These questions ask you to turn a direct question beginning with why, where, when, how or which into a clause after a reporting verb such as asked. The central task is to preserve the question's meaning while rebuilding its word order.
Build a statement inside the report
Use a three-step method. First keep the opening wh-word or complete wh-phrase. Next identify the subject and place it immediately after that opening. Finally build an ordinary statement-order verb phrase after the subject. A reported question is still a question in meaning, but its grammar is embedded inside a larger statement, so it does not use the auxiliary-before-subject order of a direct question.
| Signal in the direct question | Action in the reported clause |
|---|---|
| why, where, when or how | Keep the wh-word, then put the subject before the complete verb phrase. |
| a longer opening such as which plus a noun | Keep the whole wh-phrase together, then follow it with the subject. |
| do, does or did before the subject | Remove this support verb and express tense on the ordinary verb phrase instead. |
| a modal or a form of be before the subject | Move the subject in front of that verb phrase; choose any backshift from the time context. |
Treat word order and time reference as two separate decisions. After restoring statement order, check when the original situation happened and whether it is still current. A past reporting verb often leads to backshift, but a fact or future event that remains current may keep its original tense or modal. Either way, the subject-before-verb pattern stays unchanged.
Where the mistakes come from
| Trap | How to reject it |
|---|---|
| An auxiliary or modal still appears before the subject | That is direct-question inversion. Find the subject and move it ahead of the whole verb phrase. |
| Do, does or did survives after the wh-word | Do-support belongs to the direct question. Remove it, restore statement order and carry tense on the main verb. |
| The verb phrase is split around the subject | Forms such as modal plus main verb plus subject do not create statement order. Keep the subject together before the complete modal or auxiliary phrase. |
| Do-support is combined with another marked past or modal form | This double marking is malformed even before the embedding check. In the report, remove do-support and build one coherent verb phrase after the subject. |
Try it
Complete the report with the full wh-clause. Direct: "Where does the parcel go?" Mina asked ___.
Complete the report with the full wh-clause. Direct during last winter's storm: "Why is the skylight leaking?" The storm ended long ago and the roof has been repaired; recounting that day, the caretaker's colleague reports that the caretaker asked ___.
Complete the report with the full wh-clause. Direct: "When will the clinic reopen?" A patient asked ___.