Indirect Questions With Wh-

Indirect questions start with a phrase like 'could you tell me...' or 'do you know...'. For example: 

Direct question: Where is the bank?
Indirect question: Could you tell me where the bank is?

To make an indirect 'yes / no' question, we use 'if' and the word order of a normal positive sentence. This is the same as for reported 'yes / no' questions. On the other hand, we don't usually need to 'backshift' (change the tense of the verb) as we do with reported questions.

Verb Tense	Direct Question	Indirect Question
Present simple with 'be'	Why is he unhappy?	Can you tell me why he is unhappy?
Present continuous	When is the restaurant closing?	Can you tell me when the restaurant is closing?
Past simple with 'be'	Why was he late for the meeting?	Can you tell me why he was late for the meeting?
Past continuous	What were you doing at 3pm?	Can you tell me what you were doing at 3pm?
Present perfect	Where has Lucy been?	Can you tell me where Lucy has been?
Present perfect continuous	How long has she been living here?	Can you tell me how long she has been living here?
Past perfect	Why had she quit her job before she moved here?	Can you tell me why she had quit her job before she moved here?
Past perfect continuous	How long had she been living here when she met you?	Can you tell me how long she had been living here when she met you?
Future simple with 'will'	When will she start her new job?	Can you tell me when she will start her new job?
Future simple with 'going to'	When is it going to rain?	Can you tell me when it is going to rain?
Future continuous	What time will Lisa be meeting the boss?	Can you tell me what time Lisa will be meeting the boss?
Future perfect	When will he have finished the report?	Can you tell me when he will have finished the report?
Future perfect continuous	How long will he have been studying French when he retires?	Can you tell me how long he will have been studying French when he retires?
Modal verbs	What should we do now?	Can you tell me what we should do now?

'Wh' questions for tenses with 'do / does / did':

Sometimes you want to make an indirect 'wh' question using the present simple of any verb except 'be' or the past simple of any verb except 'be'. Usually these tenses make questions by using 'do / does / did'. However, when we want to make indirect 'wh' questions using these tenses, we don't need 'do / does / did'. Instead, we use a question word and then normal positive sentence word order.

Verb Tense	Direct Question	Indirect Question
Present simple with any verb except 'be'	Where does David live?	Can you tell me where David lives?
Past simple with any verb except 'be'	Why did Amanda call John yesterday?	Can you tell me why Amanda called John yesterday?