Reported questions: She asked if…

  • B1 · Intermediate
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min

Reported questions: asked if or whether for yes / no questions and asked where, when or why for the others, in statement word order (The officer asked me where I had locked the bike and whether I had a photo of it.). From a stolen bike and a police report to a guessing game: who asked you that?

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asked ifwhetherwhere it was

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Reading: where's my bike?Reading comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find the reported questionsGrammar exercise
  6. 6Reported questionsGrammar rule
  7. 7if or a question word?Grammar exercise
  8. 8Which report is right?Grammar exercise
  9. 9The new neighborGrammar exercise
  10. 10Report the questionsGrammar exercise
  11. 11Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  12. 12Who asked me that?Speaking practice
  13. 13About youGrammar exercise
  14. 14Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: what was the question?Grammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: Grandma's questionsGrammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: build the reported questionsGrammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: so many questions!Discussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. Do you lock your bike or your car every time, even for one minute?
  2. Who asks you the most questions in your life: your boss, your kids, your parents or a friend?
  3. Have you ever asked a police officer for help? What happened?

Grammar rule

Reported questions

asked + if / whether, or asked + the question word

They askedYou report
"Are you hungry?"He asked (me) if I was hungry.
"Did you call your mom?"She asked whether I had called my mom.
"When does the show start?"He asked when the show started.
"What time is it?"She asked what time it was.
"Why are you laughing?"He asked why I was laughing.
"Who took my pen?"She asked who had taken her pen.
  • Yes / no questions: if or whether (the same meaning).
  • Wh- questions: keep the question word (where, when, why, how much, what time, who).
  • Use statement word order: the subject comes before the verb (I was, it was), and there is no do, does or did.
  • No question mark: a reported question is a statement about a question.
  • The tense, the pronouns and words like here and today change, as in reported statements. If the question is still true, the present is fine: He asked if I have a car.
  • asked or asked + person (She asked me…), or wanted to know: She wanted to know why I was laughing.

Watch out

  • Not question order: She asked when did the show start. → She asked when the show started. · He asked was I hungry. → He asked if I was hungry.
  • Not that: She asked that I was hungry. → She asked if I was hungry.
  • Not said or to: He said me if…, He asked to me… → He asked me if…

Teach it live with video and a whiteboard, or print it: the PDF has every slide, the homework and the answers.

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