An embedded question is a question used as part of a larger clause: No sé on viu “I don’t know where she lives.” The missing information remains interrogative, but the whole sentence may be a statement, a request, or another question. Catalan introduces embedded yes–no alternatives with si and keeps an appropriate interrogative phrase—qui, què, quan, per què, and so on—for open questions. It does not copy English auxiliary inversion inside the embedded clause.
Two basic shapes: si and an interrogative
Use si when the underlying answer is yes or no. Here si means “whether/if” and has no accent; sí with an accent is the affirmative answer “yes.”
No sé si encara queda pa a casa.
I don't know whether there is still bread at home.
La Marta pregunta si demà treballarem des de casa.
Marta is asking whether we will work from home tomorrow.
Use the same interrogative phrase as in a direct information question when the missing answer is a person, thing, place, time, manner, reason, or choice.
No recordo on vaig deixar les ulleres.
I don't remember where I left my glasses.
Explica'm per què heu ajornat la reunió fins dilluns.
Tell me why you postponed the meeting until Monday.
Hem d'esbrinar quina clau obre la porta del terrat.
We have to find out which key opens the roof door.
| Underlying direct question | Embedded question | Connector |
|---|---|---|
| Vindrà? | No sé si vindrà. | si |
| On viu? | No sé on viu. | on |
| Què vol? | No entenc què vol. | què |
| Amb qui parla? | No veig amb qui parla. | amb qui |
The embedded clause does not use English question inversion
English distinguishes Where does he work? from Do you know where he works? Catalan has no do-support in either clause. Its subject placement continues to reflect information structure, and an ordinary embedded clause is not transformed by English-style inversion.
Saps on treballa el germà de la Laia?
Do you know where Laia's brother works?
Em pregunto quan arribaran els tècnics.
I wonder when the technicians will arrive.
The matrix clause in the first example is a direct question, so the final question mark belongs to Saps...? The embedded content on treballa el germà de la Laia does not receive a separate mark. In the second, the complete sentence is declarative and ends in a full stop.
Compare the minimal pair:
Quan obre la biblioteca els dissabtes?
When does the library open on Saturdays?
No sé quan obre la biblioteca els dissabtes.
I don't know when the library opens on Saturdays.
The interrogative meaning of quan survives, but only the first sentence is itself a direct question. Catalan interrogatives other than què do not acquire Spanish-style written accents: write com, quan, and on, not cómo, cuándo, dónde.
Punctuation follows the whole sentence
Question marks show the force of the matrix sentence, not the mere presence of an embedded question. A reporting statement takes a full stop; a polite matrix question takes a question mark; an imperative takes the punctuation required by its own tone.
La recepcionista ens ha explicat com podem activar la targeta.
The receptionist has explained how we can activate the card.
Em pots dir a quina hora surt l'últim tren?
Can you tell me what time the last train leaves?
Do not place a comma automatically between the matrix verb and its embedded complement: No sé, si vindrà is not the neutral spelling. A comma can occur for an actual parenthetical or dislocation, but not merely because English speech pauses there.
Prepositions remain attached to the interrogative phrase
If the missing constituent is governed by a preposition, move the entire prepositional phrase into the embedded clause. This rule is the same as in direct questions with prepositions.
No m'han dit amb qui compartiré habitació durant el congrés.
They haven't told me who I will share a room with during the conference.
Encara hem de decidir per a què farem servir els diners sobrants.
We still have to decide what we will use the remaining money for.
An English translation may strand with or for at the end, but Catalan amb qui and per a què behave as units. The same applies in a reordered sentence:
Dels tres pressupostos, ningú no sap encara amb quin es quedarà la junta.
Of the three quotations, nobody yet knows which one the board will choose.
The fronted topic dels tres pressupostos defines a set. Inside the embedded clause, amb quin is selected by quedar-se amb and cannot lose amb.
Tense expresses the intended time, not automatic backshift
Catalan often uses an imperfect after a past reporting verb when the embedded situation was simultaneous with that past moment: Em va preguntar on vivia “She asked me where I lived.” This resemblance to English backshift is real, but not mechanical. If the information remains anchored to the present, a present tense is possible; if it follows the reporting moment, use the appropriate future or conditional perspective.
Ahir em va preguntar on vivia quan estudiava a Lleida.
Yesterday she asked me where I lived when I was studying in Lleida.
Ahir em va preguntar on visc ara.
Yesterday she asked me where I live now.
No sabíem quan arribaria l'ambulància.
We didn't know when the ambulance would arrive.
The first vivia describes a past situation; the second visc is explicitly current because of ara; the conditional arribaria is future viewed from a past reference point. There is no single rule saying that every present must become an imperfect.
