Indirect questions - conjunctions: OB, WIE, WO...

Indirect questions are sentences that either contain or do not contain question adverbs, with these adverbs functioning as conjunctions within a complex sentence. Therefore, these sentences are dependent clauses.

We differentiate the main clause (HS), which can be:

• Können Sie mir sagen, ...
  (Can you tell me, ...)

• Entschuldigung, wissen Sie, ...
  (Excuse me, do you know, ...)

• Ich möchte wissen, ...
  (I would like to know, ...)

• Er fragt, ...
  (He asks, ...)

These main clauses are often followed by an indirect question introduced by a conjunction like ob, wie, wo, etc., which introduces the dependent clause.

A dependent clause (NS) is introduced by the conjunction ob or question adverbs (W-Fragen). The conjunction ob is used in questions, as well as in sentences expressing uncertainty or doubt:

• Ob er heute noch kommt?
  (Is he coming today?)

• Es war nicht sicher, ob das richtig war.
  (It was not certain whether that was correct.)

An example with dass in this context:

• Ich bin nicht sicher, dass er kommt.
  (I am not sure that he is coming.)

• Ich bin unsicher, ob er kommt.
  (I am unsure whether he is coming.)

In English, the translation of indirect questions and their appropriate conjunctions follows a specific pattern depending on the type of question.

Indirect Questions with Conjunctions (Ob / W-Questions)

• "Ob" (equivalent to "whether") is used in indirect yes/no questions or when expressing uncertainty or doubt.
• W-questions (such as "what", "where", "how", etc.) are used in indirect questions that include a question word.