• Reported questions have the same tense and word changes as reported statements
• Common reporting verbs/phrases in questions are ask and want to know.
They asked me what I was doing. She wanted to know where Jack was.
• When we report a yes/no question, we use if,/whether after the reporting verb:
‘ Do you speak French?' – She asked me if I spoke French.
Are you coming? – He asked her whether she was coming.
• When we report a wh - question, we use the question word: ‘ Where's the station? ’ – She wanted to know where the station was.
• The word order in reported questions is the same as in statements. We don’t use the auxiliary do/does/did: ‘Where are you going?’ – He asked me where I was going. (Not He asked me where was I going .) ‘ Do you like swimming?’ – She asked me if I liked swimming. (Not She asked me did I like swimming ) ‘ What do you want to do? ’ – They asked me what I wanted to do. (Not They asked me what did I want to do).
• We don’t use a question mark (?) in reported questions.
Report the questions.
Yesterday Rob asked his friend Philip for advice about flats in London. Now he’s telling another friend about their conversation.
0 ‘Is your room very expensive?’
I asked him...... if his room was very expensive............
1 ‘Are you looking for somewhere cheap?’
He asked me............................
2 ‘Is your flat near the city centre?’
I asked him............................
3 ‘Can you get there easily?’
I wanted to know............................
4 ‘Does your flat have a washing machine?’
I asked him............................
5 ‘Was it very hard to find your room?'
I asked him............................
6 ‘Did you look at a tot of flats?’
|
|
I wanted to know............................
7 ‘Have you looked on the Internet?’
He asked me............................
8 ‘Would you like to stay with me for a few days?’
He asked me............................
Report the questions.
0 ‘Where can I get some tissues?’ she asked.
She asked...... where she could tissues.......
1 ‘When are you going to visit us?’ he asked us.
He asked............................
2 ‘Why is everybody looking at me?’ I asked.
I wanted............................
3 ‘What sports do you do at college?’ Joe asked me.
Joe asked............................
4 ‘What has your brother decided to do?’ I asked her.
I wanted............................
5 ‘How did you get to the beach?’ I asked them.
I asked............................
6 ‘How long have you been here?’ they asked us.
They asked............................
7 ‘Who won’t be here next week?’ the tennis coach asked.
The tennis coach wanted............................
8 ‘How much did you pay for your ticket?’ she asked him.
She asked............................
9 ‘How often do your cousins stay with you?’ I asked her.
I asked............................
10 ‘Where’s Kate?’ I asked.
I wanted............................