1. Lesson Overview
In this lesson, you will learn:
- How to report yes/no questions
• How to report wh-questions
• How word order changes
• How auxiliaries are removed
• How tense backshift applies
• Common structural mistakes
2. Reporting Yes/No Questions
Yes/No questions begin with auxiliary verbs:
Do
Does
Did
Is
Are
Was
Were
Will
Can
Structure Change
Direct:
She asked, “Are you ready?”
Indirect:
She asked if I was ready.
Rules:
Remove quotation marks
Use “if” or “whether.”
Change the question word order to the statement order
Apply backshift
More Examples
Direct:
He said, “Do you like coffee?”
Indirect:
He asked if I liked coffee.
Direct:
She said, “Will you come tomorrow?”
Indirect:
She asked whether I would come the next day.
3. Important Rule: No Question Word Order
Direct:
Where are you going?
Indirect:
She asked where I was going.
NOT:
She asked where was I going.
No inversion in indirect speech.
4. Reporting Wh-Questions
Wh-questions begin with:
who
what
when
where
why
how
Structure
Reporting verb + wh-word + subject + verb
No “if/whether” needed.
Example:
Direct:
She said, “Where do you live?”
Indirect:
She asked where I lived.
Direct:
He said, “Why are you late?”
Indirect:
He asked why I was late.
5. Reporting “What” Questions
Direct:
She said, “What are you doing?”
Indirect:
She asked what I was doing.
6. Reporting “How” Questions
Direct:
He said, “How did you solve the problem?”
Indirect:
He asked how I had solved the problem.
Backshift applies.
7. Special Cases
Question about the subject (no inversion originally)
Direct:
She said, “Who broke the window?”
Indirect:
She asked who had broken the window.
Notice: No auxiliary in direct subject question.
8. Time & Pronoun Shifts Still Apply
Direct:
She said, “Where will you go tomorrow?”
Indirect:
She asked where I would go the next day.
9. Common Errors
⚠ Keeping question word order in reported Yes/No questions
Incorrect: She asked if was I ready.
Correct: She asked if I was ready.
In reported questions:
• Remove inversion
• Use statement word order
⚠ Forgetting to use “if” or “whether” in Yes/No questions
Incorrect: He asked did I finish the report.
Correct: He asked if I had finished the report.
Yes/No questions require:
• if/whether
• tense backshift (when reporting in past)
⚠ Forgetting tense backshift in Yes/No questions
Incorrect: She asked if I am coming.
Correct: She asked if I was coming.
Present → past
Will → would
Have → had
⚠ Keeping auxiliary “do/does/did” in reported questions
Incorrect: He asked where did she go.
Correct: He asked where she went.
In reported Wh-questions:
• Remove “do/does/did”
• Use statement word order
⚠ Changing the Wh-word unnecessarily
Incorrect: She asked what did he want.
Correct: She asked what he wanted.
Keep the Wh-word (what, where, why, when, how),
but remove inversion.
10. End of Lesson Mastery
You should now be able to:
✅Report yes/no questions correctly
✅Use if/whether accurately
✅Remove inversion
✅Report wh-questions properly
✅Apply tense and time shifts