Reported Speech

Reporting questions and commands

Introduction

Reporting questions is trickier than reporting statements because the word order changes. Direct questions become indirect questions in reported speech, with statement word order.

You'll learn to report both yes/no questions (using if/whether) and information questions (keeping the question word but changing the order).

This skill is essential for summarizing conversations and conveying what others have asked.

Themes

All Grammar (Basic) in This Chapter (8)

• Reported Questions How to report what someone asked
• Reported Statements How to report what someone said
• Reported Commands How to report orders, requests, and advice
• say vs tell Using the right reporting verb
• Time and Place in Reported Speech How time and place expressions change in reporting
• Reported Commands and Requests Reporting orders, instructions, and requests
• Reported Speech with Modals How modals change in reported speech
• Reporting Verb Patterns Different grammatical patterns after reporting verbs