Indirect questions

An indirect question embeds a question inside a larger sentence instead of asking it directly. For a yes–no question, Romanian uses dacă: Nu știu dacă vine mâine. (I do not know whether he or she is coming tomorrow.) For an information question, Romanian keeps the relevant question word.

How do you form an indirect question?

Choose a verb or expression that introduces an unknown answer, add dacă or the original question word, and build the embedded clause with its own subject, verb, and complements.

1. Start with an introducing expression such as a întreba (to ask), a ști (to know), a se întreba (to wonder), or a vrea să știe (to want to know): Nu știu... (I do not know...).
2. Use dacă when the direct question expects da or nu: Nu știu dacă... (I do not know whether...).
3. Keep the question word when the direct question asks for information: Nu știu unde... (I do not know where...), Nu știu cine... (I do not know who...).
4. Check person, tense, pronouns, and the final punctuation from the viewpoint of the whole sentence.

When do you use dacă?

Use dacă to embed a question whose possible answer is yes or no. It does not mean that the answer is yes: M-a întrebat dacă am timp. (He or she asked me whether I have time.) The same word can introduce a condition, so the introducing expression and the meaning of the whole sentence matter.

Which question word stays in the clause?

Keep the question word that supplies the missing information. The word still has a grammatical role inside the embedded clause, so keep its required preposition, case form, or agreement.

For the main question-word meanings, see core Romanian question words. For fuller forms of cine, ce, care, and cât, see interrogative pronouns and determiners.

What word order and punctuation do you use?

An embedded question is a subordinate clause, not a second direct question. Do not add English-style subject–verb inversion, and do not put a question mark inside the sentence. The question mark belongs at the end only when the whole sentence is a question.

Romanian can place a question word before or after other material in a direct question, depending on focus. In a neutral learner pattern, keep the embedded clause together and follow the word order required by the question word's role: Nu știu ce face Ana. (I do not know what Ana is doing.)

How do tense and pronouns change?

The embedded clause has its own tense and viewpoint. Change a pronoun when the person speaking or being addressed changes, but choose the tense for the intended time reference rather than applying an automatic English-style backshift.

• Direct: „Vii mâine?” (Are you coming tomorrow?) → M-a întrebat dacă vin mâine. (He or she asked me whether I am coming tomorrow.) The addressee tu becomes eu for the person reporting the question.
• Direct: „Unde locuiești?” (Where do you live?) → M-a întrebat unde locuiesc. (He or she asked me where I live.) The question word stays, while the verb agrees with the new subject.
• A past introducing verb does not force one single tense: Nu știam dacă a venit. (I did not know whether he or she had come.) and Nu știam dacă va veni. (I did not know whether he or she would come.) place the event differently in time.

What are the common mistakes?

• Do not use că for a yes–no indirect question: write M-a întrebat dacă vin, not M-a întrebat că vin.
• Do not add dacă before another question word: write Nu știu unde locuiește, not Nu știu dacă unde locuiește.
• Do not replace an information question with dacă: Nu știu cine vine asks who, while Nu știu dacă vine asks whether someone is coming.
• Do not remove a required preposition or case form: Nu știu pe cine ai văzut keeps pe, and Nu știu cui i-ai scris keeps the dative cui.
• Do not put a question mark after the embedded clause: write Nu știu dacă vine. unless the whole sentence itself is a question, as in Știi dacă vine?.

Indirect questions are one use of reported language. For the wider contrast between reported statements, questions, and commands, see reported speech. For a broader treatment of subordinate-clause order, see word order in subordinate clauses.