Inversion Hello Everyone I need more clarification about inversion of the second part in an interrogative sentence I've read once that we don't use the inversion after the question form " could you

Amin

Inversion Hello Everyone I need more clarification about inversion of the second part in an interrogative sentence I've read once that we don't use the inversion after the question form " could you " like in " could you tell me what TIME IS ? " Also , we don't use the inversion in some indirect questions like "I wonder what HE IS going to do " Any explications about the usage and disuse of the inversion please ??

Nov 29, 2016 5:11 PM

Answers · 4

Good question. The grammar rules are not different. This is correct: "Could you tell me what the time is?" This is correct: "Could you tell me the time?" This is wrong: "Could you tell me what is the time is?" In each case, there is inversion of the auxiliary verb "could" and subject "you". The "what" clause is the object and is therefore structured as an embedded question, not an interrogative question. The "I wonder" statement is not grammatically a question, even though in practice you are questioning yourself.

November 29, 2016