Wh-questions Indirect questions which are dependent on a verb of asking in the classical period usually use a subjunctive verb. (The indicative is found in early Latin and sometimes in poetry.) When the context is past, as in the second example below, the tense of the quoted verb is usually changed to past in according with the sequence of tenses rule: (Cicero) 'they are asking me where the money is' (Cicero) 'he asked where the letter was from' A question in does not always have an introductory verb, but can be indicated as being indirect by the use of the subjunctive mood. The following questions come in the middle of a long speech by the Germanic chieftain Ariovistus: (Caesar) 'what did Caesar want for himself? why was he entering Ariovistus's territory?' Yes-no questions Indirect questions expecting an answer yes or no can be introduced by or ('whether', 'if'): (Nepos) 'he asked me whether I wanted to go with him to the camp' (Suetonius) 'he held the money under Titus's nose, asking if he was offended by the smell' After , the particle is used, and it is also sometimes used after other verbs (but not in Caesar or Cicero). The phrase 'I don't know whether' means simply 'perhaps': (Cicero) 'I now come to what perhaps ought to have been first' Sometimes an indirect question can begin with 'if'. The usual meaning is 'in order to see if': (Caesar) 'the enemy poured round (to see) if they could find any way of getting near' In Livy 'if' can also mean simply 'whether': (Livy) 'he asked if it were possible to serve in the Roman army' Disjunctive questions Alternative (disjunctive) questions are introduced by , , or simply or . For 'or not', is used: (Cicero) 'he was deliberating whether he should set out to Rome or make for Capua' (Cicero) 'you have no idea whether he was white or black' (Cicero) 'as soon as you know whether or not the calendar in Rome has been adjusted, please write to me' Indirect questions with the infinitive Not all questions in use the subjunctive. A rhetorical question (provided it is not directly dependent on a verb of speaking, and provided that it is not derived from an originally 2nd person verb) is put in the accusative and infinitive construction: (Caesar) 'what purpose did all these things have except for his own destruction?' (Caesar)