Professional Documents
Culture Documents
On Direct and Indirect Speech
On Direct and Indirect Speech
Keep into mind that, when changing from the direct to the indirect speech, a number of changes
must be made in the original sentence depending on who is making the report (the person), when
(tense transformations: back-shift) and how (the adverbs, tomorrow= the day after).
Now practise the direct and the indirect speech from Mihai Zdrenghea, Anca Greere, A Practical
English Grammar (with exercises), Cluj, Clusium, 1997:
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Reported Actions. Worksheet on Direct/Indirect Speech
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Reported Actions. Worksheet on Direct/Indirect Speech
Put the sentences into indirect speech using the following verbs:
hope, explain, protest, beg, congratulate, interrupt, warn, greet, introduce, remark, invite,
threaten, point out, insist, offer, refuse, accept, curse, advise, assure, agree, admit
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Reported Actions. Worksheet on Direct/Indirect Speech
1. “I shall ask them what they have been doing”, said Tony.
2. “I haven’t found my bag yet”, said Sarah.
3. “I didn’t want to wash my face, mother”, said the little boy.
4. “When John comes back, he will ring up at once”, his sister promised.
5. “I can’t think where my umbrella is”, said Peggy.
6. “The highest mountain in Britain is Snowdon”, Mr. Holmes told the pupils.
7. “The engine has been running for more than ten minutes”, Jack said to the mechanic.
8. Mary said, “The goldfish has jumped out of its bowl and I can’t find it anywhere.”
9. “If you are short of money I can lend you fifty pounds”, said my aunt, “and you can take your time
about paying it back.”
10. He said, “I am quite a good cook and I do all my own washing and mending, too.”
11. “If you give me some wire, I’ll mend the fuse for you”, said my cousin.
12. “I have something to show you”, I said to her.
13. “I am living with my parents at present”, she said, “but I hope to have a flat of my own shortly.”
14. “From one of the windows of my flat I can see the Tower”, said I.
1. There’s been an accident, and the road is blocked”, said the policeman, “It won’t be clear for some
time. You’d better go round the other way.”
2. “It’s high time you passed your test; I’m tired of driving round with an L-plate in front of the car”,
my sister said.
3. “If you want to smoke, you’ll have to go upstairs”, said the bus conductor.
4. If the loosed screw hadn’t been discovered then, there might have been a bad accident”, the foreman
said.
5. “I was thinking of going by bus”, said Paul.
“You shouldn’t go by bus”, said his aunt, “It’s an awfully bad service.”
6. “You’d better take sleeping bags; you may have to sleep out”, he warned us.
7. This used to be a lovely quiet street”, he said, “but now it is impossible. When summer comes you’ll
have to keep the windows shut all the time because of the noise.”
8. “I know the umbrella belongs to you, but I thought it would be all right if I borrowed it”, said my
nephew, “ because you aren’t going out tomorrow and I am.”
9. I couldn’t get into the house because I had lost my key, so I had to break a window”, he said.
10. “The puppy can sleep on our bed”, said Tom.
“I’d rather it slept in a basket”, said his wife.
11. “You must listen carefully to the evidence”, the judge said to the jury.
12. He said, “There must be someone in the house; there’s smoke coming from the chimney.”
13. ”Don’t jump off trees” said mother.
1. “Will you be here for the next ten minutes?” she said.
“Yes”, I answered
2. “Haven’t you got a TV set?” he asked.
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Reported Actions. Worksheet on Direct/Indirect Speech
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Reported Actions. Worksheet on Direct/Indirect Speech
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Reported Actions. Worksheet on Direct/Indirect Speech
1. “You pressed the wrong button,” said the mechanic. “Don’t do it again. You might have a nasty
accident.”
2. “Would you mind cooking your own supper tonight?” said my landlady.
3. “It’s seven,” he said. “She’ll be at home now. What about ringing her up?”
4. “Shall I go and get a candle?” said Ann when the light went out suddenly.
“I’d rather you got another bulb,” said Mr. Jones.
5. “Why don’t you go and see that film? It may help you to understand the book,” I said.
“But the book is quite different from the film,” Ann pointed out.
6. “Shall I start tomorrow?” I said.
“I’d rather you stated today,” said Tom.
7. “Curse that zip-fastener! It’s stuck again,” she exclaimed.
8. “Don’t touch the wet paint, Susan,” said her father.
9. “Finish typing these letters, Miss Green, and then you can go home,” said Mr. Taylor.
10. “Do you know that the shoes you are wearing aren’t a pair,” said Mary.
“Yes, but I was in a hurry this morning and these were the only ones I could find,” he said.
11. “You mustn’t forget to put the stamp on or your friend will have to pay double postage,” he told
me.
12. “I needn’t get up till nine tomorrow,” I said.
13. “Shall I ever see him again?” she wondered.
14. “I must go to the dentist tomorrow,” he said. “I have an appointment.”
15. “Don’t put sticky things in your pockets,” said his mother.