1. Complete 1-5 with the tenses below. Then complete 6-9 with the correct verb forms.
past continuous past perfect past perfect
past perfect past simple
|
Direct speech |
Reported speech |
|
1 present simple 2 present continuous 3 past simple 4 present perfect 5 past perfect 6 can / can’t 7 will / won’t 8 might 9 should |
…………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… …………………………… |
Answer
1 past simple 2 past continuous 3 past perfect
4 past perfect 5 past perfect 6 could / couldn’t
7 would / wouldn’t 8 might 9 should
2. Circle the correct words.
Last weekend
1 John said he ……… ill.
a is b was
2 Maisie said that she ……… buy a new phone.
a would b will
3 Nathan said he ……… looking forward to summer.
a is b was
4 Harry said that Kay ……… gone to Italy.
a has b had
5 Emma told me that she ……… find her phone.
a couldn’t b can’t
6 Pete told me he ……… go to the party.
a had to b might have
Answer
1 b 2 a 3 b 4 b 5 a 6 a
3. How do these references to time and place change in reported speech?
|
Direct speech |
Reported speech |
|
1 today 2 a week ago 3 yesterday 4 last year 5 tomorrow 6 next month 7 here |
…………………………. …………………………. …………………………. …………………………. …………………………. …………………………. …………………………. |
Answer
1 that day 2 a week earlier 3 the day before
4 the year before 5 the next day
6 the following month 7 there
4. Complete the text with said or told.
Dan 1…………………….. Bev that he had bought her a new phone. She looked at it and 2…………………….. him that it was too big. He 3…………………….. her that they were all that big nowadays. She 4…………………….. she wanted him to change it. He 5…………………….. that he couldn’t change it and 6…………………….. her that it had cost a lot of money. She 7…………………….. she didn’t care and 8…………………….. him she wouldn’t use it.
Answer
1 told 2 told 3 told 4 said 5 said 6 told
7 said 8 told
5. Rewrite the sentences as reported speech. If necessary, change the pronouns, possessive adjectives and references to time and place.
1 John to Sue: ‘I left a message for you yesterday.’
John told ……………………………………..
2 Mark: ‘I’ll top up my phone this evening.’
…………………………………………..
3 Jenny to Dave: ‘I can’t hear you.’
…………………………………………..
4 Ann: ‘I’ve checked my balance three times this week.’
…………………………………………..
5 Jo to Si: ‘You should turn off data roaming.’
…………………………………………..
6 Kate: ‘I had already texted Harry at the weekend.’
…………………………………………..
7 Fran to Fred: ‘I called Tom two days ago.’
…………………………………………..
Answer
1 John told Sue (that) he had left a message for her the day before.
2 Mark said (that) he would top up his phone that evening.
3 Jenny told Dave (that) she couldn’t hear him.
4 Ann said (that) she had checked her balance three times that week.
5 Jo told Si (that) he should turn off data roaming.
6 Kate said (that) she had already texted Harry the weekend before.
7 Fran told Fred (that) she had called Tom two days earlier.
6. Read the reported conversation between two identical twins. Write the direct speech below.
Imo was walking down the road when she slipped and fell. Her twin sister Zoe phoned just afterwards. Zoe told Imo that she has fallen over a few moments before. Imo told her that was an amazing coincidence because she had just done the same! Zoe said her leg was hurting so much that she couldn’t walk. Imo told Zoe that her own leg was OK and that she could easily walk home. But Imo told Zoe that if she couldn’t walk, she should call an ambulance. Zoe said that wouldn’t be necessary and that she could phone their parents.
1 Zoe: ………………………………………….
2 Imo: ………………………………………….
Because ………………………………………….
3 Zoe: ………………………………………….
4 Imo: ………………………………………….
5 Imo: But ………………………………………….
6 Zoe: ………………………………………….
Answer
1 I fell over a few moments ago.
2 That’s an amazing coincidence; I’ve just done the same.
3 My leg’s hurting so much that I can’t walk.
4 My leg is OK and I can easily walk home.
5 if you can’t walk, you should call an ambulance.
6 That won’t be necessary. I can phone our parents.
7. Complete the reported speech.
1 ‘I think my battery has run out.’
Andy said ………………………………………
2 ‘We don’t want to go home now.’
We said ………………………………………
3 ‘Beth texted me an hour ago.’
Julia told us ………………………………………
4 ‘I can’t hear what you’re saying.’
My brother said ………………………………………
5 ‘I won’t be going to school tomorrow.’
Peter said ………………………………………
6 ‘I didn’t have time to call you.’
My dad said ………………………………………
7 ‘I was angry because you’d forgotten my birthday.’
She told him ………………………………………
8 ‘I’d like to get a new phone.’
Sue told her parents ………………………………………
Answer
1 (that) he thought (that) his battery had run out
2 (that) we didn’t want to go home then/at that moment
3 (that) Beth had texted her an hour earlier
4 (that) he couldn’t hear what I was saying
5 (that) he wouldn’t be going to school the following day
6 (that) he hadn’t had time to call me
7 (that) she’d been angry because he had forgotten her birthday.
8 (that) she would like to get a new phone.
8. Complete the reported speech with said or told.
1 I …………………………… you I’d be late.
2 She …………………………… it didn’t matter.
3 They …………………………… us they were moving abroad.
4 He …………………………… to me he wasn’t sure.
5 We …………………………… we were very sorry.
6 You …………………………… me we didn’t have an exam.
Answer
1 told 2 said 3 told 4 said 5 said 6 told
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