Reported Speech: Questions

Observe and remember indirect speech and sequence of tenses: general and special questions.
The general rules are as follows:

1. Normal word order is used in reported questions: ‘subject + verb’
2. The rules for sequence of tenses compulsory when the verb in the main clause is in the one of the Past Tenses.
3. Indirect question is preceded by a clause containing a verb like ask (somebody), tell (me) or (I) wonder.

General Questions

Key example:

Statement: You have met Mr Robinson.
Direct question: ‘Have you met Mr Robinson?’ →
Indirect question: I wonder if you’ve met Mr Robinson.

'If' is normal when the subordinate clause is object and follows the main clause. It can be replaced by 'whether', especially if the speaker feels that the answer is doubtful. E g:

• I wonder whether you’ve met Mr Robinson.
• Tell me if you’ve seen the Big Ben.
• He asked me if I knew Mr Robinson well.

The rules for sequence of tenses given in ‘Reported Speech Statements topic’ apply equally to indirect questions. They are compulsory when the verb in the main clause is in the Past Indefinite (Past Simple) or Past Perfect Tense:

• ‘Have you met Mr Robinson?’→ I wanted to know if you had met Mr Robinson.
• ‘Have you seen Mr and Mrs Robinson today?’→ I wanted to know if you had seen Mr and Mrs Robinson that day.

There are some examples for changing yes/no questions into indirect speech:

• Mr. Black said, ‘Are you leaving next week?’ →   Mr. Black asked whether we were leaving the next week.
• Mr. Black said, ‘Do you know Mr. Frost?’ → Mr. Black asked if I knew Mr. Frost.
• Mr. Black: ‘Have you ever stayed at the Embassy Hotel, George?’ → Mr. Black asked if George had ever stayed the Embassy Hotel.
• Mr. Black: ‘Did he enjoy the party yesterday?’ → Mr. Black wondered if he had enjoyed the party the day before.
• Mr. Black: ‘Will you go out if it rain?’ →    Mr. Black asked George if he would go out if it rained. 
• Mr. Black: ‘Can you wife drive, George?’ → Mr. Black asked George if his wife could drive.
• Mr. Black: ‘May I park my car here, officer?’ → Mr. Black inquired the officer if he might park the car there.

Short answers:

For direct speech answers are as follows:
John: ‘Do you like this picture?’ – Ann: ‘Yes, I do.’  Nick: ‘I don’t.’

Indirect questions may be answered in the following way:
John asked Ann and Nick whether they liked that picture.
Ann said (that) she did, but Nick said he didn’t. (Ann answered in the affirmative, but Nick answered in the negative.)

Special Questions

Key examples:

1. ‘Who caused the accident?’ → I asked the policeman who had caused the accident.
2. ‘When did the accident happen?’ → I asked the policeman when the accident (had) happened?

Pay attention to the word order:
In the first case direct and indirect questions have the normal word order ‘subject + verb’ (question asking for the subject of a sentence).
In the second case (when the target is not the subject of the sentence) the direct question has the order ‘operator did + subject + verb’, while the indirect question returns to the normal order ‘subject + verb’.
◊ It is appropriate at this point to recall that the change of tense will occur in indirect question when the verb in the main clause is in one of the Past Tense.

Compare follow examples paying attention to indirect questions (1) and (2):

□ Statement 1: Mr Robinson will return tomorrow.
Direct question: When will Mr Robinson return?
Indirect questions: (1) Tell me when Mr Robinson will return?  (2) I asked them when Mr Robinson would return?

□ Statement 2: Mr Robinson is standing over there.
Direct question: Where is Mr Robinson standing?
Indirect questions: (1) Tell me where Mr Robinson is standing?  (2) I asked them where Mr Robinson is standing?

□ Statement 3: The man caused the accident.
Direct question: Who caused the accident?
Indirect questions: (1) Tell me who caused the accident.  (2) I asked them who had caused the accident.

There are some examples for changing special questions into indirect speech:

[Target, Subject of the Sentence]

• She said, ‘Who is the first to speak?’ → She asked who the first to speak was.
• She said to them, ‘Which of you has seen this film?’ → She asked them which of them had seen that film.
• She said, ‘What was on at the Covent garden yesterday? → She wondered what had been on at the Covent Garden the day before.
• She said, ‘How many people will come to the party?’ → She inquired how many people would come to the party.

[Target, any part except the subject]

• Tom said, ‘Why are you late?’ → Tom asked why I was late.
• Tom said, ‘Where do you usually have lunch?’ → Tom said where I usually had lunch.
• Doris: ‘Who(m) have you been talking to, Peter?’ → Doris wanted to know whom Peter had been talking to.
• Doris: ‘Which cinema shall we go to, Jane?’ → Doris asked Jane which cinema they would go to.

Table for study:

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