun phrase" (which is what you should use after I wonder). Here's the relevant definition for wonder from OED...
(definition #2) Usually with clause: To ask oneself in wonderment; to feel some doubt or curiosity (how, whether, why, etc.); to be desirous to know or learn.
It's particularly worth noting the following supplementary point made by OED...
I wonder is often placed after a question which expresses the object of curiosity or doubt;
e.g. ‘How can that be, I wonder?’ = I wonder how that can be.
...where I've highlighted the word-order switch made in that example.
The sentence structure I wonder [X] is declarative. The X is usually a noun clause that is the object of the verb wonder.
The X is treated as a thing, not a question. In the sentence
I wonder when my money will be refunded
the clause when my money will be refunded refers to a discrete concept, a particular defined period of time. Overall, the sentence is not asking a question but observing what the speaker is thinking about.
I often think about the possible date of my tax refund and how I am going to spend it (although I don't know exactly when that will be).
Because English is a little-declined language, word order is generally used to reflect which terms are the subject and objects (and other forms) in a sentence. The most common word order is subject-verb-object. To indicate a question, we often reverse the subject-verb order
I will go to the store.
Will I go to the store?
In examples 1 and 3 in the question, the when clause uses the interrogatory structure of verb-subject, will my money and is my money.
As noted above, the object of I wonder is a defined thing, not a question. as such the interrogatory forms are not correct. The declarative forms of 2 and 4 are.
used in phrases, at the beginning of a request, to make it more formal and polite: -- Cambridge Dictionary
Ex:
We were wondering if/whether you'd like to have dinner with us some time?
[ + question word ] I wonder whether you could pass me the butter?
I wonder if you could give me some information about places to visit in the area?
From Swan, 278:
