How do you report reported speech in reported reported indirect questions?

When reporting reported speech in reported indirect questions, there are a few steps to follow.

First, it is important to understand the concept of reported speech. Reported speech is when we report or relay what someone else has said, using our own words. It involves changing the tense, pronouns, and sometimes the adverbs or time expressions to reflect the new context.

Now, when we have reported speech within indirect questions, we need to apply the same principles. Let's break it down step by step:

1. Identify the original reported speech: Start by identifying the original reported speech within the indirect question. This could be a direct question or a statement that someone else has made.

2. Introduce the reporting verb: Begin the reported indirect question by introducing the appropriate reporting verb. Common reporting verbs include ask, wonder, inquire, or want to know.

3. Change the tense and pronouns: Next, change the tense and pronouns in the reported speech to match the new context. For example, if the original reported speech was in the present tense, you might need to change it to the past tense. Similarly, if the original speech used first-person pronouns (I, we), you would change them to third-person pronouns (he, she, they) in the reported indirect question.

4. Use question word order: In reported indirect questions, we use question word order, which means that the subject comes before the verb. For example, instead of saying "Did he say where he was going?", we would say "He asked where he was going."

5. Adjust adverbs and time expressions: Finally, adjust any adverbs or time expressions to reflect the new context. For example, if the original speech included the word "yesterday," you might need to change it to "the day before" or "the previous day" in the reported indirect question.

Overall, when reporting reported speech in reported indirect questions, it is important to pay attention to tense, pronouns, question word order, and any necessary adjustments to adverbs or time expressions. By following these steps, you can accurately report the original speech in a new context.