Interrogative Sentences-Direct & Indirect speech

An interrogative sentence is a type of sentence that asks a question. It may either be started with some Interrogative Word (who, when, why, where, how, whom, etc.) or may have a helping verb (is, are, am, do, does, etc.)

Changes in the pronouns, other words, and tenses can be made by following the following rules:

• Pronouns Changing Rules
• Other Words Changing Rules
• Rule # 1, Rule # 2, and Rule # 3 of Changes in the Tenses

However, some extra rules must be followed while converting an Interrogative Sentence from Direct Narration to Indirect Narration.

General Rules for Converting Interrogative Sentences from Direct Narration to Indirect Narration

When there is an Interrogative Sentence in the Reported Speech, the following rules must be followed:

• “said to” of the Reporting Speech must be converted to the word, “asked” or “inquired of”, because someone asks a question.
• Make the word arrangement as it must take the form of simple Assertive Sentence, i.e; Subject + Verb+ Object.
• If the Interrogative Sentence is started with an Interrogative Word, then there is no need to add any word.
• But if Interrogative Sentence is started with a helping verb, then add the word “if” or “whether” to connect Reporting and Reported Speech.
• Replace the Mark of Interrogation (?) with a full stop (.) mark, so that it must represent the Simple Assertive Sentence.    

Examples of the Interrogative Sentences with Interrogative Words

1. I said to him,” When do you get up?”
   • I asked him when he got up.
2. She said to me,” Where are you going now?”
   • She asked me where I was going then.
3. I said to him,” What did you eat yesterday?”
   • I inquired of him what he had eaten the previous day.
4. She said to him,” Why were you weeping yesterday?”
   • She inquired of him why he had been weeping the previous day.
5. We said to them,” Who will be visiting your factory tomorrow?”
   • We asked them who would be visiting their factory the next day.
6. He said to her,” Which books did you buy from this shop?”
   • He asked her which books she had bought from that shop.
7. He said to me,” What are you doing here?”
   • He asked me what I was doing there.
8. She said to him,” Why have you not gone to the doctor today?”
   • She asked him why he had not gone to the doctor that day.
9. I said to them,” Where are you going now?”
   • I asked them where they were going then.
10. I said to them,” Where are you going yesterday?”
    • I asked them where they were going the previous day.
11. The policeman said to the taxi driver,” Why did you refuse to take these ladies to the railway station?”
    • The policeman asked the taxi driver why he had refused to take those ladies to the railway station.
12. He said to me,” Why were you beating my servant yesterday?”
    • He asked me why I had been beating his servant the previous day.
13. He said to me,” Who is your father?”
    • He asked me who my father was.
14. She said to me,” How many sisters have you?”
    • She asked me how many sisters I had.
15. You said to him,” When did you buy this house?”
    • You asked him when he had bought that house.
16. She said to us,” Where were you going yesterday with this man?”
    • She asked us where we had been going the previous day with that man
17. He said to me,” How far is Mecca from Madina?”
    • He inquired of me how far Mecca was from Madina.
18. The policeman said to him,” Why did you beat this old man yesterday?”
    • The policeman asked him why he had beaten that old man the previous day.
19. The goldsmith said to the thief,” How did you break the lock of this safe?”
    • The goldsmith asked the thief how he had broken the lock of that safe.
20. “Why,” said the doctor to me,” did you not take this medicine yesterday?”
    • The doctor asked me why I had not taken that medicine the previous day.
21. “My son, where are you now coming from?” said the old man.
    • The old man asked his son where he was coming from then.
22. She said to me,” What is your name?”
    • She asked me what my name was.
23. I said to him,” Where do you live in this city?”
    • I asked him where he lived in that city.
24. I said to the boy,” Why are you weeping?”
    • I asked the boy why he was weeping.
25. She said to him,” When are you going for the Hajj?”
    • She asked him when he was going for the Hajj.
26. They said to him,” How do you manage to escape from this place?”
    • They asked him how he managed to escape from that place.
