Direct Indirect Speech Questions

When we report what people say, we usually change the tense of the verbs to reflect that we are reporting – not giving direct speech. This pattern is followed when we report questions and there are also other important changes between direct questions and reported questions.

Yes/no questions

When we report yes/no questions we use ‘if’ or ‘whether’

Formula: clause + ask + if/whether 

Example:

1.      Direct question: “Do you like working in teams?”

Indirect question: He asked if I liked working in teams.

2.      Direct question: “Did you enjoy the party?

Indirect question: She asked me whether I had enjoyed the party.

The tense of the verb changes as it does in reported speech but we don’t use auxiliary verbs. The word order is the same as in an affirmative sentence.

Questions Word

When there is a question word (what, where, why, who, when, how) we use that question word in the reported question but there is no auxiliary verb and the word order is like an affirmative sentence.

Formula: clause + ask + if/whether 

Example:

1.      Direct question: He asked, “What time does the train leave?” 

Indirect question: He asked what time the train left.

2.      Direct question: She asked me, “Who did you see?

Indirect question: She asked me who I had seen.

3.      Direct question: He asked me, “Where did you go to school?”

Indirect question: He asked me where I had gone to school.

4.      Direct question: She asked me, “Why are you crying?”

Indirect question: She asked me why i was crying.

5.      Direct question: She asked, "When can we have dinner?"

Indirect question: She asked when they could have dinner.

6.      Direct question: He asked me, "How old is your mother?"

Indirect question: He asked me how old my mother was.

Notice that the reported questions do not have a question mark at the end.

Exercise

Move to indirect question:

1.      The teacher asked, “Have you finished your homework?”

Answer: The teacher asked the students if they had finished their
homework.

2.      “Did you see my wallet?” asked Gery.

Answer: Gery asked me if I had seen his wallet.

3.      Lia asked, “Are you happy now?”

Answer: Lia asked me whether I was happy at that time.

4.      “Is it raining?” she asked.

Answer: She asked if it was raining.

5.      “Can u type?” he asked.

Answer: She asked me if I could type.

6.      Yogi asked, “Who is that girl?”

Answer: Yogi asked me who that girl was.

7.      Tita asked, “Where does the old man live?”

Answer: Tita asked me where the old man lived.

8.      Her brother wondered, “Why do you think the book very is interesting?”

Answer: Her brother wondered why she thought the book was interesting.

9.      "What is your name?" he asked me.

Answer: He asked me what my name was.

10.  "How old are you?” she asked.

Answer: He asked me how old i was.