How to Transform Direct Questions into Reported Speech
Reported Questions are forms of reported speech. When a question is changed from direct speech to indirect speech, the rules which are applied in statements are used. The only difference that needs to be used is a different word to introduce the reported speech, and the word order of the question becomes similar to that of the statement. Reported questions end with a full stop. For example,
Direct Question: The girl said, Do u know where the nearest salon is?
Indirect Question: The girl asked me if I knew the nearest salon was.
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What are Direct Questions and Indirect Questions?
Direct Questions:
Direct questions are the normal questions that we ask our family, friends, relatives, and the people we know.
Example:
Where is the bedroom?
Indirect Questions:
Indirect questions are more formal and polite. Indirect questions are generally used when talking to a person whom we don't know very well, or in a professional situation.
Example:
“Could you please tell me where the bedroom is”?
How to Report Questions?
When you report any given question, you need to change the sentence given in an interrogative form into an affirmative sentence, placing the verb tense one step back, as with the normal reported speech.
There are two types of questions that we can report- questions that have Yes/No responses and the questions that start with question words like What, Which, Who, etc. When we report yes/no questions, we use the word “if”. For example,
As you have in the direct questions, the word “ Do” is eliminated because it is no longer a question, and the verb live and like became lived and liked respectively.
For questions that start with the word like What, Where, When, Who, etc, we report the question using the question word but change the interrogative form to the affirmative form. For example
Reporting Order And Requests
When someone gives you an order, you use the imperative form, which implies using just the verb without a subject.
“Call me after an hour”.
“Have a seat”.
Don’t do that”.
To report an order, we use the word “tell” and the infinitive form of the verb:
You told me to call after an hour.
She told me to have a seat.
He told us not to do that.
When you make a request, you generally use the words like ‘Can’, ‘Could’, and ‘Will’. For example:
Could you call me after an hour?
“Will you have a seat”
“Can you not do that please”?
To report a request, a verb ‘to ask’ and the infinitive form of the verb is used. For example,
You asked me to call you after an hour.
She asked me to have a seat.
He asked us not to do that.
How to Write Introductory Sentences In Reported Questions?
Following are the rules to write introductory sentences in reported questions:
The Introductory Sentence Is In Simple Present Form.
If the introductory sentence is in the simple present form, there is no tense backshift.
Direct Question:
“I write articles”.
Reported Question:
He says that he writes articles.
The introductory sentence "He says"….. is in the simple present tense. There is no tense backshift.
The Introductory Sentence Is In Simple Past Form.
If the introductory sentence is in the simple past form, there is a tense backshift.
Direct Question:
Rita: “I write articles”.
Reported Question:
He said that he wrote articles.
The introductory sentence "He said" is in the simple past tense. There is a backshift of tenses.
Reported Questions With or Without Question Words
Questions can be formed with or without words:
If there is a question without a question word in the direct question, use “whether or if” in the reported question.
Example:
Raj: Do you play cricket?
Sunny: Raj asked me whether (if) I played cricket.
If there is a question with a question word indirect question, use the given question word in a reported question.
Example:
Raj: When do you play cricket?
Sunny: Raj asked me when I played cricket.
Reported Questions Examples with Answers
Following are a few reported questions examples with answers:
She asked. Do you live in India?
Answers: He asked me If I lived in India.
She asked. Are we going to start work tomorrow?
Answers: She asked if they were going to start the work the next day.
The watchman asked: Are you looking for something?
Answers: The watchman asked If I was looking for something.
They inquired: Have they ever been to Europe?
Answers: They enquired if they had ever been to Europe.
They wanted to know:“ Will we go for a morning walk if the climate is fine”.
Answers: They wanted to know if they would go for a morning walk if the climate is fine.
The flight attendant asked: “Could you fasten your seat belts, please?
Answers: The flight attendant asked if I/we could fasten our/my seat belts.
Mom wanted to know: ”Are you going to be Doctor Sam”?
Answers: Mom wanted to know if Sam was going to be a doctor.
The commanding officers asked: “Do our fighters have sufficient weapons”?
Answers: The commander officers wanted to know if his/their fighters have sufficient weapons.
The instructor asked me: “ Have you ever worked in a group”?
Answers: The instructor asked me if I had ever worked in a group.
