〜か

A question with a question word in it – 何, どこ, いつ, 誰, どう, なぜ – can sit inside a bigger sentence when it ends in か: "I don't know what…", "tell me where…". The verb or adjective before か is in the plain form, and a noun or な-adjective drops だ.

The main verb is usually one of knowing, deciding, remembering, telling or asking: しっている知っている, わかる分かる, きめる決める, おぼえている覚えている, おしえる教える, きく聞く.

Direct and embedded questions

The question inside takes the plain form, even when the whole sentence is polite. Its topic usually changes from は to が.

• × 何を買いましたか忘れました → 何を買ったか忘れました
• × 駅がどこですか教えてください → 駅がどこか教えてください

Questions without a question word

When the question inside is yes-or-no – "whether he is coming" – there is no question word to anchor it, and the usual form is かどうか.

Particles after か

The か clause usually goes straight before the main verb. It can also take を or が like any other noun, which sounds a little more careful.