Basically speaking, we use two different sentence structures for reporting questions in reported speech. This depends on the type of answer that the speaker expects: Wh-questions and Yes-No questions.
Wh-questions want information about:
Who for a person
Example: “Who is your partner?” She asked me who my partner was.
When for a time
Example: “When do you get up?” She asked me when I got up.
How for a method or a quantity like in how much or how many
Example: “How did you get to work yesterday?” They wanted to know how I had got to work the day before.
Which for options or choice
Example ” Which car are you getting?” My brother asked me which car I was getting.
What for missing information concerning many other items that can include people, time, place, animals, situations, etc.
Example ” What holiday plans do you have?” She wanted to know what holiday plans I had.
Yes-No questions want an answer that could be either yes or no.
For Yes-No questions we use whether or if. It’s the same difference, we can use both forms.
“Do you like coffee?” He asked me if/whether I liked coffee.
” Have you seen Sarah today?” They wanted to know if/whether I had seen Sarah that day.
Pay attention to these three aspects concerning reported questions.
a) We don’t use question marks in reported speech.
She wanted to know how I had got to work that day? She wanted to know how I had got to work that day.
b) We use statement word order. So, no inversion.
She asked me when was I going to the party. She asked me when I was going to the party.
c) We don’t use auxiliaries.
The woman asked me where did I live. The woman asked me where I lived.
Here’s a video with a lesson on reported questions. After, you can do the quiz (If you dare, I mean : )
Speaking practice
In pairs
When was the last time somebody asked you questions or wanted to know something?
Look at the pictures of different situations. Choose two and tell your partner. Start by giving some background information such as: who this person is and why you were speaking to this person. Then report the questions to your partner. Use reported speech.
The pictures represent: a job interview, a parents’ meeting at school, a medical appointment, a chat with a neighbour and a police officer.
