Reported speech

[Mlngvt]

Dear teacher,
Please explain to me. In the reported speech why sometimes is the verb inverted sometimes is not. Are there any rules or I can write as I like? Please help me.
Many thanks.

"How much does a day return to Hue cost?" My father asked.
"Which of his sons inherited his estate?" asked the man.
"If you don't pay the random, we'll kill they boy", said the kidnappers.

[Alan]

Hi Mlngvt,

If you like you can take a look at a piece I've written for the site on indirect/reported speech under the heading esl lessons. In the index you will see indirect speech There you will find indirect/reported speech in use.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Cool Expressions

[Guest]

I have look at it but I don't find what I need.
I want to know why "asked" put after teacher in the first sentence and why can "asked" be put before the man in the second.
It is what I don't understand.

1."How much does a day return to Hue cost?" My father asked.
2. "Which of his sons inherited his estate?" asked the man.

[Alan]

Hi,

Both are acceptable. It is a question of balance. If the subject is simply a single pronoun, the normal order would usually apply as in:

What time is it? asked the man
What time is it? he asked.

Alan
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story In short