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Interactive Grammar: Reporting Questions Politely quiz

Use indirect questions to ask politely: Could you tell me…? Do you know…? I was wondering whether… — and report what someone asked.

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Duration

~42 min

Questions

Level

Intermediate

Overview

Polite indirect questions use reporting patterns even in direct interaction: Could you tell me where the station is? Do you know what time it starts? I was wondering whether you could help me. These structures use affirmative word order and are more formal and polite than direct questions.

Indirect Questions for Politeness

Use indirect questions to sound more polite — common in formal English.
Direct'Where is the station?'
PoliteCould you tell me where the station is?
Direct'What time does it start?'
PoliteDo you know what time it starts?

Polite Question Starters

Could you tell me……where the manager's office is?
Do you know……when the train leaves?
I was wondering……whether you could help me.
Would you mind telling……how much it costs?

Word Order in Indirect Questions

Indirect questions use affirmative word order — no inversion.
❌Could you tell me where is the station?
✅Could you tell me where the station is?
❌Do you know what time does it start?
✅Do you know what time it starts?

When to use

Hotels

Could you tell me where the breakfast room is?

Phone calls

I was wondering whether you could help me.

Formal

Would you mind telling me when the office opens?

Business

Do you know when the report will be ready?

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this lesson on reporting Questions Politely cover?

Use indirect questions to ask politely: Could you tell me…? Do you know…? I was wondering whether… — and report what someone asked.

Which CEFR level is this lesson designed for?

This lesson is designed for Intermediate (B1) learners and forms part of the Direct and Indirect Speech section on Grammartier.

What is the best approach for studying reporting Questions Politely?

Start with the definition above, then work through the examples to see how reporting Questions Politely behaves in context. Since this is a Intermediate (B1) topic within direct and indirect speech, focus on using the structure accurately in context and noticing the mistakes learners typically make with it — this is the level where small errors start to matter for fluency. Finish with the quiz below to check what's actually sticking.

How does reporting Questions Politely relate to the rest of direct and indirect speech?

Reporting Questions Politely is one of the Intermediate–level topics grouped under Direct and Indirect Speech on Grammartier. Understanding it well makes the related lessons in the same category easier to follow — use the related-lessons links on this page to keep building on it once you've completed this quiz.