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Hotmale Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Will they win?

Hello,

I have to change the question: "Will they win?" into indirect question, using: "Do you think".
I seems to me that the correct question should be: "Do you think they will win?"
On the other hand I've been taught that in indirect questions we use "if" or "whether", e.g.
- Is she happy?
- She wanted to know if/whether she is happy.

My question then is when should I use "if" or "whether" in this type of questions and when I should drop them?

Thank you
  

Top answer

If you are told to use "Do you think" then you cannot also use "if/whether". With various other phrasings, such as "Could you tell me ... " or "I wonder ...

— GPY

  • If you are told to use "Do you think" then you cannot also use "if/whether".
  • With various other phrasings, such as "Could you tell me ...
  • " or "I wonder ...
  • ", you might use "if/whether".
  • Your two examples also use the term "indirect question" in different ways.
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14 Answers
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If you are told to use "Do you think" then you cannot also use "if/whether". With various other phrasings, such as "Could you tell me ... ?" or "I wonder ... ", you might use "if/whether".

Your two examples also use the term "indirect question" in different ways. In the first example, an "indirect question" is a way of making a question seem less abrupt or more polite by adding verbiage l
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Thank you very much. It's clear now.
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HotmaleI have to change the question: "Will they win?" into indirect question, using: "Do you think".
That's a strange assignment because "Do you think?" does not introduce indirect questions. It introduces that-clauses.

Under these strange circumstances you'll have to be satisfied with "Do you think (that) they will win?" even though it's rea
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CalifJimThat's a strange assignment because "Do you think?" does not introduce indirect questions.
I think it is quite common to call these "indirect questions".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials
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GPYquite common to call these "indirect questions".
Well Geez Louise! What will they think of next?

They're certainly not indirect questions grammatically, which I'd expect in a grammar forum. They're formulas of etiquette.

Good to know this, however.

CJ
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CalifJimThey're certainly not indirect questions grammatically, which I'd expect in a grammar forum. T
They are certainly not reported questions, but they do seem to be indirect questions.

Where do you live? Direct question
He asked me where I live(d). Reported question.
I'd like to know where you live. Indir
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fivejedjonThey are certainly not reported questions, but they do seem to be indirect questions.
I stand corrected. I was thrown off by GPY's apparent claim that somewhere in those links "Do you think?" was considered a way of introducing an indirect question and therefore did not read each and every example on each of those links.

There is, however,
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I think it's all basically the same idea: make a question seem less direct / abrupt.
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GPYI think it's all basically the same idea: make a question seem less direct / abrupt.
Well, as a matter of fact, it's not all basically the same idea any more than a bat must basically be a bird because it can fly.

"Indirect question" is a grammatical term. It does not have anything to do with being polite when asking a question. Some websites are
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CalifJim"Indirect question" is a grammatical term.
I know that meaning of "indirect question". The original post used that meaning, plus another meaning, as I explained in my original reply. If you do not like the second meaning, that is up to you. Other people use it.
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