An indirect yes-no question makes an entire proposition the missing information: نمیدانم جلسه لغو شده یا نه “I don’t know whether the meeting has been canceled.” Persian does not invert a subject and auxiliary as English does. It embeds an ordinary Persian clause and marks its open polarity with آیا, final یا نه, or both.
Three productive frames
| Frame | Register | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| matrix + آیا + clause | formal/written | official inquiry, research question |
| matrix + clause + یا نه | neutral and conversational | explicit “whether or not” |
| matrix + آیا + clause + یا نه | formal and maximally explicit | delimited binary alternative |
| پرسید که آیا + clause | formal reporting | که introduces the complement; آیا marks polarity |
نمیدانم فردا اداره باز است یا نه.
nemi-dânam fardâ edâre bâz ast yâ na.
I don’t know whether the office is open tomorrow. (neutral standard)
مدیر پرسید که آیا گزارش آماده است.
modir porsid ke âyâ gozâresh âmâde ast.
The manager asked whether the report was ready. (formal-neutral reporting)
هنوز مشخص نیست آیا قطار بهموقع میرسد یا نه.
hanuz moshakhkhas nist âyâ qatâr be-mowqe' mi-resad yâ na.
It is not yet clear whether the train will arrive on time. (formal; آیا ... یا نه)
The first example’s final یا نه frame is the everyday default. آیا is useful when a writer wants the embedded question to be identifiable immediately, but it sounds unnecessarily official in most relaxed conversation. This continues the register contrast introduced on Formal Yes-No Questions with آیا.
پرسیدن and complement marking
With پرسیدن “ask,” the addressee is normally introduced by از and the question follows: از من پرسید ... “asked me ...”. Formal prose readily uses که آیا. In speech, که and آیا are often absent when final یا نه makes the question relation clear.
از مسئول پذیرش پرسیدم که آیا هزینهی صبحانه در قیمت اتاق حساب میشود.
az mas'ul-e pazirosh porsidam ke âyâ hazine-ye sobhâne dar qeymat-e otâq hesâb mi-shavad.
I asked the receptionist whether breakfast was included in the room price. (formal-neutral)
ازش پرسیدم امشب میاد یا نه.
az-ash porsidam emshab miyâd yâ na.
I asked him whether he’s coming tonight. (informal, regional: Tehran)
In the colloquial example, ازش means “from him/her,” the Persian argument pattern of “ask someone.” Translating English I asked him as a bare direct object with را is not the neutral Persian construction.
Word order does not invert
The embedded clause retains Persian declarative order. A subject stays before its predicate, and a direct object remains before the verb. There is no Persian equivalent of English auxiliary inversion in whether *he has arrived*.
میخواهم بدانم این ضمانت خرابی باتری را پوشش میدهد یا نه.
mi-khâham be-dânam in zemânat kharâbi-ye bâteri râ pushesh mi-dahad yâ na.
I want to know whether this warranty covers battery failure. (careful-spoken standard)
بررسی کنید آیا مشتری مبلغ را واریز کرده است یا نه.
barrasi konid âyâ moshtari mablagh râ vâriz karde ast yâ na.
Check whether the customer has transferred the amount. (formal workplace instruction)
In both, the sequence is subject–object–verb inside the embedded question. آیا does not occupy an English auxiliary position; it simply precedes the proposition.
Tense is retained, not mechanically shifted
English often backshifts a reported question: Is it ready? becomes She asked whether it *was ready.* Persian chooses tense from the embedded event’s own reference time. A past reporting verb does not automatically turn an embedded present into a past.
دیروز از من پرسید امروز خانه هستم یا نه.
diruz az man porsid emruz khâne hastam yâ na.
Yesterday she asked whether I am home today. (neutral; امروز still refers to today)
پرسید جلسهی قبلی ضبط شده بود یا نه.
porsid jalase-ye qabli zabt shode bud yâ na.
He asked whether the previous meeting had been recorded. (neutral; past perfect because recording preceded the asking context)
The first retains هستم because the state is evaluated today. The second uses شده بود because the recording would already have occurred before a past reference point. Tense follows chronology, not a reporting-verb rule.
Person and deixis still adjust when the reporter changes viewpoint. A direct فردا میآیی؟ addressed to me can be reported by me as پرسید فردا میآیم یا نه: second person becomes first person because I now describe my own attendance.
Punctuation and question force
An embedded question is part of a larger statement, so punctuation follows the whole sentence. نمیدانم میآید یا نه. takes a full stop, not a question mark. A matrix question takes ؟: میدانی میآید یا نه؟
نمیدانیم آیا این تغییر دائمی است یا نه.
nemi-dânim âyâ in taghyir dâ'emi ast yâ na.
We do not know whether this change is permanent. (formal-neutral statement; full stop)
میدونی فردا بانک بازه یا نه؟
mi-duni fardâ bânk bâze yâ na?
Do you know whether the bank is open tomorrow? (informal, regional: Tehran; the whole matrix sentence is a question)
Common Mistakes
1. Copying English auxiliary inversion
❌ نمیدانم آیا است فروشگاه باز.
Incorrect — Persian does not invert the copula in an embedded question.
✅ نمیدانم فروشگاه هنوز باز است یا نه.
nemi-dânam forushgâh hanuz bâz ast yâ na.
I don’t know whether the shop is still open.
2. Using را for the person asked
❌ من مسئول را پرسیدم ساعت کاری عوض شده یا نه.
Incorrect neutral valency — the person asked is introduced by از.
✅ از نگهبان پرسیدم در اصلی باز است یا نه.
az negahbân porsidam dar-e asli bâz ast yâ na.
I asked the guard whether the main door was open.
3. Backshifting solely because پرسید is past
❌ دیشب پرسید فردا وقت داشتم یا نه.
Incorrect when فردا is still future relative to last night — the past verb wrongly relocates availability.
✅ دیشب پرسید فردا وقت دارم یا نه.
dishab porsid fardâ vaqt dâram yâ na.
Last night she asked whether I am free tomorrow.
4. Putting a question mark after a declarative matrix
❌ هنوز نمیدانم ثبتنام کرده یا نه؟
Incorrect planned punctuation — the whole sentence is a statement of not knowing.
✅ هنوز نمیدانم همکارم ثبتنام کرده یا نه.
hanuz nemi-dânam hamkâr-am sabt-nâm karde yâ na.
I still don’t know whether my colleague has registered.
Key Takeaways
- Embed an ordinary Persian clause; never add English-style inversion.
- Neutral speech favors final یا نه; formal writing readily uses آیا or که آیا.
- With پرسیدن, introduce the person asked with از.
- Choose embedded tense from the event’s actual time, not from mechanical backshift.
- Punctuate according to the whole matrix sentence.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Yes-No Questions by IntonationA1 — Turn ordinary Persian statements into natural yes-no questions without changing word order, using intonation, context, punctuation, and short answers.
- Formal Yes-No Questions with آیاA1 — Use clause-initial آیا to mark clear written and careful-spoken Persian yes-no questions without changing ordinary word order.
- Choice Questions with یاA2 — Build Persian alternative questions with یا, control what the alternatives contrast, and use final یا نه for a binary decision.
- Subordinate Clauses before and after the MatrixB1 — Place Persian adverbial and complement clauses according to their grammatical role, discourse framing, weight, and processing demands.