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Adverbs or Adjectives: Exercise 1

Choose the correct form (adjective or adverb).

1. John held the plate _________________. (careful / carefully)


2. Julia is a _________________ person. (careful / carefully)
3. I ran _________________ to the station. (quick / quickly)
4. The journey was _________________. (quick / quickly)
5. You look _________________. Didn't you sleep well? (tired / tiredly)
6. The baby rubbed her eyes _________________. (tired / tiredly)
7. She sang _________________. (happy / happily)
8. You sound _________________. (happy / happily)
9. I speak English _________________. (well / good)
10. Her English is _________________. (well / good)
11. She cooks _________________. (terrible / terribly)
12. He is a _________________ cook. (terrible / terribly)
13. The music was _________________. (beautiful / beautifully)
14. She plays the piano _________________. (beautiful / beautifully)
15. That was a _________________ answer. (clever / cleverly)
16. She answered _________________. (clever / cleverly)
17. Your flat seems _________________ today. (tidy / tidily)
18. He put the dishes away _________________. (tidy / tidily)
19. He spoke _________________. (warm / warmly)
20. She is a very _________________ person. (warm / warmly)

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May be freely copied for personal or classroom use.
NAME: ________________________ DATE: ________________________

GRAMMAR WORKSHEET
ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS
 Circle the adjective or the adverb to complete each sentence.

Example: My friend is a _____ driver. [ careful / carefully ]

1. My classmate is a _____ person. [ nice / nicely ]

2. I can speak Spanish very _____. [ good / well ]

3. Katrina took a painting class, so she can paint _____ pictures. [ beautiful / beautifully ]

4. Mr. Smith looked _____ at me when I arrived late. [ angry / angrily ]

5. Of course, I was _____ when I got an A+ on the exam. [ happy / happily ]

6. The music is too _____. Please turn it down! [ loud / loudly ]

7. My friends all tell me that I sing _____. [ bad / badly ]

8. The thief _____ took the money and walked out the door. [ quiet / quietly ]

9. The cat waited _____ for the mouse to come out of the hole. [ silent / silently ]

10. My cousin always walks very _____. [ quick / quickly ]

11. The work that my boss gave me was _____. [ easy / easily ]

12. Thomas is very _____. He always helps me. [ kind / kindly ]

13. The little boy _____ kept the cookie for himself. [ selfish / selfishly ]

14. The man _____ opened the door and looked inside. [ nervous / nervously ]

15. The fireman _____ rescued the people from the burning house. [ brave / bravely ]

16. I _____ offered to help my friend study for his exam. [ happy / happily ]

17. She is the most _____ person I know. [ polite / politely ]

18. It was midnight, and I heard a _____ noise outside. [ strange / strangely ]

Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use. © www.allthingsgrammar.com


ENGLISH GRAMMAR The Passive Voice

THE PASSIVE VOICE


INTRODUCTION
The passive of an active tense is formed by putting the verb to be into the same tense as the active verb
and adding the past participle of the active verb. The subject of the active verb becomes the ‘agent’ of the
passive verb. The agent is very often not mentioned. When it is mentioned it is preceded by by and placed
at the end of the clause.
Active: My grandfather planted this tree.
Passive: This tree was planted by my grandfather.

PASSIVE VERB TENSES


ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE
Present Simple He delivers the letters. The letters are delivered.
Past Simple He delivered the letters. The letters were delivered.
Future Simple He will deliver the letters. The letters will be delivered.
Present Continuous He is delivering the letters. The letters are being delivered.
Past Continuous He was delivering the letters. The letters were being delivered.
Going to He is going to deliver the letters. The letters are going to be delivered.
Present Perfect He has delivered the letters. The letters have been delivered.
Past Perfect He had delivered the letters. The letters had been delivered.
Infinitive He has to deliver the letters. The letters have to be delivered.
Modals He must deliver the letters. The letters must be delivered.

