b1B1 Intermediate EnglishLinking ideasGrammarabout 12 min

Indirect questions

Ask polite indirect questions — Could you tell me where…? Do you know if…? — with the right word order.

In this lesson you will

Form indirect questions with statement word order
Use if/whether for yes/no questions
Choose indirect questions for politeness

Learn

Indirect questions are more polite, common with strangers, in shops, at work and in formal situations.

Start with a phrase: Could you tell me…? Do you know…? I was wondering… Would you mind telling me…? Can I ask…?

Then use statement word order — no do/does/did: Where is the station? → Could you tell me where the station is? What time does it open? → Do you know what time it opens?

Yes/no questions use if/whether: Is it free? → Do you know if it’s* free?* The question mark depends on the first part: I was wondering if you could help. (no ?)

Examples

Could you tell me how much this costs?
Do you know if the museum is open on Mondays?
I was wondering whether you had any vacancies.
Would you mind telling me why the flight is delayed?

Vocabulary

I was wondering

a polite way to start a question

vacancy

an available job or room

polite

showing good manners

whether

if (often with a choice)

direct

straight, without softening

Practice

1 / 8

Put the words in the right order.

Tap the words in order

Listening: At the information desk

Audio isn’t available in this browser — read the transcript instead.

Tourist: Excuse me, could you tell me where the history museum is?

Assistant: Of course. It’s on Queen Street, about ten minutes’ walk.

Tourist: Do you know if it’s open today?

Assistant: Yes, until six. But I’m not sure whether the new exhibition has opened yet.

Tourist: I was wondering if there’s a student discount.

Assistant: There is — just show your student card.

1.Where is the museum?

2.Until what time is it open?

3.There is a student discount.

Speaking

You’re at a hotel reception and a job interview. Ask six polite indirect questions in each situation.

Recording isn’t available in this browser. You can still practise: say your answer aloud, then type what you said.

Transcript (type what you said)

Writing

Write a polite email to a language school with five indirect questions about courses, prices and accommodation (80–100 words).

0 / 80+ words

Lesson quiz

1 / 5

Could you tell me how ___?

Review

Key points

Polite opener + statement word order.
if/whether for yes/no questions.
No do/does/did after the question word.

What you learned

✓ I can ask polite indirect questions.
✓ I use the right word order.
✓ I choose the right opener.

Grammar reference: Question forms