From this article:

Between June and July NHK asked 18 and 19 year olds what they thought about peace.
When they were asked if they knew this date ...

I don't understand why と is absent in the place I marked (*) in the first sentence, but is required in the second sentence.

I thought I was happy with the idea of embedded questions with verbs like 知る that don't use と, but I'm a bit confused about when I should use と with verbs where it can be used.

How would the meanings of both sentences change with and without と?

  • 2
    my gut feeling is that it's a difference between a direct quote or not. 平和についてどう考えているか is probably a summary of the actual question not the question itself. – A.Ellett Aug 16 '17 at 23:10

The version without と only functions as a kind of direct indirect quote, as the comment says. On the other hand, the one with と can be either direct or indirect.

In this specific example, both seem an indirect quote. In that sense, it doesn't change either way.

  • Maybe I misunderstand, but your answer seems to contradict itself. You say that the version without と can only be direct, but then say that both sentences seem to be indirect. Could you please clarify? Thanks. – user3856370 Aug 17 '17 at 18:17
  • Oops, you're right. – user4092 Aug 17 '17 at 21:21

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