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Direct and Indirect Speech Interrogative

Sentence Exercises – 1
1. Raja said to Mohan, “Are you going home today?”
2. My friend said to me, “Will you not help me?”
3. Shyam said to Dalip, “Did you eat mangoes?”
4. Sima said to Meena, “Could you solve the question yesterday?”
5. Hafiz said to Hanif,” Do you really want to leave this book?”
6. Ram said to Raju, “Do you really want to leave this city?”
7. “Doesn’t he like to help me in this matter now?” asked my friend.
8. They inquired, “Haven’t you helped him out of the way?”
9. “Will you have dinner with me or not?” asked Shakhwat.
10. “Did none of you complete the project?” the teacher wondered.
11. The teacher said,”Students, is there any more question to ask in this
chapter?”
12. “Mother, won’t I go to school today?” said Arvind.
Exercises with Direct and Indirect Speech  – 1
1. Raja asked Mohan if he was going home that day.
2. My friend asked me if I would not help him.
3. Shyam asked Dalip if he had eaten mangoes.
4. Sima asked Meena if she could solve the question the previous day.
5. Hafiz asked Hanif if he really wanted to leave that book.
6. Ram asked Raju if he really wanted to leave that city.
7. My friend asked if he liked to help him in that matter then.
8. They inquired if I hadn’t helped him out of the way.
9. Shekhawat asked whether I would have dinner with him or not.
10. The teacher wondered if none of us had completed the project.
11. The teacher asked the students if there was some more question to ask
in that chapter.
12. Arvind asked his mother if he would not go to school that day.

Study the following examples carefully to understand the rules mentioned above.

13.Direct: She said to me, ‘Are you coming with us?’

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Indirect: She asked me if I was going with them. OR She asked them if I was coming with them.

13. Direct: She said to me, ‘Are you unwell?’

Indirect: She asked me if I was unwell.

14.Direct: She said to him, ‘Am I to wait for you till eternity?’

Indirect: She enquired of him if she was to wait for him till eternity.

15.Direct: I said to him, ‘Were you present at the meeting yesterday?’

Indirect: I asked him whether he had been present at the meeting the day before (or the previous day).

16.Direct: The woman asked the stranger, ‘Should I help you?’

Indirect: The woman asked the stranger whether she should help him.

Note that the auxiliary verbs should, could, would, ought to and might do not change in the indirect
speech.

17. Direct: I said to him, ‘Who are you?’

Indirect: I asked him who he was.

18.Direct: The mother said to the daughter, ‘Do you know where John is?’

Indirect: The mother asked the daughter whether she knew where John was.
When you convert interrogative sentences from the direct speech statement to the indirect…

The reporting verb SAID is changed to ask, enquire or demand. The words ENQUIRE and
DEMAND are followed by the preposition of. The conjunction THAT is not used the indirect
speech statement.

For example :

19. ‘Do you know the way home?’ asked Geeta.

Geeta asked if I knew the way home.
Geeta enquired of me if I knew the way home.

The interrogative form is changed to the assertive form. The question mark is dropped.

For example :

20. “What is your name?’ asked Jatin.

Jatin asked what my name was.

The question words who, what, when, why, where, which, whose, whom and how do not need
any conjunction in the indirect speech statement.

For example :
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21. ‘When will the game begin?’ asked Prateek.

Prateek asked when the game would begin.

22. Kiran said, ‘Which subject have you chosen?’

Kiran asked me which subject I had chosen.

If the interrogative sentence begins with words like is, am, are, has, have, had, does, do, did, the
words IF or WHETHER should be added in the indirect speech statement.

For example :

23.‘Did you bring your pen today?’ asked Amy.

Amy asked if I had brought my pen that day.

24.‘Have the children gone home?’ asked the Principal.

The Principal asked whether the children had gone home.

