Some sentences act like questions. They are sentences, but they are actually asking a question.

Here are the most common sentence patterns.

• I don't know…
• I can't remember…
• I have no idea…
• I don't know why…
• Tell me…
• I am not sure…
• I was wondering…
• I am curious…

We use noun clauses to express the questions after these expressions. Because embedded questions are actually sentences, we should use sentence word order.

Remember to use "if" or "whether" with yes/no questions. Look at some examples.

• "Did she leave?"
  I have no idea if she left.


• "Has she been to Europe?"
  I can't remember if she has been to Europe.


• "Will it rain?"
  I am not sure if it will rain.


• "Is she coming?"
  I am not sure whether she is coming or not.

Use question words for regular questions.

• "Where is the bank?"
  I don't know where the bank is.


• "Why do people like it?"
  I don't know why people like it.


• "What do you do?"
  Tell me what you do.

"I was wondering…" is an important sentence to learn. We use "I was wondering…" to ask for help or a favor. It is very polite and you can use it in almost any situation to ask for help or a favor in an indirect and polite way.

It is often used when asking for help, a favor, or permission with yes/no questions as "I was wondering if…" or "I was wondering if I could…" or "I was wondering if you could…"

• I was wondering if I could move to a different room.
• She was wondering if she could turn in her homework one day late.
• I was wondering if you could lend me $20.
• We were wondering if you could help us.

Note: We use the past tense "was/were", but we are not talking about the past. Think of it like this; I was wondering, but now I am asking.

Make sure that you understand this English grammar well. It is important to know if you want to speak English fluently.