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Indirect question are always in statement form, therefore, question mark is dropped.
We also drop Do, Dose and Did which are necessary in forming direct questions.
We can use if/whether in indirect questions.
In indirect questions, we can use - asked, enquired/wanted to know / wondered. We should not use ‘said’ in indirect question. |
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Examples: |
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He said to me, “Do you like to read books?” (Direct) |
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He asked me if I liked to read books. (Indirect) |
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She said to me, “Was it a good book?” (Direct) |
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She asked me whether / if the book was good. (Indirect) |
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Question with SHALL |
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Examples: |
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He said to me, “Shall I order a coffee?” (Direct) |
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He asked me if he should order a coffee. (Indirect) |
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He said, “Shall we go for a movie?” (Direct) |
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He wondered if we should go for a movie. (Indirect) |
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Question with Question Words |
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Examples: |
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He said to the servant, “What are you doing here?” (Direct) |
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He asked the servant what he was doing there. (Indirect) |
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She said to him, “Where was he this morning?” (Direct) |
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She inquired where he was that morning. (Indirect) |
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He said to her, “When are you coming for holidays?” (Direct) |
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He asked her when was she coming for holidays. (Indirect) |
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The watchman said to him, “Who are you?” (Direct) |
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The watchman enquired who he was. (Indirect) |
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The policeman said to him, “Why you steal money?” (Direct) |
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The policeman asked him why he stole money. (Indirect) |
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He said to his friend, “How are you ?” (Direct) |
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He asked his friend how he was. (Indirect) |
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He said, ‘Whose book is this ?” (Direct) |
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He inquired whose book was that. (Indirect) |
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He said, “To whom should I ask ?” (Direct) |
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He inquired whom he should ask. (Indirect) |
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She said, “Which dress is good ?” (Direct) |
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She asked which dress was good. (Indirect) |