I don't know how to describe it

[franklin xia]

Hi,inspite of saying I don't know how to describe it can I say I don't know can I describe it ? Thanks

[Clark]

Hi,inspite of saying I don't know how to describe it can I say I don't know can I describe it ? Thanks

No, you can't. You can say:
I don't know how I can describe it.

[rj1948]

Hi,inspite of saying I don't know how to describe it can I say I don't know can I describe it ? Thanks

Do you mean instead of ?
No. You can not say,"I don't know can I..
I don't know how to describe it./Iam unable to describe it./...how I can describeit.
Regards,
,rj1948.

[tedtmc]

The title of the thread is still the best.

[naomimalan]

Hi,inspite of saying I don't know how to describe it can I say I don't know can I describe it ? Thanks

When the question (How can I describe it?) is part of a bigger sentence (I don't know.... ) it loses the normal question word order:
How can I describe it?
I don't know how I can describe it.

But, as Tedmc says: The title of the thread is still the best.

[Kraken]

I am not a teacher.
Many of us foreigners tend to make the same mistake.

Affirmative: I can describe it.
Interrogative: Can I describe it? (Mind the word order now)

Now, sometimes we bring up the interrogative form by altering the order.

*"I don't know how can I describe it". It is not a question, so the sentence should read:
"I don't know how I can describe it.

The same happens in reported speech.

*"She asked me how could I do it" instead of
"She asked me how I could do it"

[AWPerator]

Consider using the word "articulate", as in, "I cannot articulate the idea."