Indirect Questions

An indirect question reports what someone asked or wanted to know. A question word (quis, quid, cur, ubi, quōmodō, num, utrum...an) introduces a clause with a subjunctive verb.

How it works

Trigger verbs

Verbs of asking, knowing, and wondering introduce indirect questions: rogō (ask), quaerō (ask, seek to know), nesciō (not know), sciō (know whether), mīror (wonder).

Structure

The question word introduces the indirect question clause. The verb of that clause goes into the subjunctive.

English: I asked who he was.
Latin: rogāvī quis esset. (question word + subjunctive)

Key question words

Latin	Meaning
quis / quid	who / what
cur	why
ubi	where
quōmodō	how
num	whether (expects negative answer)
utrum...an	whether...or (double question)

Sequence of tenses

The tense of the subjunctive depends on whether the main verb is primary or secondary. See the Sequence of Tenses reference page.

Worked examples

1. rogāvī quis esset.
I asked who he was. (quis + imperfect subjunctive — secondary sequence)

2. nesciō cur id faciat.
I don't know why he is doing that. (cur + present subjunctive — primary sequence)

3. quaesīvit num mīlitēs iam advēnissent.
He asked whether the soldiers had already arrived. (num + pluperfect subjunctive — secondary sequence)

4. mīror quōmodō hoc fēceris.
I wonder how you did this. (quōmodo + perfect subjunctive — primary sequence)

Indirect Question vs Indirect Command

Feature	Indirect Question	Indirect Command
Introduced by	Question word (quis, cur, ubi, num...)	ut or nē
Trigger verbs	rogō, quaerō, nesciō, mīror	imperō, rogō, persuādeō
Translation	...who/why/whether...	...to/not to...

Exam tip: rogō takes both indirect commands (rogō ut...) and indirect questions (rogō quis...). The distinction is the introducer: ut/nē = command; question word = question. If you can replace the introducer with "whether", it is an indirect question.