Reported speech (key)
A- Write these sentences in indirect speech.
1. She said she was very tired.
2. He said he would see them soon / later .
3. She said she was going to the cinema.
4. He said he saw the children quite often.
5. She said she was having a bath.
6. He said he had already met their parents.
7. She said she had stayed in a hotel for a few weeks.
8. He said he had to go home to make the dinner.
9. She said she hadn’t been waiting long.
10. He said he liked swimming, dancing and playing tennis
11. She said she could drive.
B- Write these sentences in indirect speech, changing words where necessary.
1. He said he had seen her that day.
2. She said she didn’t like the film.
3. She said she would see Mary the following Sunday.
4. He said he had met her about three months before.
5. She said Pete and Sue were getting married the following day.
6. He said Stephen was bringing some records to the party that night.
7. She said she really liked the furniture.
8. They said they had visited her that morning.
9. She said she could see me the next week.
C- Write these sentences in indirect speech, using wanted to know and the words given. Change ‘ you’ to ‘I’, etc.
where necessary.
1. He wanted to know which book I had taken.
2. She wanted to know if I was wearing my brother’s coat.
3. He wanted to know if I phoned my mother.
4. She wanted to know if the box was made of cardboard.
5. He wanted to know how much it had cost.
6. She wanted to know if I was seeing the director the following day.
7. She wanted to know how far I had to walk.
8. He wanted to know if I had had something to eat.
9. He wanted to know when the performance started.
D- Rewrite these sentences, choosing the correct verb from the box for each sentence and using it with the
construction shown. In some cases the verb may replace part of the sentence. Use each verb once only.
Verbs that take the infinitive: advise, invite, offer, promise, refuse, remind, warn
Verbs that take the gerund: apologise for, insist on, suggest
Verbs followed by indirect speech: agree, announce, boast, claim, concede (admit)
1. She announced that they were going to get married the next June.
2. She warned him not to go near the dog.
3. She insisted on paying for the meal.
4. She apologised for not writing.
5. He invited them to come round for dinner the following Friday evening.
6. The doctor advised him to give up smoking.
7. He conceded that he had been wrong and that I had been right.
8. She promised to write every week.
9. She offered to carry the suitcase for me.
10. He suggested going to the theatre the next Saturday.
11. “The Prime Minister claimed that the newspaper report was not true.
12. She reminded me to send an email.
13. The teacher agreed that it had been a difficult exam.
14. The manager refused to give her a pay rise.
15. She boasted that her parents had three cars.