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Reported speech >> Structure of reported questions

Structures of reported questions

direct speech
reported question

She asked, "Is it better to wait?"
She asked if it was better to wait.

direct speech
reported question

He asked, "Have you been to Spain?"
He asked if I had been to Spain.


Reported questions - common mistakes

Common mistakes

Correct version

Why?

She asked me why did I work so much.

She asked me why I worked so much.

The word order in reported questions is: SUBJECT + VERB.

She asked me it was raining.

She asked me if it was raining.

Yes/no questions (closed questions) begin with if when they become reported questions.

She asked me if I have been to Bristol?

She asked me if I had been to Bristol.

If the reporting verb (in this case ask) is in the past tense, the tenses used in the original sentence have to be changed:
I am becomes I was
I can becomes I could
I have been becomes I had been.

She asked me what I do for a living.

She asked me what I did for a living.

 

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