Reported Speech

Day 3: Questions

If you want to report a question, you have to change 如果需要轉述一個問句，則需要改變一下幾處:

a. the pronouns 代名詞

b. the tenses and 時態

c. the time phrase or other necessary changes as in statements. 時間短語及其它需要修改的地方

What is more, you have to pay attention to sentence order which is explained as followed.

1. Yes/No Questions 一般疑問句

If you want to report a yes/no question, you have to

a. change the question into the order of a statement; 將問題轉換成稱述句形式;

e.g. Are you happy?

You are happy.

e.g. Do you know her?

You know her.

b. use ‘if’/‘whether’ to replace ‘that’ in statement; 用‘if’/‘whether’代替稱述句中的‘that’;

e.g. ‘Is she happy?’ John said to me.

John asked if she was happy.

c. Use ‘asked’ for ‘said to’. 用‘asked’代替‘said to’.

e.g. The teacher asked, “Do you know the answer to the question?”

The teacher asked whether they knew the answer to the question.

e.g. The teacher said to Mary, “Are you happy?”

The teacher asked Mary if she was happy.

2. Wh-word Questions 特殊疑問句

When the Question is introduced by a wh-word, e.g. when, where, how, why, who, whom, what, etc., the same word is used to replace ‘if/whether’ in yes/no questions. For other things, e.g. the order of the sentence, we have to follow yes/no questions.

e.g. Direct. “What are you writing?” he asked.

Report. He asked me what I was writing.

Direct. I asked my uncle, “When do you usually get up?”

Report. I asked my uncle when he usually got up.

Direct. The stranger asked me, “Where do you live?”

Report. The stranger asked me where I lived.

Direct. Peter asked his brother, “How do you make the toy-cart?”

Report. Peter asked his brother how he made the toy-cart.