Indirect Questions

• We use indirect questions to sound more polite and professional when asking for information in the office. They always start with a polite phrase like 'Could you tell me…?' or 'Do you know…?' and use normal word order.
• Direct Question
• Indirect Question (Could you tell me…?)
• Where is the org chart?
• Could you tell me where the org chart is?
• Who is in charge of headcount?
• Do you know who is in charge of headcount?
• When does the daily sync start?
• Could you tell me when the daily sync starts?
• Remember
• Start with a polite introductory phrase like 'Could you tell me…?' or 'Do you know…?'
• Do not use auxiliary verbs (do, does, did) in the second part of the indirect question.
• Put the subject before the verb in the second part, just like in a normal statement.
• Examples
• Could you tell me where my line manager is located?
• Do you know who Kayla's counterpart in Chicago is?
• Could you tell me how many overlap hours we have today?
• Common mistakes
• Could you tell me where is the onboarding buddy?
• Could you tell me where the onboarding buddy is?
• Do you know when does Tom finish his shift?
• Do you know when Tom finishes his shift?

Complete the sentences

• Could you tell me (what time) ____ the daily meeting starts in Boston?
• Do you know (who) ____ leads our cross-functional team in Austin?
• Could you tell me where (the new office) ____ is located in Seattle?
• Do you know why (Jason) ____ left the video call early?
• Could you tell me how many (headcount) ____ approvals we need in New York?
• Do you know if (Tom) ____ updated the shared calendar in Chicago?

Sources: photo by Tong Quan on Pexels