Indirect Wh-Questions | Farsi Grammar

An indirect wh-question embeds an information gap after a verb such as پرسیدن “ask,” دانستن “know,” فهمیدن “find out,” or یاد نبودن “not remember”: پرسیدم جلسه کجا برگزار می‌شود “I asked where the meeting would be held.” Persian preserves its own clause order. It neither fronts every wh-word nor inverts a subject and auxiliary as English does.

The basic architecture

Meaning of the gap	Embedded frame	Example core
person	matrix + چه کسی/کی + ...	می‌دانم چه کسی زنگ زد
object	matrix + subject + چه چیزی + verb	پرسیدم چه چیزی لازم دارد
place	matrix + subject + کجا + verb	نمی‌دانم ماشین را کجا گذاشت
reason	matrix + چرا + clause	فهمیدم چرا رفت
manner/quantity	matrix + چطور/چقدر + predicate	ببین چقدر هزینه دارد

نمی‌دانم ناهید کلید را کجا گذاشته است.

nemi-dânam Nâhid kelid râ kojâ gozâshte ast.

I don’t know where Nahid has put the key. (neutral standard; کجا remains in the place slot)

از مسئول سالن پرسیدیم برنامه چه ساعتی تمام می‌شود.

az mas'ul-e sâlon porsidim barnâme che sâ'ati tamâm mi-shavad.

We asked the hall manager what time the program ends. (careful-spoken standard)

This is the same wh-in-situ principle used in direct Persian wh-questions. The embedded clause is not rearranged to imitate English where Nahid has put the key.

No inversion, no do-support

English marks embedded questions by changing Where did he go? to I know where he went. Persian has no auxiliary do in either version. The wh-phrase occupies the position required by the Persian predicate.

می‌دانی فرهاد با چه کسی صحبت کرد؟

mi-dâni Farhâd bâ che kasi sohbat kard?

Do you know who Farhad spoke with? (neutral; preposition stays with چه کسی)

هنوز معلوم نیست این دستگاه چطور کار می‌کند.

hanuz ma'lum nist in dastgâh chetor kâr mi-konad.

It is still unclear how this device works. (formal-neutral)

The first is globally a yes-no question because می‌دانی ...؟ asks whether the listener knows; its complement contains the wh-gap. The second is globally a statement. Embedded wh material does not decide the punctuation or speech act of the matrix clause.

💡

Reconstruct the ordinary Persian answer and replace only the unknown constituent. فرهاد با مینا صحبت کرد → فرهاد با چه کسی صحبت کرد. Then place that whole clause after the matrix predicate.

Optional که

Complementizer که can introduce an embedded wh-clause, especially after a reporting verb in careful or formal prose: پرسید که چرا.... It is often omitted in neutral conversation. Unlike آیا, که does not turn a clause into a yes-no question.

خبرنگار پرسید که چرا آمار جدید منتشر نشده است.

khabarnegar porsid ke cherâ âmâr-e jadid montasher na-shode ast.

The journalist asked why the new figures had not been published. (formal report; overt که)

ازش پرسیدم چرا جوابم رو نداده.

az-ash porsidam cherâ javâb-am ro na-dâde.

I asked her why she hadn’t answered me. (informal, regional: Tehran; no که)

Both are grammatical. In the first, که makes the boundary between the reporting clause and its content explicit. In the second, the short matrix ازش پرسیدم and the wh-word already make the structure transparent.

Do not insert آیا before a wh-word. آیا opens a polarity choice; چرا، کجا، چه کسی request a particular value. A matrix آیا می‌دانید ...؟ is possible in formal writing, but there آیا belongs to “do you know?”, not to the embedded wh-clause.

Wh-position and information structure

Neutral Persian often leaves an argument wh-phrase where its answer would stand. Adjuncts such as چرا are freer and commonly precede the embedded subject. Fronting is possible for contrast or processing, but it is not a compulsory transformation.

یادت هست رسید‌ها را در کدام پوشه ذخیره کردی؟

yâd-at hast resid-hâ râ dar kodâm pushe zakhire kardi?

Do you remember which folder you saved the receipts in? (neutral conversation; PP in its predicate position)

برایم توضیح بده چرا این گزینه را انتخاب کردی.

barâ-yam towzih bede cherâ in gozine râ entekhâb kardi.

