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An indirect question is a question embedded inside another sentence. Instead of asking directly ("Does life exist?"), you frame it within a statement of curiosity or doubt ("I wonder if life exists."). 

Because verbs like *domandarsi* (to wonder), *interrogarsi* (to question oneself), and *non sapere* (to not know) express uncertainty, the verb inside the embedded question must take the **subjunctive**.

Use the following structure:

- **[Verb of wondering] + [Question word] + [Subjunctive clause]**

For "yes or no" questions, use the conjunction **se** (if/whether):

{{item:852932}}

You can also use standard question words like **dove** (where), **perché** (why), **come** (how), or **chi** (who):

{{item:852935}}

{{item:852937}}

{{item:852941}}

### Wondering in the Past

As with all subjunctive structures, the tenses must agree. If your main verb is in a past tense (like the imperfect), the verb in the indirect question shifts to the **imperfect subjunctive** to maintain the sequence of tenses.

{{item:852942}}

{{item:852947}}

Indirect questions with the subjunctive

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
to wonder	domandarsi
beyond	oltre
the cosmos	il cosmo
I wonder if life exists beyond the cosmos.	Mi domando se esista la vita oltre il cosmo.
to question oneself	interrogarsi
the darkness	l'oscurità
The scientist wonders where the darkness ends.	Lo scienziato si interroga su dove finisca l'oscurità.
the eternity	l'eternità
Many people wonder why eternity is a mystery.	Molta gente si domanda perché l'eternità sia un mistero.
to conceive	concepire
the particle	la particella
the chaos	il caos
It is difficult to conceive how a small particle creates chaos.	È difficile concepire come una piccola particella crei il caos.
Yesterday I was wondering if the universe hid a secret.	Ieri mi domandavo se l'universo nascondesse un segreto.
Whoever looks at the moon wonders if the cosmos is infinite.	Chiunque guardi la luna si domanda se il cosmo sia infinito.
I do not think about it often, but I wonder how chaos is born.	Non ci penso spesso, ma mi domando come nasca il caos.
unknown	ignoto
Nobody can imagine who lives beyond this unknown space.	Nessuno può immaginare chi viva oltre questo spazio ignoto.
The scientists wondered how the particle created the darkness.	Gli scienziati si interrogavano su come la particella creasse l'oscurità.
Whichever planet they explore, they wonder if chaos lasts for eternity.	Qualsiasi pianeta esplorino, si domandano se il caos duri per l'eternità.
Whoever studies the universe wonders how unknown nature works.	Chi studia l'universo si interroga su come funzioni la natura ignota.
I do not know if the mind can conceive the darkness beyond the stars.	Non so se la mente possa concepire l'oscurità oltre le stelle.