Question words and English word order
Choose the detail you need before choosing a question word: person, place, time, reason, manner or possession. Then build the appropriate question structure.
Use the pattern in context
Where asks about place, when about time, why about reason and how about manner. Many direct questions use auxiliary + subject + main verb: Where does she work? Be moves before the subject: Where is the room? A time phrase can often appear at the beginning or end of an English statement: Tomorrow, we meet in Room 4; We meet in Room 4 tomorrow.
Examples to compare
- Place: Where is the station?
- Time: When does the meeting start?
- Embedded: Do you know when it starts?
Limits and useful distinctions
A subject question such as Who called? does not need added do. An embedded question uses statement order: Do you know where the room is? English time/place order is not a relabelled Mandarin rule. Prefer a natural complete example over mechanically placing every time word before every verb.
Check your understanding
Repair: Do you know where is the room?
Reveal the answer and reason
Do you know where the room is?
The embedded clause uses statement order: the room is. Read the guide
Try a new example with the same purpose. Check that your version keeps the intended meaning and grammatical pattern.