Indirect Questions With ar

Indirect Yes-No Questions

Level 3

The same ar that starts a yes-no question also means whether or if inside a longer sentence: Nežinau, ar jis ateis (I don't know whether he will come).

How It Works

1. From a question to a clause. A direct question with ar becomes part of a bigger sentence without changing:

  • Ar jis ateis? (Will he come?) → Nežinau, ar jis ateis. (I don't know whether he will come.)
  • Ar jie namie? (Are they at home?) → Paklausk, ar jie namie. (Ask if they are at home.)

2. Typical verbs. nežinoti (not know), klausti (ask), pažiūrėti (check), neprisiminti (not remember), and the expression įdomu (I wonder).

3. No tense shift. English often moves the tense back after a past verb (She asked whether I was hungry). Lithuanian keeps the tense of the original question: Ji paklausė, ar aš alkanas. A past tense in the clause means an earlier time: Ji paklausė, ar aš buvau alkanas means she asked whether I had been hungry. Reported statements work the same way: see reported speech with kad.

4. Whether or not. Add ar ne: Nežinau, ar jis ateis, ar ne (I don't know whether he will come or not). See ar ..., ar ....

5. Other indirect questions. Questions with a question word keep that word instead of ar: Nežinau, kur jis gyvena (I don't know where he lives). See kur, kada, kaip and kodėl.

6. Ar, not jei or kad. English uses if for both conditions and indirect questions. Lithuanian uses jei only for conditions, and kad for statements, requests or purposes, depending on the clause. For whether, it is always ar.

Examples (6)

  1. Nežinau, ar jis ateis.

    I don't know whether he will come.

    The direct question was Ar jis ateis?

  2. Paklausk, ar jie namie.

    Ask if they are at home.

    Ar means if here, not the if of a condition.

  3. Ji paklausė, ar aš alkanas.

    She asked whether I was hungry.

    Word by Word: She asked, whether I hungry.

    Alkanas is an adjective; the present copula is omitted. Lithuanian does not require English-style tense backshift in this report.

  4. Įdomu, ar rytoj bus saulėta.

    I wonder if it will be sunny tomorrow.

    Įdomu, ar ... means I wonder whether.

  5. Pažiūrėk, ar durys užrakintos.

    Check whether the door is locked.

    Durys is plural-only, so užrakintos is plural.

  6. Neprisimenu, ar išjungiau viryklę.

    I don't remember whether I turned off the stove.

    The past tense is kept from the question Ar išjungiau viryklę?

Common Mistakes

  • Using jei for whether.

    Nežinau, jei jis ateis.
    Nežinau, ar jis ateis.

    Jei is only for conditions. When if means whether, Lithuanian uses ar.

  • Using kad for a yes-no question.

    Paklausk, kad jie namie.
    Paklausk, ar jie namie.

    Kad reports a statement. Asking whether something is true needs ar.

How It Connects

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Indirect Questions With arLevel 3Indirect Yes-No Questions

Learn This First

Ar can introduce a yes-no question inside another clause.

Words in This Pattern