Reported Questions
Check your understanding of reported questions:
;
- 1.
'Are you hungry?' he asked us.
- A.
He asked us if we were hungry.
- B.
He asked us if we are hungry.
- C.
He asked us are we hungry.
Correct Answer
A. He asked us if we were hungry.Explanation
The correct answer is "He asked us if we were hungry." This is the correct answer because when reporting a question in indirect speech, we need to change the tense of the verb. In the original question, "Are you hungry?" is in the present tense. When reporting it, we need to change it to past tense, so "were" is used instead of "are".Rate this question:
-
- 2.
'Can you meet me at the station?' she asked him.
- A.
She asked him could he meet her at the station.
- B.
She asked him if he could meet me at the station.
- C.
She asked him if he could meet her at the station.
Correct Answer
C. She asked him if he could meet her at the station.Explanation
The correct answer is "She asked him if he could meet her at the station." This is the correct answer because it maintains the correct pronouns and verb tense. The original question is asking if the person can meet "me" at the station, so the pronoun should remain consistent in the answer. Additionally, the verb tense should be changed to match the indirect question structure.Rate this question:
-
- 3.
'Have you seen this film?' he asked.
- A.
He wanted to know if you have seen this film.
- B.
He wanted to know if I had seen this film.
- C.
He wanted to know if I had seen that film.
Correct Answer
C. He wanted to know if I had seen that film.Explanation
The correct answer is "He wanted to know if I had seen that film." The use of the word "that" instead of "this" indicates that the person asking the question is referring to a specific film that is not in the immediate vicinity. Additionally, the use of "had" instead of "have" suggests that the question is about a past event.Rate this question:
-
- 4.
'What's the time?' he asked.
- A.
He wanted to know what's the time.
- B.
He wanted to know what was the time.
- C.
He wanted to know what the time was.
Correct Answer
C. He wanted to know what the time was.Explanation
The correct answer is "He wanted to know what the time was." This is because when reporting a question in indirect speech, we usually change the tense of the verb from present to past. In this case, "is" in the original question changes to "was" in the reported speech. Additionally, we use the phrase "what the time was" to indicate the question being asked.Rate this question:
-
- 5.
'Who knows the answer?' the teacher asked.
- A.
The teacher wanted to know who knows the answer
- B.
The teacher wanted to know who knew the answer.
- C.
The teacher wanted to know who did know the answer.
Correct Answer
B. The teacher wanted to know who knew the answer.Explanation
The correct answer is "The teacher wanted to know who knew the answer." This is the correct answer because the original question is in the past tense ("asked"), so the teacher's desire to know who knows the answer should also be in the past tense. The phrase "who knew the answer" is in the past tense and accurately conveys the teacher's intention.Rate this question:
-
- 6.
'Where did they live?' he asked.
- A.
He wanted to know where had they lived.
- B.
He wanted to know where they had lived.
- C.
He wanted to know where did they live.
Correct Answer
B. He wanted to know where they had lived.Explanation
The correct answer is "He wanted to know where they had lived." This is the correct answer because it follows the standard rules of reported speech. When reporting a question, we change the tense of the verb from present tense to past tense and remove the auxiliary verb. Therefore, "did" is not necessary in the reported question. Additionally, the pronoun "they" should come before the verb "had" to maintain proper subject-verb agreement.Rate this question:
-
- 7.
'When will we meet again?' she asked him.
- A.
She asked him when they will meet again.
- B.
She asked him when they would meet again.
- C.
She asked him when would they meet.
Correct Answer
B. She asked him when they would meet again.Explanation
The correct answer is "She asked him when they would meet again." This is because the original statement is in reported speech, where the verb tense is usually shifted back. In reported speech, "will" changes to "would" to indicate the future from the perspective of the original speaker. Therefore, the correct answer uses the verb "would" to maintain the correct tense shift.Rate this question:
-
- 8.
'Will you be at the party?' he asked her.
- A.
He asked her if she would be at the party.
- B.
He asked her if I would be at the party.
- C.
He asked her if she will be at the party.
Correct Answer
A. He asked her if she would be at the party.Explanation
The correct answer is "He asked her if she would be at the party." This is the correct answer because when reporting a question in indirect speech, we use the past tense of the reporting verb ("asked") and change the pronouns and verb tenses accordingly. In this case, "will" changes to "would" to reflect the past tense, and "you" remains the same.Rate this question:
-
- 9.
'Have you tidied up your room?' mother asked the children.
- A.
Mother asked the children if they had tidied their room.
- B.
Mother asked the children if they had tidied your room.
- C.
Mother asked the children if they had tidied my room.
Correct Answer
A. Mother asked the children if they had tidied their room.Explanation
The correct answer is "Mother asked the children if they had tidied their room." This is the correct answer because it accurately reflects the reported speech and maintains the correct pronoun usage. The original question asked if the children had tidied up "your" room, but the correct reported speech changes it to "their" room, which is the appropriate pronoun to use when referring to someone else's possession.Rate this question:
-
- 10.
'Why won't you help me?' she asked him.
- A.
She wanted to know why he won't help her.
- B.
She wanted to know why he wouldn't help me.
- C.
She wanted to know why he wouldn't help her.
Correct Answer
C. She wanted to know why he wouldn't help her.Explanation
The correct answer is "She wanted to know why he wouldn't help her." This is because the sentence "Why won't you help me?" is in reported speech, where the pronouns are changed to match the perspective of the person reporting the speech. In this case, "me" changes to "her" because it is being reported by someone else.Rate this question:
-
Quiz Review Timeline +
Our quizzes are rigorously reviewed, monitored and continuously updated by our expert board to maintain accuracy, relevance, and timeliness.
-
Current Version
-
Jan 22, 2025Quiz Edited by
ProProfs Editorial Team -
Mar 17, 2011Quiz Created by
Dragana Videnov
Back to top