Indirect question

Hello Hanuman

This car is yours. -> Which car is yours? [subject : which car]
Indirect question: Can you tell me which car is yours.

paco

Yes it is.  An indirect question would be:

She asked me which car was mine.


(I told her it was the red Porsche Carrera GT.)

I suppose that it depends (on what, I don't know offhand).

What time is it?
Which thief stole my hubcaps?
What kind of person would willlfully scratch a man's Porsche?
Your car is red, isn't it?
What happened to my fender?

The usual interpretation of "Which car is yours?" puts "which car" in the subject position.
That gives the indirect question in 2.  (Can you tell me which car is yours?)

However, this is an equative sentence (X is Y), and there is often an interpretation of such sentences which puts the last element ("yours") in the subject position.
That gives the indirect question in 3.  (Can you tell me which car yours is?)

It's a matter of interpretation:  Does the original direct question ask for an answer of the form "That one is mine" or an answer of the form "Mine is that one"?  Only the speaker who asks knows what is in his mind when he asks!

Note the difference:

-- Look at all the cars.  That red car is Barry's car.  That black one is Steve's car.
-- Can you tell me which car is yours?
-- Yes.  The blue car is mine.

-- Look at all the cars.  Barry's car is that red one.  Steve's car is that black one.
-- Can you tell me which car yours is?
-- Yes.  Mine is the blue one.

CJ