[Ads-l] Question question

[Jonathan Lighter]

I'd punctuate it differently: "I wonder, is she still at work?"

That's the only intonation pattern I've ever heard. (I think.)

JL

On Mon, May 11, 2026 at 3:46 PM Joe Salmons <
000008f18d0e0c45-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> A couple of folks are looking at ‘embedded inversion’, where instead of
> using ‘if’ or ‘whether’ people say things like ‘I wonder is she still at
> work’.
>
> We’re wondering if this is ever discussed in usage guides but aren’t
> finding anything. (My grammar checkers don’t like it, fwiw.) Any tips would
> be much appreciated.
> Thanks,
> Joe
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org