I wanted to ask if you are coming to the party tomorrow?

Question

Hi,Below, sentence #1 is a direct question statement. On the other hand, sentence #2 is an indirect question and asks for the same information. I think sentence #3 is not correct in terms of punctuation since I'm using a question mark at the end. Please correct me if this is not true. Anyway, many a time I prefer sentence #2 with question mark at the end in emails because this way it's more probable that the reader would get to know that I'm inquiring about something because mostly people skim through emails. Is it okay to do so? Thanks for the help, in advance!1: Are you coming to the party tomorrow?2: I wanted to ask if you are coming to the party tomorrow.3: I wanted to ask if you are coming to the party tomorrow?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Jackson6612Below, sentence #1 is a direct question.

Yes. The subject/verb inversion indicates the interrogative mode.

Jackson6612 On the other hand, sentence #2 is an indirect question

Yes, it is an indirect question. It includes the questioner, in this case, "I". Usually we would back-shift the verb tense in the question, but it is the writer's (or speaker's) choice. It is declarative mood, since the main clause is "I wanted to ask.."

 I wanted to ask if you were coming to the party tomorrow.

There is not much difference with the present tense form of the main verb. The past is more polite.

 I want to ask if you were coming to the party tomorrow.

Jackson6612 I think sentence #3 is not correct in terms of punctuation

That is correct thinking.

I wanted to ask if you are coming to the party tomorrow?

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