An indirect question is a question folded inside a bigger sentence. Instead of asking Where is he? directly, you embed it: I don't know where he is; Tell me when you'll come; She asked whether there were tickets. English does two fiddly things when it embeds a question: it drops the inversion (where *is he? → where *he is) and, in the past, it backshifts the tense (will → would). Ukrainian is simpler on both counts. The embedded clause keeps plain statement order (which it already had, since direct questions don't invert either), it keeps the original tense with no backshift, and it's separated from the main clause by an obligatory comma. The one genuinely new thing to learn is the word for embedded "whether/if" — and the trap that it is чи, never якщо́.
Wh-indirect questions: keep the question word
When the embedded question is a wh-question, you keep the question word (хто, що, де, коли́, чому́, як, скі́льки…) and follow it with statement word order. A comma sits before the embedded clause. The question word does the linking work; nothing is added.
Я не зна́ю, де він.
I don't know where he is. — wh-word де + statement order він; comma before the clause.
Скажи́ мені́, коли́ ти при́йдеш.
Tell me when you'll come. — коли́ + statement order ти при́йдеш; the future is kept.
Запита́й, що ста́лося.
Ask what happened. — що + ста́лося; the embedded wh-question after a comma.
Ціка́во, як вони́ про це дізна́лися.
I wonder how they found out about it. — як introduces the embedded question; Ціка́во 'it's curious/I wonder'.
Because the question word declines (see wh-questions), it still carries the case its role demands inside the embedded clause — exactly as in a direct question:
Я не пам’ята́ю, кому́ я це обіця́в.
I don't remember who I promised this to. — dative кому́ inside the embedded clause, set by the verb.
Він не сказа́в, з ким зустріча́вся.
He didn't say who he met with. — з ким, the preposition fronting with the question word inside the embedded clause.
Yes/no-indirect questions: чи "whether / if"
When the embedded question is a yes/no question, English uses whether or if (I don't know *whether/if he'll come). Ukrainian uses *чи. Same comma, same statement order; чи is simply the embedded-yes/no link.
Не зна́ю, чи він при́йде.
I don't know whether he'll come. — embedded yes/no question with чи; future tense kept.
Ціка́во, чи є ще квитки́.
I wonder if there are any tickets left. — чи 'if/whether' inside the embedded question.
Перевір, чи две́рі зачи́нені.
Check whether the door is locked. — чи introduces the embedded yes/no question.
The trap: чи, never якщо́
English "if" is treacherous because it does two unrelated jobs: it means "whether" (embedded question — I don't know *if he'll come) and it means *"in the event that" (real condition — *If it rains, we'll stay*). Ukrainian keeps these strictly apart. Embedded "whether/if" is чи; conditional "if" is якщо́ (covered under conditional/purpose conjunctions). Using якщо́ for an embedded question is a hard, very common error.
Не зна́ю, чи вона́ вдо́ма.
I don't know if she's home. — embedded question → чи, even though English uses 'if' here.
Якщо́ вона́ вдо́ма, ми зайде́мо.
If she's home, we'll drop by. — a real condition → якщо́; this is NOT an embedded question.
No tense backshift — Ukrainian keeps the original tense
This is where Ukrainian is easier than English, and where English habits actively mislead. In English reported speech, a past reporting verb drags the embedded tense back one step: He asked, "Will you come?" → He asked whether I *would come (*will → would). Ukrainian does no such thing. The embedded clause keeps the tense the speaker originally used. A future stays future, a present stays present — even under a past reporting verb. (This connects to the broader rule on the reported speech page.)
Він спита́в, чи я прийду́.
He asked whether I would come. — Ukrainian keeps the FUTURE прийду́ ('I will come'); English backshifts to 'would'.
Вона́ запита́ла, де я живу́.
She asked where I lived. — Ukrainian keeps the PRESENT живу́ ('I live'); English backshifts to 'lived'.
Я не знав, чи встигну́ на по́тяг.
I didn't know whether I'd make the train. — future встигну́ kept after a past main verb.
Think of it this way: Ukrainian reports the embedded clause from the original speaker's viewpoint, so the tense they actually used is the tense you keep. English shifts to the reporter's viewpoint and rewinds the tense. Translate by un-shifting: an English "would" in an embedded question usually corresponds to a Ukrainian future.
The comma is obligatory
Every indirect question is a subordinate clause, and Ukrainian sets off subordinate clauses with a comma. The comma sits right before the question word or before чи. Omitting it is a punctuation error, not a stylistic choice.
Скажи́, що ти ду́маєш.
Tell me what you think. — comma before the embedded що-clause.
Я не впе́внений, чи це га́рна іде́я.
I'm not sure whether this is a good idea. — comma before чи.
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, three things go your way and one needs care. (1) No inversion to undo — Ukrainian direct questions never inverted, so the embedded clause already has statement order: Where is he? → Я не зна́ю, де він. (2) No tense backshift — keep the original tense; English "would" in an embedded question maps to a Ukrainian future (Він спита́в, чи я прийду́ "he asked whether I would come"). (3) A comma is obligatory before the embedded clause. The one trap: embedded "whether/if" is чи, never якщо́ — I don't know *if she's home is Не зна́ю, чи вона́ вдо́ма, because English "if" here means "whether," and *якщо́ is reserved for real conditions.
