This document discusses how to report questions in indirect speech in English. It explains that there are two types of questions: WH- questions that begin with interrogative words like who, what, when, etc. and YES/NO questions that can be answered with yes or no. When reporting WH- questions in indirect speech, the word order changes to a declarative structure with the subject following the WH- word. YES/NO questions are reported using if or whether. Several examples are provided of direct questions and their reported versions in indirect speech to illustrate these changes. Exercises are also included for the reader to practice reporting questions.

1. REPORTED QUESTIONS
UNIDAD 25
LAS ORACIONES INTERROGATIVAS
INDIRECTAS

2. Hoy vamos a aprender cómo poner en estilo indirecto las oraciones
interrogativas (Reporting Questions)
En inglés, hay dos tipos de preguntas:
 WH- QUESTIONS: preguntas que comienzan por una partícula WH-
 YES/NO QUESTIONS: preguntas que podemos contestar “sí” ó “no”
Dependiendo del tipo de pregunta que tengamos que “reportar” (= poner en estilo
indirecto) tendremos una estructura sintáctica diferente:
Pregunta en estilo
directo
Pregunta en estilo
indirecto
He said, 'When did
you start smoking?'
He asked me when I
had started smoking
He said, 'Can I sit
down?'
He asked me
if/whether he could sit
down.
WH-Questions
YES/NO
questions

3. REPORTING WH-QUESTIONS
 Las oraciones interrogativas indirectas pueden ir introducidas por
los verbos: “ask”, “know”, “want to know”, “wonder”, “not know”.
 Los cambios en los tiempos verbales son los mismos que para
las oraciones afirmativas indirectas.
 Cuando reportamos una WH-question, el orden de las palabras
de la pregunta original cambia al ORDEN DE UNA ORACIÓN
DECLARATIVA. El sujeto va inmediatamente detrás del
pronombre interrogativo, y el verbo detrás del sujeto. Vamos a
ver unos ejemplos:
WH-QUESTIONS
What is the problem? I asked what the problem was
Which book do you want? She asked which book I wanted
How much did you pay for it? He asked how much I had paid for it
Where have you hidden the chocolate? They asked her where she had hidden
the chocolate
When will you explain the reported
speech?
We asked her when she would explain
the reported speech

4. REPORTING YES/NO-QUESTIONS
 Las oraciones interrogativas indirectas pueden ir introducidas por
los verbos: “ask”, “know”, “want to know”, “wonder”, “not know”.
 Los cambios en los tiempos verbales son los mismos que para
las oraciones afirmativas indirectas.
 Cuando reportamos una YES/NO Question, éstas van a ir
introducidas por las conjunciones “if” ó “whether”. El orden de las
palabras de la pregunta original cambia al ORDEN DE UNA
ORACIÓN DECLARATIVA
YES/NO QUESTIONS
I said to them 'Do you like chocolate?' I asked them whether they liked
chocolate
He said to me 'Are you going to sing?' She asked me if I was going to sing
She asked me 'Will you make coffee?' She asked me if I would make coffee
I asked them 'Have you seen my
mobile?'
I asked them if they'd seen my mobile.

5. EXERCISES ON
REPORTED QUESTIONS
Write down the exact questions the people asked. Think about the changes you
make. Underline the words which are different in each pair of sentences. What do
you notice about the word order?
a) She asked me if I was leaving the shop
'Are you leaving the shop?'
b) She asked me if I'd paid for everything in my bag
________________________________________________________________________
c) She asked me if I would come to the manager's office with her.
________________________________________________________________________
d) The manager asked me how long I had been in the shop and how many things I had
bought.
________________________________________________________________________
e) I asked what was going on
________________________________________________________________________
f) He asked me whether I had a receipt for the pullover
________________________________________________________________________

6. EXERCISES ON
REPORTED QUESTIONS
Write down the exact questions the people asked. Think about the changes you
make. Underline the words which are different in each pair of sentences. What do
you notice about the word order?
g) They asked which assistant had served me.
________________________________________________________________________
h) Then the store detective asked the manager if he wanted her to call the police.
________________________________________________________________________
i) I asked her if she remembered me.
________________________________________________________________________