Q. Regarding the update to 6.42 about capitalizing a direct question midsentence: Does it apply to a sentence like this? “With all of X’s resources, why [lowercase w] had her cell phone not been fixed?” This type of sentence seems different to me than the examples given in 6.42, but I can’t explain why. Does the new rule apply? Should it be “With all of X’s resources, Why [uppercase W] had her cell phone not been fixed”?
A. Your sentence is different from those at 6.42 because it’s not a direct question included within a sentence. Rather, your entire sentence is a direct question. If your sentence/question were part of another sentence, then the first word would be capped. “She wondered, With all of X’s resources, why had her cell phone still not been fixed?” (Note that the first word of your direct question is With.)