The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook - Edward Woods, Rudy Coppieters 2002

13.7. Indirect questions
Unit thirteen. Information, reality and belief

Sections 259-260; 681

Indirect yes-no questions are introduced by if or whether, the yes-no type of alternative questions by whether ... or, indirect wh-questions by a wh-word.

The rules for changing direct into indirect questions are similar to those for statements. The reported interrogative clause can also be a to-infinitive clause beginning with a wh-word.

Task **

Convert the following reported questions from direct into indirect speech, reversing the clause order in 5-12. Give two versions for 11-12, using a finite and a non-finite reported clause each time.

Example: “When did all the trouble start and when will it end?” I asked her.

→ I asked her when all the trouble had started and when it would end.

1. Margaret suddenly asked her roommate: “Are you right-handed or left-handed?”

2. The consultant asked the personnel manager: “Which of these candidates do you prefer?”

3. Mr Patten kept wondering: “Why can’t the council put off the meeting until tomorrow?”

4. The talk show host asked the superstar: “Have you ever suffered from stage fright?”

5. “What caused the car crash on the railway bridge two days ago?”, the insurance man asked.

6. “May I give the patient two pills instead of one?”, the nurse wanted to know.

7. “Where exactly do you store the yoghurt?”, the inquisitive woman asked the shop assistant.

8. “Did parents teach their children good manners in the 1970s?”, the 10-year-old wondered.

9. “Which platform does the number 17 bus leave from?”, I wanted to know.

10. “Will the foreign delegations start arriving this afternoon?”, the PR woman inquired.

11. The learner driver asked the instructor: “How should I reverse the car?”

12. “Shall I send a card or a bunch of flowers?”, I wondered.