Understanding the Sentence: ‘I can’t understand what you say every day’ – Is it an Indirect Question?

When learning English, sentence structures can sometimes be tricky, especially when it comes to indirect questions. In this article, we will explore the sentence ‘I can’t understand what you say every day’ and clarify whether it is an indirect question or not.

1. What is an Indirect Question?

Indirect questions are questions that are embedded in a statement or another question. They do not follow the typical structure of a direct question. Instead of asking a question directly, the statement reports or asks for information in a more indirect way. For example, ‘Can you tell me where she lives?’ is an indirect question.

2. Analyzing ‘I Can’t Understand What You Say Every Day’

The sentence ‘I can’t understand what you say every day’ is not an indirect question. It is a statement that describes someone’s difficulty in understanding what another person says regularly. The word ‘what’ introduces a noun clause (‘what you say every day’), and this noun clause functions as the object of the verb ‘understand.’

Although ‘what you say every day’ may seem like a question, it is not phrased in a way that qualifies it as an indirect question. There is no inversion of the subject and auxiliary verb, which is characteristic of indirect questions (e.g., ‘I don’t know what he said’).

3. Direct vs Indirect Questions

Let’s compare this sentence with an indirect question. For example, ‘I don’t understand what you say every day’ would become an indirect question when rephrased like this: ‘Can you tell me what you say every day?’ In this case, the structure has been changed, and the statement becomes a question.

Direct questions often have an inverted word order, such as ‘What do you say every day?’ This inversion is not present in ‘I can’t understand what you say every day,’ making it a declarative statement, not an indirect question.

4. Conclusion: Is ‘I Can’t Understand What You Say Every Day’ an Indirect Question?

No, the sentence ‘I can’t understand what you say every day’ is not an indirect question. It is a statement that expresses difficulty in understanding someone’s speech. It contains a noun clause introduced by ‘what,’ but it does not follow the structure of an indirect question.

Understanding the distinction between direct and indirect questions is essential in English grammar. By recognizing the differences in structure, learners can improve their understanding and usage of English sentence constructions.