He wanted to know: “Is she staying with her family now”?
Answers: He wanted to know if she was staying with her family at that time.
Rules to Change Pronoun, Time, and Place in Reported Questions
FAQs on Reported Questions: Direct and Indirect Explained
1. What are reported questions in English grammar?
Reported questions, also known as indirect questions, are used to communicate what someone else has asked without using their exact words or quotation marks. Instead of an interrogative structure, a reported question uses a declarative structure (a statement) and typically ends with a full stop, not a question mark. For instance, the direct question, "Where is the library?" becomes the reported question, "He asked where the library was."
2. What is the main difference between a direct question and a reported question?
The primary difference lies in their structure and punctuation. A direct question is the exact question someone asked, enclosed in quotation marks, and ends with a question mark (e.g., She said, "Are you feeling well?"). A reported question rephrases the original question, does not use quotation marks, and ends with a full stop. It involves changes in pronouns, tenses, and word order (e.g., She asked if I was feeling well.).
3. How do you convert a direct question into a reported question?
To convert a direct question, you generally follow these steps:
Change the reporting verb (like 'said') to an appropriate one like 'asked', 'enquired', or 'wondered'.
Remove the quotation marks and the question mark.
For Yes/No questions, introduce the conjunction 'if' or 'whether'.
For 'Wh-' questions (what, when, where), the 'Wh-' word itself acts as the connector.
Change the word order from interrogative (verb before subject) to declarative (subject before verb).
Apply necessary changes to tenses (backshift), pronouns, and adverbs of time/place.
4. What is 'tense backshift' and why is it important in reported speech?
Tense backshift is the rule of changing the tense of the verb in the direct question to a tense one step further in the past when converting it to a reported question. For example, Present Simple becomes Past Simple, and Past Simple becomes Past Perfect. It is important because the act of reporting typically happens at a later time than the original question was asked. The backshift accurately reflects this shift in time from the original moment of speaking to the moment of reporting.
5. Are 'reported questions' and 'indirect questions' the same thing?
Yes, in the context of grammar and as per the CBSE syllabus, the terms 'reported questions' and 'indirect questions' refer to the exact same concept. They both describe the method of reporting someone's question in your own words, following specific grammatical rules for tense, pronoun, and structure changes. The term 'indirect' is often used to contrast it with a 'direct' quotation.
6. How do you handle 'Yes/No' questions versus 'Wh-' questions in reported speech?
The handling differs mainly in the conjunction used:
For Yes/No questions (questions that can be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no'), you must introduce the conjunction 'if' or 'whether'. For example, "Do you need help?" becomes "He asked if I needed help."
For 'Wh-' questions (starting with who, what, where, when, why, how), the 'Wh-' word itself acts as the conjunction to link the reporting clause and the reported question. For example, "What is your name?" becomes "She asked what my name was."
7. When does the tense NOT change in a reported question?
Tense backshift is a general rule, but there are important exceptions where the tense does not change. This happens in two main situations:
When the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g., 'he asks', 'she says'). For example, He asks, "Are you busy?" becomes "He asks if I am busy."
When the direct question states a universal truth, a scientific fact, or a habitual action that is still true. For example, The teacher asked, "Why is the sky blue?" becomes "The teacher asked why the sky is blue."
8. What happens to pronouns and adverbs of time/place when reporting a question?
Pronouns and adverbs of time/place must be changed to reflect the shift in perspective from the original speaker to the person reporting the question.
Pronouns change based on who is speaking and who is being spoken to (e.g., 'I' might become 'he' or 'she'; 'you' might become 'me' or 'him').
Adverbs of time and place shift to reflect the distance from the original context. Common changes include: now → then, today → that day, yesterday → the day before, tomorrow → the next day, and here → there.
9. Can you provide some examples of converting direct questions to reported questions?
Certainly. Here are a few examples showing the transformation:
Direct (Present Simple): He said, "Do you play cricket?"
Reported: He asked if I played cricket.Direct (Past Simple): She said, "Where did you go yesterday?"
Reported: She asked where I had gone the day before.Direct (Present Continuous): They asked, "What are you doing now?"
Reported: They asked what I was doing then.Direct (Modal Verb): I asked him, "Can you help me?"
Reported: I asked him if he could help me.
