❓ Lesson 3.2: Reported Questions, Requests & Commands

Beyond Statements

In Lesson 3.1 you mastered reported statements: you moved the verb one step back in time (backshift) and adjusted the pronouns. "I am tired" → She said she was tired. That backshift doesn't go away here — you'll use it again in every example below.

What changes is the shape of the sentence. Questions and commands aren't statements, so we have to reshape them before we report them. The single most important idea in this lesson is this: a reported question is no longer a question. It becomes part of a longer statement — so it loses its question word order, its do/does/did, and its question mark.

Reported Wh- Questions

A wh- question starts with a question word: where, what, when, who, why, how. To report it, use a reporting verb (usually asked), keep the question word, and then — this is the key — write the rest as a normal statement.

💡 Note — the reporting verb. For questions we almost always use ask: ask (someone) + wh-. A useful alternative is want to know: She wanted to know where I lived. We do not use say to report a question.

Yes/No Questions: If & Whether

A yes/no question has no question word — you could answer it with "yes" or "no" (Are you ready? Do you smoke?). There's no wh- word to reuse, so we join the reported version with if or whether. They mean the same thing here; whether is a little more formal.

The same rule from the wh- section applies: after if/whether, use statement word order, drop do/does/did, drop the question mark, and backshift the verb.

Commands & Requests

Commands ("Sit down!") and requests ("Please help me") use a completely different structure — and a nice, simple one. There's no backshift and no that-clause. Instead we use:

💡 tell vs ask. Use tell for an order or instruction (the speaker has authority): The teacher told us to be quiet. Use ask for a polite request: She asked me to close the door. Notice both need a person after them — told me, asked him — you can't say "She told to sit down." ❌

Here's a short exchange, then the same thing reported afterwards:

All Three Together

You now have three reporting patterns from Lessons 3.1 and 3.2. This one table is your master summary — memorize the joining word and the shape for each type.

graph TD
    A["What did the person do?"] --> B{"Statement, question, or command?"}
    B -->|"Statement"| S["that + backshifted clause"]
    B -->|"Wh- question"| W["wh- word + statement order"]
    B -->|"Yes/No question"| Y["if or whether + statement order"]
    B -->|"Command or request"| C["told/asked + person + to + verb"]
                

🔊 Hear It & Repeat — Model Sentences

Listen to each model sentence, then say it back. Use the 🎧 Audio control (bottom-right) to choose a UK or US voice and slow the speed down. Listen for how we report questions, requests, and commands with asked and told.

Practice & Project

Tips & Common Mistakes

✅ Do's

• After the wh- word or if/whether, immediately switch to subject + verb — say it in your head as a statement first.
• Delete do/does/did and the question mark every single time. They belong to real questions, not reported ones.
• Always name the person after tell/ask: told me, asked them.
• Put not before to for negative commands: asked me not to worry.

❌ Common Mistakes

📓 Learning Journal

📝 Lesson Summary

🎉 What You've Accomplished

You can now report an entire conversation — not just what people said, but what they asked and what they told you to do. That's a huge step toward retelling stories, summarizing meetings, and passing on messages naturally. Together with Lesson 3.1, you've got the full reported-speech toolkit. 🎉

❓ Common Questions at This Stage

🔭 Looking Ahead

In Lesson 3.3 we move from reporting to relative clauses — the who / which / that / where structures that let you add information and combine two sentences into one smooth sentence ("The man who called you is my boss"). It's the next big tool for sounding fluent and connected.

✅ Before the Next Lesson

• Report five questions someone asks you today — three wh-, two yes/no.
• Report three instructions using told/asked me to…, including one negative.
• Finish your interview report project and write your Learning Journal entry.