1) What is a reported question?
- We use a reported question when we tell someone what another person asked.
Example:
'Do you like working in sales?' he asked. (Direct question or Direct speech)
He asked me if I liked working in sales. (Reported question or Indirect speech)
- When we report a question, we change the word order of the question. It becomes the same word order as a statement.
Example:
'Do you work from home?' he asked. (Direct question)
He asked me if I worked from home. (Reported question)
2) How to form reported questions
❖ Reported yes/no questions:
- To form a reported yes/no question. First, we add a reporting clause like 'He asked me if', 'She asked me if', etc.
Example:
'Are you going to the party now?' (Direct question)
He asked me if I was going to the party then. (Reported question)
- Then we change the order of the subject and the verb.
Example:
'Are you going to the party now?' (Direct question)
He asked me if I was going to the party then. (Reported question)
- Finally, we make the same changes in tense, pronouns, time and place words as for reported statements.
Example:
'Are you going to the party now?' (Direct question)
He asked me if I was going to the party then. (Reported question)
❖ Reported wh-questions:
- To form a reported wh-question. First, we add a reporting clause like 'He asked me', 'She asked me', etc.
Example:
'Where are you going on holiday?' (Direct question)
He asked me where we were going on holiday. (Reported question)
- Then we use the question words (what, where, when, why, etc.) and change the order of the subject and the verb.
Example:
'Where are you going on holiday?' (Direct question)
He asked me where we were going on holiday. (Reported question)
- Finally, we make the same changes in tense, pronouns, time and place words as for reported statements.
Example:
'Where are you going on holiday?' (Direct question)
He asked me where we were going on holiday. (Reported question)