English Grammar Lab

← B2

Reporting questions, requests and instructions

You will be able to Report questions and commands using indirect structures.

Explanation

Reported questions use statement word order. Commands use tell or ask followed by an object and an infinitive.

Examples

Detailed course

Understand the grammar point

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Detailed explanation

This lesson focuses on reporting questions, requests and instructions. The structure helps learners sequence complex events, and it should always be interpreted as part of a complete message rather than as an isolated formula. Before selecting a form, identify the subject, time reference, clause relationship, and the information that receives emphasis.

Formation is central. Use statement word order in reported questions, if or whether for yes-no questions, and ask or tell plus object plus to-infinitive for requests and commands. Build the sentence in stages: identify the grammatical subject, choose the auxiliary or main verb form, and complete the clause in normal English word order. In negatives and questions, check whether the structure supplies its own auxiliary or requires another one.

The pattern can help users express degrees of certainty, compare real and hypothetical outcomes, and compress information without losing clarity. These purposes may overlap, so context decides which interpretation is natural. Time expressions, determiners, linking words, and punctuation often provide evidence for the correct choice.

A useful contrast prevents overgeneralisation. Question marks and do-support disappear inside reported questions because the embedded clause has statement order. Ask how the nearest alternative would change time, certainty, focus, politeness, or register. A grammatically possible sentence may still communicate the wrong relationship if that contrast is ignored.

The guided examples are complete messages. Notice how the target structure agrees with its subject and how the surrounding vocabulary makes the intended meaning clear. When producing a new example, preserve the relationship between form and meaning while changing the people, place, and lexical details.

A reliable self-check is to paraphrase the sentence in simpler language. If the paraphrase changes the time relationship, degree of certainty, or focus, review the original form. Compare the sentence with the common mistakes and explain why the corrected version is preferable.

In connected speech and writing, the structure also contributes to cohesion. It guides the reader through background information, main events, causes, qualifications, and results. Clause order and connector choice can therefore affect interpretation even when every individual word is correct.

Register matters as well. A complex construction may be appropriate in a report but unnecessarily heavy in conversation, while an informal alternative may be too vague for academic writing. Choose the form because it serves the communicative purpose, not because it merely sounds advanced.

How to form it

Use statement word order in reported questions, if or whether for yes-no questions, and ask or tell plus object plus to-infinitive for requests and commands.

Use the structure to sequence complex events.

Use the structure to express degrees of certainty.

Use the structure to compare real and hypothetical outcomes.

Use the structure to compress information without losing clarity.

Question marks and do-support disappear inside reported questions because the embedded clause has statement order.

Guided examples

The manager asked where the missing documents were.

The reported question uses statement word order, were after documents, not question order.

She wanted to know whether the printer was working.

Whether introduces this reported yes-no question.

The technician asked us to restart the computer.

Asked plus an object, us, is followed by to plus the base verb for a reported request.

The director told everyone not to open the attachment.

Not to open is the negative infinitive form used to report a negative instruction.

A colleague asked why the meeting had been cancelled.

Had been cancelled shifts back to show this happened before the asking.

They told me to send the revised file before noon.

Told plus an object, me, is followed by to plus the base verb for a reported instruction.

Common mistakes

Not: The manager asked where were the missing documents.

Use: The manager asked where the missing documents were.

Reported questions use statement word order: where the documents were, not question order.

Not: She wanted to know if the printer working.

Use: She wanted to know whether the printer was working.

A reported yes-no question needs a full clause: whether the printer was working, keeping the verb was.

Not: The technician asked us restart the computer.

Use: The technician asked us to restart the computer.

Ask someone to do something needs to before the base verb: asked us to restart.

Not: The director told everyone to not open the attachment.

Use: The director told everyone not to open the attachment.

The negative infinitive usually places not before to: not to open, rather than to not open.

Before you practise

  • Identify the communicative purpose.
  • Check the subject and required verb or auxiliary.
  • Confirm the time reference and clause order.
  • Compare the sentence with the nearest alternative.
  • Read the complete sentence and verify the meaning.

