A direct question stands on its own: Kommt er? ("Is he coming?"), Wann kommt er? ("When is he coming?"). An indirect question takes that question and tucks it inside a bigger sentence: Ich weiß nicht, ob er kommt ("I don't know whether he's coming"), Ich frage mich, wann er kommt ("I wonder when he's coming"). The moment you embed a question this way, it stops being a question grammatically and becomes a subordinate clause — and that transformation does three things at once: the verb jumps to the end, the inversion disappears, and the question mark is gone. This is the exact mirror image of the direct question, where the verb comes first or second. Master that flip and indirect questions become mechanical.
Why everything changes: it's now a subordinate clause
Here is the single insight that explains every detail below. A direct question has special "front" word order — verb-first for yes/no (Kommt er?), verb-second for w-questions (Wann kommt er?). But once that question is embedded under a main clause, it obeys the universal German rule for subordinate clauses: the finite verb goes to the very end. The introductory word (ob or the W-word) acts as a subordinating conjunction, and the verb closes the clause.
| Type | Direct (stands alone) | Indirect (embedded) |
|---|---|---|
| Yes/No | Kommt er? (verb first) | …, ob er kommt. (verb last) |
| W-question | Wann kommt er? (verb second) | …, wann er kommt. (verb last) |
Yes/No questions become ob-clauses
A direct yes/no question (Entscheidungsfrage) has no question word, so when you embed it you must supply one: ob ("whether/if"). The clause then goes verb-final.
Kommt er heute? → Ich weiß nicht, ob er heute kommt.
Is he coming today? → I don't know whether he's coming today. (ob added, verb 'kommt' to the end)
Hast du den Schlüssel? → Sag mir, ob du den Schlüssel hast.
Do you have the key? → Tell me whether you have the key. (verb-final 'hast')
Ist das Geschäft noch offen? → Weißt du, ob das Geschäft noch offen ist?
Is the shop still open? → Do you know whether the shop is still open?
That third example shows a common shape: the whole sentence can be a question (Weißt du, …?) even though the embedded part is not. The question mark belongs to the main clause's question (Weißt du …?), never to the embedded ob-clause itself.
ob is "whether," not wenn
English "if" is treacherous here, because it translates two different German words. When "if" means "whether" (introducing an embedded yes/no question), it is ob. When "if" means "in the case that" (a condition), it is wenn. Indirect questions always take ob.
Ich frage mich, ob es morgen regnet.
I wonder whether it'll rain tomorrow. (embedded yes/no question → ob)
Wenn es morgen regnet, bleibe ich zu Hause.
If it rains tomorrow, I'll stay home. (condition → wenn, NOT an embedded question)
The test: can you rephrase the English "if" as "whether"? I wonder whether it'll rain — yes, so it's ob. Whether it rains, I'll stay home — no, that's nonsense, so it's the conditional wenn. This is the single most common indirect-question error English speakers make.
W-questions keep their W-word
For a w-question, you already have a question word — wer, was, wann, wo, wie, warum, and so on. You keep that word as the subordinator; you do not add ob. The only change is the word order: the verb drops to the end and the inversion vanishes.
Wann fährt der Zug ab? → Können Sie mir sagen, wann der Zug abfährt?
When does the train leave? → Can you tell me when the train leaves? (W-word kept, verb-final 'abfährt')
Wo wohnt sie? → Ich habe keine Ahnung, wo sie wohnt.
Where does she live? → I have no idea where she lives.
Warum hat er das gesagt? → Ich verstehe nicht, warum er das gesagt hat.
Why did he say that? → I don't understand why he said that. (in the perfect, the finite 'hat' lands at the very end)
Compare the direct and indirect forms of the train question closely. Direct: Wann *fährt der Zug ab? — finite verb *fährt in second position, separable prefix ab at the end. Indirect: …, wann der Zug *abfährt.* — the finite verb has dropped to the end and reattached to its prefix. The W-word stayed put; only the verb moved.
The three formal markers: comma, verb-final, no question mark
Every indirect question, whether ob or a W-word, carries three orthographic/syntactic signatures. Get all three and the clause is correct:
- A comma before ob / the W-word (German requires a comma at every subordinate-clause boundary).
- The finite verb at the very end of the embedded clause.
- No question mark on the embedded clause — only the main clause may carry one, and only if the main clause is itself a question.
Ich möchte wissen, wie viel das kostet.
I'd like to know how much that costs. (comma + verb-final 'kostet' + statement ends in a period: the whole sentence is a statement)
Weißt du, wann der Film anfängt?
Do you know when the film starts? (the '?' belongs to 'Weißt du …', a question; the embedded clause is still verb-final)
So whether the sentence ends in "." or "?" depends entirely on the main clause, not the embedded one. Ich weiß, wo er ist. ends in a period because Ich weiß is a statement. Weißt du, wo er ist? ends in a question mark because Weißt du is a question. The embedded part never decides the punctuation.