Examples:-
Direct speech structure:
Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + subject complement?
Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + object/modifier?
Indirect speech structure:
If/whether + subject + main verb + subject complement.
If/whether + subject + main verb + object/modifier.
 Direct speech: I asked her, “Will you go out with me?”
Indirect speech: I asked her if/whether she would go out with me.
 Direct speech: The guy on the street said to me, ” Do you know whom you
are messing with?”
Indirect speech: The guy on the street asked me if I knew whom I was
messing with.
 Direct speech: On the very first date, she asked me, “Have you kissed a
girl?”
Indirect speech: On the very first date, she asked me if I had kissed a girl.
 Direct speech: The other night, Jon asked me, “Are you taking drugs?”
Indirect speech: The other night, Jon asked me if I was taking drugs.
 Direct speech: She said, “Can you kiss me right now?”
Indirect speech: She asked if I could kiss her right then.
In the indirect speech of the reported part, we replace the auxiliary verb
with IF or WHETHER. The subject is put before the verb so that the interrogative
sentence changes into an assertive sentence.
All these questions can be answered in YES/NO. If the questions can’t be
answered in YES/NO, don’t use if/whether. Let’s look at the following examples:
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Direct speech structure:

WH family word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + object/modifier
(optional)?
Indirect speech structure:
WH family word + subject + main verb + object/modifier.
 Direct speech: The police asked, “What were you doing when the incident
happened?”
Indirect speech: The police asked what you had been doing when the
incident had happened.
 Direct speech: He said, “What can I do for you?”
Indirect speech: He asked what he could for me.
 Direct speech: Ron asked my father, “What do you do?”
Indirect speech: Ron asked my father what he did.
 Direct speech: She said to us, “What do you think of yourselves?”
Indirect speech: She asked us what we thought of ourselves.
 Direct speech: My brother asked, “Who is that girl?”
Indirect speech: My brother asked who that girl was.

Interrogative sentence
There are some rules to change direct to Indirect speech of Interrogative sentence 

  Change in helping verb (Is, are, am, was, who, has, have, had, will, can, could, do,
does, did )
 Interrogative pronoun, adverb, adjective (what, whom, where, why, how, which ,
what )
Rules 
( 1 ) We can change the verb of reporting speech according the sense, but shouldn't be changes
in the sentence… like 
we can say we can “asked”  “demanded” in the place of “said”  ( 2 ) No use of conjunction
“that” .

( 3 )If interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary or helping verb than indirect sentence will
start with “if” or “weather” .

( 4 ) If the sentence is start with integrative pronoun or adjective and interrogative adverb,
indirect sentence also starts with these but without conjunction.

( 5 ) Interrogative sentence is converted in assertive sentence, for that we use subject before the
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verb and remove the interrogative mark .

( 6 ) Auxiliary verb (do, does) of reported speech is removed and use the past indefinite of main
verb like 

She said to Sita ,” Do you know him?”

She asked Sita whether she knew him.

( 7 ) Auxiliary verb of reported speech "did" is removed and past perfect form is used 

 I said to him, " did you go to school yesterday?"

 I asked him, " whether he had gone to school the previous day?
( 8 ) If do not or does not are used in reported speech than present indefinite form is used in
indirect with did not like

 He asked to belly, " do not know me?"

 He asked belly whether he did not know him.   

( 9 ) Use past perfect form with not in indirect sentence in the place of “did not”  

Solved Example 
      

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

 He asked me how I was. (Not, how was
 She said to me, “how are you?” I)

Doctor said to him, “what is your name?” Doctor asked him what his name was.

he said to him, “why did you come late?” he asked him why he had come late.

She said, “when will they come?” She asked when they would come.

: She asked his brother, “why are you

crying?” She asked her brother why he was crying.

 He said to me, “do you like books?” He asked me if I liked books. (Not, did I like
books)

He asked me whether I liked books.

She said, “Will he participate in the dance She asked me if he would participate in
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competition?” dance competition.

 I said to him, “are you feeling well?”  I asked him if he was feeling well.

They said to me, “did u go to temple?” They asked me if I had gone to temple.

 He said to me, “Have you taken the

breakfast?”

 He asked me if I had taken the breakfast.

Change the following into Indirect Speech :

1. Direct – Hari said to me, “Can you spare some money for me.”
Indirect –  Hari asked me if I could spare some money for him.

2. Direct –  I said to the guest, “Are you comfortable here?”

Indirect – I asked the guest if he was comfortable there.

3. Direct –  The nurse said to the patient, “Don’t you feel better this morning?”
Indirect – The nurse asked the patient if he felt better that morning.

4. Direct – Gita said to Sita, “Is it not a surprise to meet you here today?”
Indirect – Gita asked Sita if it was not a surprise to meet her (Sita) there that day.

5. Direct – She said to me, “Are you well?”

Indirect – She asked me if I was well.

