Indirect Questions

Level 3

An indirect question keeps its question word and its normal verb.

How It Works

QuestionInside a sentence
რა მოხდა?მითხარი, რა მოხდა. (Tell me what happened.)
როდის მოვა?არ ვიცი, როდის მოვა. (I don't know when he's coming.)

English often changes the order: where does he live becomes where he lives. Georgian keeps its order, so the question part looks just like the question.

Write a comma before the question word.

When someone else asked, the person changes to fit who is speaking now. The guide asked us საიდან ხართ? (Where are you from?), and we report it with ვართ, as in the third example below.

A yes-or-no question has no question word, so it ends in თუ არა instead: არ ვიცი, მოვა თუ არა.

Examples (5)

  1. არ ვიცი, სად ცხოვრობს ნინო.

    I don't know where Nino lives.

    სად starts the question part.

  2. მითხარი, რა გინდა.

    Tell me what you want.

    რა keeps its place.

  3. გიდმა გვკითხა, საიდან ვართ.

    The guide asked us where we were from.

    The person fits the new speaker: ვართ.

  4. არ მახსოვს, რომელ საათზე იწყება ფილმი.

    I don't remember what time the film starts.

    A longer question part.

  5. გაიგე, რამდენი ღირს ბილეთი.

    Find out how much the ticket costs.

    After an order.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding რომ before the question word.

    არ ვიცი, რომ სად ცხოვრობს.
    არ ვიცი, სად ცხოვრობს.

    The question word joins the sentence by itself.

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 a question inside a sentence.