Reported Questions
When someone asks a question, we can report it using reported questions (also called indirect questions in reported speech). Converting a direct question into a reported question requires three key changes: (1) add a connector — if/whether for yes/no questions or keep the wh-word, (2) change to statement word order, and (3) apply tense backshift. The basic formula is:
Subject + asked (+ person) + if / wh-word + subject + verb (statement order)
Compare these two ways of reporting the same question:
| Direct Question | Reported Question |
|---|---|
| Tom asked, "Do you like coffee?" | Tom asked me if I liked coffee. |
| Tom asked, "Where do you live?" | Tom asked me where I lived. |
Notice three things that changed in each example:
| What Changes | Direct Question | Reported Question |
|---|---|---|
| Connector | (no connector needed) | Added if / kept where |
| Word order | Do you like...? / Where do you live? | ...if I liked... / ...where I lived (statement order) |
| Tense | like / live | liked / lived (backshifted) |
Important: "Asked", Not "Said"
The main reporting verb for questions is asked — not said or told:
| Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|
| She asked me if I was ready. | |
| He asked where I lived. |
Ask can be used with or without a personal object: She asked me where... or She asked where...
No Question Mark
Reported questions are statements, not questions — they end with a full stop (.), not a question mark:
| Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|
| She asked where I lived**.** |
Note: Don't confuse reported questions with polite indirect questions like "Could you tell me where the station is?" Polite indirect questions use present tense and no backshift because you are asking a question right now — not reporting what someone asked in the past.
Yes/No Questions with If
When we report a yes/no question (a question with no question word), we introduce the reported clause with if (or whether). The word order changes from question order to statement order, and we remove do/does/did.
The Formula
asked (+ person) + if + subject + verb (statement order)
How to Convert
| Step | Direct: "Do you like pizza?" |
|---|---|
| 1. Remove quotation marks | Do you like pizza? |
| 2. Add if | if ... |
| 3. Change to statement order (remove do) | if you like pizza |
| 4. Backshift the verb | if you liked pizza |
| 5. Adjust pronouns | if I liked pizza |
| Result | She asked me if I liked pizza. |
Examples
| Direct Question | Reported Question |
|---|---|
| "Do you speak English?" | She asked me if I spoke English. |
| "Does he work here?" | I asked if he worked there. |
| "Are you happy?" | He asked me if I was happy. |
| "Is she coming to the party?" | I asked if she was coming to the party. |
| "Did you enjoy the film?" | She asked me if I had enjoyed the film. |
| "Have you finished?" | He asked if I had finished. |
Notice: do/does/did disappears completely. For questions with be or have (as auxiliary), the subject and verb simply swap back to statement order.
With "Be" — Subject and Verb Swap
| Direct (question order) | Reported (statement order) |
|---|---|
| "Are you tired?" | He asked if I was tired. |
| "Is she a teacher?" | I asked if she was a teacher. |
| "Were they at home?" | She asked if they had been at home. |
👉 Practice Yes/No Questions with If →
Wh-Questions & Word Order
When we report a wh-question (who, what, where, when, why, how), the question word stays but the word order changes from question order to statement order. We also remove do/does/did.
The Formula
asked (+ person) + wh-word + subject + verb (statement order)
Examples
| Direct Question | Reported Question |
|---|---|
| "Where do you live?" | He asked me where I lived. |
| "What are you doing?" | She asked me what I was doing. |
| "Why did you leave early?" | He asked me why I had left early. |
| "When does the train arrive?" | She asked when the train arrived. |
| "How do you make this cake?" | I asked her how she made that cake. |
| "How many books have you read?" | She asked how many books I had read. |
The key change: question order (where do you live) becomes statement order (where I lived). The auxiliary do/does/did is removed.
Subject Questions: When Word Order Does NOT Change
This is a critical exception. When who or what is the subject of the question, the word order is already in statement order — so it does not change:
| Direct Question | Who is the subject? | Reported Question |
|---|---|---|
| "Who broke the window?" | Who = subject | She asked who had broken the window. |
| "What happened?" | What = subject | He asked what had happened. |
| "Who wants ice cream?" | Who = subject | She asked who wanted ice cream. |
Compare with object questions, where word order DOES change:
| Direct Question | Who is the subject? | Reported Question |
|---|---|---|
| "Who did you meet?" | You = subject | She asked who I had met. |
| "What did she say?" | She = subject | He asked what she had said. |
How to tell the difference: If the direct question uses do/does/did after the wh-word, the wh-word is NOT the subject → word order changes. If there is no do/does/did, the wh-word IS the subject → word order stays the same.
