Tell It Like They Said: Reporting Questions & Commands for Class 8

This Grade 8 worksheet helps students convert direct questions and commands into reported (indirect) speech with accuracy and confidence. Through a variety of activities including multiple choice questions, fill in the blanks, true or false, identification tasks, and sentence rewriting, learners master the rules of reported speech for questions (using "if" or "whether" for yes/no questions, retaining "wh-" words) and commands (using "told" or "asked" with infinitive forms).

Why Reporting Questions & Commands Matter in Grammar?

Reported speech is essential for narrating conversations, writing news reports, and communicating information indirectly. For Grade 8 learners, this topic is important because:
1. Reported questions drop question marks and use statement word order.
2. Yes/no questions use "if" or "whether" in reported speech, while "wh-" questions retain their question word.
3. Commands are reported using "told" or "asked" followed by the infinitive form of the verb.
4. Mastering reported speech improves narrative writing, dialogue, and formal communication skills.

What's Inside This Worksheet?

This worksheet includes five grammar-rich activities that build fluency with reporting questions and commands:

Exercise 1 – Multiple Choice Questions
Students choose the correct answer about the structure and rules of reported questions and commands, covering topics like clause structure, the use of "if/whether," infinitive forms, and quotation marks. Example: "Reported questions use a __________ clause structure." Answer: reported.

Exercise 2 – Fill in the Blanks
Students complete ten sentences using a word bank of reporting verbs (reminded, requested, instructed, inquired, encouraged, emphasised, commanded, wondered, demanded, questioned). Example: "The teacher inquired why Rahul was out."

Exercise 3 – True or False
Students evaluate ten statements about reported questions and commands, such as whether reported questions still have question marks (False), whether "if" is used for yes/no questions (True), and whether "tell" can be used for commands (True). Example: "Commands are reported using told or asked." Answer: True.

Exercise 4 – Underline the Reporting Verb and Circle the Reported Clause
Students identify the reporting verb and the reported clause in each sentence, practising their ability to recognise the structure of reported speech. Example: "She asked me where I lived."

Exercise 5 – Sentence Writing
Students convert direct questions and commands into reported speech, writing their own reported sentences on topics like school, cricket, and festivals. Answers may vary for student-generated sentences.

Answer Key (For Parents & Educators)

Exercise 1 – Multiple Choice Questions
1. b) reported
2. a) indirect
3. c) infinitive
4. b) auxiliary
5. c) quotation
6. c) questions
7. c) paragraph
8. c) reversed
9. c) something
10. a) commands

Exercise 2 – Fill in the Blanks
1. wondered
2. inquired
3. commanded
4. instructed
5. commanded
6. requested
7. questioned
8. emphasised
9. encouraged
10. reminded

Exercise 3 – True or False
1. False
2. True
3. True
4. True
5. True
6. False
7. False
8. True
9. False
10. False

Exercise 4 – Underline the Reporting Verb and Circle the Reported Clause
1. Underline: asked | Circle: where I lived
2. Underline: told | Circle: to sit down
3. Underline: asked | Circle: who knew
4. Underline: told | Circle: not to play
5. Underline: asked | Circle: if the bus came
6. Underline: told | Circle: to walk
7. Underline: asked | Circle: Pooja the time
8. Underline: told | Circle: to open
9. Underline: asked | Circle: to join the team
10. Underline: told | Circle: to quiet down

Exercise 5 – Rewritten Sentences
Answers may vary.
1. She asked me where the library was located.
2. The teacher told him to do his homework before going out to play.
3. They asked if the train was running late that evening.
4. The teacher requested them to sit down quietly in the classroom.
5. The principal asked whether all students had submitted their science projects on time.
6. The coach told the players to practise bowling every day without fail.
7. She asked him if he would be attending the extra class on Saturday.
8. The teacher instructed the students not to throw colours on each other during the festival.
9. A visitor asked the villagers how they celebrated the harvest festival every year.
10. The librarian told the children not to shout inside the reading room.

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