Reported questions

• 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............................