Scribd
Upload
112 views7 pages

Reported Speech Practice Exercises

The document contains examples of reported speech exercises involving reporting statements with time expressions, reporting in different tenses, reporting commands and negations, and reporting questions with time expressions. The summaries provide the original quotes and report them in the appropriate reported speech format according to the guidelines in the different sections.

Uploaded by

Nhung Tây
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
112 views7 pages

Reported Speech Practice Exercises

The document contains examples of reported speech exercises involving reporting statements with time expressions, reporting in different tenses, reporting commands and negations, and reporting questions with time expressions. The summaries provide the original quotes and report them in the appropriate reported speech format according to the guidelines in the different sections.

Uploaded by

Nhung Tây
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Reported speech exercise

I. Reported speech – statements with expressions of time – Exercise

1. Emily: "Our teacher will go to Leipzig tomorrow."


 Emily said (that)
2. Helen: "I was writing a letter yesterday."
 Helen told me (that)
3. Robert: "My father flew to Dallas last year."
 Robert told me (that)
4. Lisa: "Tim went to the stadium an hour ago."
 Lisa said (that)
5. Patricia: "My mother will celebrate her birthday next weekend."
 Patricia said (that)
6. Michael: "I am going to read a book this week."
 Michael said to me (that)
7. Jason and Victoria: "We will do our best in the exams tomorrow."
 Jason and Victoria told me (that)
8. Andrew: "We didn't eat fish two days ago."
 Andrew remarked (that)
9. Alice: "I spent all my pocket money on Monday."
 Alice complained (that)
10. David: "John had already gone at six."
 David said (that)

II. Reported Speech in different English tenses – Exercise

1. Tim: "She works in an office."


 Tim said (that) she
2. Jessica: "I am going to clean the room."
 Jessica told me (that) she
3. Jeff: "They like the song."
 Jeff said (that) they
4. Ian and Marvin: "We need new shoes."
 Ian and Marvin remarked (that) they
5. Kathy: "He can speak Spanish."
 Kathy told us (that) he
6. Teacher: "Rachel has never been to Philadelphia."
 The teacher said (that) Rachel
7. Lucy: "The train didn't arrive on time."
 Lucy said to Gerry (that) the train
8. Emma: "I'm sitting on the chair."
 Emma said (that) she
9. Nick: "Walter doesn't eat meat."
 Nick told us (that) Walter
10. Holly: "Abby and Nathan will travel to Alaska."
 Holly remarked (that) Abby and Nathan
III. Reported commands, negations – Exercise 2
1. Teacher: "Don't forget your homework!"
 The teacher reminded me
2. Jamie: "Don't eat so much junk food!"
 Jamie reminded me
3. Karen: "Don't play football in the garden!"
 Karen told me
4. Lisa: "Don't fly via Paris!"
 Lisa advised me
5. Jane: "Don't watch the new film!"
 Jane advised me
6. Marcel: "Don't sing that song!"
 Marcel reminded me
7. Walter: "Don't ring Romy on Sunday!"
 Walter told me
8. Denise: "Don't open the door!"
 Denise told me
9. Mike: "Don't shout at Peter!"
 Mike told me
10. Yvonne: "Don't talk to your neighbour!"
 Yvonne told me
IV. Reported questions with expressions of time – Exercise
1. Jennifer: "Where do you play football today?"
 Yesterday Jennifer wanted to know
2. Grandmother: "Where are my glasses?"
 Yesterday Grandmother asked me
3. Linda: "Did Max fly to London two weeks ago?"
 Yesterday Linda wanted to know
4. Mandy: "Are the boys reading the book?"
 Yesterday Mandy asked me
5. Daniel: "Will it rain tomorrow?"
 Yesterday Daniel asked me
6. Robert: "Is Tim leaving on Friday?"
 Yesterday Robert asked me
7. A man: "When does the train to Liverpool leave?"
 Yesterday a man asked me
8. Nancy: "Why didn't Nick go to New York last summer?"
 Yesterday Nancy wanted to know
9. Barbara: "Must I do my homework this afternoon?"
 Yesterday Barbara asked me
10. Jason: "Who gave you the laptop?"
 Yesterday Jason wanted to know
V. Reported questions – Exercise

