Direct interrogative sentences and indirect interrogative sentences

Through language we can carry out different actions such as expressing different emotions (joy, anger, surprise, etc.), report a specific event or ask for information determined. To carry out the latter, we have the questions. One question is, according to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (DRAE), an "interrogation that is made for someone to answer what they know about a business or thing." That is, through questions, we seek to get the information we need.

There are different types of questions, which are organized by dividing into two large groups: direct interrogative sentences and indirect interrogative sentences. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will study each of these types of direct and indirect interrogative sentences through various examples.

Direct interrogative sentences are those sentences by means of which we ask a question in a way that we hope that the interlocutor answers us.

Thus, direct interrogative sentences should always carry question marks

Both the one who opens the sentence (¿) and the one who closes it (?). It is very important that we never forget either of the two signs, especially the one that begins the interrogative sentence, since This is characteristic and mandatory in the Spanish language, unlike other languages ​​such as English, French or Spanish. Italian. If we don't write it, we will be making a spelling mistake.

In this way, we can say that direct interrogative sentences are the questions themselves, such as the following:

• What time is it?
• Where do your older brothers live?
• How long have you worked for Carlos's company?
• What time are we meeting for lunch?
• How much do these jeans and this t-shirt cost?
• Do you like the chocolate ice cream?
• What place do you prefer to go on vacation this summer?

In front of the direct interrogative sentences that we have seen previously, in Spanish also we can express questions in a less direct way. For this we use indirect interrogative sentences, which are those sentences that differ, mainly, from direct interrogative sentences in which indirect they must not have either question mark (¿?) Since if not, we would be faced with questions asked directly.

On the other hand, by means of indirect interrogative sentences we can also transmit the question but through other linguistic resources, such as the so-called "language verbs "," speech verbs " or also "verbs of understandings", since they are verbs related to the act of stating an idea.

These verbs always function as the main verb of the sentence on which the interrogative sentence depends, which functions as a subordinate sentence. The main language verbs related to indirect interrogative sentences are the following: "say", "ask", "claim", "answer" or "require", among others.

To better understand how indirect interrogative sentences work, let's see below Some examples of them:

• He asked me where I lived.
• Tourists asked us where the Plaza Mayor was.
• I ask you what time you are coming to dinner.
• I have to ask the boss how I have to write the new reports.
• My mother asked me when we were going to go to the movies all together.
• The young people asked where the amusement park was.
• I wonder how long Pedro will be with his girlfriend.
• I wonder what else I can do to improve the situation as soon as possible.
• Juanma asked them what they were going to do on Saturday night.
• We have to ask them where they are going on vacation this summer.
• The boss asked me if he wanted to extend my contract for a few more months.
• The teacher asked us if we had done our homework the day before.

In summary, we can say that there are two types of interrogative sentences depending on whether we ask a question directly (with exclamation marks, which would be a sentence direct interrogative) or if we prefer to do it through a language verb and without using question marks, in which case, we would be using an interrogative sentence hint.

In this other lesson we will discover some good examples of indirect interrogative sentences.