3.4.2 Reporting questions

Indirect Questions in Urdu

In this chapter you learn how to report questions in Urdu: how to turn direct questions into reported (indirect) questions, both yes/no questions and wh‑questions.

We will stay focused on questions only. General rules of indirect speech such as tense changes and pronoun changes are covered in the parent chapter and are not fully repeated here.

1. What is a reported question?

A reported question tells what someone asked, but without repeating their exact words and usually without the question word order or question mark.

Compare:

• Direct question:
  Ali said, “Where are you going?”
• Reported question:
  Ali asked where I was going.

In Urdu:

• Direct:
  علی نے کہا، "تم کہاں جا رہے ہو؟"
  Ali ne kahā, "tum kahã̃ jā rahe ho?"
• Reported:
  علی نے پوچھا کہ میں کہاں جا رہا تھا۔
  Ali ne pūchā ke main kahã̃ jā rahā thā.

You can see three key things:

1. پوچھنا “to ask” is used instead of “say.”
2. The linker کہ introduces the content of the question.
3. The reported part looks like a statement word order, not a question.

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2. Verbs commonly used to report questions

When reporting questions in Urdu, the most common verbs are:

Examples:

• اس نے مجھ سے پوچھا کہ تم کہاں رہتے ہو۔
  Us ne mujh se pūchā ke tum kahã̃ rehte ho.
  He asked me where you live.
• علی یہ جاننا چاہتا تھا کہ کیا میں آزاد ہوں۔
  Ali ye jānna chāhtā thā ke kyā main āzād hū̃.
  Ali wanted to know whether I am free.

The reporting verb may take a person with a postposition:

3. General pattern for reported questions

For both yes/no and wh‑questions, the skeleton pattern is:

[Subject + نے] + پوچھا / سوال کیا + کہ + [reported content in statement order]

For example:

• استاد نے پوچھا کہ میں کیوں دیر سے آیا تھا۔
  Ustād ne pūchā ke main kyū̃ der se āyā thā.
  The teacher asked why I had come late.

The important point is that the part after کہ is not in question form, but in normal statement order.

4. Reporting yes/no questions with کیا, اگر, یا نہیں

4.1 Direct yes/no questions

A yes/no question in direct speech is often made with کیا at the beginning, or simply with a question intonation.

Direct:

• کیا تم تھکے ہوئے ہو؟
  Kyā tum thake hue ho?
  Are you tired?
• تم گھر پر ہو؟
  Tum ghar par ho?
  Are you at home?

4.2 Reported yes/no questions with کہ

In reported speech, we usually keep کیا and then use کہ:

• اس نے پوچھا کہ کیا میں تھکا ہوا ہوں۔
  Us ne pūchā ke kyā main thakā huā hū̃.
  He asked whether I am tired.
• اس نے پوچھا کہ کیا تم گھر پر ہو۔
  Us ne pūchā ke kyā tum ghar par ho.
  He asked whether you are at home.

You can translate کیا … here as “whether / if.”

4.3 Optional کیا

Sometimes کیا is omitted in the reported part, especially in colloquial speech:

• اس نے پوچھا کہ میں گھر پر ہوں۔
  Us ne pūchā ke main ghar par hū̃.
  He asked if I was at home.

Both versions are possible. With کیا, the yes/no nature is more explicit.

4.4 Using اگر، کہ آیا, یا نہیں

In more formal or careful Urdu, you may see:

• کہ آیا “whether”
• اس نے پوچھا کہ آیا میں گھر پر ہوں۔
  Us ne pūchā ke āyā main ghar par hū̃.
  He asked whether I was at home.
• اگر “if”
• اس نے پوچھا کہ اگر میں فارغ ہوں۔
  Us ne pūchā ke agar main fārigh hū̃.
  He asked if I was free.
• یا نہیں “or not,” to make it clear that it is a yes/no question:
• اس نے پوچھا کہ میں راضی ہوں یا نہیں۔
  Us ne pūchā ke main rāzī hū̃ yā nahī̃.
  He asked whether I agree or not.

At B1 level, the most useful and frequent pattern is:

5. Reporting wh‑questions (کیا، کب، کہاں، کیوں, etc.)

Wh‑questions use question words like:

5.1 Direct wh‑questions

Examples of direct questions:

• تم کہاں جا رہے ہو؟
  Tum kahã̃ jā rahe ho?
  Where are you going?
• وہ کیوں رو رہی ہے؟
  Woh kyū̃ ro rahī hai?
  Why is she crying?
• تم نے کیا خریدا؟
  Tum ne kyā kharīdā?
  What did you buy?

5.2 Pattern in reported wh‑questions

In reported form, the wh‑word stays, but the sentence after کہ is in statement order:

X نے پوچھا کہ + [subject + other elements + verb], with wh‑word in its normal statement position.

Examples:

• Direct:
  اس نے کہا، "تم کہاں جا رہے ہو؟"
  Us ne kahā, "tum kahã̃ jā rahe ho?"
• Reported:
  اس نے پوچھا کہ میں کہاں جا رہا تھا۔
  Us ne pūchā ke main kahã̃ jā rahā thā.
  He asked where I was going.

Notice:

• The wh‑word کہاں is in the same position it would have in a statement:
  میں کہاں جا رہا تھا۔ (as if just a statement with “where” left unspecified)
• There is no question word order like in English “where was I going.”

