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:.
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
Reported speech exercise 1: converting direct speech to reported speech.
1. she | 2. I | 3. he |
4. they, their | 5. they | 6. she |
7. his | 8. they | 9. she |
10. they | 11. he | 12. he, his |
13. they | 14. she | 15. she |
16. you, your | 17. they | 18. it |
19. he | 20. they, you |
Reported Speech Exercise
Choose the correct reported speech form for each sentence.
1. He said, “I am watching a movie.”
2. She said, “I will call you tomorrow.”
3. “I have finished my homework,” he told her.
4. They said, “We are going to the market.”
5. “Do you like pizza?” she asked him.
6. “Why did you go out last night?” the mother asked.
7. “Can you help me with my project?” he asked his friend.
8. “I might visit France this summer,” she mentioned.
9. “We have been waiting here for over an hour!” they exclaimed.
10. “Don’t touch that!” he warned.
11. “I have lost my keys,” she said.
12. “We didn’t go to school yesterday,” the boys said.
13. “I will be traveling to Japan next year,” he told his colleagues.
14. “You should try the new restaurant,” she suggested.
15. “I can’t attend the meeting tomorrow,” John informed his boss.
1. A | 2. C | 3. A |
4. A | 5. A | 6. B |
7. A | 8. B | 9. B |
10. C | 11. A | 12. C |
13. B | 14. A | 15. B |
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
"It is too late to apologize," I said. I said it |
"I have replied to them," claimed Peter. Peter claimed that |
"I met you yesterday," he told me. He told me he had met me |
"I cannot come to your birthday party," explained Mary. Mary explained that |
"I could fall down the stairs," said my grandma. My grandma said |
"I will pay for it tomorrow," he suggested. He suggested he would pay for it |
"The Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world," explained our teacher. Our teacher explained that the Himalayas |
"I may lend you some money," promised Bill. Bill promised |
"I have been watching a romantic film," replied Mary. Mary replied that |
"Claire must rest a little bit," said the doctor. The doctor said Claire |
"I have not done the shopping today," I explained to my mum last Friday. I explained to my mum last Friday that I had not done the shopping |
"If I was twenty years younger, I would accept it," he thought. He thought that if |
"I was with him at the disco last week," admitted Jill. Jill admitted that |
"You needn't change your shoes in our house," she reminded me. She reminded me that I |
"I am calling my mum because of the boat trip," she said. She said she |
"I will finish this picture tomorrow," supposed Diana. Diana supposed that she would finish |
"I would buy the house on the coast," she said. She said |
"Greg used to be my best friend from school," he told us. He told us Greg |
"We will meet here at 10.30," decided Paul. Pau decided that we would meet |
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.
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 - 2
Reported speech - 3
Worksheets - handouts
English grammar practice exercise, upper-intermediate.
In this exercise you will practise reported speech.
Rewrite the following using reported speech:
Structure of reported speech | |
direct speech | |
reported speech | to wait. |
direct speech | |
reported speech | to Spain. |
Reported speech – common mistakes | ||
Common mistakes | Correct version | Why? |
She said me that she wasn't able to do it. | She me that she wasn't able to do it. | After we mention the listener. After we don't mention the listener. |
She told me that she is looking for her handbag. He told me he hasn't seen her before. She told me she will see him later. | She told me that she for her handbag. He told me her before. She told me she see him later. | If the reporting verb (in this case ) is in the past tense, we usually change the tense of the verb which follows: ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ |
I told him don't go there. | I told him there. | When we report a command or warning, we use . |
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.
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Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job.
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: 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?
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Lots of reported speech exercises - practise using free interactive quizzes.
Exercises Write the following sentences in indirect speech. Pay attention to backshift and the changes to pronouns, time, and place.
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. Reported Speech - English Grammar Exercises.
Reported speech - indirect speech. Reporting statements, questions and commands. Reporting verbs. English intermediate grammar exercises.
Reported Statements 1 Change the direct speech into reported speech. Use 'she said' at the beginning of each answer. It's the same day, so you don't need to change the time expressions. English grammar exercise about reported speech
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.
Learn how to use reported speech with clear explanations and lots of exercises. Perfect English Grammar helps you master grammar skills.
Reported Speech (Indirect Speech) If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker's exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.
Exercises. 2315 Backshift of tenses in Reported speech - Exercise. 2321 Conversion of time phrases in Reported speech - Exercise. 2317 Pronouns in Reported speech - Exercise. 2327 Reported commands - affirmative sentences - Exercise. 2329 Reported commands - negations - Exercise. 2323 Reported questions - Exercise.
Exercise on Reported Speech - 10 :: Learn English online - free exercises, explanations, games, teaching materials and plenty of information on English language. :: page 10
In English grammar, we use reported speech to say what another person has said. In reported speech, we change the tense and pronouns to show that some time has passed. Learn all about reported speech in English with Lingolia, then test your knowledge in the interactive exercises.
Do the exercise below on reported speech and click on the button to check your answers. (Before doing the exercises you may want to read the lesson on reported speech)
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.
Exercises with answers, PDF worksheets and grammar rules. Rewrite the sentences in the reported speech. 'It is too late.' - I said it was too late.
Reported speech exercises. Reported statements in English. Direct and indirect speech exercises for esl.
English grammar practice exercise, upper-intermediate.In this exercise you will practise reported speech. Exercise instructions Rewrite the following using reported speech: questions go herescore g…
Reported speech. Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job. Instructions. 0:00 / 2:20. 720p. Transcript. 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.
English grammar exercise about reported speech - in this case reported questions
English Language Teaching Home Page | Oxford University Press
English grammar exercise about reported speech - in this case reported orders and requests
English grammar exercise about reported speech, including statements, questions, orders and requests
Here's another mixed exercise about reported speech - it includes statements, questions, orders and requests.