Reported Questions Вопросы в косвенной речи

1. При переводе прямого вопроса в косвенной он превращается в дополнительное придаточное предложение. Вопросительный порядок слов заменяется порядком слов повествовательного предложения – глагол- сказуемое ставится после подлежащего. Личные и притяжательные местоимения заменяются по смыслу.

2. Если в главном предложении глагол-сказуемое стоит в форме прошедшего времени, то в косвенном вопросе необходимо соблюдать правила согласования времен.

3. При переводе общих вопросов в косвенные они присоединяются к главному предложению с помощью союзов if или whether, которые переводятся на русский язык частицей ли.

e.g.: John asked the secretary whether Mr. Brown had come back. Джон спросил секретаря, вернулся ли г-н Браун.

Примечание: При передаче в косвенной речи ответов на общие вопросы слова yes и no опускаются.

e.g.: He answered, “Yes, I can” (“No. I can’t.”) – He answered that he could (he couldn’t).

4. Специальные вопросы в косвенной речи вводятся соответствующими вопросительными словами.

e.g.: He asked Jane, “Who won the last swimming event?” – He asked Jane who had the previous swimming event.

She asked Bill, “How old is John’s father?” – She asked Bill how old John’s father was.

5. Если прямую речь вводит глагол to say, то в косвенной речи он заменяется глаголами to ask, to wonder, to want to know.

e.g.: She said, “John, when are you leaving?” – She asked John (she wondered, she wanted to know) when he was leaving.

Direct Questions		Reported Questions
He asked me,	General Questions
	“Is Mr. Smith a doctor?” “Is it raining now?” “Have you finished the poem?” “Did you enjoy the film?” “Will she join us?” “May I speak to you after lunch?”	He asked me	if whether	Mr. Smith was a doctor? it was raining then. I had finished the poem. they had enjoyed the film. she would join us. he might speak to me after lunch.
He asked me,	Special Questions
	“What are you doing now” “What foreign languages does Peter know?” “Whose team lost the game yesterday?” “When will you go to see your mother?” “Where are they now?”	He asked me		what I was doing then. what foreign languages Peter knew. whose team had lost the game the day before. when I would go to see my mother. where they were then.

1. Write the following special questions into reported speech:

1. I said to Nick: “Where are you going?” 2. I said to him: “How long are you going to stay there?” 3. I said to him: “How long will it take you to get there?” 4. Pete said to his friends: “When are you leaving St.Peterburg?”5. He said to them: “Who will you see before you leave here?” 6. They said to him: “What time does the train start?” 7. Ann said to Mike: “When did you leave London?” 8. She said to Boris: “When will you be backing home?” 9. Boris said to them: “When will you be backing home?” 10. Mary asked Tom: “What time will you come tomorrow?”

2. Rewrite the following special questions into reported speech; begin them with the words in brackets:

1. Where is he going? (He didn’t tell anybody…) 2. Where has he gone? (Did you know …) 3. Where is he? (Did you know…) 4. When is he leaving school? (I wanted to know…) 5. When is he leaving school? (I wanted to know …) 6. When will he come back? (She asked them …) 7. How much did she pay for it? (I had no idea …) 8. Where did I put the book? (I forgot…) 9. Who has given you this nice kitten? (She wanted to know …) 10. Where can I buy an English-Russian dictionary? (He asked me …) 11. How long will it take your brother to get to Madrid? (He wondered …)

3. Right the following questions into reported speech.

1. I said to Boris: “Does your friend live in London?” 2. I said to the man: “Are you living in a hotel?” 3. Nick said to his friend: “Will you stay at the ‘Hilton’?” 4. He said to me: “Do you often go to see your friends?” 5. He said to me: “Will you see your friends before you leave St.Petersburg?” 6. Mike said to Jane: “Will you come to the railway station to see me off?” 7. She said to me: “Have you sent them a telegram yesterday?” 8. I said to Mike: “Have you packed your suitcase?” 9. I said to Kate: “Did anybody meet you at the station?” 10. I said to her: “Can you give me their address?”

4. Write the following general questions into reported speech, beginning with the words in brackets:

1. Have you found the book? (She asked me…) 2. Are there any more books here? (The man asked …) 3. Did she go shopping yesterday (I wanted to know …) 4. Has she bought the dictionary? (He did not ask her …) 5. Does she know the name of the man? (I doubted …) 6. Did Boris see the man this morning? (I asked …) 7. Have they sold the picture? (I did not know …) 8. Do they know anything about it? (I wondered …) 9. Has Jack given you his telephone number? (She asked me …) 10. Is he coming back today? (I was not sure …)

5. Restore the following sentences in reported speech into direct speech:

1. I asked if they had taken the sick man to hospital. 2. I asked my friend if he had a headache. 3. I wanted to know when he had fallen ill. 4. I wondered if he had taken his temperature. 5. I asked him if the doctor had given him some medicine. I asked him if he was feeling better now. 6. I asked the man how long he had been in London. 7. I asked him if he was going to a health-resort. 8. We asked him if her father was still in Moscow. 9. I asked the girl what sort of work her father did. 10. John asked Mary if she was afraid of thunderstorm.

6. Answer the following questions, using reported speech:

e.g.: “I like novels written by Dickens,” said Nina to her friend Vera. “I have read

many of them”

What did Nina say to Vera?

Nina told Vera that she liked novels written by Dickens and that she had

read many of them.

1. “My favourite books are ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ and ‘Robinson Crusoe’,” answered Vera. “And now I am reading a novel by Walter Scott.”

What did Vera answer Nina?

2. “Last year we learnt some poems by Byron and Shelly, they are so beautiful,”

What did Nina say?

3. “I know many poems by these great poets. I have read some books about

Byron and Shelly, too,” said Vera.

What did Vera tell Nina?

4. “This year we shall read a play by Shakespeare in English,” said Nina.

What did Nina say?

7. Write the direct speech into reported speech:

1. “I’ve bought tickets for a Saturday performance,” I said. 2. “We had a good walk in the country yesterday,” my sister said to me. 3. “Mr. White is going to fly abroad next week,” they said. 4. “Every passenger goes through the Customs when he comes from abroad,” said the Customs official. 5. “At what time will the plane land?” asked the passenger. 6. “Shall we take a taxi to get home?” my friend asked me. 7. “At what institute did your sister study?” my friend asked me. 8. “Who gave you instructions to get the materials ready?” asked the director. 9. “I must go through the mail now,” I said. 10. “I’m glad to do business with your firm,” Mr. Smith said to us.