reported speech if questions exercises

Reported questions – Exercise

Task no. 2323.

Finish the sentences using Reported speech. Always change the tense, although it is sometimes not necessary.

Peter, "Did John clean the black shoes?" Peter asked me  

Peter asked me if John had cleaned the black shoes .

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Reported questions in English

• Christopher, "Do you want to dance?" Christopher asked me .
• Betty, "When did you come?" Betty wanted to know .
• Mark, "Has John arrived?" Mark asked me .
• Ronald, "Where does Maria park her car?" Ronald asked me .
• Elisabeth, "Did you watch the latest film?" Elisabeth asked me .
• Mandy, "Can I help you?" Mandy wanted to know .
• Andrew, "Will Mandy have lunch with Sue?" Andrew asked me .
• Justin, "What are you doing?" Justin asked me .
• Frank, "How much pocket money does Lisa get?" Frank wanted to know .
• Anne, "Must I do the shopping?" Anne asked .
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Reported Speech Exercise: Questions

Reported speech exercises | reporting questions.

Do the exercises below about the reported speech (questions) and click on the button to check your answers.

(Before doing the exercise you may want to see the lesson on reported speech )

Transform these questions into reported speech (start the sentence with " she asked him ".)

• What is your name? → She asked him
• Where do you live? → She asked him
• What do you do for a living? → She asked him
• What time do you wake up? → She asked him
• Do you have a shower every morning? → She asked him
• Where did you go last weekend? → She asked him
• Why did you go there? → She asked him
• Did you enjoy going there? → She asked him
• Where are you going next weekend? → She asked him
• Will you be with your friends? → She asked him
• Can you take me with you? → She asked him
• What will the weather be like? → She asked him
• How are we going to get there? → She asked him
• Shall we take anything to eat? → She asked him
• What do you want me to bring? → She asked him
• Where are we going to spend the night? → She asked him
• Shall I take clean blankets? → She asked him
• Can I invite a friend of mine? → She asked him
• Are you sure? → She asked him
• What time shall we get back? → She asked him

Related materials

• Reported speech exercise (mixed)
• Reported speech exercise (questions)
• Reported speech exercise (requests and commands)
• Reported speech lesson

Reported Speech – Free Exercise

Write the following sentences in indirect speech. Pay attention to backshift and the changes to pronouns, time, and place.

• Two weeks ago, he said, “I visited this museum last week.” → Two weeks ago, he said that   . I → he|simple past → past perfect|this → that|last …→ the … before
• She claimed, “I am the best for this job.” → She claimed that   . I → she|simple present→ simple past|this→ that
• Last year, the minister said, “The crisis will be overcome next year.” → Last year, the minister said that   . will → would|next …→ the following …
• My riding teacher said, “Nobody has ever fallen off a horse here.” → My riding teacher said that   . present perfect → past perfect|here→ there
• Last month, the boss explained, “None of my co-workers has to work overtime now.” → Last month, the boss explained that   . my → his/her|simple present→ simple past|now→ then

Rewrite the question sentences in indirect speech.

• She asked, “What did he say?” → She asked   . The subject comes directly after the question word.|simple past → past perfect
• He asked her, “Do you want to dance?” → He asked her   . The subject comes directly after whether/if |you → she|simple present → simple past
• I asked him, “How old are you?” → I asked him   . The subject comes directly after the question word + the corresponding adjective (how old)|you→ he|simple present → simple past
• The tourists asked me, “Can you show us the way?” → The tourists asked me   . The subject comes directly after whether/if |you→ I|us→ them
• The shop assistant asked the woman, “Which jacket have you already tried on?” → The shop assistant asked the woman   . The subject comes directly after the question word|you→ she|present perfect → past perfect

Rewrite the demands/requests in indirect speech.

