Reported Questions

B1 · IntermediateReported Speech

"Where do you live?" she asked. → She asked where I lived.

What you'll learn

  • Reported questions use normal statement word order — no inversion, no question mark
  • The auxiliary 'do/does/did' disappears; the main verb carries the tense instead
  • Wh-questions keep their wh-word; yes/no questions use 'if' or 'whether'
  • Tenses backshift and pronouns shift, just as in reported statements

Reporting someone's question

To report a question, use a reporting verb like 'asked', then the question content in normal statement word order — subject before verb, exactly like an indirect or embedded question. No question mark is used, because it's no longer a direct question.

"Direct: "Where do you live?""
"Reported: She asked where I lived."

Reporting wh-questions

Keep the wh-word (where, what, why, who, how...) right after the reporting verb, then switch to statement word order. The auxiliary 'do/does/did' disappears entirely.

""What time does the train leave?" → She asked what time the train left."
""Why are you laughing?" → She asked why I was laughing."

Reporting yes/no questions

A yes/no question (no wh-word) is reported with 'if' or 'whether' instead of a wh-word, still followed by statement word order.

""Are you coming?" → He asked if I was coming."
""Have you finished?" → He asked if I had finished."

Real English

"She asked who had called me."
"He asked if I could swim."
"They asked how old I was."
"She asked whether I liked coffee."

Watch out

✗She asked where did I live.
✓She asked where I lived.

Reported questions use statement word order — no inverted auxiliary, even though the direct question had one.

✗He asked was I ready.
✓He asked if I was ready.

A reported yes/no question needs 'if' or 'whether' — you can't just invert the verb the way the direct question did.

✗She asked where I lived?
✓She asked where I lived.

A reported question is a statement about a question, not a direct question itself — it ends with a period, not a question mark.

Real life — After a job interview

"How did it go?"

"Fine, I think. They asked where I'd worked before and why I wanted the job."

"Did they ask about your notice period?"

"Yeah, and they asked if I could start next month."

Practice

Exercise 1 · Choose the correctly reported question

Choose the correctly reported question for: 'Where do you live?'

Exercise 2 · Choose the correctly reported question

Choose the correctly reported question for: 'Are you coming?'

Exercise 3 · Choose the correctly reported question

Choose the correctly reported question for: 'What time does the train leave?'

Exercise 4 · Choose the correctly reported question

Choose the correctly reported question for: 'Have you finished?'

Exercise 5 · Choose the correctly reported question

Choose the correctly reported question for: 'Why are you laughing?'

Exercise 6 · Choose the correct reporting word

Choose the correct reporting word for a yes/no question with no wh-word.

Exercise 7 · Choose the correctly reported question

Choose the correctly reported question for: 'Can you swim?'

Exercise 8 · Choose the correctly reported question

Choose the correctly reported question for: 'Who called you?'

Exercise 9 · Report the question

Report this question: 'Do you like coffee?' → She asked me ___.

Exercise 10 · Report the question

Report this question: 'What are you doing?' → He asked me ___.

Exercise 11 · Sort into groups

She asked where I lived.
She asked where did I live.
He asked if I was ready.
He asked was I ready.

0 / 4 sorted

Quick challenge

Five quick questions to check what stuck.

Question 1 / 5

Score: 0/0

Choose the correctly reported question for: 'Where is the station?'

You learned

  • Reported questions use statement word order, with no inversion.
  • 'Do/does/did' disappears; the main verb carries the tense.
  • Wh-questions keep the wh-word; yes/no questions use 'if' or 'whether'.
  • Tenses backshift and pronouns shift, as in reported statements.

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