{"id":31678,"date":"2026-01-20T11:37:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T10:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=31678"},"modified":"2026-01-20T12:58:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T11:58:37","slug":"embedded-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/01\/embedded-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Embedded Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

B1 – Intermediate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An embedded question<\/strong> is a question that is used as a part of another question or a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uses<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Part of another question<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s called an indirect question and is often used to be polite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normal question: Where is the supermarket?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indirect question (with an embedded question): Could you tell me where the supermarket is?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Part of a statement<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The embedded question is a noun clause and functions as a noun. It can be used as the subject or the object of the main clause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normal question: Where did he travel to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embedded question in a statement (noun clause is the subject): Where he traveled to was Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normal question: Where did he travel to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embedded question in a statement (noun clause is the object): I don’t know where he traveled to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The same rules are applied to embedded questions in statements the same way it is used with embedded questions in indirect questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. If there is a question word, it is retained.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Ex. Do you know what<\/strong> time the train leaves?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. If there is no question word, ‘if’ or \u2018whether’ is used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ex. Do you know if<\/strong> the movie starts at 5:00?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. We use normal sentence grammar so \u201cdo\u201d, \u201cdoes\u201d, or \u201cdid\u201d is not necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ex. Can you tell me what<\/strong> she<\/strong> said<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Not: Can you tell me what<\/strong> did<\/strong> she<\/strong> say<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. We use normal sentence word order which is: subject + verb; and not verb + subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ex: Can you explain to me what<\/strong> this means<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Not: Can you explain to me what<\/strong> means this<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5. A full stop is used instead of a question mark at the end of the sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ex. I don’t know where the office is.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Not: I don’t know where the office is?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Verbs Used with Embedded Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Wonder: He wonders why it rains a lot in April.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Know: You don’t know what you\u2019re saying.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Remember: She doesn’t remember where her mobile phone is.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Be sure: They are sure when the wedding will be.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Find out: Let’s find out what their specialty is.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    6. Think about: I\u2019m thinking about how he’s going to travel without any money.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    7. Forget: I forgot why I did that.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Subject Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      If the sentence starts with a subject question, there is no need to change the grammar that much because it is almost like a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Normal subject question: Who likes pizza?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Embedded subject question: I don’t know who likes pizza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Normal subject question: What happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Embedded subject question: I am trying to find out what happened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      B1 – Intermediate An embedded question is a question that is used as a part of another question or a statement. Uses 1. Part of another question It\u2019s called an indirect question and is often used to be polite. Normal question: Where is the supermarket? Indirect question (with an embedded question): Could you tell me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"yoast_head":"\nEmbedded Questions | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2026\/01\/embedded-questions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Embedded Questions | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"B1 – Intermediate An embedded question is a question that is used as a part of another question or a statement. Uses 1. Part of another question It\u2019s called an indirect question and is often used to be polite. Normal question: Where is the supermarket? 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