[1] Direct question: “What are you doing?”
[a] A direct question is an independent sentence introduced
by interrogative words and phrases e.g. who? what? where? what time?
- Who is that man?
- Where is the station?
- Why did you do that?
- What time is it?
[b] A direct question in an independent sentence may also be
expressed by inversion of the subject and verb or with the inclusion of do /
does?
- Is he English?
- Does he speak French?
[2] Indirect question: I want to know what you are doing.
[a] An indirect question is introduced by a principal
clause, the question itself contained within the subordinate clause:
- I want to know ¦ who that man is.
- Do you know ¦ where the station is?
- Can you tell me ¦ why you did that?
- Does anybody have any idea ¦ what time it is?
[b] Direct questions introduced by inversion or do / does:
- Do you know if he’s English? Do you know whether he’s English (or not)?
- Do you know if he speaks French? Do you know whether he speaks French (or not)?
[3] An important point to remember is that, although we use
the term indirect question, no question is necessarily being asked:
- I’ve no idea ¦ where the library is.
- I know ¦ how the magician does that trick.
- The teacher told me ¦ how often John hadn’t done his homework.
- I’m not sure ¦ if he’s English.
- I don’t know ¦ whether or not he speaks French.
[4] The constructions laid out above are very similar to the
way in which Latin distinguishes between direct and indirect questions. In
Latin, however, all indirect questions use the subjunctive.
[5] We’ll begin with the way in which Latin most often
introduces indirect questions – with a question word. Not all question words
are included, but more than enough to see how the subjunctive is operating in
the indirect question. Remember that, although we call them ‘indirect questions’,
this rule applies to any subordinate clause introduced by a question word: the
verb is subjunctive.
cūr: why
- Nesciō ¦ cūr nōn possint (Cicero) │ I don’t know ¦ why they can’t.
quārē: why
- Quārē id faciam fortasse requīris? (Catullus) │ Do you ask ¦ why I do this ¦ perhaps?
quis / quae / quid: who, which, what
- Quaerō ¦ quis sit nocēns (Cicero) │ I ask ¦ who is guilty.
- Quid ipse sentiam ¦ expōnam (Cicero) │ I will explain ¦ what I think.
- Rogat mē ¦ quid sentiam (Cicero) │ He asks me ¦ what I think.
- At ille cautior perītōs locōrum rogat, ¦ quis aestus sit, ¦ quae signa dent nūbēs (Seneca the Younger) │ But he, more cautious, asks the experts of the place, ¦ what the tide is like, ¦ what signs the clouds give.
ubi: where
- Ubi sit ¦ ego sciō (Plautus) │ I know ¦ where she is.
- Quaerunt ā mē ¦ ubi sit pecūnia (Cicero) │ They are asking me ¦ where the money is.
quō: to where
- Quō eat ¦ nōn cōgitat (Honoratus) │ He does not think about ¦ where he is going (to)
quandō: when
- Nesciō ¦ quandō rogem (Seneca the Elder) │ I do not know ¦ when I will ask.
quōmodo: how
- Quōmodo hinc abeam ¦ nesciō (Terence) │ I don't know ¦ how I may get away from here.
quam: how
- Quam sīs audāx ¦ omnēs intellegere potuērunt (Cicero) │ All could understand ¦ how bold you are.
quot: how much / many
- Scīre equidem volō ¦ quot mihi sint dominī (Terence) │ For my part, I should like to know ¦ how many masters I have [literally: there are to me]
[6] In the quotations above, a number of different verbs
were used to introduce the indirect question, for example:
cōgitō: I think
expōnō: I explain
intellegō: I understand
nesciō: I do not know
rogō: I ask
sciō: I know
The image shows a fuller, but still not exhaustive list of verbs of asking, knowing, saying, perceiving, or considering that may signal an indirect question.
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