Reading text

Instructions After the Computer Problem

About 392 words

Visitors, a technician, a librarian, and the manager met at the public library to keep services moving after the printers fail. What first looked like a small problem became more complicated because people need documents while the system is down. The group placed routers, booking screens, cables, and signs on the table and built a timeline from the earliest clue to the last decision. Visitors asked when the printers would work again. That discovery forced them to question the first version of events. The technician told staff to restart the router. Instead of blaming one person, they compared the evidence and marked every uncertain point. A librarian asked people not to unplug any cables. A second check showed that one assumption had been too quick. The manager asked whether the booking system had recovered. Once the timeline was complete, the problem no longer looked random. The notes showed which choices mattered, which details were only distractions, and why the result had been so frustrating. By closing time, the result was clear: staff give clear instructions until the network recovers. Visitors, a technician, a librarian, and the manager return to routers, booking screens, cables, and signs because each item helps with the task. The notes show why people need documents while the system is down. The group checks the time, the place, and the next decision before moving on. No one rushes, because a small error would change the outcome. The work stays connected to the public library, where the problem first became visible. By the end, the result is clear: staff give clear instructions until the network recovers. Later, the written record helps the group explain the decision without adding new claims. The strongest clue comes from the materials, not from anyone's memory alone. Several details point in different directions, so the group keeps the conclusion careful. The final record can be checked again if the question returns. Visitors, a technician, a librarian, and the manager return to routers, booking screens, cables, and signs because each item helps with the task. The notes show why people need documents while the system is down. The group checks the time, the place, and the next decision before moving on. No one rushes, because a small error would change the outcome. The work stays connected to the public library, where the problem first became visible.

Reading comprehension

  1. Who is involved in the reading?

    Show answer

    visitors, a technician, a librarian, and the manager

  2. Where does the reading take place?

    Show answer

    the public library

  3. What task are the people trying to complete?

    Show answer

    keep services moving after the printers fail

  4. What problem makes the task less simple?

    Show answer

    people need documents while the system is down

  5. How does the reading end?

    Show answer

    staff give clear instructions until the network recovers

Grammar in the text

  1. Visitors asked when the printers would work again.

    The reported question uses statement word order, would work, not question order.

  2. The technician told staff to restart the router.

    Told plus an object, staff, is followed by to plus the base verb for a reported instruction.

  3. A librarian asked people not to unplug any cables.

    Not to unplug is the negative infinitive used to report a negative request.

  4. The manager asked whether the booking system had recovered.

    Whether introduces this reported yes-no question, with had recovered shifting back in time.

Key point

Use this pattern when the meaning needs it in the reading: asked/told + object + clause or infinitive. In short, reported questions and commands change direct words into a summary. Example: "Visitors asked when the printers would work again."

Practice

  1. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "Visitors asked ____ the printers would work again."

    Show answer

    Visitors asked when the printers would work again.

  2. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "The technician ____ restart the router."

    Show answer

    The technician told staff to restart the router.

  3. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "A librarian asked people not to unplug ____ cables."

    Show answer

    A librarian asked people not to unplug any cables.

  4. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "The manager asked whether the booking system ____."

    Show answer

    The manager asked whether the booking system had recovered.

Listening practice

Watch a TEDx talk

“10 ways to have a better conversation” — Celeste Headlee (TED). Listen for clear, natural English and pick up new vocabulary while you review this grammar point.

Check your understanding

Which of these is one of Celeste Headlee's rules for a better conversation?

Check your understanding

What does Headlee say is the single most important skill for having a good conversation?

Practice

Choose the correct answer. She asked where I ___.

Practice

Choose the correct answer. He told us ___ there.

Practice

Choose the correct answer. She told me ___ it.

Written practice

Produce the answer yourself. Capitalisation and final punctuation do not affect validation, but the grammar and word order must be correct.

Grammar transformation

Written practice

Report the question using "asked" and backshift the verb to the past perfect.

Where did you leave the keys?