can you tell me who is he / who he is

Question

Are these questions correct?Can you tell me who he is?Can you tell me who is he?Can you tell me, who is he?Can you recommend which will suit me?Can you tell me who will win?Thanks

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

subject verb inversion

Feebs11 · Answer

#2 and #3 are essentially the same - #3 is the correct form (with a comma).

All the others are fine.

Anonymous · Answer

AnewcomerAre these questions correct?
#1) Can you tell me who he is?
#2) Can you tell me who is he?
#3) Can you tell me, who is he? <--
#4) Can you recommend which will suit me?
#5) Can you tell me who will win?
Thanks

Feebs11#2 and #3 are essentially the same - #3 is the correct form (with a comma).
All the others are fine.

Hello Feebs11, you said that #3 is the correct form, right?
Now, I am a bit confused, as in the post kindly quoted by Marius Hancu I have read that it's correct to say:

"I know who he is" (Subj: he, Verb: is; indirect question so subject, then verb: "he is")

So, would you (or anybody else) be so kind to tell me something more about the two above?

Should't I say "Can you tell me who he is?" ?

Thank you very much for any help about the above!

CalifJim · Answer

Should't I say "Can you tell me who he is?" ?

Yes, you should.

However, if you make a pause when speaking (shown by the comma), you might say

Can you tell me, who is he?

The preferred punctuation (shown below) correctly shows this construction as two sentences:

Can you tell me? Who is he?

In my estimation, this second version is by far less used, and I would stick to Can you tell me who he is?

CJ

Goodman · Answer

Anonymous
AnewcomerAre these questions correct?
#1) Can you tell me who he is?
#2) Can you tell me who is he?
#3) Can you tell me, who is he? <--
#4) Can you recommend which will suit me?
#5) Can you tell me who will win?
Thanks
Feebs11#2 and #3 are essentially the same - #3 is the correct form (with a comma).
All the others are fine.
Hello Feebs11, you said that #3 is the correct form, right?
Now, I am a bit confused, as in the post kindly quoted by Marius Hancu I have read that it's correct to say:

"I know who he is" (Subj: he, Verb: is; indirect question so subject, then verb: "he is")

So, would you (or anybody else) be so kind to tell me something more about the two above?

Should't I say "Can you tell me who he is?" ?

Thank you very much for any help about the above!

Anon,

#3 is correct when a comma is inserted which makes the stress and the tone of the question very different. For illustration purpose, you can arrange the question "Who is he; can you ( or anybody) tell me?"

Yankee · Answer

AnonymousNow, I am a bit confused, as in the post kindly quoted by Marius Hancu I have read that it's correct to say:

"I know who he is" (Subj: he, Verb: is; indirect question so subject, then verb: "he is") This is not an indirect question!

So, would you (or anybody else) be so kind to tell me something more about the two above?

Should't I say "Can you tell me who he is?" ?

Hi Anon
(a) "Can you tell me who he is?"
(b) "I know who he is."

Sentences (a) and (b) are two different types of sentence:

- Sentence (a) is a question, and it asks the question "Who is he?" indirectly.
- Sentence (b) is a statement. It is affirmative. It is not a question, nor does it ask an indirect question. There is no question of any kind in sentence (b).

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJim, Goodman, Yankee thank you very much indeed.
I have appreciated your clear explanations and useful clarifications very much!

CalifJim · Answer

(b) "I know who he is." ....... nor does it ask an indirect question. There is no question of any kind in sentence (b).

I don't know of a more central example of an indirect question than the sort of clause typically found after I (don't) know or I wonder.

What other sort of name does this structure have, if not "indirect question" or (to use a term preferred by some) an "interrogative clause complement"?

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Anewcomer Are these questions correct?Can you tell me who he is?Can you tell me who is he?Can you tell me, who is he?Can you recommend which will suit me?Can you tell me who will win?Thanks

Can you tel me who he is?
Can you tel me, who is he?

Anewcomer Are these questions correct?Can you tell me who he is?Can you tell me who is he?Can you tell me, who is he?Can you recommend which will suit me?Can you tell me who will win?Thanks

can you tell me who is he / who he is

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