exercise on reported speech

English Grammar Online Exercises and Downloadable Worksheets

Online exercises.

• Reported Speech

Levels of Difficulty : Elementary Intermediate Advanced

• RS012 - Reported Speech Intermediate
• RS011 - Reported Speech Intermediate
• RS010 - Reporting Verbs Advanced
• RS009 - Reporting Verbs Advanced
• RS008 - Reporting Verbs Advanced
• RS007 - Reporting Verbs Intermediate
• RS006 - Reported Speech Intermediate
• RS005 - Reported Speech - Introductory Verbs Advanced
• RS004 - Reported Speech Intermediate
• RS003 - Reporting Verbs Intermediate
• RS002 - Reported Speech Intermediate
• RS001 - Reported Speech Intermediate
• Gerund - Infinitive
• Adjective - Adverb
• Modal Verbs
• Passive Voice
• Definite and Indefinite Articles
• Prepositions
• Connectives and Linking Words
• Quantifiers
• Question and Negations
• Relative Pronouns
• Indefinite Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns
• Phrasal Verbs
• Common Mistakes
• Missing Word Cloze
• Word Formation
• Multiple Choice Cloze
• Prefixes and Suffixes
• Key Word Transformation
• Editing - One Word Too Many
• Collocations
• General Vocabulary
• Adjectives - Adverbs
• Gerund and Infinitive
• Conjunctions and Linking Words
• Question and Negation
• Error Analysis
• Translation Sentences
• Multiple Choice
• Banked Gap Fill
• Open Gap Fill
• General Vocabulary Exercises
• Argumentative Essays
• Letters and Emails
• English News Articles
• Privacy Policy

Indirect speech – reported speech

Choose the correct form to complete the sentences below..

1 'I work in a bank.' ⇒ He said that he had worked has worked worked in a bank.

2 'I am working today.' ⇒ She told us she  was working is working worked  that day.

3 'I've been ill for a couple of weeks.' ⇒ He told me he was ill is ill had been ill for a couple of weeks.

4 'I was at the doctor all morning.' ⇒ She told me that she had been would be has been at the doctor all morning.

5 'I'll lend you the money.' ⇒ He told me he was lending lent would lend me the money.

6 'I can't do it without your help.' ⇒ She said she hadn't done couldn't do didn't do it without my help.

7 'The meeting may start early.' ⇒ He told us that the meeting might start can start would start early.

8 'I must leave early today.' ⇒ He said that he had to leave left must leave early that day.

9 'You should talk to Jim.' ⇒ She said that I would talk talked should talk to Jim.

10 'Get out!' ⇒ She told me I got out to get out I get out .

What is indirect speech or reported speech?

When we tell people what another person said or thought, we often use reported speech or indirect speech. To do that, we need to change verb tenses (present, past, etc.) and pronouns ( I, you, my, your, etc .) if the time and speaker are different. For example, present tenses become past , I becomes he or she , and my becomes his or her , etc.

• Sally: ‘ I don’t have time.’  ⇒ Sally said that she didn’t have time. 
• Peter: ‘ I am tired .’  ⇒ He said that he was tired. 

Omission of that

We often leave out  that after reporting verbs like  say, think ,  etc. 

• She said she was late. (= She said that she was late. )
• I thought I would get the job.  

Say or tell ?

The most common verbs we use in reported speech are  say and  tell . We must pay attention here. We say  tell somebody something  and  say something (to somebody) .

Tense changes in indirect speech

Download full-size image from pinterest.

When a person said something in the past , and now we tell somebody what that person said, the time is different, and for this reason, the verb tenses change. Look at a summary of these changes.

Changes in expressions

There are adverbs or expressions of time and place that change when we report what someone says. Here you have a list.

Questions and imperatives in indirect speech

We use the normal order of words in reported questions : subject + verb. We don’t use an auxiliary verb like do or did .

When we report an order or instruction, we use the form ask or tell someone to do something .

Pronoun changes in indirect speech

In reported or indirect speech, we must also pay attention to the use of pronouns. When a person tells us something, he or she uses the first person ( I, me, my, we, us, our ) to talk about himself or herself and the second person ( you, your ) to talk about us, the person listening. But when we tell someone else what that person said, we are going to use the third person ( he, she, his, her, etc. ) to talk about the speaker and the first person ( I, me, my ) to talk about ourselves, the listener.