27. She said to her brother,” Where are you going with these boys now?”
    • She asked her brother where he was going with those boys then.
28. He said to us,” Why are you making noise over here?”
    • He asked us why we were making noise over there.
29. The passenger said to the guard,” Why has the train stopped near this bridge?”
    • The passenger asked the guard why the train had stopped near that bridge.
30. She said to me,” When will you return my camera?”
    • She asked me when I would return her camera.
31. He said to us,” What will you do with this money here?”
    • He asked us what we would do with that money there.
32. We said to him,” When have you returned from London?”
    • We asked him when he had returned from London.
33. Father said to me,” How are you feeling now?”
    • Father asked me how I was feeling then.
34. I said to the teacher,” Sir, why did you expel my brother from your class?”
    • I asked the teacher respectfully why he had expelled my brother from his class.
35. I said to her,” Why was your baby weeping yesterday?”
    • I asked her why her baby had been weeping the previous day.
36. He said to me,” Where is your mother going?”
    • He asked me where my mother was going.
37. You said to him,” What did Faisal say here in your ear?”
    • You asked him what Faisal had said there in his ear.
38. “Where are you going now?” said I to my servant.
    • I asked my servant where he was going then.
39. The policeman said to him,” Why do you observe the traffic rules?”
    • The policeman asked him why he observed the traffic rules.
40. She said to her teacher,” Sir, why are you angry with me?”
    • She asked her teacher respectfully why he was angry with her.
41. Father said to him,” Why have you beaten the servant now?”
    • Father asked him why he had beaten the servant then.
42. We said to our neighbor,” Why was our house locked?”
    • We asked our neighbor why our house had been locked.
43. She said to her,” What was your sister saying to you yesterday?”
    • She asked her what her sister had been saying to her the previous day.
44. I said to the carpenter,” Why did you not complete my work yesterday?”
    • I asked the carpenter why he had not completed my work the previous day.
45. “Why are you sitting here, Salman?” said his sister.
    • Salman’s sister asked Salman why he was sitting there.
46. “What are you doing here, Nadeem?” said the father to his son.
    • The father asked his son, Nadeem, what he was doing there.
47. The wolf said to the lamb,” Why did you call me names last year?”
    • The wolf asked the lamb why he had called him names the previous year.
48. “How can I give you a short measure, madam?” said the shopkeeper to her.
    • The shopkeeper asked her respectfully how he could give her a short measure.
49. You said to him,” Where are you coming from?”
    • You asked him where he was coming from.
50. She said to him,” Why were you knocking at my door just now?”
    • She asked him why he had been knocking at her door just then.
51. He said to her,” Madam, at what time can I see you tomorrow?”
    • He asked her respectfully at what time he could see her the next day.
52. She said to Nadeem,” What were you doing yesterday?”
    • She inquired of Nadeem what he had been doing the previous day.
53. “Where are you going, John?” said David.
    • David said to John where he was going.
54. He said to me,” Why did you steal my pen from this box?”
    • He asked me why I had stolen his pen from that box.
55. She said to them,” Where did you leave your servant yesterday?”
    • She asked them where they had left their servant the previous day.
56. “When will this train reach Peshawar?” said the passenger to the guard.
    • The passenger asked the guard when that train would reach Peshawar.
57. She asked the stranger,” What is your name?”
    • She asked the stranger what his name was.
58. The constable said to the two young men,” Where are you coming from in the dead of night?”
    • The constable asked the two young men where they were coming from in the dead of night.
59. “What will you charge me for dressing my hair?” said a little girl to the barber.
    • A little girl asked the barber what he would charge her for dressing her hair.
60. He said to the doctor,” when should I come to you for getting my eyes test?”
    • He asked the doctor when he should come to him for getting his eyes tested.
61. He said to me,” Where have you been all these days?”
    • He asked me where I had been all those days.