1 SIMPLE CONTINUOUS PERFECT

+ S + am/is/are + Ptp S + am/is/are + being + Ptp S + have/has + been + Ptp

PRESENT - S + am/is/are + not + Ptp S + am/is/are + not +being + Ptp S + have/has + not + been + Ptp

? Am/Is/Are + S + Ptp ? Am/Is/Are) + S + being + Ptp ? Have/Has) + S + been + Ptp ?

+ S + was/were + Ptp S + was/were + being + Ptp S + had + been + Ptp

PAST - S + was/were + not + Ptp S + was/were + not + being + Ptp S + had + not + been + Ptp

? Was/Were + S +PtpV ? Was/Were + S + being + Ptp? Had + S + been + Ptp

+ S + will + be + Ptp

FUTURE - S + will + not + be + Ptp

? Will + S + be + Ptp ?

+ S + V to be (am/is/are) + going to +
be + Ptp
GOING TO - S + V to be (am/is/are) + not + going
to + be + Ptp
? V to be (am/is/are) + S + going to +
be + Ptp ?
Short answers
To make short answers:
 we use the verb to be (am/is/are/was/were) for Present Simple, Past Simple, Present
Continuous, Past Continuous and Going To questions.
 we use the verb have (have/has/had) for Present Perfect and Past Perfect questions.
 we use will for Future Simple questions.

USE
The Passive is used:
1. when the agent (=the person who does the action) is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the
context.
Jane was shot. (We don’t know who shot her.)
This church was built in 1815. (Unimportant agent)
He has been arrested. (Obviously by the police)
2. to make more polite or formal statements.
The car hasn’t been cleaned. (more polite)
(You haven’t cleaned the car. – less polite)
3. when the action is more important than the agent, as in processes, instructions, events, reports,
headlines, new items, and advertisements.
30 people were killed in the earthquake.
4. to put emphasis on the agent.
The new library will be opened by the Queen.

AGENT
2 To say who did the action that we are talking about, ie. to refer to the agent, we use the preposition by
and the name (by Peter) , noun (by the teacher) or pronoun (by him) at the end of the sentence.
We usually only refer to the agent when it gives us some important information which otherwise would be
missing from the sentence.
Our house was designed by a famous architect.
We don’t mention the agent:
1. if we don’t know who has done what we are talking about.
Our car was stolen last night. (We don’t know who stole it)
2. if we are not interested in who has done what we are talking about or it is not important to
mention it.
He has been taken to hospital. (What we are interested in is the fact that he has been taken
to hospital and not who has taken him.)
3. if it is easy to understand who did something without it being mentioned.
The murderer was arrested last night. (It is not necessary to mention that he has been
arrested by the police because it is self-evident.)
4. if the subject of the active voice sentence is something like somebody, people, they, you, etc.
Someone broke the window. → The window was broken.

ACTIVE TO PASSIVE
To change a sentence from the active voice to the passive voice:
 the object of the active voice sentence becomes the subject of the passive voice sentence.
Agatha Christie wrote this book.
This book was written by Agatha Christie.
 we change the main verb of the active voice sentence into the passive voice. The tense remains
unchanged.
 the subject of the active voice sentence becomes the agent of the passive sentence. It is placed
after the past participle and it is preceded by the preposition by.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR The Passive Voice

Agatha Christie wrote this book.


This book was written by Agatha Christie.

Leslie took this photograph yesterday.


SUBJECT ACTIVE VERB OBJECT TIME COMPLEMENT

This photograph was taken by Leslie yesterday.


