Grammar
Reported questions: change word order and tense
A colleague asks, "Where is the training room?" Later, you can report the question: "She asked where the training room was." The question word stays, but the word order changes.
Report a direct question clearly by choosing a suitable reporting verb, using statement word order, and changing tense or time words when the context requires it.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
She asked where the station was. /ʃi æskt wer ðə ˈsteɪ.ʃən wəz/
The short answer
Keep the question word in a wh-question, then use subject-verb order: "He asked where I lived." For a yes-no question, use if or whether: "She asked whether I was ready." Change the tense when you are reporting a past question from a later point in time, unless the fact is still true or the context does not need a change.
Nora asked why the store had closed early.
Why it works: Why begins the reported question, but the subject the store comes before had closed. The past perfect can show that the closing happened before Nora asked.
5 more examples
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Maya asked where the nearest pharmacy was.
Where stays at the beginning of the reported part, but the subject the nearest pharmacy comes before was.
Not this:Maya asked
where was the nearest pharmacy. What changes: This keeps direct-question word order. After asked, use statement word order. -
I asked whether the office was open on Friday.
The original question can be answered yes or no, so whether introduces the reported question.
Not this:I asked
whether was the office openon Friday. What changes: Whether is followed by a subject and then a verb, not by question word order. -
Leo asked if I had sent the invoice.
If can introduce a reported yes-no question. Had sent can show an action earlier than Leo's question.
Not this:Leo asked
if had I sentthe invoice. What changes: Put the subject I before had in a reported question. -
The guide asked how long we had been waiting.
How long stays as the question phrase. We comes before had been waiting.
Not this:The guide asked
how long had we been waiting. What changes: Do not invert had and we after a question phrase in reported speech. -
Ava asked when the next bus would arrive.
Will often becomes would after a past reporting verb when the future time is viewed from the earlier conversation.
Not this:Ava asked
when would the next bus arrive. What changes: After when, use the statement order the next bus would arrive.
Read the full guide
Start with a reporting verb such as asked, wanted to know, or wondered. Next, choose a link word. Use the original question word for who, what, where, when, why, and how. Use if or whether when the direct question can be answered yes or no. Then change question order to statement order.
Keep the question word, then use statement order
For a direct wh-question, keep where, when, why, who, what, or how. After that word, put the subject before the verb. The reported part is not a direct question.
She asked where the client lived.
Where begins the reported question, but the client comes before lived.
How do you report ‘Why are the lights off?’ after ‘He asked’ ?
Write ‘He asked why the lights were off.’
Use if or whether for yes-no questions
A direct question without a question word needs if or whether in reported speech. Both can introduce a simple yes-no question. Whether is often a better choice when you include or not.
They asked if the restaurant accepted cards.
The direct question is ‘Does the restaurant accept cards?’ In the reported question, if introduces the subject the restaurant and the verb accepted.
Which word can introduce a report of ‘Is the file ready?’
Use if or whether: ‘She asked whether the file was ready.’
Remove do, does, and did from the reported form
Do, does, and did help form direct questions. They usually disappear in reported questions. The main verb carries the tense after you change to statement order.
Omar asked what time the museum closed.
The direct form is ‘What time does the museum close?’ Does disappears, and close becomes closed after asked.
How do you report ‘Did they receive the package?’
Write ‘I asked if they had received the package.’
Choose whether to backshift the tense
After a past reporting verb, move the tense back when you are describing an earlier conversation from a later time. Present simple often becomes past simple, and will often becomes would. Keep the original tense when the statement is still true or the report is immediate.
Yesterday, he asked where I worked.
The direct question may have been ‘Where do you work?’ The earlier conversation makes worked a natural report.
What can will become after an earlier question reported with asked?
It often becomes would, as in ‘She asked when the train would leave.’
Update time and place words when needed
Words such as today, tomorrow, here, and this week may need to change when the report happens at a different time or place. The right word depends on the speaker's current point of view.
On Monday, she asked whether I would be free the next day.
The direct question may have used tomorrow. From Monday, the next day gives the listener the needed time relationship.
When might here need to change in a reported question?
Change it when the report is made in a different place, for example from here to there.
Use a reporting verb that fits the situation
Asked is useful in most situations. Wanted to know can sound more formal, while wondered often describes a question someone had without expecting an immediate reply. Choose a verb that matches what happened.
The customer wanted to know whether the return was possible.
Wanted to know presents the question as a request for information. The reported part still uses whether and statement order.
Which neutral reporting verb can begin most reported questions?
Use asked when you only need to say that someone asked a question.
Before you go
Remember this
Use asked, wanted to know, or another reporting verb. Keep the question word in a wh-question, or add if or whether for a yes-no question. After that opening word, use statement order. Backshift tense when the earlier conversation and the current context make it useful, but keep a tense when the meaning needs it.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
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Try the written questionsQuestions about "Reported questions: change word order and tense"
What is a reported question?
A reported question tells someone what another person asked. It usually begins with a reporting verb such as asked, wanted to know, or wondered. The reported part uses statement word order, even when the original words were a direct question.
Maya asked where the nearest pharmacy was.
Do I keep the question word in reported speech?
Keep where, when, why, who, what, how, and other question words when they appeared in the direct question. Put the subject after the question word and before the verb. For example, use ‘where the pharmacy was,’ not ‘where was the pharmacy.’
Maya asked where was the nearest pharmacy.
When do I use if or whether in a reported question?
Use if or whether when the direct question can be answered yes or no. Both work in many everyday sentences. Whether is often useful when you mention two alternatives or add ‘or not,’ especially in more formal writing.
I asked whether the office was open on Friday.
Why do do, does, and did disappear in reported questions?
Do, does, and did create direct-question word order, so they usually disappear after a reporting verb. The main verb then carries the appropriate tense in statement order. For example, ‘What time does it close?’ can become ‘He asked what time it closed.’
I asked whether was the office open on Friday.
Must I always change the tense in a reported question?
No. Backshift is common after a past reporting verb when you describe an earlier conversation, but context controls the choice. Keep the tense when the fact is still true, when you report it immediately, or when a change would make the time meaning less clear.
Leo asked if I had sent the invoice.