• The passenger requested the taxi driver, “Stop the car.” → The passenger requested the taxi driver   . to + same wording as in direct speech
• The mother told her son, “Don’t be so loud.” → The mother told her son   . not to + same wording as in direct speech, but remove don’t
• The policeman told us, “Please keep moving.” → The policeman told us   . to + same wording as in direct speech ( please can be left off)
• She told me, “Don’t worry.” → She told me   . not to + same wording as in direct speech, but remove don’t
• The zookeeper told the children, “Don’t feed the animals.” → The zookeeper told the children   . not to + same wording as in direct speech, but remove don’t

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Reported Questions

Reported questions are one form of reported speech .

We usually introduce reported questions with the verb "ask":

• He asked (me) if / whether ... (YES/NO questions)
• He asked (me) why / when / where / what / how ... (question-word questions)

As with reported statements , we may need to change pronouns and tense (backshift) as well as time and place in reported questions.

But we also need to change the word order . After we report a question, it is no longer a question (and in writing there is no question mark). The word order is like that of a normal statement (subject-verb-object).

Reported YES/NO questions

We introduce reported YES/NO questions with ask + if :

Note that in the above example the reported question has no auxiliary "do". But there is pronoun change and backshift.

Note that we sometimes use "whether" instead of "if". The meaning is the same. "Whether" is a little more formal and more usual in writing:

• They asked us if we wanted lunch.
• They asked us whether we wanted lunch.

Reported question-word questions

We introduce reported question-word questions with ask + question word :

Note that in the above example the reported question has no auxiliary "do". But there is pronoun change and backshift.

• YES/NO questions: Do you want tea?
• Question Word questions: Where did you drink tea?
• Choice questions: Do you prefer tea or coffee?

Look at these example sentences:

Exercise on Reported Speech

Questions - exercise 1.

Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note the change of pronouns and tenses.

• "Where is my umbrella?" she asked. → She asked
• "How are you?" Martin asked us. → Martin asked us
• He asked, "Do I have to do it?" → He asked
• "Where have you been?" the mother asked her daughter. → The mother asked her daughter
• "Which dress do you like best?" she asked her boyfriend. → She asked her boyfriend
• "What are they doing?" she asked. → She wanted to know
• "Are you going to the cinema?" he asked me. → He wanted to know
• The teacher asked, "Who speaks English?" → The teacher wanted to know
• "How do you know that?" she asked me. → She asked me
• "Has Caron talked to Kevin?" my friend asked me. → My friend asked me

Conditionals and Reported Speech

Have you started learning conditionals ? You probably fear you’ll make a lot of mistakes with all those complicated rules, right? And to make things even more complicated, there’s the reported speech. How can you report conditional sentences?

There are numerous English language schools and programs in California that can help you with all the doubts you may have. But to truly master the conditionals and other aspects of the English language, you should rely on as many reliable resources as possible. So, keep reading this article as we explain how if-clauses are changed in reported speech. 

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Can we use "if" in reported speech?

“If” is a conjunction we use in indirect speech when we report yes/no questions. 

Direct speech: Do you want to go to the cinema?

Indirect speech: He asked if I wanted to go to the cinema.

Also, if we want to report a conditional sentence, we’ll keep “if” in the reported speech too.

Direct speech: If it doesn’t rain, I’ll go for a walk.

Indirect speech: She said that if it didn’t rain, she’d go for a walk.

How do you change the if-clause in reported speech?

To see what tense and modal changes occur, let’s examine each type of conditional sentence separately. 

Zero conditional in reported speech

The tense shift will occur only in instances when the condition is no longer valid. Otherwise, the tenses remain the same.

Mom: If dad gets angry, he always reads a newspaper in the living room and ignores everybody else.

Mom said that if dad gets angry, he always reads a newspaper in the living room and ignores everybody else. (Dad still does this.)

Mom said that if dad got angry, he always read a newspaper in the living room and ignored everybody else. (Dad doesn’t do this anymore. Mom just described his past habit.)

First conditional in reported speech

If we need to report a first conditional sentence, the following changes might take place.

Luke: If we hurry up, we’ll catch the bus .

