Reported Questions

Level 3

Ma ei tea, kas ta tuleb means I don't know if he is coming. The yes-no question becomes a clause that starts with kas.

How It Works

An indirect question is a question placed inside another sentence, after verbs like teadma (know), küsima (ask), mäletama (remember) or uurima (find out).

Yes-no questions use kas. The direct question Kas ta tuleb? becomes Ma ei tea, kas ta tuleb. Here kas works like English "whether" or "if". Do not use kui: it means "if" only for a condition, or "when".

Other questions keep their question word: Kus ta elab? becomes Küsi temalt, kus ta elab. Mis kell on? becomes Ta küsis, mis kell on.

Word order is the order of a normal statement. The verb often comes near the end of the clause: Ma ei mäleta, kuhu ma võtmed panin.

Person and tense. Change the pronouns to fit the new speaker: Ta küsis: "Kus sa elad?" becomes Ta küsis, kus ma elan. Unlike English, Estonian keeps the tense of the original question, so the present stays present even after a past verb.

Punctuation. A comma always separates the question clause. When it follows the main clause, the comma comes before it. End with a period if the main sentence is a statement or a command. Use a question mark only if the whole sentence asks something: Kas sa tead, millal rong väljub?

A question word can also be followed by a da-infinitive: Ma ei tea, mida teha. (I don't know what to do.)

Examples (6)

  1. Ma ei tea, kas ta tuleb.

    I don't know if he is coming.

    Word by Word: I not know whether he comes

  2. Küsi temalt, kus ta elab.

    Ask him where he lives.

  3. Ta küsis, mis kell on.

    She asked what time it was.

    Word by Word: she asked what clock is

    The present tense on stays, even though küsis is past.

  4. Ma ei mäleta, kuhu ma võtmed panin.

    I don't remember where I put the keys.

  5. Kas sa tead, millal rong väljub?

    Do you know when the train leaves?

    The whole sentence is a question, so it ends with a question mark.

  6. Ma ei tea, mida teha.

    I don't know what to do.

    A question word plus the da-infinitive.

Common Mistakes

  • Using kui for "if" in a yes-no question.

    Ma ei tea, kui ta tuleb.
    Ma ei tea, kas ta tuleb.

    kui means "when" or introduces a condition. For "whether", Estonian uses kas.

  • Leaving out kas.

    Ma ei tea, ta tuleb.
    Ma ei tea, kas ta tuleb.

    Without kas, the clause is not a question. A reported yes-no question must start with kas.

  • Ending a statement with a question mark.

    Ta küsis, kus ma elan?
    Ta küsis, kus ma elan.

    The whole sentence is a statement about what she asked, so it ends with a period.

How It Connects

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Reported QuestionsLevel 3

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Reported questions reuse kas and et-style clauses.

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Words in This Pattern

kas