In Indirect questions^x, Verbs^x

Anewcomer wrote:Are these questions correct? #1) Can you tell me who he is? #2) Can you tell me who is he? #3) Can you tell me, who is he? <-- #4) Can you recommend which will suit me? #5) Can you tell me who will win? Thanks Feebs11 wrote:#2 and #3 are essentially the same - #3 is...

Hi,How would I grammatically deconstruct the following sentence?Melinda wanted to know how long the trip would take.I may be WAAAAY off the mark but this is my attempt:A) Melinda is the subject.B) wanted is the main (transitive) verb.C) to know is the object, even though it is actually a...

Hi AnthonPlease capitalize I. Neither sentence is correct. Indirect questions should have the same word order as affirmative clauses:I didn't know what I could do for him.I didn't tell him what I saw.The subject is before the finite verb. Easy. Always. No exceptions.CB

Hi TakaThere's no agreement on this. From a strictly grammatical point of view, only (1) is correct because the finite verb (is) comes after the subject in an indirect question. However, (2) is widely used and therefore I consider it correct as well, even though it is actually ungrammatical....

Conjunction Does he know "when" the concert is starting? No. Interrogative pronoun in an indirect question.James had to retype his document "when" his computer crashed OKKevin learned Japanese language "when" he was in Japan OK Verb I "was doing" my homework when the doorbell...

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 allStrictly speaking, this is the only grammatically correct sentence but I accept all the others as well because...

Peaceblinkfriend wrote: I was wondering what or how many texts I should revise. (indirect question -- no question mark required) As CJ said, for indirect questions, no subject-verb inversion is required. What or how many texts should I revise? (direct question, question mark required --...

See my answer in your post "Could you please tell me when ...". I was wondering introduces an indirect question. No subject-verb inversion. CJ

The second is the grammatical one. No subject-verb inversion in an indirect question. CJ Post:274270 Post:296571

I think YL's suggestion is good. And don't neglect this possibility: Can you tell me the last time you saw him? As for the word order of an indirect question with heavy clauses, you can be flexible. You don't need to strand the verb way at the end if it sounds very awkward. Your case b...