Luke said that if we hurry up, we’ll catch the bus. (This information is still relevant. Luke and his interlocutor still have time to catch the bus.)

Luke said that if we hurried up, we’d catch the bus. (These reported words aren’t relevant anymore. The bus has already left. Note the tense and modal shift: the present simple becomes the past simple , and will becomes would .)

Second conditional in reported speech

The above tense and modal shifting rules apply to the second conditional too. If the condition is still relevant, no changes occur. However, if it’s outdated, the past simple becomes the past perfect , and would becomes would + have + past participle. 

Sofia: If I had more money, I would buy a new car. 

Sofia said that if she had more money, she would buy a new car. (Sofia still doesn’t have money, and consequently, she can’t buy a new car.)

Sofia said that if she had had more money, she would have bought a new car. (The speaker remembers Sofia’s words and wishes from the past. Maybe Sofia doesn’t have any money issues now.)

Third conditional in reported speech

When reporting third conditionals, there is no change in the verb form:

Tania: If I had seen him, I would have told him about the accident.

Tania said that if she had seen him, she would have told him about the accident .

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Reported Speech - Exercise 8

Click here to view the solution of this exercise

1. Peter asked me if I had gone to the cinema the day before. 2. She asked me if I had ever been to Spain. 3. They were ordered not to be unfriendly. 4. Eve asked him what she could do for him. 5. He asked her if she knew the right way. 6. Ann asked them if they were driving to London that weekend. 7. They asked me what the time was. 8. They were ordered not to drink and drive. 9. He asked who had been looking for the lost Englishmen. 10. We were told to sign the new insurance policy. 11. She asked when Carol had lost her last match. 12. He asked her if she was going to the cinema that week. 13. He told her to give up smoking. 14. The teacher asked them why they were late. 15. She asked him where he had lost his camera.

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Reported speech - 1

Reported speech - 2

Reported speech - 3

Worksheets - handouts

Reported speech

Worksheets - pdf exercises.

• Reported statements - worksheet
• Worksheet - reported questions
• Reported yes/no questions
• Worksheet - reported speech
• Reported speech - exercises pdf
• Indirect speech - exercises
• Reported speech - exercises
• Mixed reported speech 1
• Mixed reported speech 2
• Reported speech 1 
• Reported speech 2  
• Reported speech 3 
• Reported speech 4
• Reported speech 5
• Reported wh- questions
• Reported speech - worksheet 
• Reported commands
• Reported questions
• Reported speech 1
• Reported speech 2
• Reported requests and orders
• Reported speech exercise
• Reported questions - worksheet
• Indirect speech - worksheet
• Worksheets pdf - print
• Grammar worksheets - handouts

Grammar - lessons

• Reported speech - grammar notes
• How to use reported speech - lesson
• Tense changes - grammar

Reported speech questions: exercises with answers

• English grammar PDF
• PDF worksheets
• Mixed PDF tests
• Tenses PDF rules
• Present tenses
• Past tenses
• Future tenses
• Present perfect
• Past perfect
• Future perfect
• Irregular verbs
• Modal verbs
• If-conditional
• Passive voice
• Reported speech
• Time clauses
• Relative clauses
• Indirect questions
• Question tags
• Imperative sentence
• Gerund and infinitive
• Direct | indirect object

Direct questions and reported questions - exercise 7

Complete the reported questions.

"What did you say?" he asked me. He asked me what I had said.

Check test Answer key Clear test

Reported speech exercises Questions, commands and statements.

For intermediate and advanced learners of English.

