Questions · CEFR B1 · Independent
I don't know where he lives — English questions
A question inside a statement is no longer a question, so it drops the swap and the question mark.
The shape
I know / wonder / am not sure + question word + subject + verb
Report a question inside a statement.
In Hindi
कथन के अंदर आया सवाल अब सवाल नहीं रहता — इसलिए न शब्द उलटते हैं, न प्रश्नचिह्न लगता है।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
I do not know where does he live. | I do not know where he lives. Inside a statement there is no "does" and no swap. |
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
- Could you tell me where…?B2Ask a stranger something politely
- I know what he wantsB1Put a question word inside a statement
Questions people ask
- What is the i don't know where he lives used for?
- A question inside a statement is no longer a question, so it drops the swap and the question mark. In practice: report a question inside a statement.
- How do you form the i don't know where he lives?
- I know / wonder / am not sure + question word + subject + verb.
- What is the most common mistake with the i don't know where he lives?
- Saying “I do not know where does he live.” instead of “I do not know where he lives.”. Inside a statement there is no "does" and no swap.
Where i don't know where he lives fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
I don't know where he lives is a CEFR B1 structure — the independent band — and it belongs to questions. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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