Direct questions are the “normal” questions that we can ask friends or people who we know well.
👉 How old are you?
👉 Where does she live?
👉 Have you ever been to France?
Indirect questions are a little more formal and polite. We often use them when asking something of strangers or people we do not know well. We usually use polite expressions like:
•Do you know…?
•Who knows…?
•Do you think…?
•Do you remember…?
•Could you tell me…?
•Would you mind telling me…?
Indirect questions are formed of two parts: a polite expression and a question that has no subject/verb inversion like a direct question.
👉 Do you know…? + When does the class start? = Do you know when the class starts?
👉 Who knows…? + What is the answer? = Who knows what the answer is?
👉 Do you remember…? + Where is the station? = Do you remember where the station is?
👉 Would you mind telling me…? + What time is it? = Would you mind telling me what time it is?
When the direct question is a YES/NO question, we use IF and the word order of a positive sentence.
👉 Could you tell me…? + Is there free parking? = Could you tell me if there is free parking?
👉 Can you ask her…? + Do you work in Madrid? = Can you ask her if she works in Madrid?