• ‘ I will help you .’  ⇒ He said that he would help me. 
• ‘That’s my pen.’  ⇒ She said that it was her pen. 
• ‘ I need your help.’  ⇒ She said that she needed my help. 

We are working on this!

We're developing a NEW LEARNING PLATFORM with a subscription plan that includes additional features at an affordable price. One of those features will be PDF downloads.

Learn more!

Related tests:

Reported Speech Exercises (With Printable PDF)

| Candace Osmond

| Grammar , Quizzes

Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

In English grammar, reported speech is used to tell someone what another person said. It takes another person’s words (direct speech) to create a report of what they said (indirect speech.) With the following direct and indirect speech exercises, it will be easier to understand how reported speech works.

Reported Speech Exercise #1

Complete the sentence in the reported speech.

Reported Speech Exercise #2

Fill in the gaps below with the correct pronouns required in reported speech. Ex. Mary said: “I love my new dress!” Sentence: Mary said ____ love ____ new dress. Answer: she, her

Reported Speech Exercise #3

Choose the correct reported speech phrase to fill in the sentences below.

Grammarist is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.

2024 © Grammarist, a Found First Marketing company. All rights reserved.

Reported Speech, Indirect Speech – English Grammar Exercises

• You are here:
• Grammar Exercises

Exercise on Reported Speech

Mixed exercise 1.

Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a request, a statement or a question.

• He said, "I like this song." → He said
• "Where is your sister?" she asked me. → She asked me
• "I don't speak Italian," she said. → She said
• "Say hello to Jim," they said. → They asked me
• "The film began at seven o'clock," he said. → He said
• "Don't play on the grass, boys," she said. → She told the boys
• "Where have you spent your money?" she asked him. → She asked him
• "I never make mistakes," he said. → He said
• "Does she know Robert?" he wanted to know. → He wanted to know
• "Don't try this at home," the stuntman told the audience. → The stuntman advised the audience

Grammar Exercise: Reported Speech Exercise

Grammar exercise - reported speech, do the exercise below on reported speech and click on the button to check your answers., complete the sentences in reported speech., related materials:.

Reported Speech Exercises – Reported Speech Worksheet

Strengthening your understanding of reported speech is key to effective communication in English. Our specially designed worksheet provides a thorough exploration of reported speech, featuring a variety of exercises that will help you practice and master the concept of relaying information as it was spoken by others.

Remember to go back and study the articles mentioned below to better your knowledge of reported speech

• Direct Speech
• Direct and Indirect Speech
• No Change in Verb Tenses
• Changes in Time and Place
• Introductory Verbs
• Pronouns in Reported Speech
• Reported Questions
• Reported Commands & Requests

Reported Speech Worksheet

Reported Speech Exercises

Reported speech exercise 1: converting direct speech to reported speech.

• “I am going to the market,” said John.
• “We have finished our homework,” the students said.
• “Will you join us for dinner?” she asked.
• “I can’t drive you to the airport tomorrow,” he told her.
• “I saw a strange animal in the forest,” the hiker reported.
• “I will help you with your project,” Tom promised.
• “I don’t like spicy food,” she admitted.
• “I didn’t hear the doorbell,” he explained.
• “I’ll be moving to a new city next month,” Anna announced.
• “We won’t be able to attend the meeting,” the delegates stated.
• “I have been feeling unwell since yesterday,” the patient told the doctor.
• “I used to live in Spain,” he mentioned.
• “I may start a new course in September,” she pondered.
• “I must finish this assignment by tomorrow,” the student realized.
• “I can meet you at 3 PM,” she offered.
• “We should have taken a different route,” the driver suggested.
• “I would like to visit Japan one day,” he dreamed.
• “I have never seen such a beautiful sunset,” she exclaimed.
• “I might go for a hike if the weather is nice,” he thought aloud.
• “We did not understand the instructions,” they complained.
• John said that he was going to the market.
• The students said that they had finished their homework.
• She asked if I/you/he/she would join them for dinner.
• He told her that he couldn’t drive her to the airport the next day/tomorrow.
• The hiker reported that he had seen a strange animal in the forest.
• Tom promised that he would help me/you/us with my/your/our project.
• She admitted that she didn’t like spicy food.
• He explained that he hadn’t heard the doorbell.
• Anna announced that she would be moving to a new city the following month.
• The delegates stated that they wouldn’t be able to attend the meeting.
• The patient told the doctor that he had been feeling unwell since the day before.
• He mentioned that he used to live in Spain.
• She pondered starting a new course in September.
• The student realized that he must finish his assignment by the next day.
• She offered to meet me/you at 3 PM.
• The driver suggested that they should have taken a different route.
• He dreamed that he would like to visit Japan one day.
• She exclaimed that she had never seen such a beautiful sunset.
• He thought aloud that he might go for a hike if the weather was nice.
• They complained that they had not understood the instructions.

