Questions Inside a Sentence

Level 3Sounds Like indirektni prašan̂a so prašalen zbor

After verbs like know, tell or ask, the question word starts the inner clause: Кажи ми каде живееш. (Tell me where you live.) Не знам што сака. (I do not know what he wants.)

How It Works

Any question word can introduce an indirect question (see кој; што; каде; кога; како; зошто; колку):

  • каде: Кажи ми каде живееш. (Tell me where you live.)
  • што: Не знам што сака. (I do not know what he wants.)
  • кога: Ме праша кога почнува филмот. (She asked me when the film starts.)
  • колку: Знаеш ли колку чини ова? (Do you know how much this costs?)
  • зошто: Прашај го зошто доцни. (Ask him why he is late.)
  • кој and its forms: Не знам која книга ја сака. (I do not know which book she likes.) See кој; која; кое; кои во прашање.

Nothing extra is added. The question word itself links the clause. Do not add дали, which is only for yes-or-no questions (see дали во индиректни прашања), or дека, which reports statements (see дека).

Tense stays. As with дали, the verb keeps the tense of the original question: Ме праша каде живеам. (He asked me where I live.) See директен и индиректен говор.

With да and a present verb, the clause asks what to do: Не знам што да кажам. (see што да правам).

Examples (6)

  1. Кажи ми каде живееш.

    Tell me where you live.

    Word by Word: Tell me where you-live.

  2. Не знам што сака.

    I do not know what he wants.

    Word by Word: Not I-know what he-wants.

  3. Знаеш ли колку чини ова?

    Do you know how much this costs?

    Word by Word: You-know Q how-much costs this?

  4. Ме праша кога почнува филмот.

    She asked me when the film starts.

    Word by Word: Me she-asked when starts film-the.

  5. Не се сеќавам како се вика.

    I do not remember what he is called.

    Word by Word: Not myself I-remember how himself he-calls.

  6. Прашај го зошто доцни.

    Ask him why he is late.

    Word by Word: Ask him why he-is-late.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding дали before the question word.

    Не знам дали каде живее.
    Не знам каде живее.

    Дали is only for yes-or-no questions. When there is a question word, it starts the clause on its own.

  • Adding дека before the question word.

    Кажи ми дека каде живееш.
    Кажи ми каде живееш.

    Дека reports a statement, such as Мислам дека живее тука. A reported question needs only its question word.

How It Connects

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

Questions Inside a SentenceLevel 3

Learn This First

Questions inside a sentence build on reported yes-or-no questions.