Reported questions and commands: what did they ask you? Exercises on asked if, asked where and told me to

This B1 drill lesson gives reported questions and commands exercises: yes/no questions with if or whether, wh- questions in statement order, and requests and orders with to or not to.

Grammar: Asked if or whether + subject + verb, asked where, why or what without do or did, tenses one step back, and asked or told + person + (not) to + verb.
Topic: A job interview at Bluecove Whale Tours, an invented whale-watching company: Kalani's messages, the manager's notes, Kalani's post, the safety training and a chat about your own interview.
Activities: True or false, sorting, choices, gap-fills, drag-and-drop, word order, tables, matching, quizzes, a memory game and a chat.

What's inside

Chapter 1The rule
- PictureUnlock
- Study the scheme: reported questions and commandsGrammar schemeTry it
- Is the sentence correct? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Sort the sentences: what did they ask or say?Sort into columnsTry it
- Choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the missing word in each reportFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 2Yes or no? She asked if…
- Fill in the gaps: report the yes/no questionsFill in the gapsTry it
- Choose the right form: yes/no questionsChoose the optionUnlock
- Read about the visit to the doctor and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: yes/no questionsUnjumbleUnlock
- Fill in the table: at the check-in deskFill in the tableUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right wordsQuizUnlock
- Read about the cooking class and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 3Where? Why? What?
- Fill in the gaps: report the wh- questionsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right form: wh- questionsChoose the optionTry it
- Match the questions and the reportsMatchUnlock
- Read about the sleepover and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: wh- questionsUnjumbleUnlock
- Choose the right reportQuizUnlock
- Read the travel story and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 4Sit down, please!
- Fill in the gaps: report the orders and requestsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right words: orders and requestsChoose the optionUnlock
- Read about the ski lesson and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropTry it
- Put the words in the right order: orders and requestsUnjumbleUnlock
- Fill in the table: what the coach saidFill in the tableUnlock
- Find the mistake: orders and requestsQuizUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: questions, orders and requestsFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: The whale boat interview
- Read Kalani's messages after the interviewReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the messages again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read Ms. Okoro's interview notes and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read Kalani's post and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read about the safety training and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Annika asks about your interviewChatTry it
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Sort the reports: correct or wrong?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Are the reports correct? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Choose the right words: at the bankChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: report what people askedFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: what did they tell you to do?Fill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: reportsUnjumbleUnlock
- Fill in the table: the apartment visitFill in the tableUnlock
- Match the questions and orders with the reportsMatchUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: question and reportMemory gameUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: at the hair salonDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the right words: a call from the radioChoose the optionUnlock
- Find the mistake in each reportQuizUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
- Read Tamar's blog post and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the school newsletter and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock

Grammar: reported questions, requests and orders

A reported question isn't a question anymore: the subject comes before the verb, there's no do or did, and no question mark. Orders and requests become told or asked + person + to + verb, and the tenses step back as in statements.

Reported questions and commands

Tell someone what another person asked you, or told you to do: asked if…, asked where…, told me to…

Three shapes

Yes/no questions take if or whether: She asked me if I was free on Saturday. Wh- questions keep their question word: She asked me where I lived. Commands take to or not to: She told me not to be late.

They said	You report	The shape
“Are you free on Saturday?”	She asked me if I was free on Saturday.	asked + if / whether + subject + verb
“Where do you live?”	She asked me where I lived.	asked + wh- word + subject + verb
“Sit down, please.”	She asked me to sit down.	asked / told + person + to + verb
“Don't be late!”	She told me not to be late.	told / asked + person + not to + verb

No question order in the report

What time does the bus leave? becomes He asked what time the bus left, and Can you swim? becomes They asked if I could swim. The helping verb moves after the subject or disappears.

The question

What time does the bus leave?
Why are you crying?
Can you swim?
Have you seen my phone?

The report: subject + verb

He asked what time the bus left.
She asked why I was crying.
They asked if I could swim.
She asked if I had seen her phone.

