GRAMMAR PRACTICE

11C   Reported speech patterns

1 Complete the sentences with reported speech.
11.13
1 “I’m worried about my test.”
I said that I took it easy on the weekends.
Nancy told me .
She didn’t mention that she would be away.
2 “Which neighborhood do you live in?”
Phil didn’t admit that he was sleeping badly.
The police officer asked us .
Rob asked if I could recommend a restaurant.
3 “Cook the vegetables at a high temperature.”
The doctor asked me when I had started feeling sick.
Jake instructed me .
Several people told us to get our tickets early.
4 “Take some sun cream on your hike tomorrow.”
My sister urged me not to stay in a job I didn’t like.
My mother reminded me .
5 “I’ll be taking part in a sleep study.”
Reported statements Ben mentioned .
d We use reported speech to say what someone said. We use verbs such as say, tell, 6 “Could you explain the assignment again, please?”
I asked her .
explain, admit, mention, and report. In reported speech, we usually change the
7 “I haven’t been sleeping very well.”
tense of the verbs.
Jane told her doctor .
• simple present ⇨ simple past
8 “Many places have a rainy season.”
“I live near the school.” ⇨ He said (that) he lived near the school.
Mark said .
• simple past ⇨ past perfect
9 “Don’t drive so fast.”
“I failed my exam.” ⇨ She admitted (that) she had failed her exam.
Ellie told me .
• present perfect continuous ⇨ past perfect continuous
10 “Are you going away during the summer?”
“I’ve been studying art.” ⇨ Sarah explained (that) she’d been studying art.
She asked me .
Say is followed by (that) + a clause. Tell is followed by an object + (that) + a clause.
Explain, admit, mention, and report may be followed by to + object + (that) + a clause. 2 Rewrite the conversation with the verbs in
parentheses and reported speech.
Jeff said he was coming. NOT Jeff said me he was coming.
Sarah told me (that) they might be late. NOT Sarah told (that) they might be late. Jo My sister’s in trouble at school. 1(say)
I explained (to him that) I couldn’t go. NOT I explained him (that) I couldn’t go. Jo said her sister was in trouble at school.
Ed Oh, what happened? 2(ask)
The modal verbs can, will, and may also change in reported speech. The modal

verbs could, would, might and should don’t change in reported speech:
Jo She’s been skipping school a lot. 3(explain)
“I can’t swim.” ⇨ Mark said (that) he couldn’t swim.
“We could meet you at six.” ⇨ Anna said (that) they could meet us at six. Ed Really? Does she have problems at school? 4(ask)
The tense usually does not change if the statement expresses something that is still true.
“I want to talk to you after class.” ⇨ Bob said (that) he wants to talk to me after class. Jo Yes, some other kids have been mean to her.
5(admit)

Reported questions
We report a Yes/No question with the following structure: subject + asked + (object) Ed What are your parents doing about it? 6(ask)
+ if/whether + subject + positive verb form + rest of sentence.
“Do you want your sweater?” ⇨ She asked (me) if/whether I wanted my sweater. Jo They’ve told her teachers. 7(answer)

We report wh- questions with the question word(s) instead of if/whether.
Ed Will the teachers talk to the other kids? 8(ask)
“Which class are you in?” ⇨ He asked (us) which class we were in.
Jo Yes, they will. I hope they can stop them from
Look! We often need to change pronouns and words referring to time and being mean. 9(say)
place, if the sentence is reported on a different day or in a different place.
! “I saw my uncle yesterday.” ⇨ He said he had seen his uncle the day before. Ed Well, don’t worry. 10(tell) And talk to your sister as
“I’ll wait for you here.” ⇨ He said he’d wait for us there. much as possible. 11(urge)

Reported commands
Jo Sure. I’m spending tomorrow with her. 12(tell)
We report a command with the following structure: subject + verb + object +

infinitive with (not) to.

We use verbs such as tell, instruct, order, remind, forbid, and urge to give commands.
“Read as much as possible.” ⇨ Our teacher urged us to read as much as possible.
“Don’t tell anyone.” ⇨ He forbid me to tell anyone./He told me not to tell anyone.

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