Say who was talking and use a reporting verb. Repeat the question word, or use if or whether for yes / no questions. Statement word order, change the pronouns and move the tense back if necessary.
| Use a reporting verb... |
| She asked if we were going over for tea. |
| For yes / no questions, use if or whether... |
| She asked if we were going over for tea. |
| Repeat question words... |
| She also asked how we were going to get there. |
| Use statement word order, change pronouns and move the tense back if necessary... |
| She asked if we were going over for tea. |

Download Catherine's grammar explanation and table (pdf - 55 K)
Download this programme (mp3 - 1.8 MB)
Download or subscribe to this programme's podcast
Now it's your turn to practise reported questions. Go to our quiz page on this subject here.

| Meet us |
 |
Useful links |
 |
Next episode |

Catherine and William |
Learn It - reporting questions
Learn It - statement word order
EFL at the University of Westminster*
*The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites |
Next week, we'll focus on this structure: verb,
object and to + infinitive...
Homepage and archive |