French Indirect Questions
Indirect questions (l'interrogation indirecte) are questions that have been reformulated in an indirect manner and embedded within a normal sentence. As a result, they do not usually end with a question mark.
Often introduced by statements like:
Word Order in Indirect Questions
Unlike direct questions where you might invert the subject and verb, an indirect question uses standard main clause word order.
Exception:
The verb and subject only switch places if the subject is a noun (not a pronoun) AND there is no object.
Yes/No Questions
For questions that don't have a question word (where the answer is yes or no), we use si (if/whether) to introduce the indirect question.
Elision with "il/ils"
Before il and ils, si becomes s'. (It does not change before elle or on).
Punctuation
Indirect questions usually end with a full stop. The only time you use a question mark is if the introductory sentence itself is a question.
Changing Tense and Pronouns
Because indirect questions are a form of reported speech, you must apply the same rules for changing pronouns and tenses according to the introductory verb.
Changing Pronouns
"As-tu vu mon parapluie ?"
Sandrine demande à Paul s'il a vu son parapluie.
Present tense intro verb (Il demande)
The tense remains unchanged.
Past tense intro verb (Il a demandé)
The tense of the indirect question must shift back in time (La concordance des temps).
Présent Imparfait
Passé composé Plus-que-parfait
Futur Conditionnel
Practice Indirect Questions
Master the art of embedding questions in French through targeted interactive drills.