Direct Indirect Speech Questions

Direct Indirect  Speech Questions

Yes / No questions

When we report yes / no questions we use ‘if’ or ‘whether’

Formula : clause + ask = if / whether

Example :  

1.     Direct : “Is he Spanish?”

        Indirect : Can you tell me if he is Spanish?

2.     Direct : “Is the restaurant closing now?”

         Indirect : Can you tell me if the restaurant is closing now?

3.     Direct : “Did you enjoy the party ?”

         Indirect : She asked me whether I had enjoyed the party

4.     Direct :” Had she been living here long when she met you?”

         Indirect : Can you tell me if she had been living here long

         when she met you?

             'Yes / no' questions with tenses that use 'do / does / did':

Sometimes you want to make an indirect question using the present simple of any verb except 'be' or the past simple of any verb except 'be'. These tense make direct questions by using 'do / does / did'. When we want to make indirect 'yes / no' questions using these tenses, we need 'if' and we don't need 'do / does / did'.

Example :

Direct : Does David live in London?

Indirect :  Can you tell me if David lives in London?

Direct : Did Amanda call John yesterday?

Indirect : Can you tell me if Amanda called John yesterday?

                                            Questions Word

When there is a question word ( what, where, why, who, when, how) we use that questions word in the reported question  but there is no auxiliary verb and the word order is like an affirmative sentence.

Formula : clause + ask + if/ whether

Example :

1.     Direct question : Ashley asked him, “ Where do you

sleep?”

       Indirect question : Ashley asked him where he sleep

2.     Direct question : He asked her , “ Why do you cry ?

         Indirect question : He asked her why she cried

3.     Direct question: Troy asked me, “ When will grandma arrive?”  

    Indirect questions : Troy asked me when grandma would arrive               

4.     Direct question : They asked him, “ Who is that girl”

    Indirect question : They asked him who that girl was

5.     Direct question : He asked, “ What time does the train leave ?”

     Indirect question : He asked what time the train left.

6.     Direct question : He asked me , “ How old is your sister?”

     Indirect question : He asked me how old my sister was

                          questions for tenses with 'do / does / did':

Sometimes you want to make an indirect question using the present simple of any verb except 'be' or the past simple of any verb except 'be'. Usually these tenses make questions by using 'do / does / did'. How ever, wh en we want to make indirect questions using these tenses, we don't need 'do / does / did'. Instead, we use a question word and then normal positive sentence word order.

Example :

1.     Direct : Where does David live?

     Indirect: Can you tell me where David lives?

2.     Direct : Why did Amanda call John yesterday?

     Indirect: Can you tell me why Amanda called John yesterday?