Tense problem.

Hamza wrote:

Which would be the correct construction. I was wondering what was the difference between a planet and a star. Incorrect I was wondering what  the difference was between a planet and a star. I was wondering what is the difference between a planet and a star.  Incorrecet I was wonderin what  the difference is between a planet and a star.

I was wondering what  the difference was between a planet and a star.  Past tense, ok

I was wondering what  the difference is between a planet and a star. Present, ok

Goodman wrote:

[ I was wondering what  the difference was between a planet and a star.  Past tense, ok I was wondering what  the difference is between a planet and a star. Present, ok

According to me, only the last sentence is ok. This is because the difference between a planet and a star does not change with passage of time. These are things of nature.

Hi Yoong,

Thanks for the correction! Can you tell me how the sentence "I was wondering what the difference between a planet and a star was / is." is correct?

Yankee wrote:

I agree with Goodman but would like to add that this word order would also be very common: I was wondering what the difference between a planet and a star was / is.

Hi all

Strictly speaking, this is the only grammatically correct sentence but I accept all the others as well because they are so common.
I was wondering is the main clause and therefore what the difference between a planet and a star is is a subordinate clause, in this context commonly called an indirect question even though no one may be asking a question directly or indirectly. The point in clauses like this is: the finite verb comes after the subject and everything that goes with it.

It's easier to get the word order right if the subordinate clause is very short:
I was wondering what it is.
Not: I was wondering what is it.

Another example with or without do:
I was wondering what he said.
Not: I was wondering what did he say.

CB