Reported Speech Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the correct pronouns

• Sarah said, “I am going to the store.” Sarah said that ___ was going to the store.
• Mike told me, “You can come over tomorrow.” Mike told me that ___ could come over the next day.
• “He doesn’t like the movie,” said Jane. Jane said that ___ didn’t like the movie.
• The teacher told the class, “You must submit your homework.” The teacher told the class that ___ must submit ___ homework.
• “We will finish the project on time,” the group leader announced. The group leader announced that ___ would finish the project on time.
• “She will be here soon,” Tom thought to himself. Tom thought to himself that ___ would be there soon.
• “It’s not my book,” said the boy. The boy said that it was not ___ book.
• “They have been to the new museum,” Emily told her mother. Emily told her mother that ___ had been to the new museum.
• “I don’t want to go outside,” the child told her father. The child told her father that ___ didn’t want to go outside.
• “You should wait here,” the officer told the citizens. The officer told the citizens that ___ should wait there.
• “I will handle the situation,” Mark promised. Mark promised that ___ would handle the situation.
• “You need to finish your assignment,” the tutor said to Jake. The tutor told Jake that ___ needed to finish ___ assignment.
• “We are not ready to present,” the students admitted to the professor. The students admitted to the professor that ___ were not ready to present.
• “She can join us for dinner,” they insisted. They insisted that ___ could join them for dinner.
• “I have seen that movie several times,” she mentioned. She mentioned that ___ had seen that movie several times.
• “You must apologize to your sister,” Mom instructed. Mom instructed that ___ must apologize to ___ sister.
• “They won’t be able to come to the party,” John said. John said that ___ wouldn’t be able to come to the party.
• “It might rain later,” the weatherman predicted. The weatherman predicted that ___ might rain later.
• “I’m feeling very tired today,” the athlete confessed. The athlete confessed that ___ was feeling very tired that day.
• “You shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet,” the teacher warned the students. The teacher warned the students that ___ shouldn’t believe everything ___ read on the internet.

Reported Speech Exercise 3: Multiple Choices

Reported Speech Exercise

Choose the correct reported speech form for each sentence.

1. He said, “I am watching a movie.”

• A) He said he was watching a movie.
• B) He said I am watching a movie.
• C) He said he is watching a movie.

2. She said, “I will call you tomorrow.”

• A) She said she would call me tomorrow.
• B) She said she will call you the next day.
• C) She said she would call you the next day.

3. “I have finished my homework,” he told her.

• A) He told her he had finished his homework.
• B) He told her he finished his homework.
• C) He told her he has finished his homework.

4. They said, “We are going to the market.”

• A) They said they were going to the market.
• B) They said they are going to the market.
• C) They said they go to the market.

5. “Do you like pizza?” she asked him.

• A) She asked him if he liked pizza.
• B) She asked him does he like pizza.
• C) She asked him if he likes pizza.

6. “Why did you go out last night?” the mother asked.

• A) The mother asked why had he gone out last night.
• B) The mother asked why he had gone out the night before.
• C) The mother asked why did he go out last night.

7. “Can you help me with my project?” he asked his friend.

• A) He asked his friend if he could help him with his project.
• B) He asked his friend can you help me with my project.
• C) He asked his friend if he can help him with his project.

8. “I might visit France this summer,” she mentioned.

• A) She mentioned that she might visit France this summer.
• B) She mentioned that she might visit France the coming summer.
• C) She mentioned that she may visit France that summer.

9. “We have been waiting here for over an hour!” they exclaimed.

• A) They exclaimed that they have been waiting there for over an hour.
• B) They exclaimed that they had been waiting there for over an hour.
• C) They exclaimed that they were waiting there for over an hour.

10. “Don’t touch that!” he warned.

• A) He warned not to touch that.
• B) He warned to not touch that.
• C) He warned not to touch it.

11. “I have lost my keys,” she said.

• A) She said she had lost her keys.
• B) She said she has lost her keys.
• C) She said she lost her keys.