Explain to me why you chose this option. (neutral directive; reason wh before the embedded clause)

کدام must remain with the noun it selects: در کدام پوشه, not a detached English-style which ... folder. A preposition also remains attached to its complement: با چه کسی، برای چه کاری، از کجا.

Asking, knowing, and factive interpretation

The embedded syntax may be the same while the matrix verb changes the discourse commitment.

از لیلا پرسیدم چرا جلسه را ترک کرد.

az Leylâ porsidam cherâ jalase râ tark kard.

I asked Leyla why she left the meeting. (neutral; seeks an answer)

مدتی بعد فهمیدم چرا لیلا جلسه را ترک کرده بود.

moddati ba'd fahmidam cherâ Leylâ jalase râ tark karde bud.

Some time later I found out why Leyla had left the meeting. (neutral narrative; discovered answer)

پرسیدم چرا reports a question act and normally treats Leyla’s departure as shared background, but it does not claim that an answer was obtained. فهمیدم چرا is factive/resultative: it normally commits the speaker both to her departure and to having acquired its explanation. می‌دانم چرا likewise presents an answer as known. The matrix predicate therefore controls whether the answer is sought, absent, or known; the backgrounded event also reflects the usual presuppositional force of چرا.

With negation, the commitment can become subtler. نمی‌دانم چرا رفت normally still takes the departure for granted while denying knowledge of the reason. By contrast, بررسی می‌کنیم چه کسی وارد شده may leave the identity open without the speaker personally endorsing any candidate.

نمی‌فهمم چرا سامانه دوباره قطع شده است.

nemi-fahmam cherâ sâmâne dobâre qat' shode ast.

I don’t understand why the system has gone down again. (neutral; outage treated as established)

💡

Separate two questions: Does the embedded clause contain a wh-gap? What does the matrix verb say about its answer—seeking it, lacking it, remembering it, or having discovered it?

Tense and punctuation

As with indirect yes-no questions, Persian does not impose mechanical English backshift. Choose tense from the embedded chronology. Punctuation belongs to the matrix sentence.

می‌خواستم بدانم فردا چه کسی دفتر را باز می‌کند.

mi-khâstam be-dânam fardâ che kasi daftar râ bâz mi-konad.

I wanted to know who is opening the office tomorrow. (polite/careful; future reference retained)

به من بگو بسته چه زمانی تحویل داده شد.

be man be-gu baste che zamâni tahvil dâde shod.

Tell me when the package was delivered. (neutral; embedded past event)

Common Mistakes

1. Copying English embedded-question order

⚠️ نمی‌دانم کجا او ماشین را گذاشت.

nemi-dânam kojâ u mâshin râ gozâsht.

Possible with strong contrast on کجا, but marked as a neutral embedded question; the ordinary order leaves کجا in its place slot.

✅ نمی‌دانم او ماشین را کجا پارک کرده است.

nemi-dânam u mâshin râ kojâ pârk karde ast.

I don’t know where she has parked the car.

2. Combining آیا with an embedded wh-marker

❌ پرسیدم آیا جلسه چرا لغو شد.

Incorrect — آیا requests yes/no polarity, while چرا requests a reason.

✅ پرسیدم جلسه چرا ناگهان لغو شد.

porsidam jalase cherâ nâgahân laghv shod.

I asked why the meeting was suddenly canceled.

3. Detaching کدام from its noun

❌ یادت هست کدام پرونده را پوشه گذاشتی؟

Incorrect — کدام selects the noun immediately following it.

✅ یادت هست پرونده را در کدام پوشه گذاشتی؟

yâd-at hast parvande râ dar kodâm pushe gozâshti?

Do you remember which folder you put the file in?

4. Punctuating a report as a direct question

❌ از مدیر پرسیدم که جلسه کی شروع می‌شود؟

Incorrect planned punctuation — the whole sentence reports an act; it does not directly question the reader.

✅ از مدیر پرسیدم جلسه درست چه ساعتی شروع می‌شود.

az modir porsidam jalase dorost che sâ'ati shoru' mi-shavad.

I asked the manager exactly what time the meeting starts.

Key Takeaways

Build an ordinary Persian clause and leave each wh-phrase in its natural grammatical position.
English auxiliary inversion and obligatory wh-fronting do not transfer.
که may mark the complement boundary; آیا cannot replace a wh-word.
The matrix verb determines whether the speaker asks, knows, remembers, or discovers the answer.
Embedded tense follows chronology, and final punctuation follows the matrix speech act.

Now practice Farsi

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Farsi →