Indirect Speech of Questions, Commands and Exclamations: Rules, Examples and Tricks

Read this sentence: He said to me, "Where do you live?" Now report it. Most students write one of these: "He asked me where do I live" or "He asked me where did I live." Both look natural, and both are wrong.

The correct answer is: He asked me where I lived.

Questions, commands and exclamations are the three sentence types where indirect speech changes shape completely. A question stops being a question. A command turns into an infinitive. An exclamation loses its exclamation mark and gains a feeling word. Examiners know that these are the places where students lose marks, so they test them in almost every paper.

In this guide, I'll give you a clear method for each type, memory tricks that make the rules stick, twelve worked examples, the mistakes examiners love and a practice set with answers. If you haven't read the earlier posts, start with the basics in direct and indirect speech rules with examples. The examples here are original sentences on common exam patterns, not questions from a particular year's paper.

In This Guide

1. Part 1: Questions in indirect speech
2. Part 2: Commands, requests and advice
3. Part 3: Exclamations and wishes
4. Memory tricks cheat sheet (screenshot this)
5. Sentences that mix types
6. 12 worked examples
7. 7 common mistakes with questions, commands and exclamations
8. Practice set: 12 questions
9. A 3-day plan to master this lesson
10. Frequently asked questions
11. Where to go from here

Part 1: Questions in indirect speech

A question in direct speech asks something. In indirect speech, we only report that a question was asked, so the sentence becomes a statement in disguise. That one idea explains every rule below.

Two kinds of questions

• Yes/no questions start with an auxiliary or a modal (do, does, did, is, are, was, have, can, will). We join them with if or whether.
• WH-questions start with a question word (what, where, when, why, who, how). We keep the same question word as the connector.

Yes/no questions

WH-questions

The five steps to convert any question

1. Change said to into asked (or enquired).
2. Add if/whether for a yes/no question, or keep the WH-word.
3. Write the rest in statement order: subject first, then verb.
4. Remove do, does and did, and adjust the verb to match.
5. Remove the question mark, and apply the usual changes for tense, pronouns, time and place.

If or whether?

Both are correct for yes/no questions. But whether is better when the question has an "or": She said to him, "Do you want tea or coffee?" becomes She asked him whether he wanted tea or coffee.

Part 2: Commands, requests and advice

A command, a request or a piece of advice is an imperative sentence. In indirect speech, we choose a reporting verb that matches the force of the sentence, and the command becomes an infinitive (to + verb). If you want the full list of verbs, see my post on the reporting verbs list.

The pattern

Reporting verb + person + to + verb

Three small rules to remember

• No "that" and no tense change. The infinitive doesn't step back, because there's no tense to move.
• Negative commands. "Do not" becomes "not to". For example, "Do not run" becomes "told us not to run".
• "Please" and "kindly" turn the verb into "requested". If the sentence is a polite request, don't use "ordered".

Commands that begin with "Let"

When a command starts with "Let" and is about a third person, we use "should be allowed to": The captain said, "Let him go." becomes The captain ordered that he should be allowed to go. When "Let us" is a suggestion, we use suggested that we/they should, as in my reporting verbs post.

Part 3: Exclamations and wishes

An exclamation shows a feeling, such as joy, sorrow, surprise or disgust. In indirect speech, the exclamation mark and the interjection disappear, and the feeling moves into the reporting verb: exclaimed with joy, sorrow, surprise, wonder or disgust.

"What" and "how" become "very"

Exclamations often start with "What a..." or "How...". In indirect speech, we turn the sentence into a statement and replace "what a" and "how" with very.

• He said, "What a beautiful garden this is!" becomes He exclaimed with delight that it was a very beautiful garden.
• She said, "How clever he is!" becomes She exclaimed with admiration that he was very clever.

Wishes and prayers

A sentence that begins with "May" expresses a wish or a prayer. We report it with wished or prayed, followed by "that" and might.

• The mother said to the child, "May God bless you!" becomes The mother prayed that God might bless the child.
• He said to me, "May you succeed!" becomes He wished that I might succeed.

Memory tricks cheat sheet (screenshot this)

Here's every shortcut from this guide, plus the earlier ones from this series, in one place.

Sentences that mix types

Real exam questions often contain two sentences of different types. Treat each part by its own rule, and join them with "and". Example: He said, "I am late. Why are you waiting?" becomes He said that he was late and asked why I was waiting. The first part is a statement (that + tense change). The second part is a question (asked + WH-word + statement order).

For the tense and pronoun parts, if you need a refresher, see my guides on the tense changes chart and on pronouns, time and place words.

12 worked examples

7 common mistakes with questions, commands and exclamations

Practice set: 12 questions

Convert each sentence into indirect speech. Write your answers in a notebook first.

1. He said to me, "Where do you live?"
2. She said to him, "Are you coming to the party?"
3. The teacher said to the boy, "Why are you late?"
4. The mother said to the child, "Wash your hands."
5. He said to me, "Please wait here."
6. The officer said to the clerk, "Do not waste time."
7. The boy said, "Hurrah! I have passed the exam."
8. She said, "What a beautiful song!"
9. Ravi said to me, "Do you know her?"
10. The coach said to the players, "Practise daily."
11. The old man said to the boy, "May God bless you!"
12. She said to him, "When will you return?"

A 3-day plan to master this lesson

Frequently asked questions

Do I use "that" in indirect questions?

No. A question is joined with "if" or "whether" for yes/no questions, and with the same WH-word for other questions. "He asked me that where I lived" is wrong.

Should I use "if" or "whether"?

Both are correct for yes/no questions. Use "whether" when the question has an "or", as in "whether he wanted tea or coffee".

Why do we remove do, does and did in indirect questions?

Because the indirect question is now a statement, and statements don't use these helping verbs. The verb takes the correct tense instead: "Where do you live?" becomes "where I lived".

How do I report a request with "please"?

Use "requested" (or "begged" for a very strong request) followed by person + to + verb. For example, "Please help me" becomes "He requested me to help him".

How do I report "What a beautiful picture!"?

Choose a reporting verb with the feeling (exclaimed with delight or wonder), then write a statement with "very" in place of "what a": "He exclaimed with delight that it was a very beautiful picture".

Can I use "said" for a question?

No. In indirect speech, "said to" before a question must become "asked" (or "enquired"). Using "said" would hide the fact that a question was asked.

Where to go from here

You now have a clear method for the three trickiest sentence types, plus the memory tricks to keep it all in your head. Practise the twelve questions again in three days, and keep the cheat sheet on your phone. The next post in this series gives you a large set of direct and indirect speech exercises with answers, so you can test everything you've learned.

If you'd like the complete system in one place, with rules, memory tricks and exam-style practice, my ebook Mastering Direct & Indirect Speech: Ultimate Guide to Confident Reporting: For SSC CGL, IBPS PO, CAT, CUET, UPSC and State PSCs is available on Amazon.

Mastering Direct & Indirect Speech: Ultimate Guide to Confident Reporting

Convert narration from your most error-prone descriptive-paper section into a confidently mastered, rule-driven skill.