Reported Questions: How to Report Questions Naturally in English
Have you ever been asked to report a conversation and found yourself wondering what happens to the tense?
For example:
“Where do you live?”
becomes
She asked me where I lived.
Why does live become lived?
In this article, we’ll look at how reported questions work, when we use them, and how the tense usually changes. At the end, you’ll find an audio drill to help you practise.
What Are Reported Questions?
Reported questions are used when we tell someone what another person asked.
Instead of repeating the exact words, we report the question.
Direct Question
“Can you swim?”
Reported Question
She asked me if I could swim.
When Do We Use Reported Questions?
We use reported questions when:
- telling someone about a conversation
- reporting information from an interview
- explaining what someone asked us
- describing past conversations
For example:
My manager asked me if I had finished the report.
The teacher asked us why we were late.
My friend asked me where I was going.
The Three Main Changes
When we report a question, three things usually happen.
1. The question form disappears
Direct:
Where do you live?
Reported:
She asked me where I lived.
Notice that we no longer use question word order.
❌ She asked me where did I live.
✅ She asked me where I lived.
2. The tense usually moves back one step
Direct:
“I work in London.”
Reported:
She said she worked in London.
This is called backshifting.
3. Yes/No questions use if or whether
Direct:
“Have you finished?”
Reported:
She asked me if I had finished.
How Do Tenses Change?
The most common tense changes are shown below.
- Present Simple → Past Simple
- Present Continuous → Past Continuous
- Present Perfect → Past Perfect
- Past Simple → Past Perfect
- Will → Would
Important Exceptions
Some words do not usually change.
These often stay the same:
- would
- could
- should
- might
- past perfect
For example:
“I could help you.”
becomes
She said she could help me.
Audio Drill
Listen to each direct question.
Pause the audio and try to report it yourself before checking the answer.
Reported Questions Audio 1-10
TRANSCRIPT
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT
1
Direct:
“Where do you live?”
Reported:
She asked me where I lived.
2
Direct:
“What are you doing?”
Reported:
She asked me what I was doing.
3
Direct:
“Have you finished your homework?”
Reported:
She asked me if I had finished my homework.
4
Direct:
“When did you arrive?”
Reported:
She asked me when I had arrived.
5
Direct:
“Can you swim?”
Reported:
She asked me if I could swim.
6
Direct:
“Why are you laughing?”
Reported:
She asked me why I was laughing.
7
Direct:
“Will you come to the party?”
Reported:
She asked me if I would come to the party.
8
Direct:
“What time does the train leave?”
Reported:
She asked me what time the train left.
9
Direct:
“Did you see the film?”
Reported:
She asked me if I had seen the film.
10
Direct:
“Where have you been?”
Reported:
She asked me where I had been.
Reported Questions 11-20
Reported Questions 11-20
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT
11
Direct:
“Are you feeling better?”
Reported:
She asked me if I was feeling better.
12
Direct:
“What were you doing at 8 o’clock?”
Reported:
She asked me what I had been doing at 8 o’clock.
13
Direct:
“Have you ever visited London?”
Reported:
She asked me if I had ever visited London.
14
Direct:
“How often do you exercise?”
Reported:
She asked me how often I exercised.
15
Direct:
“Do you like spicy food?”
Reported:
She asked me if I liked spicy food.
16
Direct:
“What will you do after work?”
Reported:
She asked me what I would do after work.
17
Direct:
“Were you at home yesterday?”
Reported:
She asked me if I had been at home the day before.
18
Direct:
“How long have you lived here?”
Reported:
She asked me how long I had lived there.
19
Direct:
“Can your brother drive?”
Reported:
She asked me if my brother could drive.
20
Direct:
“Why did you change your job?”
Reported:
She asked me why I had changed my job.
Your Turn
Can you report these questions?
- What do you do for a living?
- Have you ever travelled alone?
- Can you drive?
- Why did you leave your last job?
- What are you doing this weekend?
Write your answers in the comments and see if you can apply the same tense changes shown above.
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