Yes or no questions are reported with ‘if’ or ‘whether’. Note that we cannot use the words say and tell to report questions.
Study the examples given below.
‘Are you a clever boy?’ the stranger asked Harry. (Direct speech)
The stranger asked Harry if / whether he was a clever boy. (Indirect speech)
Some people ask, ‘Is there a God?’
Some people askwhether there is a God.
Exercise
Report the following Yes or No questions.
1The teacher asked Raju if he ............... present the previous day.
Wrong!
In reported speech, "was" usually backshifts to "had been" after a past reporting verb.
2James asked me if I ............... to a zoo.
Wrong!
In reported speech, "have ever been" backshifts to "had ever been" after a past reporting verb.
3The master asked the girl if she ............... any difficulty solving the problem.
Wrong!
In reported speech, "have" usually backshifts to "had" after a past reporting verb.
4The lady asked the servant, "Have you collected my letters from the post office?" / The lady asked the servant if he ............... her letters from the post office.
Wrong!
In reported speech, "have collected" backshifts to "had collected" after a past reporting verb.
5Tom asked Ben whether a boy ............... a chance to whitewash a fence every day.
Wrong!
In reported speech, "gets" usually backshifts to "got" after a past reporting verb.
6I asked the boy, "Has your father gone to the office?" / I asked the boy whether his father ............... to the office.
Wrong!
In reported speech, "has gone" backshifts to "had gone" after a past reporting verb.
7The girl asked if she ............... home.
Wrong!
In reported speech, "may go" usually backshifts to "might go" after a past reporting verb.
8One of them asked if they ............... call the police.
Wrong!
The reported form of "Shall we call the police?" is "should" after a past reporting verb.
9Della asked Madam if she ............... her hair.
Wrong!
In reported speech, "will buy" backshifts to "would buy" after a past reporting verb.
10The man asked the boy if he ............... that himself.
Wrong!
In reported speech, "cannot do" usually backshifts to "could not do" after a past reporting verb.
Exercise complete
0 out of 10
correct answers
Answers
- The teacher asked Raju if he had been present the previous day.
- James asked me if I had ever been to a zoo.
- The master asked the girl if she had any difficulty solving the problem.
- The lady asked the servant, “Have you collected my letters from the post office?” / The lady asked the servant if he had collected her letters from the post office.
- Tom asked Ben whether a boy got a chance to whitewash a fence every day.
- I asked the boy, “Has your father gone to the office?” / I asked the boy whether his father had gone to the office.
- The girl asked if she might go home.
- One of them asked if they should call the police.
- Della asked Madam if she would buy her hair.
- The man asked the boy if he could not do that himself.