For a Russian speaker, the structure matches but the link words are Ukrainian: embedded "whether" is чи (not the Russian enclitic ли), and it fronts the embedded clause (…, чи я прийду́), it doesn't sit second. Conditional "if" is якщо́ (not е́сли). The no-backshift rule is shared.
Common Mistakes
❌ Не зна́ю, якщо́ вона́ вдо́ма.
Wrong word — embedded 'if' = 'whether' is чи, not the conditional якщо́: Не зна́ю, чи вона́ вдо́ма.
✅ Не зна́ю, чи вона́ вдо́ма.
I don't know if she's home. — embedded yes/no question takes чи.
❌ Він спита́в, чи я прийшо́в би.
Wrong tense — Ukrainian keeps the original future, no English-style backshift: Він спита́в, чи я прийду́.
✅ Він спита́в, чи я прийду́.
He asked whether I would come. — the future прийду́ is preserved (no backshift).
❌ Я не зна́ю де він.
Missing comma — an indirect question is a subordinate clause and needs a comma before it: Я не зна́ю, де він.
✅ Я не зна́ю, де він.
I don't know where he is. — obligatory comma before the embedded clause.
❌ Скажи́ мені́, де він є?
Two errors — no question mark on an embedded question, and don't add inverting 'є'; keep statement order: Скажи́ мені́, де він.
✅ Скажи́ мені́, де він.
Tell me where he is. — statement order, no question mark, comma before the clause.
❌ Вона́ запита́ла, де я жив. (meaning 'where I live')
Backshift error — keep the present she actually asked about: Вона́ запита́ла, де я живу́.
✅ Вона́ запита́ла, де я живу́.
She asked where I live. — present живу́ kept; no backshift to a past.
Key Takeaways
- An indirect question is a subordinate clause with statement word order and an obligatory comma before it (Я не зна́ю, де він.).
- Wh-indirect: keep the question word, which still declines for its role (…, кому́ я обіця́в, …, з ким зустріча́вся). No question mark.
- Yes/no-indirect: use чи "whether/if" — never якщо́ (which is conditional "if"). Test: if English "if" = "whether," use чи.
- No tense backshift: keep the original tense the speaker used. English "would" in an embedded question usually maps to a Ukrainian future (Він спита́в, чи я прийду́).
- Чи fronts the embedded clause (proclitic), unlike Russian second-position ли.
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- The Question Particle ЧиA2 — Чи is a triple-duty word. (1) It optionally fronts a YES/NO question for clarity or formality (Чи ти гото́вий? 'are you ready?') — a cleaner alternative to intonation-only questions. (2) It means 'or' in alternative questions and lists (Чай чи ка́ва? 'tea or coffee?', Ти пі́деш чи ні? 'will you go or not?'). (3) It renders 'whether/if' in INDIRECT questions (Не зна́ю, чи він при́йде 'I don't know whether he'll come') — and crucially this is чи, NOT якщо́. The English 'do you…?' question-formation, 'or', and 'whether' all map onto чи.
- Reported (Indirect) SpeechB1 — How to report what someone said — and the one rule English speakers must unlearn: Ukrainian does NOT backshift tenses. 'He said he would come' is Він сказа́в, що при́йде (the future is kept, not turned into 'would'); the embedded tense reflects the ORIGINAL utterance, not the reporting verb. Statements take що + comma; yes/no questions take чи ('whether'); wh-questions keep the question word; and commands/requests use щоб + the past form, never an infinitive.
- Wh-Questions (Хто, Що, Де, Коли, Чому, Як)A1 — Ukrainian wh-questions put the question word FIRST and keep the rest in statement order — no do-support, no inversion: Де ти живе́ш? 'where do you live?', Що ти ро́биш? 'what are you doing?', Чому́ ти пла́чеш? 'why are you crying?'. Pronominal question words DECLINE for their role in the clause, so the case is a grammatical signal English lacks: Кому́ ти телефону́єш? 'who(m) are you calling?' (dative, because телефонува́ти governs dative), З ким ти був? 'who were you with?' (instrumental). Prepositions front with the question word (Зві́дки?, Про що?, З ким?), and the intonation falls rather than rises.
- Yes/No QuestionsA1 — Ukrainian forms yes/no questions with NO do-support and NO inversion: the statement word order is kept exactly, and the question is signalled by rising intonation on the focused word (Ти лю́биш ка́ву? 'do you like coffee?') or by fronting the optional particle чи (Чи ти лю́биш ка́ву?, slightly more formal/clear). Answers are так 'yes' / ні 'no', very often echoing the verb (Прийшо́в? — Прийшо́в 'Did he come? — He did'). Negative questions (Ти не голо́дний? — Ні, не голо́дний 'aren't you hungry? — No, I'm not') answer the polarity of the statement, not the English 'yes/no'.
- Subordinating Conjunctions: Condition, Purpose, ConcessionB1 — Three families of subordinators that English collapses or marks only with verb forms. CONDITION: якщо́ 'if' for real/likely conditions (with the FUTURE — Якщо́ бу́де дощ, залиши́мося вдо́ма) versus якби́ 'if' for hypotheticals (with PAST + би/б — Якби́ був дощ, ми б залиши́лися). PURPOSE: щоб 'so that / in order to', + infinitive for the same subject, + past form for a different subject; also для то́го щоб, аби́. CONCESSION: хоч/хоча́ 'although', незважа́ючи на те що 'despite', дарма́ що, хай/нехай 'even if'. Comma before the subordinator.