Reported questions and commands
To report a question, use ask + if/whether or a question word, then normal statement word order. To report an order or request, use tell or ask + person + (not) to + verb.
How it works
- Yes/no questions: ask + if/whether: 'Are you ready?' → She asked if I was ready.
- Wh- questions keep the question word but use statement order and no do/does/did: 'Where do you live?' → He asked where I lived.
- A reported question ends with a full stop, not a question mark.
- Commands and requests: tell/ask + person + to + verb: 'Sit down.' → The teacher told us to sit down.
- Negative: not to + verb: 'Don't be late.' → She told me not to be late.
- After a past reporting verb, tenses usually move back as in reported statements: will → would, can → could.
Examples
The receptionist asked if we had a reservation.
My mum asked me what time I would be home.
The doctor told him to drink more water.
Our teacher told us not to use our phones in the exam.
I wonder whether the shop is still open.
Common mistakes
Wrong: She asked me where
did I work.Right: She asked me where I worked.
Wrong: He told me
don'ttouch the screen.Right: He told me not to touch the screen.
Wrong: They asked me
thatI was hungry.Right: They asked me if I was hungry.
Wrong: The officer
saidme to show my passport.Right: The officer told me to show my passport.
Practice
1 of 16Fill the gap.
Level: EGP Reported speech: reported yes/no and wh- questions with if/whether and statement word order, and reported commands with tell/ask + object + to-infinitive, are controlled at B2. Written for Gloss.