Reported Questions

How do you tell a friend what someone asked you, without quoting word for word?

Notice

  • “Where do you live?” → She asked me where I lived.
  • “Are you coming?” → He asked if I was coming.
  • “What time is it?” → She asked what time it was.

Rule

To report a question, drop the question mark and word order changes back to statement order (subject before verb). Wh-questions keep the question word (where, what, why); yes/no questions use if or whether. The tense usually shifts one step back (is → was, do → did).

Practice

  1. “Where is the station?” → He asked ___
    Answer: where the station was.
  2. “Do you like coffee?” → She asked ___
    Answer: if/whether I liked coffee.
  3. “What time does the train leave?” → He asked ___
    Answer: what time the train left.
  4. “Are you tired?” → She asked ___
    Answer: if/whether I was tired.
  5. “Why did you leave early?” → He asked ___
    Answer: why I had left early.

Connect

Practise turning direct questions into reported questions.

Try Sentence Builder →

CEFR: Spoken Interaction — report what someone asked during a conversation.

Azizul Hakim
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