👉 Practice Wh-Questions & Word Order →
Tense Backshift in Questions
Reported questions follow the same tense backshift rules as reported statements. When the reporting verb (asked) is in the past tense, each tense shifts one step back.
Complete Backshift Table (with Question Examples)
| Direct Question | Reported Question | Tense Change |
|---|---|---|
| "Where do you work?" | She asked where I worked. | Present Simple → Past Simple |
| "What are you reading?" | He asked what I was reading. | Present Continuous → Past Continuous |
| "Have you been to Japan?" | She asked if I had been to Japan. | Present Perfect → Past Perfect |
| "Have you been waiting long?" | He asked if I had been waiting long. | Present Perfect Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous |
| "Why did you leave?" | She asked why I had left. | Past Simple → Past Perfect |
| "What were you doing?" | He asked what I had been doing. | Past Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous |
| "Had you finished?" | She asked if I had finished. | Past Perfect → Past Perfect (no change) |
Key Points
- The backshift rules are identical to reported statements — if you have already studied Reported Statements, the same tense chart applies here.
- The extra step for questions is the word order change — you must do both (backshift + word order) at the same time.
- Past perfect is already the "furthest back" tense — it cannot backshift further.
👉 Practice Tense Backshift in Questions →
Modal Verbs & Time Expression Shifts
Modal verbs and time/place expressions in reported questions shift in exactly the same way as in reported statements.
Modal Verb Changes
| Direct Question | Reported Question | Change |
|---|---|---|
| "Will you come?" | She asked if I would come. | will → would |
| "Can you help me?" | He asked if I could help him. | can → could |
| "May I borrow this?" | She asked if she might borrow that. | may → might |
| "Must I finish today?" | He asked if he had to finish that day. | must → had to |
| "Shall I open the window?" | He asked if he should open the window. | shall (offer) → should |
Already-past modals (would, could, might, should) do not change further:
| Direct Question | Reported Question |
|---|---|
| "Would you like some tea?" | She asked if I would like some tea. |
| "Could you repeat that?" | He asked if I could repeat that. |
Time & Place Expression Shifts
| Direct | Reported |
|---|---|
| today | that day |
| tonight | that night |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| last week | the week before / the previous week |
| next week | the following week |
| ... ago | ... before / ... earlier |
| now | then / at that time |
| here | there |
| this / these | that / those |
Examples in questions:
| Direct Question | Reported Question |
|---|---|
| "Are you free tomorrow?" | She asked if I was free the next day. |
| "Why were you here yesterday?" | He asked why I had been there the day before. |
| "Can you finish this by next week?" | She asked if I could finish that by the following week. |
👉 Practice Modal Verbs & Time Expression Shifts →
If vs Whether, Negative & Embedded Questions
This section covers advanced patterns that take your reported questions from good to excellent.
When to Use "Whether" Instead of "If"
Both if and whether introduce reported yes/no questions, but whether is preferred or required in certain situations:
| Situation | Example | Why "Whether"? |
|---|---|---|
| With "or not" (directly after) | She asked whether or not I was coming. | If or not (immediately together) sounds unnatural. |
| With "or" choices | He asked whether I wanted tea or coffee. | Whether is standard with explicit alternatives. |
| Before infinitives | She asked whether to take the bus. | If to is not grammatical. |
| After prepositions | We talked about whether it was worth it. | About if is awkward. |
| Formal writing | The report examined whether the policy was effective. | Whether is more formal. |
In all other cases, if and whether are interchangeable:
She asked if I was happy. = She asked whether I was happy.
