Basics: Indirect Questions
This challenge contains 12 questions at medium difficulty covering Basics: Indirect Questions. Test your knowledge with a mix of question formats!
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Correct Answers
Help the confused tourist ask for directions by dragging the correct phrases into his sentences.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where the museum is?"
"I also wonder why it closed so early yesterday."
"Excuse me, could you tell me where the museum is?"
In indirect questions, we use standard statement word order (Subject + Verb). We do not invert the subject and verb like we do in direct questions ("Where is the museum?").
"I also wonder why it closed so early yesterday."
Indirect questions do not use auxiliary verbs like "do," "does," or "did." Instead, we just use the subject and the main verb conjugated in the correct tense.
"Can you explain how the giant chicken escaped?" "I also don't know where he went after the basketball game ended."
In indirect questions in the simple past tense, we do not use the auxiliary verb "did".
Instead, we use the standard affirmative past tense form of the verb (Subject + Past Tense Verb).
Direct: "How did the chicken escape?"
Indirect: "Can you explain how the chicken escaped?"
Choose the phrase that best completes the dinner host's anxious thought.
I'm not entirely sure _____ lactose intolerant.
The correct answer is if the Martian is.
For indirect yes/no questions, we must use "if" or "whether" to connect the clauses, followed by standard Subject-Verb word order. "Is the Martian lactose intolerant?" becomes "...if the Martian is lactose intolerant."
"I would like to know whether anyone ate my expensive turkey sandwich." "I have no idea if it was delicious..."
When turning a "Yes/No" question into an indirect question, we use if or whether to connect the clauses.
We also drop the auxiliary verb "did" and put the main verb in the past tense (ate instead of did eat), keeping the standard Subject + Verb word order.
The correct answers are Could you tell me whether this is the year 2024? and I need to find out if there are any flying cars yet.
When changing a Yes/No question into an indirect question, we must use if or whether to connect the clauses.
"Is this the year 2024?" needs whether or if to become "whether this is the year 2024." Just like WH-questions, we also use normal Subject-Verb word order and drop auxiliary verbs like did.
Help the confused tourist ask a polite question without sounding too demanding. Choose the correct phrase to complete the sentence.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where _____?"
The correct answer is the giant cheese wheel is.
In indirect questions, the word order changes from the normal question format (Verb-Subject) to the statement format (Subject-Verb). So, "Where is the cheese wheel?" becomes "...where the cheese wheel is."
Help the frustrated detective complete his case notes by dragging the correct phrases into the report.
"I asked the witness exactly how large the ship was."
"He completely refused to tell me where the aliens went."
"I asked the witness exactly how large the ship was."
In an indirect question, the subject ("the ship") must come before the verb ("was"). "How large was the ship?" is only correct as a direct, standalone question.
"He completely refused to tell me where the aliens went."
Indirect questions do not use "do/does/did" for past or present simple tense. We drop the "did" and put the main verb straight into the past tense ("went").
The correct answers are I am writing to ask if you received my essay., Do you happen to know where my attachment went?, and I would like to know why my grade is a zero.
Indirect questions take their punctuation from the main clause.
- "I am writing to ask..." and "I would like to know..." are statements, so they end with a period.
- "Do you happen to know..." is a question, so it ends with a question mark.
Remember to avoid using do/does/did in the embedded question clause! "Where my attachment went" is correct; "where did my attachment go" is incorrect.
Complete the detective's sophisticated line of questioning. Select the grammatically correct option.
"I need to know exactly how _____ into the vault."
The correct answer is the poodle got.
When changing a direct question with "do," "does," or "did" into an indirect question, we drop the auxiliary verb and use standard statement word order. "How did the poodle get in?" becomes "...how the poodle got in."
Complete the nosy coworker's whispered gossip by dragging the correct words into the blanks.
"I asked the new guy whether he ate the last chocolate donut."
"I also need to find out why he was acting so suspiciously in the breakroom."
"I asked the new guy whether he ate the last chocolate donut."
When embedding a yes/no question into another sentence, we must use "if" or "whether." We cannot use "that."
"I also need to find out why he was acting so suspiciously in the breakroom."
Even though it starts with a question word ("why"), this is an indirect question. We must use normal sentence word order (Subject + Verb -> "he was"), not question word order ("was he").
The correct answers are I was wondering what he is building back there. and Do you know why he bought so much lumber?
In indirect questions, the word order changes from question format (Verb-Subject) to statement format (Subject-Verb).
Therefore, "what is he building" becomes "what he is building". Additionally, we drop auxiliary verbs like do, does, and did in the indirect part, so "why did he buy" becomes "why he bought".
The tourist asked where the nearest restroom is. The local asked why you are holding the map upside down.
Indirect questions use normal sentence word order (Subject + Verb), not question word order.
Direct question: "Where is the restroom?" (Verb + Subject)
Indirect question: "Do you know where the restroom is?" (Subject + Verb)
Direct question: "Why are you holding it?" (Auxiliary + Subject + Verb)
Indirect question: "...why you are holding it." (Subject + Auxiliary + Verb)
Questions
Questions in English are typically formed by inverting the subject and an auxiliary verb: She can dance → Can she dance?. When there's no auxiliary present, English adds do-support: The milk goes in the fridge → Does the milk go in the fridge?. The same pattern handles wh-questions (Where do you live?) and negative questions (Doesn't he know?).
The trickiest variant is indirect questions — I wonder where he is, not where is he. The inversion drops because the question is embedded inside another clause. Getting this right is one of the bigger jumps from A2 to B1 fluency.
Indirect speech
Indirect speech (also called reported speech) is how you tell someone what another person said without quoting their exact words. "I like apples" → He said that he liked apples. The signature move is backshift: tenses move one step into the past when the reporting verb (said, told, thought) is itself in the past — present becomes past, past becomes past perfect, will becomes would, can becomes could.
Pronouns and time expressions also shift to fit the new perspective: "I'll see you tomorrow" → She said she'd see me the next day. Mastering this is essential for B1+ communication, especially in writing.
English Grammar Basics
The English Grammar Basics tag marks quizzes and explainers covering the foundations of English grammar — nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, tenses, voice, mood, and basic sentence structure.
If you're starting out or rebuilding from scratch, this is the tag to follow: every challenge under it is designed to land the core rules without burying you in exceptions. Get the basics solid here and the more advanced topics — conditionals, reported speech, inversion — stop looking like a wall of new rules and start looking like extensions of what you already know.
A2 | Elementary | Pre-intermediate
A2 is the elementary level in the CEFR framework, sitting between A1 and B1. At A2 you can handle routine exchanges — ordering food, asking directions, making small talk — and describe your immediate environment in simple sentences.
Grammatically, A2 introduces past simple and past continuous, present perfect for experiences, basic modal verbs, and the first conditional. You're also picking up collocations and learning which verbs take gerunds vs. infinitives. Knowing your level here is the difference between confident progress and frustration: A2 material consolidates the basics; B1 will overwhelm you.
Difficulty: Medium
The Medium difficulty tag marks questions and challenges in the middle of the difficulty range — typically suitable for A2 to B1 learners. Expect a single rule with realistic distractors, longer sentences, and contexts where you have to think before answering rather than reading off the obvious choice.
Filter by Medium when you're past the absolute basics and ready to consolidate. It's the level where most lasting progress happens — easy enough that you can finish without exhausting concentration, hard enough that getting it right means you've actually understood.