Overview
WH questions in reported speech retain the question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) but use affirmative word order with tense backshift. Example: 'Where does she live?' → He asked where she lived. There is no auxiliary verb and no question mark in the reported form.
WH Questions → Reported
- Keep the WH word and use affirmative word order.
- WhereShe asked where he worked.
- WhenHe asked when the train left.
- WhyShe asked why I was late.
- HowHe asked how much it cost.
WH Word Checklist
- whoHe asked who had called.
- whatShe asked what I wanted.
- whichHe asked which one I preferred.
- whoseShe asked whose bag it was.
Common Mistakes
- ❌ She asked where did I live.
- ✅ She asked where I lived.
- ❌ He asked what was I doing.
- ✅ He asked what I was doing.
When to use
Interviews
The journalist asked why the policy had changed.
Academic
Researchers asked how participants responded.
Daily life
She asked what time the film started.
Surveys
They asked which product customers preferred.