Reporting Negative Questions
Negative questions are reported with the negative in the reported clause:
| Direct Question | Reported Question |
|---|---|
| "Don't you like chocolate?" | She asked if I didn't like chocolate. |
| "Isn't he coming?" | He asked if he wasn't coming. |
| "Can't you stay longer?" | She asked if I couldn't stay longer. |
| "Why don't you rest?" | He asked why I didn't rest. |
Other Reporting Verbs
Besides asked, several other verbs can introduce reported questions:
| Verb | Example | Nuance |
|---|---|---|
| wondered | She wondered if I was happy. | Internal thought — she didn't necessarily say it out loud. |
| wanted to know | He wanted to know where I lived. | Emphasises the desire for information. |
| inquired | She inquired whether I had experience. | Formal register. |
| couldn't understand | I couldn't understand why he had left. | Expresses confusion. |
These verbs follow the same word order and backshift rules as asked.
👉 Practice If vs Whether & Embedded Questions →
Common Mistakes to Avoid
| Incorrect | Correct | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| She asked where I lived. | Use statement word order, not question order. Remove did. | |
| He asked if I was happy. | Use if/whether for yes/no questions, not that (that is for statements). | |
| She asked where I lived**.** | Reported questions end with a full stop, not a question mark. | |
| He asked if I liked coffee. | Remove do/does/did completely — don't keep it in the reported form. | |
| She asked me where I lived. | Use asked for questions, not said or told. | |
| He asked whether or not I was ready. | With or not immediately after the connector, use whether, not if. | |
| She asked me what my name was. | Two errors: wrong word order (is my → my ... was) and missing backshift. | |
| He asked who had broken the window. | Subject question — no did needed. Just backshift the verb. |
Quick Summary
Step-by-Step: How to Convert Any Question
Follow these five steps to convert a direct question into a reported question:
| Step | Action | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identify the question type | "Where do you live?" → wh-question |
| 2 | Choose the connector | Wh-question → keep where. Yes/no → add if/whether. |
| 3 | Change to statement word order | "where do you live" → "where you live" (remove do) |
| 4 | Apply tense backshift | "where you live" → "where you lived" |
| 5 | Adjust pronouns & time/place | "where you lived" → "where I lived" |
| Result | He asked me where I lived. |
Word Order Quick Reference
| Question Type | Direct Order | Reported Order |
|---|---|---|
| Yes/No with do/does/did | Do you like...? | if + subject + verb |
| Yes/No with be/have | Are you...? Is she...? | if + subject + be/have |
| Wh- with do/does/did | Where do you...? | wh-word + subject + verb |
| Wh- (subject question) | Who broke...? | who + verb (no change) |
If vs Whether Quick Reference
| Use if or whether | Use whether only |
|---|---|
| Most yes/no reported questions | Before "or not" (immediately after) |
| Informal speech and writing | Before infinitives (whether to...) |
| After prepositions (about whether...) | |
| With "or" choices |
Practice Tips
- Master word order first: The #1 error in reported questions is keeping question word order. Before worrying about tense, practise converting question order to statement order. Say it aloud: "Where do you live?" → "where I live".
- Use the 5-step process: Follow the step-by-step guide above every time. After 20–30 conversions, the steps will become automatic.
- Watch for subject questions: When you see who or what at the start of a question WITHOUT do/does/did, the word order stays the same. Train yourself to check: "Is there a 'do/does/did'?"
- Practise with real conversations: Take a dialogue from a textbook, TV show, or podcast and convert every question into reported speech. This forces you to handle all patterns — yes/no, wh-, subject questions, modals — in one exercise.
- If in doubt, use "whether": In formal writing or exams, whether is always safe for yes/no questions. It works everywhere that if works, plus some extra situations.
Practice All Exercises
Put everything together with the comprehensive mixed practice set, then review any areas you want to improve:
👉 Practice Comprehensive Mixed Practice →
| Set | Topic | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Set 1 | Yes/No Questions with If | A2 |
| Set 2 | Wh-Questions & Word Order | B1 |
| Set 3 | Tense Backshift in Questions | B1 |
| Set 4 | Modal Verbs & Time Expression Shifts | B1 |
| Set 5 | If vs Whether, Negative & Embedded Questions | B2 |
| Set 6 | Comprehensive Mixed Practice | B2 |
Now try the exercises to practise what you've learned!