Step 72: He Asked Me If…
Reporting speech 2 — Reported questions and orders
📖 Read — A Day of Questions and Orders
Monday was a day of reported words for Ethan. In class, Miss Taylor asked him if he had finished the project. She asked where his partner was. Ethan said Tom was sick. After school, Coach Mike told the team to warm up, and he told Ethan not to be late on Saturday.
At home, Mom asked Ethan what he wanted for dinner, and Dad asked him to help with the car. In the evening, Emma called. She asked if Ethan could help her with math, and she asked him to bring his notebook. “Everyone wants something from me today!” Ethan laughed. In other words: a normal Monday.
🧩 Grammar — Reported Questions and Orders
Report YES/NO questions with asked + if/whether: “Are you ready?” → She asked if I was ready. Report WH- questions with the question word — and use STATEMENT word order (no do/does, no inversion): “Where do you live?” → He asked where I lived. Report orders and requests with told/asked + person + to + verb: “Sit down!” → She told us to sit down. “Don't be late” → He told me NOT to be late. Backshift the verbs, just like Step 46.
- He asked if I was tired.
- She asked where I lived.
- The teacher told us to open our books.
- Mom asked me not to forget my keys.
🏗️ Key structures
- She asked if ___ — She asked if I had finished.
- He asked where / what / when ___ — He asked what I wanted.
- ___ told me to / not to ___ — Coach told me to run faster. / He told me not to stop.
⭐ Idiom & natural phrases
He's a pessimist — in other words, he always expects the worst.
🔤 New words
think about something and want to know ('I wonder if…')
I wonder if it will rain.
say firmly that something must happen or is true
She insisted on paying for dinner.
say no to something; not accept or not do
He refused to answer the question.
ask someone to come to an event or place
They invited us to their wedding.
help someone remember something
Remind me to call her tonight.
tell someone they MUST do something (strong)
The officer ordered them to stop.
ask for something again and again, desperately
The kids begged for one more story.
tell someone what you think they should do
The doctor advised her to rest.
🎧 Say it with me
Miss Taylor asked if I had finished. Coach told us to warm up, and Mom asked me not to forget my keys.
🎤 Your turn to speak
Report a conversation: one if-question someone asked you, one wh-question, one order (told me to), and one negative order (told me not to).
Say it out loud three times. Even better: record it on your phone and listen — your ear is your best teacher.
✍️ Your turn to write
Write 4 reported sentences about your day: a yes/no question, a wh-question, an order, and a request.
See a model answer
My manager asked if I had sent the report. A customer asked where the meeting room was. My boss told me to finish the slides by three. And my colleague asked me to check her numbers before the call.
Self-check: capital letters? Full stops? Did you use the grammar of this step?
📝 Quick check
Go deeper
This step is a doorway — the full lesson goes much further:
Reported Speech Advanced: Reporting Verbs — full lesson + 50-question quiz
🎉 Saved in your progress!