I've just read the following sentence in a book:

I wonder what that's for?

So is that correct order of words "that" and "is"? In my opinion there should be:

I wonder what's that for?

Am I right? Or might it be both variants are possible?


It should be written this way:

I wonder what that's for.


"I wonder, 'What's that for?'"

The first one is a statement and "what that's for" is the subordinate clause; therefore, it's not actually posing a question. The second one with a question mark and quotations is someone thinking out loud. He's questioning what that is for by asking himself the question, "What is that for?"

I hope that might have helped you out. Take care and good luck.

  • Nick, I like this answer and your polite and encouraging comments at the end. – user242899 Dec 29 '17 at 1:38
  • You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. – Nick Dec 29 '17 at 2:22

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