Hello. Today I'm going to explain how to use indirect speech to report questions.

I have a friend in Mexico who is coming to San Francisco to learn English. I talked to him on the
phone this morning. He asked if I could find out some important information about his English
school. He had a lot of questions! He asked if he could live in a dormitory on campus. He wanted
to know who his teachers would be and how many days a week he would study. He asked which
books he should buy. He wanted to know whether or not technology would be used in the
classroom. He asked how many students were in an average class. Those are some very good
questions! I hope I can find all of the answers for him.

Direct speech is someone's exact words.

There are quotation marks around the words. When we report direct questions, we use the
reporting verb ask or other expressions such as want to know. We put a comma after ask or want
to know. For example:

He asked, "Can you find out some important information about my English school?"

Notice that the direct question ends in a question mark.

If I want to tell you what my friend said without using his exact words, I use indirect speech. We
also use ask or want to know to introduce an indirect question. For example:

He asked if I could find out some important information about his English school.

Notice that the indirect question ends in a period. Indirect questions are statements not question.

The verb tenses in indirect speech often change. For example:

Simple present becomes simple past.

Direct question: He asked, "How many students are in an average class?"

Indirect question: He asked how many students were in an average class.

Simple past and present perfect become past perfect. For example:

Direct question: He asked, "Has the school been open very long?"

Indirect question: He asked if the school had been open very long.

Some modals also change. For example:

Can becomes could.

Direct question: He asked, "Can I live in a dormitory on campus?"

Indirect question: He asked if he could live in a dormitory on campus.

Will becomes would.

Direct question: He asked, "Who will my teachers be?"

Indirect question: He wanted to know who his teachers would be.

Notice how the pronouns change. In the direct questions, I used I and my because this is exactly
how the speaker asked the questions. In the indirect questions, I changed the pronouns
to he and his.

For indirect yes/no questions, use if, whether, or whether or not. For example:

He asked if he could live in a dormitory

He wanted to know whether or not technology would be used in the classroom.

For wh- questions, use the appropriate question word. For example:

He wanted to know who his teachers would be.

He asked which books he should buy.

He wanted to know what kind of library resources the school had.

He asked how many students were in an average class.

Now you're ready to start using indirect questions. Just a few reminders:

Always use statement word order, not question word order, in indirect questions.

Do not use the auxiliary forms do, does, or did. For example:

Direct question: He asked, "Did you find out the information?"

Indirect question: He asked if I found out the information.

Not:

OK, I have to go. I have a lot of research to do for my friend. He asked if I could have all the
information by the end of this week. That's not a lot of time. Bye!