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Direct Indirect Excercise

The document provides examples for reporting speech in indirect or reported speech. It begins with an exercise reporting direct quotes in indirect speech. Some key rules covered include: using past tense verbs when reporting speech from the past, changing pronouns like "I" to the speaker's name, and replacing adverbs like "today" with the specific day being referred to. Additional examples are given for reporting questions, requests, commands and advice by using verbs like "ask" and changing the verb form.

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Tamie Astrini
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1K views

Direct Indirect Excercise

The document provides examples for reporting speech in indirect or reported speech. It begins with an exercise reporting direct quotes in indirect speech. Some key rules covered include: using past tense verbs when reporting speech from the past, changing pronouns like "I" to the speaker's name, and replacing adverbs like "today" with the specific day being referred to. Additional examples are given for reporting questions, requests, commands and advice by using verbs like "ask" and changing the verb form.

Uploaded by

Tamie Astrini
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Reported speech - exercise 1

Complete the sentences in the reported speech test.

See also PDF exercise 1.

Example: "I admire you." - She said she admired me.

w as
"It is too late." - I said it too late. right
Right: was

w as replied
"I have replied." - He claimed that . wrong
Right: he had replied

yesterday
"I met you yesterday." - Sam told me he had met me . wrong
Right: the previous day / the day before

"I cannot come." - Mary explained that .


Right: she could not come

"I could fall down." - He was afraid down.


Right: he could fall

"I will pay tomorrow." - He said he would pay .


Right: the next day / the following day

"The Himalayas are the highest." - He knew that the Himalayas the highest.
Right: are / were

"I may lend you some money." - Bill promised some money.
Right: he might lend me

"I have been watching a film." - He replied that a film.


Right: he had been watching

"Claire must rest." - The doctor said Claire .


Right: must rest / had to rest
"I have not done it today." - I explained that I had not done it .
Right: that day

"If I was younger, I would accept it." - He thought that if younger, he would
accept it.
Right: he was

"I was with him last week." - Jill admitted that with him the previous week.
Right: she had been

"You needn't change your shoes in our house." - She reminded me that I my shoes
in their house.
Right: need not change / did not have to change

"I am calling my mum." - She said she her mum.


Right: was calling

"I will finish this picture tomorrow." - Diana supposed that she would finish
picture the next day.
Right: that

"I would buy it." - She said it.


Right: she would buy

"Greg used to be my friend." - He told us Greg his friend.


Right: used to be

Direct speech: “I’m seeing my brother tomorrow.”

Indirect speech: She said she was seeing her brother the following day.

Here are some other examples:

Direct speech: “I had a headache yesterday.”

Indirect speech: You said you’d had a headache the day before yesterday.

Direct speech: “It’s been raining since this afternoon.”


Indirect speech: He said it’d been raining since that afternoon.

Direct speech: “I haven’t seen them since last week.”

Indirect speech: She said she hadn’t seen them since the previous week.

Direct speech: “Where do they live?”

Indirect speech: You asked me where they lived.

Direct speech: “When are you leaving?”

Indirect speech: He asked us when we were leaving.

Direct speech: “How will they get here?”

Indirect speech: She asked me how they would get here.

When you make a request, you normally use words like ‘can’, ‘could’, or ‘will’. For example:

“Could you call me back later?”

“Will you have a seat?”

“Can you not do that please?”

To report a request, we use the verb ‘to ask’ and the infinitive form of the verb. For example:

You asked me to call you back later.

He asked me to have a seat.

She asked us not to do that.

Reported commands, requests and advice

The commands, requests and advice mostly have the same form in English: verb + object +
infinitive (advise, ask, beg, forbid, order, persuade, recommend, tell, urge, warn etc.).
In the direct speech we do not mention the person in the imperative. In the indirect speech the
person addressed must be mentioned.
"Get up!" he said. - He told me to get up.
"Please, revise for the test," he said. - He urged me to revise for the test.
"Put on your coat," I said. - I advised him to put on his coat.
Negative commands, requests and advice are made by verb + object + not + infinitive.
"Don't hesitate," he said. - He persuaded me not to hesitate.
"Don't smoke," the doctor warned my father. - The doctor warned my father not to smoke.

Tell can introduce statements, commands, requests or advice. The form is different, however.

Statements with tell


"I'm leaving," he told me. - He told me that he was leaving.

Commands, requests or advice with tell


"Leave the room," he told John. - He told John to leave the room.
"Don't give up," the teacher told her students. - The teacher told the students not to give up.

Similarly ask is used in reported questions, commands, requests or advice in different forms.

Questions with ask


"Will you make coffee?" he said. - He asked me if I would make coffee.

Commands, requests or advice with ask


"Make coffee, please," he said. - He asked me to make coffee.
"Don't park in my place," Greg told me. - Greg asked me not to park in his place.

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