When you want to ask a question indirectly or express uncertainty—like "I wonder where it is" or "Do you know when it starts?"—you use an indirect question. These are formed as subordinate clauses starting with a question word like var (where), när (when), varför (why), or vilket (which).
| Anna's mother does not know when the party starts. | Annas mamma vet inte när festen börjar. |
| I have no idea where the glasses are. | Jag har ingen aning om var glasögonen är. |
Adverbs in indirect questions
Because indirect questions are subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like inte (not) or egentligen (actually) must be placed before the verb.
| Erik asked what the address actually was. | Erik frågade vad adressen egentligen var. |
| We are thinking about why the money is actually missing. | Vi funderar på varför pengarna egentligen saknas. |
The "som" rule for subject questions
If the question word (usually vem or vad) is the subject of the indirect question—such as when asking "who did it?" or "what happened?"—you must insert the word som directly after it.
| Do you know who hid the glasses? | Vet du vem som gömde glasögonen? |
If the subordinate clause also has a sentence adverb, the adverb goes between som and the verb.
| The boy wonders what is actually missing. | Pojken undrar vad som egentligen saknas. |
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