Mood also follows meaning. An embedded question typically presents an unknown answer and normally uses the indicative: No sé si vindrà. Do not use a subjunctive merely because the matrix is negative. Other constructions can independently license a subjunctive, but uncertainty alone does not turn si vindrà into si vingui in standard Catalan.
Speakers use several matrix frames
Common frames include no sé, recordes...?, preguntar, esbrinar, explicar, decidir and dependre de. Their syntax and social force differ even when the embedded question is unchanged.
Recordes qui ens va recomanar aquest lampista?
Do you remember who recommended this plumber to us?
M'agradaria saber quant tardaran a reparar l'ascensor.
I would like to know how long they will take to repair the lift.
Tot depèn de si l'assegurança cobreix els danys.
Everything depends on whether the insurance covers the damage.
When si follows a preposition, the preposition belongs to the matrix construction: dependre de si... The sequence de que is not a substitute for an interrogative clause.
A natural dialogue
—Saps si la Clara ja ha sortit de la reunió? —No, però puc preguntar quan acabarà.
—Do you know whether Clara has left the meeting yet? —No, but I can ask when it will end.
—I et diran què han decidit? —Suposo que sí, però no sé quan.
—And will they tell you what they decided? —I suppose so, but I don't know when.
The final quan is an elliptical embedded question: the understood content is quan m'ho diran. Catalan can omit recoverable material without changing the interrogative status of the surviving word.
Decision table
| Intended content | Form | Punctuation |
|---|---|---|
| unknown yes/no answer | si + clause | set by the matrix sentence |
| unknown person, thing, place, reason... | interrogative phrase + clause | set by the matrix sentence |
| past simultaneous viewpoint | often imperfect | no special effect |
| fact still current now | present can remain | no special effect |
| future viewed from the past | often conditional | no special effect |
Common Mistakes
Copying English inversion into the embedded clause:
❌ No sé on treballa ella?
Incorrect as a neutral statement — the final question mark and emphatic subject are copied from the direct question.
✅ No sé on treballa.
I don't know where she works.
Confusing si “whether” with sí “yes”:
❌ Pregunta-li sí necessita ajuda.
Incorrect — the embedded yes–no connector has no accent.
✅ Pregunta-li si necessita ajuda amb les maletes.
Ask her whether she needs help with the bags.
Dropping the accent from interrogative què:
❌ No entenc que em demanes.
Incorrect — this means or resembles a that-clause, not the intended embedded what-question.
✅ No entenc què em demanes que canviï.
I don't understand what you are asking me to change.
Stranding a required preposition:
❌ No recordo qui vas anar al concert amb.
Incorrect — amb must precede qui.
✅ No recordo amb qui vas anar al concert.
I don't remember who you went to the concert with.
Applying a Spanish-style accent to Catalan com:
❌ Explica'm cóm ho has resolt.
Incorrect — Catalan interrogative com has no written accent.
✅ Explica'm com ho has resolt sense calculadora.
Tell me how you solved it without a calculator.
Correction task
Correct No sé sí obriran demà, Em pots dir on és l'entrada., and Ignoro qui depèn la decisió de. The solutions are No sé si obriran demà, Em pots dir on és l'entrada?, and Ignoro de qui depèn la decisió. The first chooses the unaccented connector, the second punctuates the matrix request as a question, and the third fronts the selected preposition with qui.
Key Takeaways
- Introduce embedded yes–no content with unaccented si; retain the appropriate interrogative phrase for an open information gap.
- Let the matrix sentence determine the final punctuation: an embedded question does not automatically require a question mark.
- Do not import English auxiliary inversion or preposition stranding into the embedded clause.
- Choose tense from the intended time perspective rather than applying automatic backshift; uncertainty alone does not license the subjunctive after interrogative si.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Question WordsA1 — How to ask for people, things, choices, quantities, manner, time, place, and reasons with Catalan interrogatives and the prepositions they require.
- Yes–No QuestionsA1 — How Catalan asks total questions through intonation and punctuation, without English do-support, and how subject position, tags, and short answers shape the expected response.
- Subject Position in QuestionsA2 — How Catalan places, omits, or postpones a question's subject according to grammatical role, information status, and contrast rather than English auxiliary inversion.
- Questions with PrepositionsA2 — How Catalan keeps required prepositions before qui, què, quin, and on in questions, including purpose, destination, source, and verb government.
- Polite and Indirect QuestionsB1 — How Catalan softens requests for information and action with the conditional, the imperfect, embedded questions, address forms, and service-register choices.
- Reported SpeechB2 — Report Catalan statements, questions, and commands while managing viewpoint, pronouns, time expressions, and optional tense backshifting.