Indirect Questions

Level 3

Put a question inside a sentence with of (whether) or a question word, and send the verb to the end: Weet jy waar sy woon? (Do you know where she lives?)

How It Works

1. Yes/no questions use of. A direct yes/no question starts with its verb: Kom hy? (Is he coming?). Inside a sentence it starts with of, which means whether or if, and the verb goes to the end:

  • Ek weet nie of hy kom nie. (I don't know whether he is coming.)
  • Vra hom of hy honger is. (Ask him if he is hungry.)

English uses if here, but Afrikaans does not use as. As means if only in conditions (see as).

2. Question-word questions keep the question word. The question word comes first, and the verb goes to the end, just as after dat and omdat:

  • Waar woon sy? → Weet jy waar sy woon? (Do you know where she lives?)
  • Hoe laat is dit? → Kan jy my sê hoe laat dit is? (Can you tell me what time it is?)

3. Several verbs at the end. When the clause has more than one verb, they gather at the end in the usual order (see verbs together at the end): Ek wonder wie die koek geëet het. (I wonder who ate the cake.)

4. The second nie comes after the whole question. When the main clause is negative, the closing nie goes at the very end of the sentence, after the indirect question: Ek weet nie of hy kom nie. (See double negation across clauses.)

5. Reported questions. The same pattern reports what someone asked: Sy het gevra of ek kom. (She asked whether I was coming.) See reported speech.

Tip: In relaxed speech you may hear question order inside the sentence, as in Weet jy waar woon sy?, but standard Afrikaans puts the verb at the end, and that is the form to learn.

Examples (6)

  1. Ek weet nie of hy kom nie.

    I don't know whether he is coming.

    Word by Word: I know not whether he comes not.

    Of starts the yes/no question, the verb kom goes to the end, and the closing nie comes last.

  2. Weet jy waar sy woon?

    Do you know where she lives?

    Word by Word: Know you where she lives?

    The whole sentence is a question, but the part after waar is an indirect question with the verb at the end.

  3. Kan jy my sê hoe laat dit is?

    Can you tell me what time it is?

    Word by Word: Can you me say how late it is?

  4. Sy wil weet wanneer die trein vertrek.

    She wants to know when the train leaves.

    Word by Word: She wants know when the train leaves.

  5. Ek wonder wie die koek geëet het.

    I wonder who ate the cake.

    Word by Word: I wonder who the cake eaten has.

    With two verbs, the ge- form comes first and het comes last.

  6. Vra hom of hy honger is.

    Ask him if he is hungry.

    Word by Word: Ask him whether he hungry is.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping question word order inside the sentence.

    Weet jy waar woon sy?
    Weet jy waar sy woon?

    The part after waar is an indirect question, so its verb goes to the end: waar sy woon. Question order here is heard in relaxed speech, but it is not standard Afrikaans.

  • Using as for if in the sense of whether.

    Ek weet nie as hy kom nie.
    Ek weet nie of hy kom nie.

    English uses if for both meanings. Afrikaans uses of for whether and keeps as for conditions, such as As dit reën, bly ons binne.

  • Forgetting the closing nie after the indirect question.

    Ek weet nie of hy kom.
    Ek weet nie of hy kom nie.

    The first nie is not the last word of the sentence, so a second nie must close it, after the indirect question.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Indirect QuestionsLevel 3

Learn This First

Indirect questions put the question word in a subordinate clause.

Words in This Pattern

of