seegongsik
Saved words

tell me where it is

RuleA question embedded in another sentence uses statement word order (subject + verb), not question order.

Curiosity

"Do you know where is the station?" or "where the station is"? The embedded question looks different.

Intuition

Once a question is tucked inside another sentence, it stops being a question and behaves like a statement: subject before verb, no inversion, no do/does/did.

Visualization

See the parts: the subject and verb of the embedded question are highlighted. The relation: "embedded: subject + verb (no inversion)."

An embedded question uses statement order (subject + verb).
Could you tell mewherethe stationis

Essence

Indirect questions use subject + verb order and drop do/does/did (I wonder what he wants, not what does he want). A yes/no embedded question uses if or whether (I asked if she was free). Openers: Could you tell me, Do you know, I wonder, Can you explain.

Examples

Could you tell me where the meeting room is?
I wonder why the shipment was delayed.
Do you know whether the office is open today?

Mini-quiz

"Do you know when ___ ?" Which fits?

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