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The world’s languages vary immensely. There are an infinite number of things which can be different among languages. One of these things is the use of question words: what kind of sentence patterns they usually come in, as well as how they, when used as subordinating conjunctions, differ from other subordinating conjunctions.

(“Whoa, what’s a subordinating conjunction?” We’ll get to that in a minute!)

So, let’s start with the word order patterns in which we can find question words. First, they can come at the beginning of a question, just as in English:

a. När kommer ni till Göteborg?
b. When are you (pl.) coming to Gothenburg?

c. Vem gifter han sig med ens?!
d. Who is he even getting married to?!

Question words can also function as subordinating conjunctions. This means they can mark the start of a subordinate clause, like so:

e. Vi vet inte när vi kommer till Göteborg.
f. We don’t know when we’re coming to Gothenburg.

g. Jag undrar vem han ens gifter sig med!
h. I wonder who he’s even getting married to!

When used this way (as subordinating conjunctions), question words mark the start of a sentence within a sentence (i.e., a subordinate clause, or “subclause”). As you can see, though, the word order in each case is different

• In actual questions, the verb comes directly after the question word. After that, it’s the subject, then the object (if there is one), and then any other components.
• In subclauses, the subject always comes directly after the question word. Then the verb, then the object and, after that, everything else.

[Note: If there’s an adverb in there, including inte “not”, it should come immediately after the verb in actual questions, but immediately before the verb in subclauses. In speech, adverbs are often placed at the end of the sentence (though usually not inte). More on this in another post!]

Many people make the mistake of using actual question word order in subclauses initiated by question words:

i. *Vi vet inte när kommer vi till Göteborg. (*Incorrect!)
j. *Jag undrar vem gifter han sig med ens! (*Incorrect!)

The same rule applies in English, though many second-language speakers of English make this mistake in English as well. Just remember: If it’s a question within a statement, don’t use normal question word order! Use the other one.

There’s a lot of fancy linguistic vocabulary here (actually, I even tried to simplify it for you), but I’m sure you can figure it out. Good luck!