Another example:

• Direct:
  "تم نے کیا خریدا؟"
  "Tum ne kyā kharīdā?"
  “What did you buy?”
• Reported:
  اس نے پوچھا کہ میں نے کیا خریدا تھا۔
  Us ne pūchā ke main ne kyā kharīdā thā.
  He asked what I had bought.

Again, it looks like a statement:

• میں نے کیا خریدا تھا۔ with کیا in the object position.

6. Detailed examples: Direct vs reported

6.1 With “what” (کیا)

6.2 With “where” (کہاں)

6.3 With “when” (کب)

6.4 With “why” (کیوں)

6.5 With “how” (کیسے)

6.6 With “who” (کون) and “whose” (کس کا)

7. Word order contrast: English vs Urdu in reported questions

In English, reported questions often keep a question-like order:

• “He asked where I was going.”

In Urdu, the clause after کہ behaves like a normal statement with a wh‑word:

• اس نے پوچھا کہ میں کہاں جا رہا تھا۔
  Us ne pūchā ke main kahã̃ jā rahā thā.

Compare structures:

So you can imagine:

• Statement:
  میں دفتر کیوں جا رہا ہوں۔
  Main daftar kyū̃ jā rahā hū̃.
  I am going to the office, why.
• Reported question:
  اس نے پوچھا کہ میں دفتر کیوں جا رہا ہوں۔
  Us ne pūchā ke main daftar kyū̃ jā rahā hū̃.
  He asked why I am going to the office.

Only the context (پوچھا کہ) shows that it is a question being reported.

8. Reporting questions with “ask someone to do something”

This is slightly different, but it is common when talking about “asking” in Urdu.

Instead of reporting a question, sometimes you report a request or command. That uses verbs like کہنا “to tell, to say” or کہنا + کو, often with the infinitive or imperative. This is formally part of reported commands or requests, not questions, but the English may look like a question:

• He asked me to sit.
• She asked him to come early.

In Urdu:

• اس نے مجھ سے کہا کہ بیٹھ جاؤ۔
  Us ne mujh se kahā ke baiṭh jāo.
  He told me to sit. / He asked me to sit.
• اس نے اسے کہا کہ وہ جلدی آئے۔
  Us ne use kahā ke woh jaldī āe.
  She told him to come early. / She asked him to come early.

For this chapter, just remember that پوچھنا کہ … introduces question content, while کہنا کہ … with an imperative introduces a request or order, not a question.

9. Multiple reported questions

Sometimes, one reporting verb introduces more than one question-like item:

• اس نے پوچھا کہ میں کب آؤں اور کہاں رکوں۔
  Us ne pūchā ke main kab āū̃ aur kahã̃ rūkū̃.
  He asked when I should come and where I should stay.
• انہوں نے پوچھا کہ کون آئے گا، کب آئے گا، اور کیوں آئے گا۔
  Unhõ ne pūchā ke kaun āe gā, kab āe gā, aur kyū̃ āe gā.
  They asked who would come, when he would come, and why he would come.

Here کہ introduces one larger clause that contains several wh‑phrases connected with اور.

10. Practice style examples

Here are some pairs you can study and imitate.

Example set 1

• Direct:
  "کیا تم فارغ ہو؟"
  "Kyā tum fārigh ho?"
  “Are you free?”
• Reported:
  اس نے پوچھا کہ کیا میں فارغ ہوں۔
  Us ne pūchā ke kyā main fārigh hū̃.
  He asked whether I am free.

Example set 2

• Direct:
  "تم کب واپس آؤ گے؟"
  "Tum kab vāpas āo ge?"
  “When will you come back?”
• Reported:
  اس نے پوچھا کہ میں کب واپس آؤں گا۔
  Us ne pūchā ke main kab vāpas āū̃ gā.
  He asked when I would come back.

Example set 3

• Direct:
  "وہ کہاں رہتا ہے؟"
  "Woh kahã̃ rehtā hai?"
  “Where does he live?”
• Reported:
  اس نے پوچھا کہ وہ کہاں رہتا ہے۔
  Us ne pūchā ke woh kahã̃ rehtā hai.
  He asked where he lives.

Example set 4

• Direct:
  "تم نے یہ کیوں نہیں کیا؟"
  "Tum ne ye kyū̃ nahī̃ kiyā?"
  “Why did you not do this?”
• Reported:
  اس نے پوچھا کہ میں نے یہ کیوں نہیں کیا تھا۔
  Us ne pūchā ke main ne ye kyū̃ nahī̃ kiyā thā.
  He asked why I had not done this.

Example set 5

• Direct:
  "کتنے لوگ آئیں گے؟"
  "Kitne log āẽ ge?"
  “How many people will come?”
• Reported:
  اس نے پوچھا کہ کتنے لوگ آئیں گے۔
  Us ne pūchā ke kitne log āẽ ge.
  He asked how many people would come.

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11. Summary of key patterns

1. Use verbs like پوچھنا, سوال کرنا, جاننا چاہنا to report questions.
2. Connect the reporting verb and the content with کہ.
3. For yes/no questions, use:
• کہ کیا …
• sometimes just کہ …
• or more formal کہ آیا …, یا نہیں, اگر.
4. For wh‑questions, keep the wh‑word (کیا، کب، کہاں، کیوں, etc.) and follow normal statement order.
5. Do not add a question mark after the reported clause. The whole sentence is a statement describing a question.

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Vocabulary list for this chapter