12. “We didn’t go to school yesterday,” the boys said.

• A) The boys said they didn’t go to school the day before.
• B) The boys said they hadn’t gone to school yesterday.
• C) The boys said they hadn’t gone to school the day before.

13. “I will be traveling to Japan next year,” he told his colleagues.

• A) He told his colleagues he will be traveling to Japan next year.
• B) He told his colleagues he would be traveling to Japan the following year.
• C) He told his colleagues he would be traveling to Japan next year.

14. “You should try the new restaurant,” she suggested.

• A) She suggested that I should try the new restaurant.
• B) She suggested that you should try the new restaurant.
• C) She suggested that you tried the new restaurant.

15. “I can’t attend the meeting tomorrow,” John informed his boss.

• A) John informed his boss that he can’t attend the meeting tomorrow.
• B) John informed his boss that he couldn’t attend the meeting the next day.
• C) John informed his boss that he could not attend the meeting tomorrow.

• Latest Posts

• Active vs. Passive Voice Exercises – Active vs. Passive Voice Worksheet - December 25, 2023
• Phrase Exercises – Phrase Worksheet - December 23, 2023
• Sentence Exercises – Sentence Worksheet - December 23, 2023

Reported speech exercises

• English grammar PDF
• PDF worksheets
• Mixed PDF tests
• Present tenses
• Past tenses
• Future tenses
• Present perfect
• Past perfect
• Future perfect
• Irregular verbs
• Modal verbs
• If-conditional
• Passive voice
• Reported speech
• Time clauses
• Relative clauses
• Indirect questions
• Question tags
• Imperative sentence
• Gerund and infinitive
• Direct | indirect object

Rewrite the sentences in the reported speech

Change the tenses, pronouns, expressions of time and place to rewrite the sentences from the direct to reported speech.

Check test Answer key Clear test

Direct and indirect speech Exercises with answers and grammar rules.

Reported speech worksheets PDF exercises with answers.

Reported questions, commands and requests Exercises and grammar rules.

Reported speech - brief summary

In the reported speech we usually change tenses (one tense back), pronouns, time and place.

"I admire you," said Sarah. Sarah said she admired me.

"We came back yesterday," they told me. They told me they had come the day before.

"Peter has put it here," he thought. He thought that Peter had put it there.

"I'm afraid that your parents won't like me," said George. George said he was afraid that my parents wouldn't like him.

How to avoid the shift of tenses:

It is simple to avoid shift of tenses in the reported speech if you use the reporting verb in the present simple tense instead of the past simple tense.

"I admire you," said Sarah. Sarah says she admires me.

"I'm afraid that your parents won't like me," said George. George says that he is afraid that my parents won't like him.

Reported speech - 1

Reported speech - 2

Reported speech - 3

Worksheets - handouts

Exercises: indirect speech

• Reported speech - present
• Reported speech - past
• Reported speech - questions
• Reported questions - write
• Reported speech - imperatives
• Reported speech - modals
• Indirect speech - tenses 1
• Indirect speech - tenses 2
• Indirect speech - write 1
• Indirect speech - write 2
• Indirect speech - quiz
• Reported speech - tenses
• Indirect speech – reported speech
• Reported speech – indirect speech

• Grammar & vocab

Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): reported speech

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on X (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

English grammar practice exercise, upper-intermediate.

In this exercise you will practise reported speech.

Exercise instructions

Rewrite the following using reported speech:

Anonymous - November 3, 2020, 6:18 am Reply

Good exercise.

Anonymous - November 20, 2022, 6:26 pm Reply

Great excercise

casdoij - April 23, 2024, 11:25 am Reply

Yesss!!! Very GReAT!!11!11!! 11/10

ihsdhf - April 23, 2024, 11:34 am Reply

Very honestly 100% good exercise.

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Related Posts

• Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): word order in reported speech sentences
• Reported speech
• Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): future perfect simple
• Upper-intermediate exercises (B2 level)
• Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): present tense to past tense
• Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): prepositions
• Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): prepositions ex. 2
• Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): prepositions ex. 3
• Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): third conditional
• Upper-intermediate grammar exercise (B2 level): first, second and third conditionals

Search form

• B1-B2 grammar

Reported speech

Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job. 

Instructions

As you watch the video, look at the examples of reported speech. They are in  red  in the subtitles. Then read the conversation below to learn more. Finally, do the grammar exercises to check you understand, and can use, reported speech correctly.