1. Christopher: "Do you want to dance?"


 Christopher asked me
2. Betty: "When did you come?"
 Betty wanted to know
3. Mark: "Has John arrived?"
 Mark asked me
4. Ronald: "Where does Maria park her car?"
 Ronald asked me
5. Elisabeth: "Did you watch the latest film?"
 Elisabeth asked me
6. Mandy: "Can I help you?"
 Mandy wanted to know
7. Andrew: "Will Mandy have lunch with Sue?"
 Andrew asked me
8. Justin: "What are you doing?"
 Justin asked me
9. Frank: "How much pocket money does Lisa get?"
 Frank wanted to know
10. Anne: "Must I do the shopping?"
 Anne asked
Answers:
I.
1. Emily: "Our teacher will go to Leipzig tomorrow."
Emily said (that) their teacher would go to Leipzig the next day.
2. Helen: "I was writing a letter yesterday."
Helen told me (that) she had been writing a letter the day before.
3. Robert: "My father flew to Dallas last year."
Robert told me (that) his father had flown to Dallas the year before.
4. Lisa: "Tim went to the stadium an hour ago."
Lisa said (that) Tim had gone to the stadium an hour before.
5. Patricia: "My mother will celebrate her birthday next weekend."
Patricia said (that) her mother would celebrate her birthday the following
weekend.
6. Michael: "I am going to read a book this week."
Michael said to me (that) he was going to read a book that week.
7. Jason and Victoria: "We will do our best in the exams tomorrow."
Jason and Victoria told me (that) they would do their best in the exams the
next day.
8. Andrew: "We didn't eat fish two days ago."
Andrew remarked (that) they hadn't eaten fish two days before.
9. Alice: "I spent all my pocket money on Monday."
Alice complained (that) she had spent all her pocket money on Monday.
10. David: "John had already gone at six."
David said (that) John had already gone at six.
II.
11. Tim: "She works in an office."
Tim said (that) she worked in an office.
12. Jessica: "I am going to clean the room."
Jessica told me (that) she was going to clean the room.
13. Jeff: "They like the song."
Jeff said (that) they liked the song.
14. Ian and Marvin: "We need new shoes."
Ian and Marvin remarked (that) they needed new shoes.
15. Kathy: "He can speak Spanish."
Kathy told us (that) he could speak Spanish.
16. Teacher: "Rachel has never been to Philadelphia."
The teacher said (that) Rachel had never been to Philadelphia.
17. Lucy: "The train didn't arrive on time."
Lucy said to Gerry (that) the trainhadn't arrived on time.
18. Emma: "I'm sitting on the chair."
Emma said (that) she was sitting on the chair.
19. Nick: "Walter doesn't eat meat."
Nick told us (that) Walter didn't eat meat.
20. Holly: "Abby and Nathan will travel to Alaska."
Holly remarked (that) Abby and Nathan would travel to Alaska.
III.
1. Teacher: "Don't forget your homework!"
The teacher reminded me not to forget my homework.
2. Jamie: "Don't eat so much junk food!"
Jamie reminded me not to eat so much junk food.
3. Karen: "Don't play football in the garden!"
Karen told me not to play football in the garden.
4. Lisa: "Don't fly via Paris!"
Lisa advised me not to fly via Paris.
5. Jane: "Don't watch the new film!"
Jane advised me not to watch the new film.
6. Marcel: "Don't sing that song!"
Marcel reminded me not to sing that song.
7. Walter: "Don't ring Romy on Sunday!"
Walter told me not to ring Romy on Sunday.
8. Denise: "Don't open the door!"
Denise told me not to open the door.
9. Mike: "Don't shout at Peter!"
Mike told me not to shout at Peter.
10. Yvonne: "Don't talk to your neighbour!"
Yvonne told me not to talk to my neighbour.

