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 PRACTICE ON POINTS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR

• Noun Clause Sum
• Wh- Questions
• Yes-No Questions
• Commands
• Statements
• That/What Phrases
• Noun Clause Qz
• Report Speech Qz

Yes-No Questions

Changing Questions to Reported Speech

 

 

Yes-No questions differ from WH-questions.

• These quoted questions begin with auxiliary verb forms such as: is, are, am, do, does, has, have, can, will, must.
  They can be answered with "yes" or "no"; hence, they are often called "yes-no questions". 
• The pronoun whether or if is used to embed (insert) the question clause into the main clause.  

 

Quoted vs. Reported Questions

QUOTED  QUESTION	REPORTED QUESTION
Quoted  questions are phrased exactly as is /was spoken and is place within quotes.	Reported questions rephrase the speech and whether or if to join the phrase.
My friend said, "Are you coming?"	My friend asked whether I was coming.
My friend asked, "Is your brother coming too?"	My friend asked if my brother was coming too.
My friend asked, "Can you drive us?'	My friend asked whether I could drive them.
My friend asked, "Will you have enough gas?"	My friend asked if I would have enough gas.
My friend asked, "Do we have enough money for gas?"	My friend asked whether we had enough money for gas.

Related page:   if vs. whether

 

 

 

 

Sentence Transformation 

CHANGES		INDEPENDENT CLAUSE	EMBEDDED QUESTION
1	Remove comma, quotes and question mark.	My friend	"Are you coming?".
2	Change said to asked if necessary.	My friend asked
3	Join the clauses using: whether or if     if / whether		if  are you coming.
4	Adjust point of view of 1) pronoun to speaker's P.O.V.; 2) 2nd verb to time frame of 1st verb.	My friend asked	if  was I coming.
5	Put the subject before the verb.	My friend asked	if    I        was     coming.

 

 

Verb Tense Adjustment

QUESTION  VERB TENSE		Statements VERB TENSE
Present	"Are you tired? " "Do you live here?' "May I come too? " "Can I help?" " "Will you leave soon? " "Must you do that? "	Past	She asked whether I was/were tired. She asked if I lived there. She asked whether she might come too. She asked if she could help. She asked whether would leave soon. She asked if I had to do that.
Present Progressive	"Are you working?"	Past Progressive	She asked whether I was/were working.
Past	" Were you married?" " Did you get married?"	Past Perfect	She asked whether I had been married. She asked if I had gotten married.
Past Progressive	" Were you calling?"	Past Perfect Progressive	She asked whether I had been calling.
Present Perfect	" Have you called yet?"	Past Perfect	She asked if I had called yet.
Present Perfect Progressive	" Have you been calling me?"	Past Perfect Progressive	She asked if I had been calling her.
Present - General Truth	"Is the moon a satellite?"	Present - General Truth	She asked whether the moon is a satellite.

*must changes to "need to" or "had to" in past tense

 

 

Synonyms

SYNONYM	MEANING	SENTENCE
ask	request information or something	My neighbor if I was going to go on vacation.
inquire	request information (formal)	Mr. Smith inquired whether there were any more books available.
question	settle doubt	My instructor questioned whether I  am/was working hard enough.
interrogate	conduct official questioning; legal	The police interrogated the suspect. (The verb does not accept an indirect object.)
query	settle doubt (data)	The accountant queried whether I had checked the numbers.

* If tense reflects "general truth", it does not adjust to past form.

 

 

 

Practice

Planning a Day Trip

 

 

1. Change the quoted question to a reported question.
2. Select the word from each menu that best completes the sentence. 
3. Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right. 

 

#	YOUR RESPONSE	CHECK ANSWER
1.	"Is this the train to San Francisco?"     He is asking me - this train to San Francisco? if is this train to San Francisco. if this is the train to San Francisco.
2.	"Do we have to buy a ticket before boarding?"  They asked me - if we buy to a ticket if do we buy to a ticket if we had to buy a ticket before boarding.
3.	"Can you buy a ticket on board?"  Do you know - whether you could buy a ticket whether you bought a ticket whether you can buy a ticket on board?
4.	"Will this train stop in Palo Alto?" I'm not sure - if this train stops in Palo Alto. if stops this train in Palo Alto. if this train stopped in Palo Alto.
5.	"Is this the 'bullet train'?"   I really don't know - whether is this the bullet train. whether this was the bullet train. whether this is the bullet train.
6.	"Does this train arrive in San Francisco at noon?"  Could you tell me   - if this train arrivess if this train arrived in San Francisco at noon?
7.	"Am I able to buy a round-trip ticket?"  Do you know - whether I am able to buy a round-trip ticket? whether I was able to buy a round-trip ticket? whether am I able to buy a round-trip ticket?
8.	"May I sit with you?"  She asked me - if she may sit with you. if she might sit with me. if she could sit with me.
9.	"Is there a special fare for students?"   Do you happen to know - whether is there a special fare whether there a special fare is whether there is a special fare for students?
10.	"Are you Canadian?"    The guy next to me asked - if I was Canadian. if I am Canadian. if I were Canadian.
11.	"Do you prefer taking the train?"    Do you mind telling me - whether you preferred taking the train. whether you prefer taking the train.
12.	"Is there a seat reserved for handicapped people?"    Can you tell me - whether is there a seat whether there is a seat reserved for handicapped people?
13.	"Does this train usually run on time?"  Can you tell me - whether this train does usually run on time? whether this train usually runs on time?
14.	"Are you a regular commuter."    May I ask - whether you are a regular commuter? whether you a regular commuter? whether are you a regular commuter?
15.	"Is this the final stop?"    Can you tell me - whether is this the final stop? whether this is the final stop?

 

 

 

 

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Related practice: if / whether