Sophie:  Mmm, it’s so nice to be chilling out at home after all that running around.

Ollie: Oh, yeah, travelling to glamorous places for a living must be such a drag!

Ollie: Mum, you can be so childish sometimes. Hey, I wonder how Daisy’s getting on in her job interview.

Sophie: Oh, yes, she said she was having it at four o’clock, so it’ll have finished by now. That’ll be her ... yes. Hi, love. How did it go?

Daisy: Well, good I think, but I don’t really know. They said they’d phone later and let me know.

Sophie: What kind of thing did they ask you?

Daisy: They asked if I had any experience with people, so I told them about helping at the school fair and visiting old people at the home, that sort of stuff. But I think they meant work experience.

Sophie: I’m sure what you said was impressive. They can’t expect you to have had much work experience at your age.

Daisy:  And then they asked me what acting I had done, so I told them that I’d had a main part in the school play, and I showed them a bit of the video, so that was cool.

Sophie:  Great!

Daisy: Oh, and they also asked if I spoke any foreign languages.

Sophie: Languages?

Daisy: Yeah, because I might have to talk to tourists, you know.

Sophie: Oh, right, of course.

Daisy: So that was it really. They showed me the costume I’ll be wearing if I get the job. Sending it over ...

Ollie: Hey, sis, I heard that Brad Pitt started out as a giant chicken too! This could be your big break!

Daisy: Ha, ha, very funny.

Sophie: Take no notice, darling. I’m sure you’ll be a marvellous chicken.

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.

So, direct speech is what someone actually says? Like 'I want to know about reported speech'?

Yes, and you report it with a reporting verb.

He said he wanted to know about reported speech.

I said, I want and you changed it to he wanted .

Exactly. Verbs in the present simple change to the past simple; the present continuous changes to the past continuous; the present perfect changes to the past perfect; can changes to could ; will changes to would ; etc.

She said she was having the interview at four o’clock. (Direct speech: ' I’m having the interview at four o’clock.') They said they’d phone later and let me know. (Direct speech: ' We’ll phone later and let you know.')

OK, in that last example, you changed you to me too.

Yes, apart from changing the tense of the verb, you also have to think about changing other things, like pronouns and adverbs of time and place.

'We went yesterday.'  > She said they had been the day before. 'I’ll come tomorrow.' >  He said he’d come the next day.

I see, but what if you’re reporting something on the same day, like 'We went yesterday'?

Well, then you would leave the time reference as 'yesterday'. You have to use your common sense. For example, if someone is saying something which is true now or always, you wouldn’t change the tense.

'Dogs can’t eat chocolate.' > She said that dogs can’t eat chocolate. 'My hair grows really slowly.' >  He told me that his hair grows really slowly.

What about reporting questions?

We often use ask + if/whether , then change the tenses as with statements. In reported questions we don’t use question forms after the reporting verb.

'Do you have any experience working with people?' They asked if I had any experience working with people. 'What acting have you done?' They asked me what acting I had done .

Is there anything else I need to know about reported speech?

One thing that sometimes causes problems is imperative sentences.

You mean like 'Sit down, please' or 'Don’t go!'?

Exactly. Sentences that start with a verb in direct speech need a to + infinitive in reported speech.

She told him to be good. (Direct speech: 'Be good!') He told them not to forget. (Direct speech: 'Please don’t forget.')

OK. Can I also say 'He asked me to sit down'?

Yes. You could say 'He told me to …' or 'He asked me to …' depending on how it was said.

OK, I see. Are there any more reporting verbs?

Yes, there are lots of other reporting verbs like promise , remind , warn , advise , recommend , encourage which you can choose, depending on the situation. But say , tell and ask are the most common.

Great. I understand! My teacher said reported speech was difficult.

And I told you not to worry!

Check your grammar: matching

Check your grammar: error correction, check your grammar: gap fill, worksheets and downloads.

What was the most memorable conversation you had yesterday? Who were you talking to and what did they say to you?

Sign up to our newsletter for LearnEnglish Teens

We will process your data to send you our newsletter and updates based on your consent. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every email. Read our privacy policy for more information.

Reported Speech Exercise 5

Perfect english grammar.

• Review reported statments, questions, orders and requests
• Download this quiz in PDF here
• More reported speech exercises here

Hello! I'm Seonaid! I'm here to help you understand grammar and speak correct, fluent English.

Read more about our learning method