[Grammar] But the question is...

[bosnian]

Hi friends,

There is a sentence:

The question is: "How do we know who is man and who is not?"

I was trying to find out would it be correct to write the above sentence like this:

The question is how we know who is man and who is not.

or

The question is how we knew who was man and who was not.

I am confused with indirect speech rules, and never sure whatis right and what is wrong.

 

[bhaisahab]

"How do we know who is man and who is not?"
Where did you find this?

 

[bosnian]

I think I heard it in a movie.

 

[Raymott]

You're not asking how to turn a direct statement into indirect speech.
You can write the sentence using first alternative you've given. But that's still direct speech. (The second alternative is wrong).
If you want it in indirect speech, you could say, "He said the question was how we knew who was man and who was not."

 

[bosnian]

Thank you! I think I understand it now.