SUBJECT PASSIVE VERB AGENT TIME COMPLEMENT

BY OR WITH?
In the passive voice, we use:
 by with the agent to refer to by whom the action is being done.
The door was opened by Mr Black. (Mr Blak = agent)
 with to refer to the instrument, object or material that was used for something to be done.
The door was opened with a key. (a key = the object that was used)
The omelette was made with eggs, cheese and peppers. (eggs, cheese and peppers = the
material that was used)

DOUBLE OBJECT VERBS


When we have verbs that take two objects like, for example, give somebody something, we can convert
the active sentence into a passive one in two ways:
a. by making the indirect (animate) object the subject of the passive voice sentence, which is also the
way that we usually prefer.
b. By making the direct (inanimate) object the subject of the passive voice.
Rick gave me (indirect object) this book (direct object).
I was given this book by Rick.
3 This book was given to me by Rick.
Some of the verbs that take two objects are: give, tell, send, show, bring, write, offer, pay, etc.
When the indirect object is alone after the verb in the passive voice sentence, it needs the preposition to.
If the indirect object of the active voice sentence is a personal pronoun it has to be changed into a subject
pronoun to be the subject of the passive voice sentence.

SUBJECT OBJECT
I ←→ me SUBJECT OBJECT
You ←→ you We ←→ us
He ←→ him You ←→ you
She ←→ her They ←→ them
It ←→ it

BIBLIOGRAPHY
- A. J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, Oxford University Press, 1986
- V. Evans, Round-Up (English Grammar Practice), Longman, 1995
- M. Carling and S. Jervis, Grammar Time 4, Longman, 2003
- S. Jervis, Grammar Time 5, Longman, 2003
- M. Carling, Grammar Time 6, Longman, 2003
EXERCISES
1. Complete the sentences with the correct passive form of the verbs in brackets. Use the Present
Simple.
a. English ____________________ (speak) in many countries.
b. The post ______________________ (deliver) at about 7 o’clock every morning.
c. ______________________________ (the building/use) any more?
d. How often ______________________________ (the Olympic Games(hold)?
e. How _______________________ (your name/spell)?
f. My salary _____________________ (pay) every month.
g. These cars _________________________ (not make) in Japan.
h. The name of the people who committed the crime _____________________ (not know).
i. His travel expenses ________________________ (not pay) by his company.

2. Complete the sentences with the correct passive form of the verbs in brackets. Use the Past Simple.
a. My car ______________________ (repair) last week.
b. This song ________________________ (not write) by John Lennon.
c. ________________________________ (the phone/answer) by a young girl?
d. The film ________________________ (make) ten years ago.
e. When ______________________________ (tennis/invent)?
f. The car ________________________ (not damaged) in the accident.
g. The original building _________________________ (pull) down in 1965.
h. Where ______________________________ (this pot/make)?
i. When _______________________________ (this bridge/build)?
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3. Choose the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
FIAT
Fiat 0 was started (started/was started) by a group of Italian businessmen in 1899. In 1903, Fiat,
1
_________________ (produced/was produced) 132 cars. Some of these cars
2
_____________________ (exported/were exported) by the company to the United States and Britain.
In 1920, Fiat 3_________________ (started/was started) making cars at a new factory at Lingotto, near
Turin. There was a track on the roof where the cars 4____________________ (tested/were tested) by
technicians. In 1936, Fiat launched the Fiat 500. This car 5____________________ (called/was called)
the Topolino – the Italian name for Mickey Mouse. The company grew, and in 1963 Fiat
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_____________________ (exported/was exported) more than 300,000 vehicles. Today, Fiat is based in
Turin, and its cars 7_________________ (sold/are sold) all over the world.

4. Change the following sentences into passive sentences using the words in brackets.
a. We sell tickets for all shows at the Box Office. (Tickets for all shows/sell/at the Box Office)
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb. (The electric light bulb/invent/by Thomas Edison)
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. Someone painted the office last week. (The office/paint/last week)
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. Several people saw the accident. (The accident/see/by several people)
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. Where do they make these video recorders? (Where/these video recorders/make)
_________________________________________________________________________________
ENGLISH GRAMMAR The Passive Voice

5. Rewrite these sentences in the passive voice.


a. Someone built this house 200 years ago.
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. A thief stole my purse.
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. The police will arrest the robbers.
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. They produce cars in this factory.
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. They serve breakfast at eight o’clock every day.
_________________________________________________________________________________
f. People throw away tones of rubbish every day.
_________________________________________________________________________________
g. They make coffee in Brazil.
_________________________________________________________________________________
h. