7.32 'yes/no' questions

There are two main types of question, and so two main types of report structure for questions.

One type of question is called a 'yes/no' question. These are questions which can be answered simply with 'yes' or 'no'.

When you report a 'yes/no' question, you use an 'if'-clausebeginning with the conjunction 'if', or a 'whether'-clausebeginning with the conjunction 'whether'.

You use 'if' when the speaker has suggested one possibility that may be true. 'Do you know my name?' could be reported as 'A woman asked if I knew her name'.

• She asked him if his parents spoke French.
• Someone asked me if the work was going well.
• He inquired if her hair had always been that colour.

You use 'whether' when the speaker has suggested one possibility but has left open the question of other possibilities. After 'whether', you can suggest another possibility, or you can leave it unstated.

• I was asked whether I wanted to stay at a hotel or at his home.
• She asked whether the servants were still there.
• I asked Professor Fred Bailey whether he agreed.
• A policeman asked me whether he could be of help.

Sometimes the alternative possibility is represented by 'or not'.

• The barman didn't ask whether or not they were over eighteen.
• They asked whether Britain was or was not a Christian country.

For more information about 'yes/no' questions, see paragraphs 4.12 to 4.16.

7.33

There are a few other verbs which can be used before 'if'-clauses or 'whether'-clauses, because they refer to being unsure of facts or discovering facts.

• I didn't know whether to believe him or not.
• Simon wondered if he should make conversation.
• She didn't say whether he was still alive.

Here is a list of other verbs which can be used before 'if'-clauses and 'whether'-clauses:

• discover, know, remember, say, see, wonder

Note that 'know', 'remember', 'say', and 'see' are usually used in a negative or interrogative clause, or a clause with a modal.

All the verbs in the list, except 'wonder', can also be used with 'that'-clauses: see paragraph 7.27. They can all also be used with clauses beginning with 'wh'-words: see paragraph 7.35.