Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Ele quer saber quando vamos transferi-lo para o técnico. - He wants to know when we are going to transfer him to the technician.

Ele quer saber quando vamos transferi-lo para o técnico.

He wants to know when we are going to transfer him to the technician.

Breakdown of Ele quer saber quando vamos transferi-lo para o técnico.

Questions & Answers about Ele quer saber quando vamos transferi-lo para o técnico.

Why isn't the word se used in this indirect question?

Because the original direct question already has a specific question word: quando. We only use se for indirect yes/no questions (like 'He wants to know if...'). Since he is asking 'When are we going to...?', we just keep the question word quando to link the two parts of the sentence.

Doesn't the question word quando normally pull the pronoun to the front of the verb?

Yes, question words act as magnets that usually pull pronouns to the front. If we put the pronoun with the first verb (vamos), it would have to be quando o vamos transferir. However, when using a compound verb phrase (auxiliary verb + infinitive), it is also perfectly correct to attach the pronoun to the end of the infinitive (transferi-lo).

Why does transferir change to transferi-lo instead of just adding -o?

When attaching a pronoun like o (him/it) to an infinitive that ends in -r, the -r is dropped and the pronoun changes to start with an 'l' (becoming -lo). Notice there is no written accent on the i here, because words ending in i naturally have their stress on that final syllable anyway.

Why is vamos in the indicative mood instead of the subjunctive?