An embedded question is a type of clause within a sentence, often used for politeness or refinement. It can be formed as a built-in question or incorporated into a statement using phrases like “I wonder” or “I know.” The use of “it” and “is” can also change in embedded questions.
An embedded question is a question that forms a clause in a larger sentence. This type of question could be called “indirect questions”, as the question itself often changes form and is placed in a more developed context, often for reasons of courtesy or refinement of the spoken language. Linguists and other experts think of an embedded question as a type of noun clause that plays a role within a complex sentence.
An embedded question type is a question that is embedded into another question. These are common types of built-in questions. For example, one English speaker might ask another, “Could you tell me what time it is?” rather than asking “What time is it?” The first structure is an example of a built-in question, where the question word, “where,” does not come at the beginning of the sentence. This example shows how the shape of the sentence changes when the speaker uses a built-in question; as in many other cases, this also shows that the longer form presents a question more gracefully.
Another type of embedded question is formed within a statement. These types of questions often include prefixes to phrases like “I wonder” or “I know.” For example, if a native English speaker says, “I wonder where are my keys?” instead of “Where are my keys?” they are incorporating the question into the longer form sentence. Sentences that use the word “know” can be more abstract forms of embedding questions. Someone who says, “I don’t know where my keys are.” it’s also implicitly asking for the location of the keys, though not as directly as in the previous example using the word “wonder”.
Another way sentences often change with this technique revolves around the uses of the simple words “it,” which will refer to a noun, and “is,” a form of the verb “to be.” For example, when a person says, “Do you know what time it is?” instead of “What time is it?” the order of the words “it” and “is” is reversed. This is a confusing element of the English language that often confuses language learners. Displaying embedded questions alongside direct questions is a way for language teachers to present the key difference between these two forms.
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