• Reported Wh-questions — Exercise 3
• 1. Hannah, “Where did you lose your phone?” Hannah asked me . where I had lost my phone
• 2. Leo, “Where have they been?” Leo asked me . where they had been
• 3. Andrew, “Why are you smiling?” Andrew asked me . why I was smiling
• 4. Chloe, “What time do they go to bed?” Chloe asked me . what time they went to bed
• 5. Layla, “What does your sister teach?” Layla asked me . what my sister taught
• 6. Ethan, “How will you get to my house?” Ethan asked me . how I would get to his house
• 7. Emilia, “Where do you study?” Emilia asked me . where I studied
• 8. Ellie, “When did they buy tickets?” Ellie asked me . when they had bought tickets
• 9. Aaron, “How many pages have you read?” Aaron asked me . how many pages I had read
• 10. Jackson, “What were the children doing the whole evening?” Jackson asked me . what the children had been doing the whole evening
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 1
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 2
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 3
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 4
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 5

• International

UK PM announces general election

By Rob Picheta, CNN

Our live coverage has ended. Read more about Rishi Sunak's announcement and the upcoming UK election here.

How does a UK election work?

From CNN's Rob Picheta in London

In the UK, voters don’t elect a prime minister directly. Instead, they elect a member of parliament (MP) to represent their local constituency.

The leader of the party that wins a majority of the UK’s 650 constituencies automatically becomes prime minister. That means 326 is the magic number.

If there’s no majority, they need to look for help elsewhere, ruling as a minority government or forming a coalition.

A campaign takes just six weeks -- a breeze compared to the mammoth US presidential election calendar.

Technically, the King has to allow an election to take place and allow parliament to be dissolved, which will occur in the next few days for the rest of the campaign.

But this role is symbolic; King Charles III will not go against the advice of his prime minister or the votes of the British public.

The current polling is dire reading for Rishi Sunak

Analysis from CNN's Rob Picheta

Rishi Sunak is looking to do in six weeks what he hasn't been able to do in the 20 months since he took power: overturn a polling deficit.

Labour have been leading in general election opinion polls since late 2021, and that lead has been huge for the entirety of Sunak's premiership.

They are around 20 points up on average, with the Tories often closer to third party challengers like Reform and the Liberal Democrats than they are to Labour.

When converted to a projection of seats in parliament, those figures indicate either a comfortable Labour win or a potential electoral wipeout for the Conservatives.

But for Sunak's team, some deeper numbers provide some comfort. While Keir Starmer leads Sunak in polling on the question of who would make a better prime minister, that lead is much smaller than the overall party voting gap -- suggesting Sunak will seek to keep the focus on a "me versus him" message.

Some polling experts also suggested that recent local elections may indicate a slimmer Labour win than polling does, but it is notoriously difficult to extrapolate nationwide forecasts from local votes in only some parts of the country.

Sunak may also take heart from an unlikely source: former left-wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who started the 2017 general election facing a similar deficit and eventually forced a hung parliament, in a narrow loss to Theresa May.

However he looks at it, the polls are dire for Sunak. He has six weeks to change that.

Sunak sells himself as a safe pair of hands. Will anyone buy it?

From CNN's Luke McGee in London

Sunak’s speech was delayed by over 10 minutes. Speculation among those standing around on Downing Street was that he was waiting for the rain to clear.

A let-up in the weather was shortly followed by the prime minister's emergence from his official residence. The heavens almost immediately opened again, drenching Sunak.

His back luck continued as protesters outside blasted the song “Things Can Only Get Better” by D-Ream, the anthem of Labour’s 1997 victorious election campaign. At this point it was virtually impossible to hear the PM.

If his tone was flat, his message was somewhat uninspiring. Big speeches on Downing Street are usually surround by a buzz of excitement. Such speeches are reserved for big moments in politics: resignations, major policy announcements, or indeed, calling elections.

This was a list of what Sunak sees as his biggest selling point: a safe pair of hands at a difficult time.

He spoke of his first major political intervention, when he implemented a furlough scheme to pay the wages of those who could not go to work during Covid lockdowns. He elaborated on how as the world becomes less secure, he is the stable hand that Britain needs.

It was a riff on a speech he made last week, in which he outlined the challenges Britain faces, from a belligerent Russia waging war on the continent to the threats posed by AI.

