REPORTED QUESTIONS

UNIDAD 25

LAS ORACIONES INTERROGATIVAS INDIRECTAS

Hoy vamos a aprender cómo poner en estilo indirecto las oraciones interrogativas (Reporting Questions)

En inglés, hay dos tipos de preguntas:

WH- QUESTIONS: preguntas que comienzan por una partícula WH-

YES/NO QUESTIONS: preguntas que podemos contestar “sí” ó “no”

Dependiendo del tipo de pregunta que tengamos que “reportar” (= poner en estilo indirecto) tendremos una estructura sintáctica diferente:

Pregunta en estilo directo

Pregunta en estilo indirecto

He said, 'When did you start smoking?'

He asked me when I had started smoking

He said, 'Can I sit down?'

He asked me if/whether he could sit down.

WH-Questions

YES/NO questions

REPORTING WH-QUESTIONS Las oraciones interrogativas indirectas pueden ir introducidas por

los verbos: “ask”, “know”, “want to know”, “wonder”, “not know”.

Los cambios en los tiempos verbales son los mismos que para las oraciones afirmativas indirectas.

Cuando reportamos una WH-question, el orden de las palabras de la pregunta original cambia al ORDEN DE UNA ORACIÓN DECLARATIVA. El sujeto va inmediatamente detrás del pronombre interrogativo, y el verbo detrás del sujeto. Vamos a ver unos ejemplos:

WH-QUESTIONS

What is the problem? I asked what the problem was

Which book do you want? She asked which book I wanted

How much did you pay for it? He asked how much I had paid for it

Where have you hidden the chocolate? They asked her where she had hidden the chocolate

When will you explain the reported speech?

We asked her when she would explain the reported speech

REPORTING YES/NO-QUESTIONS

Las oraciones interrogativas indirectas pueden ir introducidas por los verbos: “ask”, “know”, “want to know”, “wonder”, “not know”.

Los cambios en los tiempos verbales son los mismos que para las oraciones afirmativas indirectas.

Cuando reportamos una YES/NO Question, éstas van a ir introducidas por las conjunciones “if” ó “whether”. El orden de las palabras de la pregunta original cambia al ORDEN DE UNA ORACIÓN DECLARATIVA

YES/NO QUESTIONS

I said to them 'Do you like chocolate?' I asked them whether they liked chocolate

He said to me 'Are you going to sing?' She asked me if I was going to sing

She asked me 'Will you make coffee?' She asked me if I would make coffee

I asked them 'Have you seen my mobile?'

I asked them if they'd seen my mobile.

EXERCISES ON REPORTED QUESTIONS

Write down the exact questions the people asked. Think about the changes you make. Underline the words which are different in each pair of sentences. What do you notice about the word order?

a) She asked me if I was leaving the shop'Are you leaving the shop?'

b) She asked me if I'd paid for everything in my bag________________________________________________________________________

c) She asked me if I would come to the manager's office with her.________________________________________________________________________

d) The manager asked me how long I had been in the shop and how many things I had bought.________________________________________________________________________

e) I asked what was going on________________________________________________________________________

f) He asked me whether I had a receipt for the pullover________________________________________________________________________

EXERCISES ON REPORTED QUESTIONS

Write down the exact questions the people asked. Think about the changes you make. Underline the words which are different in each pair of sentences. What do you notice about the word order?

g) They asked which assistant had served me.________________________________________________________________________

h) Then the store detective asked the manager if he wanted her to call the police.________________________________________________________________________

i) I asked her if she remembered me.________________________________________________________________________