Notes on the form of indirect Yes/No questions

1 Quotation marks and question marks
Quotation marks and question marks are not used in indirect
questions and there is a change in word order (notes 2 and 3 below).

2 Word order: be, have and modal auxiliaries
The inversion in the direct question changes back to statement
word order (subject + verb) in the reported question and, if
necessary, the tense is changed at the same time. Modals may
change from their 'present' form to their 'past' form [> 11.8.3]:
direct statement: He is ready ' (subject + verb)
direct Yes/No question: Is he ready'?' (inversion)
indirect question: She asked me if he was ready (if + subject + verb)

3 Word order: do, does and did
Do/does/did in Yes/No questions disappear in reported questions:

direct statement: He went home

direct Yes/No question: Did he go home'?

indirect question: She asked me if he went home

or: She asked me if he had gone home

This reflects normal usage, but in everyday speech it is not uncommon to hear direct questions embedded in indirect speech: She said she was going to the shops and (asked me) did I want anything while she was out

4 Reporting Yes/No questions
All kinds of Yes/No questions [> 13.5, 13.14, 13.17-23] are reported
in the same way. If necessary, phrases like in surprise can be
added to interpret intonation, etc. [> 15.25]:
'Do you play chess?'

'Don't you play chess?' He asked me if/whether

'You don t play chess, do you?' I played chess

'You play chess, don't you?' etc.

5 If and whether [compare > 1.24.1, 14.23.4, 16.24]
If and whether are interchangeable after ask, want to know, wonder
etc., but whether conveys slightly greater doubt. Some verbs, like
discuss [> App 45], can only be followed by whether.
If or whether must always be used when reporting Yes/No questions
and cannot be omitted (unlike that in reported statements):
Tom asked if/whether it was raining

Whether is usually preferred when there are alternatives [> 13.44-45]: She asked me whether I wanted tea or coffee

6 That and whether in short answers Short answers can be given with that and whether/if; What did she tell you⁷ What did she ask you? - That she would be late - Whether/If I would be late

7 Reporting Yes/No questions with or not [> 1.24.1, 13.44-45, 14.21] 'Do you want any dinner or not?

He wants to know if/whether we want any dinner or not He wants to know whether or not we want dinner (Not 'if or not*)

Indirect question-word questions

8 Indirect Yes/No questions with reporting verbs other than ask Many reporting verbs can be used other than ask, want to know, etc. in combinations with whether and (sometimes) if [> App 45]: He didn't tell me if/whether he would be arriving early or late She didn't say if/whether she was coming to lunch I don't know if/whether I've passed my exam yet I wonder if/whether they've heard the news yet