The tense goes one step back

Do you drive? → She asked if I drove. Have you finished? → if I had finished. Will you come? → if I would come. A past simple question can become had gone or stay went.

They asked	You report
present simple: “Do you drive?”	She asked if I drove.
present continuous: “What are you doing?”	He asked what I was doing.
present perfect: “Have you finished?”	She asked if I had finished.
past simple: “Where did you go?”	He asked where I had gone. · He asked where I went.
will: “Will you come?”	They asked if I would come.
can: “Can you help?”	She asked if I could help.

Asked to or told to?

Asked + person + to reports a polite request (She asked me to close the door); told + person + to reports an order or instruction (The teacher told us to open our books). Not goes before to: not to touch.

asked + person + to: a polite request

“Could you close the door, please?” → She asked me to close the door.
“Please don't call after 9.” → He asked us not to call after 9.

told + person + to: an order or instruction

“Open your books.” → The teacher told us to open our books.
“Don't touch the plates. They're hot!” → The waiter told us not to touch the plates.

Small words, common mistakes

Say asked me, not asked to me, and told me to, not said me to. Watch for where did I work and Mom told me don't go out. When who is the subject, the order stays: She asked who had called.

Small words, big mistakes

Say asked me (not asked to me) and told me to (not said me to). No do / does / did and no question mark: She asked where I lived. When who or what is the subject, the order stays: “Who called?” → She asked who had called. You can also say wanted to know: He wanted to know where I worked.

Common mistakes

She asked me where did I work.
She asked me where I worked.
no do / does / did: subject + verb
He asked me what was I doing.
He asked me what I was doing.
the subject comes before the verb
Mom told me don't go out.
Mom told me not to go out.
not to + verb
He said me to call him.
He told me to call him.
told / asked + person + to

If or whether? Keep the present?

If and whether mean the same here: She asked if / whether I had a car. When something is still true, you can keep the present: He asked where I live / lived. (I still live there.) Reported on a later day, time words change: tomorrow → the next day / the following day, today → that day, here → there.

Examples

“Are you hungry?” → Mom asked me if I was hungry.a yes/no question
“Do you speak Spanish?” → They asked me whether I spoke Spanish.whether = if
“Why is the baby crying?” → Dad asked me why the baby was crying.a wh- question
“Have you eaten?” → Grandma asked us if we had eaten.have done → had done
“Please wait here.” → The nurse asked us to wait there.a polite request
“Don't run!” → The lifeguard told the kids not to run.an order: not to

More lessons on this grammar: Reported speech lessons and exercises

Try the reported questions and commands exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

What's in the lesson

41 auto-checked exercises
5 games
1 real-life document
1 grammar scheme
1 picture

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

report yes/no questions with if or whether: “Are you ready?” → The coach asked us if we were ready.
report wh- questions in statement order, with no do or did: She asked me where I worked, not where did I work
report orders with to and not to: The lifeguard told the boys not to jump into the pool, not told them don't jump
use asked for a polite request and told for an order: My neighbor asked me to carry the box upstairs. The doctor told me to rest.

Grammar:: reported questions · reported commands · asked if / whether · told me to / not to
Topic:: grammar practice · jobs · job interviews · whale watching

Teaching tips

Run mock interviews in threes: one student interviews, one answers, and the third reports to the class afterward: She asked him why he wanted the job and told him to wait for her call.
Play the nosy parent: students write five questions a parent might ask after a sleepover, swap papers, and report them: Mom asked me what time we had gone to bed.
Report the classroom rules: write a few orders on the board (Don't use your phones, Open your books) and students report each with The teacher told us (not) to…

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The whole course: English Grammar Practice · B1

English Grammar Practice · B1 has 28 drill lessons, one grammar point each: the present perfect continuous, narrative tenses, future forms, modals of deduction, the second conditional, the passive, relative clauses, reported speech, question tags and linkers. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words.See the course

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