Question Forms and Indirect Questions

• In medical consultations, we use subject and object questions to gather facts. We also use indirect questions to sound more polite and professional when asking sensitive details.
• Question Type
• Structure
• Example
• Subject Question
• Question word + verb (no auxiliary)
• Who noticed the chest pain first?
• Object Question
• Question word + auxiliary + subject + verb
• What did you eat before arriving at Boston General?
• Indirect Question
• Intro phrase + subject + verb (normal order)
• Could you tell me how many units of alcohol you drink?
• Remember
• In subject questions, the question word is the subject, so we do not use 'do', 'does', or 'did'.
• In object questions, we invert the subject and the auxiliary verb (do, be, have, modals).
• Indirect questions start with polite phrases like 'Could you tell me…' or 'Do you know…'.
• In indirect questions, the word order is the same as in a normal statement (subject before verb).
• Examples
• Which medication helped your breathing in Chicago?
• Who brought you to the emergency department in Seattle?
• Could you tell me what symptoms started first?
• Do you know when the headache began?
• Common mistakes
• Could you tell me where did you live in New York?
• Could you tell me where you lived in New York?
• What happened to you in Los Angeles?
• What happened to you in Los Angeles?

Complete the sentences

• Could you tell me what (you / eat) ____ before visiting the clinic in Dallas?
• Who (accompany) ____ you to Miami Mercy Hospital?
• Do you know when (the pain / start) ____ during your jog in Austin?
• Can you explain what (make) ____ your cough worse in Denver?
• What (happen) ____ right after you collapsed in Atlanta?
• Could you tell me where (you / keep) ____ your inhaler in Philadelphia?

Sources: photo by jessica olivella on Pexels