Indirect Questions

Level 3

Kde býva? → Neviem, kde býva. (I don't know where he lives.) Kedy prídeš? → Povedz mi, kedy prídeš. (Tell me when you're coming.)

How It Works

How it works

  • Koľko to stojí? → Vieš, koľko to stojí? (Do you know how much it costs?)
  • Prečo plače? → Neviem, prečo plače. (I don't know why she's crying.)

Any question word works: Who and What, Where, When, How and Why and How Much and How Many.

Question words keep their case

Kto and čo change for case, just as in the direct question: S kým pôjde? → Nevieme, s kým pôjde. (We don't know who she'll go with.) Komu to mám dať? → Neviem, komu to mám dať.

No change of tense

Pýtala sa ma, kde bývam. (She asked me where I lived.) Slovak keeps the present bývam because that is what she asked.

Word order

Short words like som, sa, mi come right after the question word: Nepamätám si, kde som nechal kľúče.

Punctuation

Use a question mark only when the whole sentence is a question (Vieš, kde je stanica?). A statement such as Neviem, kde je stanica. ends with a period.

Yes-no questions use Whether: či.

Examples (6)

  1. Neviem, kde býva.

    I don't know where he lives.

    Word by Word: I-don't-know, where lives.

    From the question Kde býva?

  2. Povedz mi, kedy prídeš.

    Tell me when you're coming.

    After a command.

  3. Vieš, koľko to stojí?

    Do you know how much it costs?

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

  4. Pýtala sa ma, prečo sa učím slovenčinu.

    She asked me why I was learning Slovak.

    The present učím stays, although English says was learning.

  5. Nepamätám si, kde som nechal kľúče.

    I can't remember where I left my keys.

    Som comes right after kde.

  6. Nevieme, s kým pôjde na výlet.

    We don't know who she'll go on the trip with.

    The question word keeps its case after a preposition: s kým.

Common Mistakes

  • Moving the tense back as in English. The intended meaning is "She asked where I live (now)".

    Pýtala sa, kde som býval.
    Pýtala sa, kde bývam.

    Slovak keeps the tense of the original question, Kde bývaš? Kde som býval would ask where I used to live.

  • Ending a statement with a question mark.

    Neviem, kde býva?
    Neviem, kde býva.

    The sentence is a statement about what I don't know, so it ends with a period. Use a question mark only if the whole sentence asks something.

  • Putting the question word in the wrong case.

    Neviem, kto to mám dať.
    Neviem, komu to mám dať.

    Dať (to give) needs a dative for the person: Komu to mám dať? The indirect question keeps that same form.

How It Connects

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

Indirect QuestionsLevel 3

Learn This First

Before Indirect Questions, learn Whether: či and Where, When, How and Why. Indirect yes-no questions use či. Other indirect questions keep their question word.

Words in This Pattern