Examples of Interrogative Sentences that Start with a Verb

1. “May I come in, madam?” said she to the principal.
   • She asked the principal respectfully if she might come in.
2. He said to me,” Are you going to school now?”
   • He inquired of me if I was going to school then.
3. You said to him,” Have you broken my jug today?”
   • You asked him if he had broken your jug that day.
4. We said to her,” Did you beat our servant yesterday?”
   • We inquired of her if she had beaten our servant the previous day.
5. He said to you,” Will you go to the pictures tonight?”
   • He asked you whether you would go to the pictures that night.
6. She said to him,” Did you lose your pen here?”
   • She asked him if he had lost his pen there.
7. He said to you,” Will you go to Peshawar tomorrow?”
   • He asked you whether you would go to Peshawar the next day.
8. I said to the postman,” Is there any letter for me today?”
   • I inquired of the postman if there was any letter for me that day.
9. She said to him,” Did you iron my shirt yesterday?”
   • She asked him if he had ironed her shirt the previous day.
10. He said to me,” Has it been raining here since morning?”
    • He inquired of me if it had been raining there since morning.
11. You said to her,” Did you buy these cups and saucers yesterday?”
    • You asked her if she had bought those cups and saucers the previous day.
12. He said to the stranger,” Are you in your senses now?”
    • He inquired of the stranger if he was in his senses then.
13. She said to her brother,” Were you feeling any pain in your chest yesterday?”
    • She asked her brother if he had been feeling any pain in his chest the previous day.
14. He said to them,” Will you be going to Karachi by the morning train tomorrow?”
    • He inquired of them if they would be going to Karachi by the morning train the next day.
15. The old man said to the beggar,” Were you knocking at my door just now?”
    • The old man asked the beggar if he had been knocking at his door just then.
16. The shopkeeper said to me,” Did you give me a ten-rupee note for these cakes of soap?”
    • The shopkeeper asked me if I had given him a ten-rupee note for those cakes of soap.
17. I said to her,” Have you consulted any doctor today?”
    • I asked her whether she had consulted any doctor that day.
18. She said to him,” Will you lend me your pen for today?”
    • She asked him if he would lend her his pen for that day.
19. I said to them,” Will you build a hospital over here?”
    • I inquired of them if they would build a hospital over there.
20. They said to us,” Were you sleeping in this room yesterday?”
    • They asked us whether we had been sleeping in that room the previous day.
21. Mother said to my friend,” Have you paid the fine today?”
    • Mother asked my friend if he had paid the fine that day.
22. “Are you suffering from fever now?” said I to the beggar.
    • I asked the beggar if he was suffering from fever then.
23. She said to us,” Was he trying to fire at you?”
    • She asked us if he had been trying to fire at us.
24. She said to him,” Did you see the snake in the compound of this house?”
    • She asked him if he had seen the snake in the compound of that house.
25. “Was it raining very heavily over here at night?” said the guest to us.
    • The guest asked us whether it had been raining very heavily over there at night.
26. He said to them,” Will you take the examination this year?”
    • He asked them if they would take the examination that year.
27. They said to us,” Have you broken this flower pot?”
    • They asked us if we had broken that flower pot.
28. He said to her,” Madam, are you going to Karachi by the Tez Gam tomorrow?”
    • He asked her respectfully if she was going to Karachi by the Tez Gam the next day.
29. They said to him,” Have you been working in this office since 1975?”
    • They asked him if he had been working in that office since 1975.
30. The doctor said to her,” Did you take this medicine yesterday?”
    • The doctor asked her if she had taken that medicine the previous day.
31. He said to me,” Are you in your senses?”
    • He asked me if I was in my senses.
32. We said to him,” Is this train running on time now?”
    • We asked him if that train was running on time then.
33. He said to his mother,” Will you go with me to Murree tomorrow?”
    • He asked his mother if she would go with him to Murree the next day.
34. The teacher said to the boys,” Are you fully prepared to take the test today?”
    • The teacher asked the boys if they were fully prepared to take the test that day.
35. She said to her teacher,” Madam, May I go out to see my mother?”
    • She asked her teacher respectfully if she might go out to see her mother.
36. They said to the gardener,” May we pluck a few flowers from these plots?”
    • They asked the gardener if they might pluck a few flowers from those plots.
37. He said to us,” Are you learning this poem by heart?”
    • He asked us whether we were learning that poem by heart.
38. She said to her brother,” Did I post these letters yesterday?”
    • She asked her brother if she had posted those letters the previous day.
39. The policeman said to him,” Have your driving license with you?”
    • The policeman asked him if he had his driving license with him.
40. He said to us,” Have you solved these sums?”
    • He asked us if we had solved those sums.
41. I said to the postman,” Is there any letter for me today?”
    • I asked the postman if there was any letter for me that day.
42. I said to the servant,” Have you told me the truth about this accident?”
    • I inquired of the servant if he had told me the truth about that accident.
43. You said to him,” Did it rain here yesterday?”
    • You asked him if it had rained there the previous day.
44. You said to him,” Have you returned my book to me?”
    • You asked him if he had returned your book to you.
45. She said to him,” Will you lend me your camera for today?”
    • She asked him whether he would lend her his camera for that day.
46. He said to me,” Are you ready to go with me now?”
    • He asked me if I was ready to go with him then.
47. He said to me,” Can you spare some money?”
    • He asked me if I could spare some money.
48. He said to me,” Is man the maker of his fate?”
    • He asked me whether the man is the maker of his fate.
49. Kashif said to his boss,” May I tell you something in this connection?”
    • Kashif asked his boss if he might tell him something in that connection.
50. “Are you the robber,” said the king,” of whom I have heard so much?”
    • The king enquired of the robber if he was the robber of whom he had heard so much.
51. She said to me,” Have you gone out for a walk just now?”
    • She asked me if I had gone out for a walk just then.
52. He said to me,” Don’t you know that I am your next-door neighbor?”
    • He asked me if I did not know that he was my next-door neighbor.
53. “Have you milked all these cows, mother?” said the young man.
    • The young man asked her mother if she had milked all those cows.
54. “Is this the way to talk to a stranger?” said he to his brother.
    • He asked his brother if that was the way to talk to a stranger.
55. He said to me,” Were you a student of the Government College?”
    • He asked me if I had been a student of the Government College. 
56. He said to the postman,” Have you bought any letter for me?”
    • He asked the postman if he had bought any letter for him.
57. “May I come in, Sir?” said the student to the Headmaster.
    • The student asked the Headmaster respectfully if he might come in.