IV
1. Jennifer: "Where do you play football today?"
Yesterday Jennifer wanted to know where I played football.
2. Grandmother: "Where are my glasses?"
Yesterday Grandmother asked me where her glasses were.
3. Linda: "Did Max fly to London two weeks ago?"
Yesterday Linda wanted to know if Max had flown to London two weeks
before.
4. Mandy: "Are the boys reading the book?"
Yesterday Mandy asked me if the boys were reading the book.
5. Daniel: "Will it rain tomorrow?"
Yesterday Daniel asked me if it would rain today.
6. Robert: "Is Tim leaving on Friday?"
Yesterday Robert asked me if Tim was leaving on Friday.
7. A man: "When does the train to Liverpool leave?"
Yesterday a man asked me when the train to Liverpool left.
8. Nancy: "Why didn't Nick go to New York last summer?"
Yesterday Nancy wanted to know why Nick hadn't gone to New York the
summer before.
9. Barbara: "Must I do my homework this afternoon?"
Yesterday Barbara asked me if she had to do her homework that afternoon.
10. Jason: "Who gave you the laptop?"
Yesterday Jason wanted to know who had given me the laptop.
V.
1. Christopher: "Do you want to dance?"
Christopher asked me if I wanted to dance.
2. Betty: "When did you come?"
Betty wanted to know when I had come.
3. Mark: "Has John arrived?"
Mark asked me if John had arrived.
4. Ronald: "Where does Maria park her car?"
Ronald asked me where Maria parked her car.
5. Elisabeth: "Did you watch the latest film?"
Elisabeth asked me if I had watched the latest film.
6. Mandy: "Can I help you?"
Mandy wanted to know if she could help me.
7. Andrew: "Will Mandy have lunch with Sue?"
Andrew asked me if Mandy would have lunch with Sue.
8. Justin: "What are you doing?"
Justin asked me what I was doing.
9. Frank: "How much pocket money does Lisa get?"
Frank wanted to know how much pocket money Lisa got.
10. Anne: "Must I do the shopping?"
Anne asked if she had to do the shopping.

Common questions

Powered by AI

Challenges include properly conveying the intent and imperative nature of the original statement without using direct commands. This is addressed by replacing direct commands with structures like 'reminded me not to,' 'advised me not to,' or 'told me not to,' thus maintaining the instructive tone in a grammatically correct manner for indirect speech .

Reported questions differ as they often begin with verbs like 'asked' or 'wanted to know,' followed by if/whether for yes/no questions or wh- words for open questions. Unlike direct questions, they follow a statement order without inversion (e.g., 'when the train left' instead of 'when did the train leave?').

When converting direct speech into reported speech, expressions of time typically shift to reflect the change in perspective. For example, 'tomorrow' becomes 'the next day,' 'yesterday' changes to 'the day before,' and 'next weekend' becomes 'the following weekend.' This shift helps maintain the temporal context in reported speech .

Complexity can be reduced by breaking down the structure of reported questions into simple, manageable parts: initially focusing on understanding question word changes, practicing subject-auxiliary inversion removal, and using simple question converts, like yes/no to 'if' clauses. Repetition and clear examples help learners internalize these structures .

The speaker’s perspective is central to forming reported speech, as it dictates how pronouns, tenses, and expressions of time and place are adapted. The speaker must reflect their viewpoint, ensuring that the new listener understands the context as altered by the narrator, maintaining consistency and accuracy .

Negations in reported speech commands are conveyed by replacing negative imperatives with 'not to' + infinitive structure. For instance, 'Don't forget' becomes 'reminded me not to forget,' ensuring the prohibition or instruction's emphasis is retained without altering the original meaning .

In reported speech, modal verbs like 'can,' 'will,' and 'may' usually change to their past forms 'could,' 'would,' and 'might,' respectively, aligning with the backshift in tense. However, some modals like 'must' either remain unchanged or can become 'had to,' depending on the context .

Just like time, expressions of place may need to be altered to reflect the shift from direct to reported speech. For example, 'here' might become 'there.' These adjustments are crucial to maintain clarity and ensure the listener understands the spatial context from the perspective of the person reporting the speech .

Verb tenses typically shift back in time in reported speech; present simple becomes past simple, present continuous changes to past continuous, and future simple shifts to 'would.' These changes reflect the time perspective of the reporter relative to the original speaker, ensuring clarity about when actions occurred .

Reported speech maintains narrative coherence by ensuring all elements—tense, pronoun, and time expressions—are consistently adjusted to fit the new reporting context. This allows for seamless integration of dialogues within narratives, giving readers clear temporal and spatial cues without disrupting the flow .

You might also like