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Example:

"I don't understand why she likes him or when she started liking him."

or should it be

"I don't understand why does she like him or when did she start liking him."

?

Should I used the question form for the second sentence? I want to know if you need to use the question form if you are asking a question in a much larger sentence that is not a question itself.

I want to know if I can ask "I don't understand Why he/she did/wanted something" without question form.

"Why you did this" vs "Why did you do this"?

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  • It would be "I don't understand why you did this" because "I don't understand why did you do this" makes a grammatically incorrect sentence.
    – Stardust
    Mar 26, 2017 at 3:10

2 Answers 2

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  • The interrogative word order, which we use in normal questions, is auxiliary + subject + main verb except in questions where the question word comes as the subject.

Why does she love him?

Who loves him? (Who is the subject)

  • In spoken questions or declarative questions, the declarative or normal word order is used, if the sentence is not begun with a question word. The question form is actually created in speech by a rising intonation.

You are working late tonight?

  • In indirect questions, the declarative word order is used and the sentence ends with a full stop, not with a question mark.

I wondered what time the film was starting.

  • However, in formal writing inversion is sometimes used with verb be in indirect questions after how, especially when the subject is long.

I wondered how reliable was the information I had been given. (Note: still without the question mark).

(Based on Michael Swan's PEU)

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Some sentences are statements—or demands—in the form of a question. They are called rhetorical questions because they don't require or expect an answer. Many should be written without question marks. Examples: Why don't you take a break. Would you kids knock it off. What wouldn't I do for you!

Also, avoid the common trap of using question marks with indirect questions, which are statements that contain questions. Use a period after an indirect question. Incorrect: I wonder if he would go with me? Correct: I wonder if he would go with me.

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