Dutch grammar: gebruik van indirecte vragen

What this grammar point covers

Indirect questions in Dutch are questions that are included inside another sentence, often after phrases like 'I wonder', 'Can you tell me', or 'Do you know'. The word order changes compared to direct questions.

When to use it

You use indirect questions in Dutch when you want to be polite, ask for information indirectly, or embed a question within another sentence.

Key forms

• Gebruik van een inleidende zin: 'Ik weet niet', 'Kun je mij vertellen', 'Ik vraag me af', enz.
• Geen inversie: het onderwerp komt vóór het werkwoord in de bijzin.
• Geen vraagteken aan het einde van de indirecte vraag.

Examples

Tips

• In indirect questions, the verb comes after the subject, not before.
• Do not use a question mark at the end of an indirect question.
• Use 'of' for yes/no questions in indirect form.

Exceptions and edge cases

• Sometimes 'of' is not used when the indirect question starts with a question word like 'waar', 'hoe', 'wanneer', etc.