6. Direct – The teacher said to the student, “Have you completed your home-work?”
Indirect – The teacher asked the student if he had completed his home-work.

7. Direct – The master said to the servant, “What are you doing here in the backyard of the
house?”
Indirect – The master asked the servant what he was doing there in the backyard of the house.

8. Direct – The lady said to the girl, “Do you live in this house?”
Indirect – The lady asked the girl if she livesd in that house.

9. Direct – Jaya said to Ramesh, “Where do you live?”

Indirect – Jaya asked Ramesh where he lived.
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10. Direct – The principal said to the clerk, “Have you sent my letter?”
Indirect – The principal asked the clerk if he had sent his letter.

11. Direct – The boss said, “Are the men ready?”

Indirect – The boss asked if the men were ready.

12. Direct – “Will you be here the next few minutes?” she said. “Yes,” I answered.
Indirect – She asked me if I should be there the next few minutes. I replied in the affirmative.

13. Direct – “What do you mean?” asked the boy. “How can a book be used to kill a rat?”
Indirect – The boy asked what I meant and again he asked how a book could be used to kill a
rat.

14. Direct – Kamal said to me, “Why do you not lend me your pen? I will return it
whenever you want. Please help the needy.
Indirect – Kamal asked me why I did not lend him my pen. He would return it whenever I
wanted. He requested me to help the needy.

15. Direct – The teacher said to the student, “Why are you late?” The teacher said, “Where
is your father? Has he gone out?”
Indirect – The teacher asked the student why he was late and where his father was. He also
asked if he had gone out.

16. Direct – “Why did you not come to school yesterday?” asked the teacher.
Indirect – The teacher asked why I had not gone to school the previous day.

17. Direct – “Who are you, sir, and why have you come here ?” they said to the stranger.
Indirect – They respectfully asked the stranger who was he and why he had come there.

18. Direct – “Do you know that the socks you are wearing aren’t a pair?” I said. “yes, but I
was in a hurry this morning and these were the only ones I could find,” he said.
Indirect – I asked him if he knew that the socks he was wearing wasn’t a pair. He replied in the
affirmative and told me that he was in a hurry that morning and those were the only ones he
could find.

19. Direct – I said to the guest, “Are you comfortable here?”

Indirect – I asked the guest if he was comfortable there.

20. Direct – She said , “Can you tell me the way to the nearest hotel?” “No,” replied the
man, “I am a stranger.”
Indirect – She asked the man if he could tell her the way to the nearest hotel. The man replied in
the negative and told her that he was a stranger.
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21. Direct – “Why are you spending such a long time on those accounts?” I asked “Because
I can’t make them balanced,” He said. “It deem to be Rs 13 short, and that means that I’ll
have to put in Rs 13 of my own money to make it up.” Would you like me to go through
them and see if I can find a mistake ?” I said. “No,” he said, “but I’d like you to lend me Rs
13.”
Indirect – I asked him why he was spending such a long time on those accounts. He replied that
he could not make them balanced. He further said that it seemed to be Rs13 short and that meant
he would have to put in Rs 13 of his own money to make it up. I asked him further if he would
like me to go through them and see if I could find a mistake. He replied in the negative and told
me that he would like to lend me Rs. 13.

22. Direct – Gopal said to Ganesh, “Will you like to go to see the cricket match?”
Indirect – Gopal asked Ganesh if he (Ganesh) would like to go to see the cricket match.

23. Direct – Mother said to me, “Did you go to school?”I replied, “Yes.”
Indirect – Mother asked me if I had gone to school. I replied in the affirmative.

24. Direct – Hari said to Ram, “Have you completed your home-work?” Ram said, “No.”
Hari said, “Why?” Ram said, ” Because I could not get time.”
Indirect – Hari asked Ram if he (Ram) had completed his home-work. Ram replied in the
negative. Hari asked him why he had not completed. Ram replied because he could not get time.

25. Direct – The traveller said, “Can you tell me the way to the nearest inn?” “Yes”, said
the peasant, “Do you want one in which you can spend the night?”
Indirect – The traveller asked the peasant if he could tell him the way to the nearest inn. The
peasant replied in the affirmative and asked if he wanted one in which he could spend the night.

26. Direct – The wolf said to the lamb, “Why are you making the water dirty?”
Indirect – The wolf asked the lamb why he was making the water dirty.
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