Reported Speech

A. Read the story. Then find the words that mean the same as the following.
1. Awake long after midnight

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

2 . What do you mean? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

3. Be certain

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

4. How strange!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Youll be late for school again, Matt shouted at Tina, his little sister. Coming! she replied, bursting into the kitchen
and pouting herself a bowl of cornflakes.
Where are mom and dad? she asked, swallowing mouthfuls of milk and cornflakes as she read a magazine.
Mom told me she had an early meeting at work today, and dad said he had to take his car to the garage. Matt
yawned. He had been up half the night studying and really wished he didnt have to take his sister to school.
If moms at work, why is her car still parked outside? asked Tina. And if dad has taken the car to the garage, why is
it parked outside, too?
What are you talking about? Matt replied, looking out of the window. Tina was right, moms car was parked
outside, and so was dads. How strange. What exactly did they tell you?
Mom said that she had an early meeting and that I should take you to school today. She asked me to make sure you
ate your breakfast. And dad definitely said he had to be at the garage by eight. Matt suddenly felt worried.
Are you sure they arent still in bed? asked Tina.
Lets go and check, Matt replied. He climbed the stairs quickly and checked the bedroom and bathroom. Both were
empty. Weird, said Matt. Where on earth could they be?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

to leave a car in a certain place for a certain time

unsure, confused
move food from the mouth to the stomach
important, critical
appear somewhere suddenly
talk very quietly so as not to be heard
move liquid from one container to another
a feeling of dissatisfaction because something hasnt happened
to open your mouth involuntarily when tired
share a secret or some very personal information

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burst into
pour

park
swallow

confide
puzzled

frustration
serious

whisper
yawn

Reported Speech
With direct speech, we must use quotation marks () and repeat the exact words someone said.
With indirect speech, we repeat the meaning of what the speaker said, often changing the tense of the verb
to a tense further in the past and often changing the pronoun.

C. Change the following from direct speech to indirect speech

1. Tom said, I dont like junk food.
______________________________________________________
2. Ms Lewis said, Im going to the concert tomorrow.
______________________________________________________
3. Mark said, I really like Sam
______________________________________________________
4. Mandy said, Ive bought a new house.
______________________________________________________

D. Change the following from indirect speech to direct speech

1. John said he would go to the party
______________________________________________________
2. The children said they were going to the amusement park.
______________________________________________________
3. Petra said shed seen Charles at the bar
______________________________________________________
4. Mr Dancy said hed been to the supermarket
______________________________________________________
E. Write the end of the story of Matt and Tina. Try to use both indirect and direct speech in your writing.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Reported Speech
F. Read the beginning of a story below. Complete it with the correct forms of the reporting verbs in the box.

ask

confide

continue

demand

promise

reply

shout

whisper

Oh no! Ive missed the train again, Melanie (1) ________________ in frustration. Why do I always miss it when I
have something important to do? she (2) ________________ angrily.
I could see she was crying, so I handed her my handkerchief. Dont cry, I ________________. Itll be all OK.
No, it wont, she (4) ________________ in a very serious voice. You dont know what I have to do today.
What is it? I (5) ________________ curiously. What could possibly be so important?
You promise you wont tell anyone, ever? she (6) ________________.
I wont, I (7) ________________.
Well, she (8) ________________ in a whisper, the reason I cant be late today is because.

G. What do you think Melanies secret could be? In pairs, discuss your ideas.
advise
encourage
exclaim
explain
warn
question
recommend remind
suggest
demand
whisper
promise

scream
sigh

yell

H. Choose a reporting verb for the following sentences.

1. What a lovely bunch of flowers!

________________.

2. COME HERE NOW!

________________.

3. Do you want to come and see Avatar?

________________.

4. Remember to pick up the newspaper on your way home.

________________.

5. The reason he did it is that he wasnt happy.

________________.

6. I will definitely never do that again.

________________.

7. I wouldnt do that if I were you.

________________.

8. Haaawell, if you must.

________________.

9. Pssstdont turn round!

________________.

10. You must give it to me!

________________.

I. With a partner, write a story. It can be true or fictional. Include at least two different characters and try to
use some reporting verbs from the box. Then present it to the class.
What are the characters called?
How do they know each other? (e.g. family, through school, etc)
What is each character like? (i.e., their personality)
Do they speak differently? (e.g. educated, childish, etc)
What happens in your story?
3