Reported questions and commands

The previous lesson covered reported statements. Now we extend reported speech to two more types: questions (yes/no and wh-) and commands / requests (Sit down! Please help me.).

These types follow the same backshift logic, plus a few new structural moves. The single most important rule — the one Russian speakers break most often — is this: reported questions use statement word order, not question word order. No inversion. No question mark.

Reported yes/no questions

A direct yes/no question has inversion (auxiliary before subject) and a question mark:

Direct: “Are you tired?”

A reported yes/no question has:

1. No inversion — statement order (subject + verb).
2. No question mark — it ends with a period.
3. A connector: if or whether.
4. Backshift of tenses (same rules as statements).

Reported: He asked if I was tired.

if vs whether

Both work for yes/no questions. Tiny stylistic differences:

• if — more common in spoken / casual English.
• whether — slightly more formal; required in some structures.

Use whether (not if) when:

• It’s followed by to + V: I don’t know whether to go. (NOT if to go)
• It’s followed by or not directly: I asked whether or not they would come. (Both forms exist; if or not is awkward.)
• After a preposition: We talked about whether we should accept. (NOT about if)
• Starting a sentence: Whether he comes is up to him.

In daily speech, if dominates. I asked if he was free sounds completely natural.

Reported wh-questions

A direct wh-question has the wh-word, then inversion:

Direct: “Where do you live?”

A reported wh-question has:

1. The same wh-word at the front.
2. Statement order after it (subject + verb, no inversion).
3. No question mark.
4. Backshift of tenses.

Reported: She asked where I lived.

Subject vs object wh-questions

When the wh-word is the subject of the question, the direct form already has statement order — so reporting changes very little.

• Direct: “Who called you?” (Who = subject)
• Reported: He asked who had called me. (same word order; just backshift)

vs

• Direct: “Who did you call?” (Who = object; did + you inversion)
• Reported: He asked who I had called. (drop did; statement order)

The inversion trap

The most common mistake in reported questions: keeping the inversion from direct speech.

Drop the auxiliary inversion (do, does, did, am, is, are, will, can). Use the regular subject + verb order of a statement.

A trick: ask yourself “could this be a statement?” I lived there. My name was John. I was coming. Yes — that’s the right order.

Reported commands and requests

A direct command uses the imperative: Sit down! Don’t be late! Please open the window.

A reported command uses the structure:

verb + person + (not) + to + V

The most common reporting verbs for commands and requests: tell, ask, order, beg, advise, warn, remind, invite, encourage, urge, instruct.

Notice:

• tell → command, more direct. He told me to leave.
• ask → request, more polite. He asked me to leave.
• order → strict command. The general ordered them to retreat.
• beg → urgent / desperate. She begged him not to go.

Negative commands

For Don’t do X, use not to + V:

• “Don’t be late!” → He told us not to be late.
• “Don’t tell anyone.” → She asked me not to tell anyone.
• “Don’t worry.” → He told her not to worry.

The not comes before to, not after.

Both He told us not to be late and He told us to not be late are grammatical; the first is the traditional, more common order, and the safer choice in writing. The not to + V pattern is what reads most natural in AmE.

Polite requests with would you / could you

A request like “Would you open the window?” or “Could you help me?” reports as a request, not a question:

• Direct: “Could you open the window?”
• Reported: She asked me to open the window.

You don’t say “She asked if I could open the window” unless you mean she literally asked about your ability. The pragmatic meaning (“she made a request”) gets reported with ask + sb + to + V.

Other reporting verbs for commands and requests

A short preview of the next lesson — common verbs in this pattern:

Notice that promise, agree, refuse, offer, threaten don’t usually take a person — the person is implicit or unnecessary.

❌ He promised me to come (sounds odd in AmE) ✅ He promised to come. / He promised that he would come.

Side-by-side comparison

AmE notes

In American casual English, you’ll hear embedded questions with inversion in some constructions — but in standard reported speech, statement order is firm.

Compare:

• ❌ Reported speech: He asked where do I live. (wrong)
• ✅ Reported speech: He asked where I lived. (right)

But colloquially, in indirect questions (not technically reported speech, but related): I want to know, where do you live? sounds OK as a near-direct question. Don’t confuse this with backshifted reporting.

For commands, AmE prefers tell sb to in everyday speech, with ask sb to for politer requests. Order sounds military or formal. Have sb do sth (causative-style) replaces tell in some workplace contexts:

• I had him send the file. (= I told / asked him to send the file)
• She had us redo the report.

This have is the causative from lesson 12 — and it shows up in reporting too.

Pronunciation notes

• if /ɪf/ — short, often barely a pause: He asked if I was free → /hi æskt ɪf aɪ wəz fri/.
• whether /ˈwɛðər/ — same pronunciation as weather (homophones in AmE).
• to in commands reduces to /tə/: told me to go → /toʊld mi tə ɡoʊ/.
• not to → /nɑt tə/ in careful speech; often /nɑɾə/ with flap T in casual.
• The end of a reported question has falling intonation (it’s a statement now, not a question). Don’t lift your voice at the end of He asked where I live.

Common Russian-speaker mistakes

1. Keeping inversion in indirect questions (the #1 trap): She asked where do I live → She asked where I lived. Russian indirect questions keep the same word order; English requires the switch to statement order.
2. Using that with reported questions: He asked that where I lived → He asked where I lived. Wh-questions don’t take that; they use the wh-word as the connector.
3. Forgetting if / whether for yes/no questions: She asked I was free → She asked if I was free. A reported yes/no question must have if or whether.
4. Wrong pattern for commands: He told that I should sit down → He told me to sit down. Use tell + sb + to + V, not told that…
5. Negative command with wrong word order: He told me to don’t be late → He told me not to be late. Not comes before to, and you drop the auxiliary do.
6. Mixing say and tell in commands: She said me to leave → She told me to leave OR She said I should leave. Commands use tell + sb, not say.
7. Question mark on reported question: She asked where I lived? → She asked where I lived. (period). It’s a statement now; no question mark.

Summary

• Reported yes/no questions: if / whether + statement order, no question mark.
• Reported wh-questions: wh-word + statement order, no question mark.
• Drop the inversion — no do / does / did / will moved before subject.
• Reported commands / requests: tell / ask + sb + (not) + to + V.
• Tell = order, more direct; ask = request, more polite.
• Negative: not before to (not to be late).
• Backshift rules from lesson 13 still apply.

Next lesson: reporting verbs system — patterns for say, tell, ask, suggest, recommend, warn, advise, and the rest of the family.