Question Forms and Indirect Questions

• In business communication, we often need to ask questions politely. We use subject questions when the question word is the subject, object questions when it is the object, and indirect questions to sound more formal.
• Question Type
• Structure
• Example
• Subject Question
• Question Word + Verb + Object
• Who manages the Chicago office?
• Object Question
• Question Word + Auxiliary + Subject + Verb
• What did you discuss in Boston?
• Indirect Question
• Introductory Phrase + Subject + Verb
• Could you tell me where the meeting is?
• Remember
• In subject questions, do not use auxiliary verbs like 'do', 'does', or 'did'.
• In object questions, invert the subject and auxiliary verb.
• In indirect questions, use statement word order after the introductory phrase.
• Use 'if' or 'whether' for yes/no indirect questions.
• Examples
• Who called the New York branch?
• Which manager approved the budget?
• Do you know when the flight from Seattle lands?
• Could you tell me how much the shipment costs?
• Common mistakes
• Do you know where is the Atlanta office?
• Do you know where the Atlanta office is?
• Who did contact you from Denver?
• Who contacted you from Denver?

Complete the sentences

• Could you tell me (where / be / the Seattle branch) ____ ?
• Do you know (who / manage / the Boston team) ____ ?
• I wonder (what time / the call / start) ____ .
• Can you explain (why / they / cancel / the meeting) ____ ?
• Do you remember (who / send / the report) ____ ?
• Would you mind telling me (how much / the project / cost) ____ ?

Sources: photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels