An embedded question (interrogativa indireta) is a question tucked inside a larger sentence. Instead of asking the question directly, the speaker reports it, wonders about it, or makes it the object of another verb: não sei onde ele mora, ela perguntou se eu ia, *não tenho a certeza do que ele quer. Structurally, the embedded question behaves like a subordinate clause, and European Portuguese follows a clear and strict rule about its word order — one that trips up English speakers who try to carry over direct-question inversion.
Direct vs. embedded: the two forms of a question
Compare:
| Direct question | Embedded question |
|---|---|
| Onde é que ele mora? | Não sei onde ele mora. |
| Where does he live? | I don't know where he lives. |
| Quando chegas? | Pergunto-me quando chegas. |
| When are you arriving? | I wonder when you're arriving. |
| Gostas de peixe? | Ele perguntou-me se gosto de peixe. |
| Do you like fish? | He asked me if I like fish. |
In the direct column, the sentence is the question itself: it ends with a question mark, it carries rising intonation, and it expects an answer. In the embedded column, the question is the grammatical object (or subject, or complement) of another verb — and the sentence as a whole might not be a question at all. Não sei onde ele mora is a declarative statement that happens to contain an embedded question.
The key rule: no inversion, no é que
The single most important rule for embedded questions in Portuguese:
The word order is declarative. Subject comes before verb. No é que.
Não sei onde ele mora.
I don't know where he lives.
❌ Não sei onde mora ele.
Incorrect — inverted word order belongs in direct questions.
⚠️ Não sei onde é que ele mora.
Very common in speech, but avoided in careful writing.
The subject ele stays in front of mora, exactly as it would in a declarative sentence. Any inversion — onde mora ele, quando chega a Ana — is ungrammatical inside an embedded question.
About é que: in spoken European Portuguese, the é que frame creeps into embedded questions constantly (Não sei onde é que ele mora). It is widely accepted in conversation and will be understood everywhere. But in careful writing — essays, formal emails, journalism — é que is dropped from embedded questions. Both versions are listed below so you recognise them, but formal writing favours the bare pattern.
Não sei onde ele mora.
I don't know where he lives. (formal writing)
Não sei onde é que ele mora.
I don't know where he lives. (conversation)
Types of embedded questions
1. Wh-embedded questions
These start with a question word: onde, quando, como, porque, quem, quanto, qual, o que, por que razão. The word order in the embedded clause is subject-verb-object.
Gostava de saber onde podemos estacionar.
I'd like to know where we can park.
Ela contou-me como conheceu o marido.
She told me how she met her husband.
Não imagino quanto isto vai custar.
I can't imagine how much this is going to cost.
O Miguel nunca percebeu por que razão o pai se foi embora.
Miguel never understood why his father left.
Pergunto-me quem fez este bolo.
I wonder who made this cake.
2. Yes/no embedded questions with se
When the original question was a yes/no question (Gostas? Vais? É verdade?), the embedded version uses se (if / whether) as the subordinator.
Ele perguntou-me se eu ia à festa.
He asked me if I was going to the party.
Não sei se vai chover amanhã.
I don't know if it's going to rain tomorrow.
Duvido que ela saiba se o voo está atrasado.
I doubt she knows whether the flight is delayed.
Quis saber se ainda havia lugares.
I wanted to know whether there were still seats available.
3. Embedded questions as subjects
Less common, but fully grammatical: an embedded question can also be the subject of the main verb, especially after impersonal expressions like é difícil, é óbvio, depende.
Quando ele chega depende do trânsito.
When he arrives depends on the traffic.
O que ela realmente quer é um mistério.
What she really wants is a mystery.
Se vale a pena ou não, isso só tu podes decidir.
Whether or not it's worth it — only you can decide that.
The typical matrix verbs
Embedded questions usually depend on a verb of knowing, asking, wondering, doubting, deciding, or perceiving.
| Verb | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| saber | to know | Não sei quem ele é. |
| perguntar | to ask | Perguntei onde ela estava. |
| querer saber | to want to know | Queria saber como vieste. |
| perguntar-se | to wonder | Pergunto-me se virá. |
| imaginar | to imagine | Não imagino o que pensaram. |
| duvidar | to doubt | Duvido que saibam quando chega. |
| descobrir | to find out | Descobri porque ele desistiu. |
| explicar | to explain | Explica-me como funciona. |
| perceber | to understand | Não percebo o que queres. |
| contar | to tell | Contou-me porque se atrasou. |
| depender de | to depend on | Depende de quem pergunta. |
Each of these verbs takes an embedded clause as its object (or prepositional object, in the case of depender de).
Tense and reported questions
When an embedded question is reported with a past-tense matrix verb, the tense inside the embedded clause usually shifts backwards — the same sequence-of-tenses pattern that governs reported speech.
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| Onde mora? | Perguntei onde ele morava. |
| Gostas? | Perguntei-te se gostavas. |
| Vais? | Perguntei se ias. |
| Já comeste? | Perguntei se já tinhas comido. |
| Chegas quando? | Perguntei quando chegavas. |
- Direct present → embedded imperfect: mora → morava
- Direct present perfect → embedded pluperfect: já comeste → já tinhas comido
- Direct future → embedded conditional: chegarás → chegarias
Ela perguntou-me se eu conhecia a Marta.
She asked me if I knew Marta.
Queria saber quando o comboio ia chegar.
I wanted to know when the train was going to arrive.
Ele contou-me onde tinha crescido.
He told me where he had grown up.
Word order: why no inversion?
Portuguese direct questions often invert the subject (or simply drop it): Onde mora ele? or Onde mora?. Embedded questions don't.
The reason is that in an embedded question, the wh-word is doing two jobs at once: it introduces the subordinate clause, and it marks what's being asked. The clause still behaves like a subordinate clause — and subordinate clauses in Portuguese use declarative order (subject before verb). Putting the subject after the verb would make the clause look like another direct question and break the subordination.
Ela quer saber onde o João mora.
She wants to know where João lives.
❌ Ela quer saber onde mora o João.
Awkward — inverted order belongs to direct questions.
(Note: subject inversion is occasionally found in formal literary style, especially with very short subjects, but the safe rule in everyday EP is subject-first.)
Clitic placement in embedded questions
Embedded questions, like all subordinate clauses, trigger proclisis — object pronouns come before the verb. This is a strict rule in European Portuguese.
Não sei quem te ligou.
I don't know who called you.
Pergunto-me onde o encontraste.
I wonder where you found him.
Queria saber como te chamas.
I'd like to know your name.
Ela perguntou-me se me doía.
She asked me if it hurt.
Compare with the direct versions:
Onde o encontraste?
Where did you find him? (proclisis — wh-word is also a trigger)
Encontraste-o onde?
You found him where? (echo question — enclisis)
Wh-words are proclisis triggers in direct questions too, so the clitic position doesn't change between onde o encontraste (direct) and não sei onde o encontraste (embedded). But this is no accident — subordination and wh-words both happen to trigger proclisis in EP.
Preposition + embedded question
When the matrix verb takes a preposition (depender de, ter medo de, estar à espera de), the preposition precedes the embedded question directly — it does not get stranded.
Tudo depende de quando o chefe decide.
Everything depends on when the boss decides.
Tenho medo do que ele vai dizer.
I'm afraid of what he's going to say.
Estou à espera de saber se consegui o emprego.
I'm waiting to find out if I got the job.
With quem after a preposition, the preposition stays attached: com quem, de quem, a quem, por quem.
Não sei com quem ela falou.
I don't know who she spoke to.
Pergunto-me a quem ele entregou o relatório.
I wonder who he delivered the report to.
Portuguese never strands prepositions — unlike English, which happily ends a sentence on to, with, about.
Colloquial vs. formal embedded questions
European Portuguese has a clear register difference in how embedded questions are formed.
| Colloquial (with é que) | Formal (without é que) |
|---|---|
| Não sei onde é que ele mora. | Não sei onde ele mora. |
| Pergunto-me por que é que ela não veio. | Pergunto-me por que razão ela não veio. |
| Queria saber quando é que ele chega. | Queria saber quando ele chega. |
| Depende de como é que correr. | Depende de como correr. |
In conversation, é que is nearly invisible to native speakers — it is the natural rhythm of spoken EP. In writing, especially anything published or professional, it disappears.
Common Mistakes
❌ Não sei onde mora ele.
Inverted order — belongs in direct questions.
✅ Não sei onde ele mora.
I don't know where he lives.
Embedded questions keep subject-first declarative order. Subject inversion is a tell of an English speaker still thinking in English (where Where does he live? uses do-support, which has no Portuguese equivalent).
❌ Ele perguntou-me se que eu ia.
Incorrect — se is already the yes/no subordinator, no need for que.
✅ Ele perguntou-me se eu ia.
He asked me if I was going.
Se alone subordinates the embedded yes/no question. Adding que after it is an attempt to double-subordinate and is ungrammatical.
❌ Não sei que ele quer.
Incorrect — 'what' in an embedded question is 'o que', not 'que'.
✅ Não sei o que ele quer.
I don't know what he wants.
Standalone wh-what inside an embedded question is o que, not bare que. Compare não sei o que ele quer with direct O que é que ele quer? — the o stays.
❌ Não sei porquê ele não veio.
Incorrect accent — porquê is for standalone questions.
✅ Não sei porque ele não veio.
I don't know why he didn't come.
The accented porquê appears only in standalone questions (Porquê?). Inside an embedded question, use porque without the accent. This is a post-AO90 spelling rule that learners routinely get wrong.
❌ Perguntei onde que ele vai.
Incorrect — the é of é que was dropped.
✅ Perguntei onde é que ele vai. / Perguntei onde ele vai.
I asked where he's going.
If you are using the é que frame, you must say the whole frame — é que, not just que. Or drop it completely.
❌ Não sei o que é o teu nome.
Calque from English 'what is your name'.
✅ Não sei qual é o teu nome. / Não sei como te chamas.
I don't know your name.
English "what is your name" doesn't map to o que in Portuguese. Use qual (which) or como te chamas (how are you called).
❌ Tenho medo que ele vai dizer.
Missing the interrogative.
✅ Tenho medo do que ele vai dizer.
I'm afraid of what he's going to say.
When the embedded question is the complement of a preposition, both the preposition and the question word are needed.
Key Takeaways
- An embedded question is a question tucked inside a larger sentence as a subordinate clause.
- The word order is declarative: subject before verb, no inversion.
- Yes/no embedded questions use se (if/whether); wh-questions use the normal wh-words.
- É que creeps into spoken EP embedded questions but is dropped in formal writing.
- Object pronouns precede the verb in embedded questions (proclisis), as in all subordinate clauses.
- Portuguese never strands prepositions — com quem, de quem, por quem stay together.
- Standalone porquê with the accent is only for direct standalone questions; embedded porque has no accent.
Related Topics
- Wh-Questions (Quem, Que, Onde, Quando...)A1 — Forming information questions with quem, que, qual, onde, como, quando, quanto, and porque — with or without the é que frame.
- Yes/No QuestionsA1 — How to ask questions that expect sim or não — using intonation, the é que frame, and echo-verb answers.
- Indirect QuestionsB1 — Reporting questions inside declarative sentences — with perguntar, querer saber, and não saber, using statement word order, se for yes/no, and tense backshift in past reports.
- Reporting QuestionsB2 — Converting yes/no and wh-questions to indirect speech in European Portuguese — 'se' for yes/no, wh-words for content, word-order reversion, and tense shifts.
- Reported Speech OverviewB1 — Converting direct speech to indirect speech in European Portuguese — the five shifts (que, pronouns, tenses, adverbs, questions) and the verbs that introduce reported speech.
- Complex SentencesA2 — Main clauses with dependent subordinate clauses joined by que, quando, se, porque, embora, and other subordinators.