Reporting questions

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Reporting questions
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• How do we report questions?

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We learnt how to report statements in Unit 2 of
Book 2A. We report questions in much the same
way as we report statements. We also make the
following changes when we report questions.
? We use a reporting verb for asking, e.g. asked,
wondered.
Tom asked if / whether Mark was a good skater.
Is Mark a good skater? asked Tom.
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? We take away do / does.
Al wondered if / whether making models cost a lot.
Does making models cost a lot? Al wondered.
Ed asked what hobbies I liked.
What hobbies do you like? asked Ed.
Note
We use wondered when someone is thinking about
something they are unsure about.
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? We put the subject before the verb.
Mr Wong asked if / whether Ken was there.
Is Ken here? Mr Wong asked.
Rita asked if / whether I was joining the club.
Are you joining the club? asked Rita.
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? We use if / whether for yes / no-questions.
Bill asked if / whether pottery was fun.
Is pottery fun? asked Bill.
? We change the question mark to a full stop.
Don asked who was going to play first.
Who is going to play first? asked Don.
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More examples of the changes we make when
reporting statements and questions
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When we report statements, we make the following
changes.
use a reporting verb, e.g. said
I like football, said Alice. ? Alice said
(that) she liked football.
change the tense
simple present tense ? simple past tense simple
past tense ? past perfect tense simple future
tense ? would bare infinitive
Im thirsty, said Michael. ? Michael said
(that) he was thirsty. I wanted to go to the
cinema, said Jess. ? Jess said (that) she had
wanted to go to the cinema. Ill leave at five
oclock, said Lisa. ? Lisa said (that) she would
leave at five oclock.
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perfect present tense ? past perfect
tense present continuous tense ? past
continuous tense past continuous tense ? past
perfect continuous tense We do not change the
tense if the information is true when we report
it.
James has left his umbrella at home, said
Jane. ? Jane said (that) James had left his
umbrella at home. Im moving to the USA, said
Greg. ? Greg said (that) he was moving to the
USA. I was watching TV, said Ricky. ? Ricky
said (that) he had been watching TV. Im flying
to Singapore tonight, May told me this
morning. ? May told me this morning (that) she is
flying to Singapore tonight.
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When we report peoples opinions in general, we
can keep the reporting verb and the other verbs
in the sentence in the present tense.
A lot of students think (that) the Internet is
important.
change most of the modal verbs
can ? could
I can come later, said Anita. ? Anita said
(that) she could come later.
may ? may
I may go to the beach today, said Jason. ?
Jason said (that) he might go to the beach that
day.
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I must get home by ten oclock, said Leo. ? Leo
said (that) he had to get home by ten oclock.
must ? had to
will ? would
Ill see him at the match, Brenda said. ?
Brenda said that she would see him at the match.
need ? need
You neednt wait for me, said Stella. ? Stella
said that I neednt wait for her.
Note
Need only acts as a modal verb in questions
(e.g. Need you go?) and negative statements
(e.g. You need not go.).
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change the pronouns / possessive adjectives
I / you ? he / she
I saw Andy Lau in the park, said Tina. ? Tina
said (that) she had seen Andy Lau in the park.
we / you ? they
Were leaving next month, they said. ? They
said that they were leaving the following month.
me / you ? him / her
Tom gave me a photo, said Alice. ? Alice said
(that) Tom had given her a photo.
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us / you ? them
Hell take you all to Stanley Market, said
George. ? George said (that) he would take them
all to Stanley Market.
my / your ? his / her
Its my calculator, said Andy. ? Andy said
(that) it was his calculator.
our / your ? their
Our friends have arrived, she said. ? She said
(that) their friends had arrived.
mine / yours ? his / hers
The Superman comic is mine, said Amy. ? Amy
said (that) the Superman comic was hers.
ours / yours ? theirs
The holiday brochures arent ours, said
Bernard. ? Bernard said (that) the holiday
brochures were not theirs.
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change the time words
now ? then
Ken and Jane have to go now, said Henry. ?
Henry said (that) Ken and Jane had to go then.
today ? that day
Im going to the dentist today, she said. ? She
said (that) she was going to the dentist that
day.
this afternoon ? that afternoon
Im going shopping with Maggie this afternoon,
said Eddie. ? Eddie said (that) he was going
shopping with Maggie that afternoon.
Im having dinner at The Peak this evening,
she said. ? She said (that) she was having
dinner at The Peak that evening.
this evening ? that evening
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tonight ? that night
Ill call Tom tonight, promised Donna. ? Donna
promised (that) she would call Tom that night.
tomorrow ? the following / next day
Were going to Japan tomorrow, said Kelly. ?
Kelly said (that) they were going to Japan the
following / next day.
yesterday ? the day before
I was busy yesterday, explained Mark. ? Mark
explained (that) he had been busy the day before.
next week ? the following week
Ill be going on holiday next week, said
Alex. ? Alex said (that) he would be going on
holiday the following week.
next Monday ? the following Monday
Were going to the theatre next Monday, Betty
said. ? Betty said (that) they were going to the
theatre the following Monday.
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next month ? the following month
Robbie Williams will be coming to Hong Kong
next month, said Tony. ? Tony said (that)
Robbie Williams would be coming to Hong Kong the
following month.
last week ? the week before
We were in Canada last week, she said. ? She
said (that) they had been in Canada the week
before.
last weekend ? the weekend before
I went to Kelly Chens concert last weekend,
said John. ? John said (that) he had gone to
Kelly Chens concert the weekend before.
We do not change the time words if the
information is still true when we report it.
I want to go to Repulse Bay today, she said. ?
She said (that) she wanted to go to Repulse Bay
today.
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When we report questions, we make the following
changes.
use the reporting verb asked take away do /
does put the subject before the verb
Where is my brother? asked Jill. ? Jill asked
where her brother was. Do they want to watch
the film? she asked. ? She asked if they wanted
to watch the film. What is his name? Michelle
asked. ? Michelle asked what his name was.
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use if / whether for yes / no-questions put
the name of the person addressed after the
reporting verb change the question mark to a
full stop
Have you seen the Man Mo Temple? Tracy asked
me. ? Tracy asked if / whether I had seen the Man
Mo Temple. Paul, can you tell me how to get to
the Space Museum, asked Cindy. ? Cindy asked
Paul if he could tell her how to get to the Space
Museum. What time is it? asked Paul. ? Paul
asked what time it was.
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• Practice

Complete the diary entry.
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Dear Diary I won the inter-school chess
competition today! After the prize-giving
ceremony, a few reporters interviewed me. Its
exciting to think that Ill be in the newspapers
tomorrow! Do you have other hobbies besides
chess? The Hong Kong Post other hobbies
besides chess. Who do you usually play chess
with? Pineapple Daily who I
usually .
asked if / whether I had
asked / wondered
played chess with
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Are you the head of your schools Chess
Club? China Express the head of my
schools Chess Club. Are you joining the
international chess competition in
December? Lantau Times the
international chess competition in December. I
hope the journalists noted down my answers
correctly! Its been a happy but tiring day, so
Im going to bed now. Good night, Diary.
asked if / whether I was
asked if / whether I was joining
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• The end