And he said that the opposition Labour Party doesn’t have a plan and cannot be trusted. It was all quite negative, but that might be all that Sunak and his party have left after 14 years in power.

He is trying to pitch himself as a change candidate with fresh ideas, which might be the case.

But the key question any voter will now ask ahead of this long-awaited election is: why should you be given another go?

Starmer promises to "stop the chaos"

From CNN's Rob Picheta and Antoinette Radford in London

Starmer outlined a three-prong pitch to voters as he set out Labour's electoral offering for the first time under his leadership.

He said the election is "a vote to stop the chaos," promising "a politics that treads more lightly in all our lives" -- a rebuke of a turbulent few period in Westminster that has seen five Tory prime ministers in eight years.

Secondly, he hit out at the Conservatives' economic record, framing his party as the one more in touch with the financial struggles of voters across the UK.

And thirdly, he promised "a long-term plan to rebuild Britain," said he would "reset" the country and its politics.

"Time and again they have pursued their own interesting rather than tackling the issues that affect your family. And if they get another five years, they will feel entitled to carry on exactly as they are. Nothing will change," Starmer said.

Keir Starmer says election is a "chance to change for the better"

"Tonight the prime minister has finally announced the next general election," opposition leader Keir Starmer said in response to PM Rishi Sunak's announcement.

He framed the vote as a "chance to change for the better - your future, your community, your country."

"It will feel like a long campaign, I'm sure of that, but no matter what else is said and done, that opportunity for change is what this election is about," Starmer said.

He begins the vote about 20 points ahead in the polls, so he will be running as a favorite as well as a challenger.

What themes did Rishi Sunak hit in his rain-soaked speech?

Rishi Sunak’s speech outside Downing Street gave a glimpse into what Britons can expect to hear from the prime minister as he looks to defy gloomy expectations for his party and retain power.

He sought to diffuse criticism of his record, pointing to two major challenges — Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine — that he said amounted to “the most challenging times since the Second World War.” 

Critics say that, while every country has dealt with those forces, many comparable economies are coping better than Britain’s. But Sunak said he had restored “hard-earned economic stability.”

Sunak touched heavily on illegal migration, which is expected to be a major plank of his electoral campaign.

He claimed “we are stopping the boats with our Rwanda partnership,” though that deal — which finally became law last month — has not yet led to a single asylum-seeker being deported to the African country.

He also noted other policies — like saying Britain’s will be the first generation “to grow up smoke-free” — a key, legacy-defining plan from Sunak that hasn’t, and now won’t, make it to parliament before the election.

And he attacked the policy record of Keir Starmer, saying the Labour leader hasn’t been clear about what he stands for.

Sunak was drenched by rain and almost drowned out by protesters during his speech

Rishi Sunak was drenched by rain and had to compete with blaring music being played by protesters, in a speech that did not provide the flawless optics staff would have hoped for in a set-piece election announcement.

The recent trend has been for prime ministers to announce elections outside the famous front door of Number 10.

But that does leave them open to the elements -- and pouring rain soaked the back of Sunak's suit in the minutes in which he was speaking, which was evident as he turned away from cameras and walked back into the building.

Meanwhile, the D:Ream song "Things Can Only Get Better" -- the campaign song for the Labour Party before its landslide victory in 1997 -- almost drowned out Sunak's voice on the TV broadcast of his speech, disrupting Sunak's attempts to deliver a clear message to cameras and, by extension, voters.

Sunak had the option to deliver his remarks indoors in a media briefing room built specially for big speeches. One might wonder if he regrets the choice to fight the weather and noise instead.

Cabinet members smile as they leave Downing Street, but refuse to answer questions

From CNN's Rob Picheta

The first few members of Rishi Sunak's cabinet have filtered out of Downing Street after the prime minister's speech in which he fired the starting gun on a July general election.

They smiled broadly to journalists as they walked quickly through the rain, but failed to respond to questions shouted by reporters about the poll.

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Reported Speech Exercise 1

Perfect english grammar.

Here's an exercise about reported statements.

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