Common triggers: the verbs that introduce indirect questions
Indirect questions live under main clauses of asking, knowing, and wondering. Useful triggers to recognize and reuse:
| Trigger | English | Example opener |
|---|---|---|
| Ich weiß (nicht), … | I (don't) know … | Ich weiß nicht, ob … |
| Ich frage mich, … | I wonder … | Ich frage mich, warum … |
| Kannst du mir sagen, …? | Can you tell me …? | Kannst du mir sagen, wo …? |
| Ich habe keine Ahnung, … | I have no idea … | Ich habe keine Ahnung, wann … |
| Es ist unklar, … | It's unclear … (formal) | Es ist unklar, ob … |
A practical bonus: the indirect form is also the polite form. Wo ist der Bahnhof? is a fine direct question, but Können Sie mir sagen, wo der Bahnhof ist? ("Could you tell me where the station is?") is softer and more courteous (formal/polite) — the embedding itself adds politeness. This is why mastering indirect questions immediately upgrades how you ask strangers for help.
Entschuldigung, könnten Sie mir sagen, ob dieser Bus zum Flughafen fährt?
Excuse me, could you tell me whether this bus goes to the airport? (polite/formal — the indirect framing softens the request)
Common Mistakes
Keeping question word order in the embedded clause — the verb stays up front instead of going to the end.
❌ Ich weiß nicht, wann kommt er.
Wrong — embedding makes it verb-final: 'Ich weiß nicht, wann er kommt.'
✅ Ich weiß nicht, wann er kommt.
I don't know when he's coming.
Using wenn for "whether."
❌ Ich frage mich, wenn er kommt.
Wrong — embedded yes/no 'whether' is ob; 'wenn' here would mean a condition: 'Ich frage mich, ob er kommt.'
✅ Ich frage mich, ob er kommt.
I wonder whether he's coming.
Adding ob on top of a W-word.
❌ Sag mir, ob wann der Bus kommt.
Wrong — a W-question already has its subordinator; don't add ob: 'Sag mir, wann der Bus kommt.'
✅ Sag mir, wann der Bus kommt.
Tell me when the bus comes.
Putting a question mark on the embedded clause when the main clause is a statement.
❌ Ich weiß nicht, wo er wohnt?
Wrong — 'Ich weiß nicht' is a statement, so the sentence ends in a period: 'Ich weiß nicht, wo er wohnt.'
✅ Ich weiß nicht, wo er wohnt.
I don't know where he lives.
Omitting the comma before ob / the W-word.
❌ Weißt du ob das Museum heute geöffnet ist?
Wrong — German requires a comma at the subordinate-clause boundary: 'Weißt du, ob das Museum heute geöffnet ist?'
✅ Weißt du, ob das Museum heute geöffnet ist?
Do you know whether the museum is open today?
Key Takeaways
- Embedding a question makes it a subordinate clause: the finite verb goes to the end, inversion disappears, and there's no question mark on the embedded clause.
- Yes/No questions become ob-clauses (Ich weiß nicht, ob er kommt).
- W-questions keep their W-word as the subordinator — never add ob (Ich frage mich, warum er geht).
- ob = "whether," distinct from conditional wenn = "if (in the case that)." Rephrase English "if" as "whether" to test.
- Three formal markers: comma + verb-final + no question mark on the embedded clause. The main clause alone decides "." vs "?".
- The indirect frame (Können Sie mir sagen, …?) is also the polite way to ask.
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Start learning German→Related Topics
- ob and Indirect QuestionsB1 — How German embeds questions: ob means 'whether/if' for yes/no questions and w-words introduce embedded wh-questions — both verb-final, with no question mark — and ob must never be confused with conditional wenn.
- wenn vs ob (if/whether)B1 — How to choose between wenn (conditional/temporal 'if/when') and ob (whether/if in indirect yes-no questions), with the simple whether-test that separates them.
- Verb-Final Order in Subordinate ClausesB1 — Why a subordinating conjunction sends the finite verb to the very end of the clause — and why in compound tenses the auxiliary lands dead last.
- Reporting Questions and CommandsC1 — How German reports non-statements — yes/no questions as ob-clauses, w-questions keeping their question word, and commands rebuilt with the modal sollen, since German has no reported imperative.
- wann and Time QuestionsA2 — wann asks 'when' — but only in questions. Learn the family of time questions (seit wann, bis wann, wie lange, wie oft) and why wann must never be used as the conjunction 'when' in a statement.
- Questions: Complete ReferenceA2 — A one-page map of the entire German question system — yes/no via verb-first, W-questions via W-word plus V2, indirect questions verb-final, tags, and the answer words ja/nein/doch — all built from the same V2 machinery.