UNIT 48 Questions (2) (Do you know where ...?/He asked me where . . .)
A. When we ask people for information, we sometimes begin our question with Do you know . . . ? or Could you tell me . . . ? If you begin a question in this way, the word order is different from the word order in a simple question:
Where has Tom gone? (Simple question)
Compare
Do you know where Tom has gone?
When the question (Where has Tom gone?) is part of a bigger sentence (Do you know . . . ), it loses the normal question word order. Compare:
- When will Ann arrive? Do you have any idea when Ann will arrive?
- What time is it? Could you tell me what time it is?
- Why are you laughing? Tell us why you are laughing.
Be careful with do/does/did questions:
- When does the movie begin? Do you know when the movie begins?
- Why did Ann leave early? I wonder why Ann left early?
Use if or whether when there is no other question word:
- Did he see you? Do you know if (or whether) he saw you?
B. The same changes in word order happen in reported questions:
direct The police officer said to us, "Where are you going?
reported The police officer asked us where we were going.
direct Tom said, "What time do the banks close?
reported Tom wanted to know what time the banks closed.
In reported questions the verb usually changes to the past (were, closed).
Now study these examples. Here are some questions you were asked at a job interview:
Are you presently employed?
Why did you apply for the job?
Can you type?
Do you have a driver's license?
Now you tell a friend (in reported speech) what the interviewer asked you:
- She asked (me) if I was presently employed.
- She asked whether (or if) I had a driver's license.
- She wanted to know whether (or if) I could type.
- She wanted to know how long I had been working in my present job.
- She asked (me) what I did in my spare time.
- She asked (me) why I had applied for the job (or why I applied)
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