OET Speaking Grammar: Put Indirect Questions in the Right Order

“Where is the reception desk?” is a direct question. Add a polite opening and the word order changes: “Could you tell me where the reception desk is?” Keeping the direct-question order inside the longer question is a common source of errors.

The question-formation chapter in Jobin Thomas’s Precision Grammar for OET Doctors explains direct and indirect forms. This guide concentrates on the embedded question: the part after “Could you tell me…” or a similar opening. The examples practise communication rather than clinical decisions.

Find the two parts of the question

In “Could you tell me where the reception desk is?”, the opening request is “Could you tell me.” The information you want appears in “where the reception desk is.” That second part uses subject–verb order.

Compare “When does the appointment start?” with “Could you tell me when the appointment starts?” The embedded clause does not keep “does,” and the main verb takes its appropriate form: “starts.”

Use if or whether for a yes/no question

A direct yes/no question does not contain a question word such as “where.” An indirect version can introduce the information with “if” or “whether”: “Is the office open?” becomes “Could you tell me whether the office is open?”

The embedded clause again uses statement order: “the office is,” not “is the office.” Check this especially when the direct form feels familiar and comes to mind automatically.

Keep the question easy to follow

A longer opening is not automatically more courteous or more useful. “Could you tell me…” is often enough. Several layers of polite wording can make the actual question difficult to find.

Direct questions can also be appropriate. Choose a form that fits what you need to ask, and speak at a pace that allows the other person to respond. Practising indirect questions expands your options; it does not mean every question needs an indirect form.

Practise one change at a time

Write three direct questions about appointments or paperwork. Convert them into indirect questions and underline the subject–verb order in each embedded clause. Then record yourself asking them without reading the completed version.

Listen for a specific pattern: did you repeat the original question order after the opening? If so, practise that one sentence slowly, then use the same structure with a different question. This checks whether you can apply the pattern beyond a memorised example.

Explore OET Grammar — Course 10 for the course linked to this source. If you want individual OET speaking practice, you can also request one-to-one dates and times around your shifts; the schedule is agreed with your tutor.

Source: OET GRA DoC 05.epub, Jobins Training. Examples labelled original or illustrative were written for this article. Independent exam preparation; no affiliation with or endorsement by the examining body. Practice does not predict an official score.