Exercises
Turn these sentences into reported speech
1-Peter: “We must try to do our jobs”
Peter said ………………………………………………………….
TENSE CHANGES
2-Elsa: “I met them at the club two weeks ago”
Elsa says………………………………………………………….
SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST
3-My dad: “I’ll help you with your homework” PRES. CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS
My dad told me …………………………………………………. PRES. PERFECT PAST PERFECT .
SIMPLE PAST PAST PERFECT
4-Ray: “It took me four to six hours to write this essay” PAST CONTIN. PAST PERFECT
Ray said that………………………………………………………… CONT.
PAST PERFECT PAST PERFECT
5-Mrs. Smith: “My parents are having a holiday in England next
month” PAST PERFECT CONT. PAST PERF CONT.
Mrs. Smith is saying …………………………………………………
6-The students: “We could study a lot” MODALS CHANGES
The students told me …………………………………………………
WILL WOULD
7-Tommy: “I’m not really looking forward to that party” CAN COULD
Tommy said to me …………………………………………………
MUST HAD TO
8-Charlie: “My brother had a baby in 2007” SHALL SHOULD
Charlie says………………………………………………………… MAY MIGHT
9-Ann: “We can’t come to the meeting next Saturday”
Ann said…………………………………………………………… However, if the main clause starts with
Simple Present or Present Continuous, there
10-Stella: “I’m probably going to be late tomorrow”
is no change of tenses in the second clause.
Stella says………………………………………………………
11-The girls: “ We’ve had three tests this week”
The girls told us ………………………………………………… Pronouns and adverbs of time and place
12-Sylvia and George: “We want to bring our son” change.
Sylvia and George said…………………………………………
13-Mr. Dashwood: “My sister lives in Paris” Here There
Mr. Dashwood is saying…………………………………………. This That
These Those
14-The School Director: “The students should come back at 10.30”
Now Then
The School Director told me………………………………………
Today That day
This week That week
15-John: “I must look after my brother”
Tonight That night
John said…………………………………………………………
Tomorrow The following/next day
16-“I usually have a coffee at that hour” The day after tomorrow In two days’ time
Her dad said……………………………………………………. Next week The following/next week
Next Monday The following Monday
17-“Your dress is so beautiful”
Her best friend was always telling her………………………… Yesterday The previous day
The day before
18-“We must find a better solution” Ago Before
My mother says……………………………………………… Last Sunday The previous Sunday
The day before yesterday Two days after
19-“It took me four hours to find your house”
Ray tells me………………………………………………….
20-“We should solve this problem soon”
They said………………………………………………………
Complete using direct speech.
1-The students said they’d been playing tennis that morning.
The students:…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2-The doctor says Steve should stop smoking.
The doctor:………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3-Alice’s mum told her that her clothes were horrible.
Alice’s mum:…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4-Ann says she’s having a meeting tomorrow morning.
Ann:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Turn these questions into indirect speech.
1-Liz: “Do you like pop music, Jack?”
Liz asked Jack……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2-Peter: Are you enjoying the match, George?
Peter is asking…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
3-Joaquin: “How long has Ann stayed in London?”
Joaquin wondered…………………………………………………………………………………………………
4-Alice: “How many brothers have you got?”
Alice is asking Joaquin…………………………………………………………………………………………….
5-John: “Which sports have you practiced since 1999?”
John wanted to know……………………………………………………………………………………………….
6-The teacher: “Why is Kathy absent today?”
The teacher wondered……………………………………………………………………………………………...
7-Ann: “Have the boys bought jackets?”
Ann asked me……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
8-Ali: “Is Alan going to be at home tonight, Emma?”
Ali asked…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
REPORTING QUESTIONS
YES / NO QUESTIONS: -we turn questions into affirmative sentences
-we introduce the affirmative sentence using if / whether.
-we change tenses, pronouns and adverbs of time and place
Peter: “Are you at home?” Peter asked me if / whether I was at home
Julian: “Do you play football?” Julian asked me if / whether I played football.
WORD QUESTIONS: -we turn questions into affirmative sentences
-we introduce the affirmative sentence using the word question.
-we change tenses, pronouns and adverbs of time and place
My mum: “Where are you going to?” My mum asked me where I was going to.
My teacher: “Why haven’t you finished?” My teacher asked me why I hadn’t finished.
KEYS
Turn these sentences into reported speech
1-Peter said they must try to do their jobs.
2-Elsa says she met them at that club two weeks before.
3-My dad told me he would help me with my homework.
4-Ray said that it had taken him four to six hours to write that essay.
5- Mrs. Smith is saying her parents are having a holiday in England the following month.
6-The students told me they could study a lot.
7-Tommy said to me he was not really looking forward to that party.
8-Charlie says his brother had a baby in 2007.
9-Ann said they could not come to that meeting the following Saturday.
10-Stella says she is probably going to be late the next day/ the following day
11-The girls told us they had had three tests that week.
12-Sylvia and George said they wanted to bring their son.
13-Mr. Dashwood is saying his sister lives in Paris.
14- The School Director told me the students should come back at 10.30.
15-John said he had to look after his brother.
16-Her dad said he usually had a coffee at that hour.
17-Her best friend was always telling her that her dress was so beautiful.
18-My mother says they must find a better solution.
19-Ray tells me it took him four hours to find my house.
20-They said they should solve that problem soon.
Complete using direct speech.
1-The students: “We have been playing tennis this morning”
2-The doctor: “You should stop smoking, Steve”
3-Alice’s mum: “Your clothes are horrible”
4-Ann: “I’m having a meeting tomorrow morning”
Turn these questions into indirect speech.
1-Liz asked Jack if / whether he likes pop music.
2-Peter is asking if / whether you are enjoying the match, George.
3-Joaquin wondered how long Ann had stayed in London.
4-Anya is asking Joaquin how many brothers he has got.
5-John wanted to know which sports you had practiced since 1999.
6-The teacher wondered why Kathy was absent that day.
7-Ann asked me if / whether the boys had bought jackets.
8-Ali asked Emma if / whether Alan was going to be at home that night.
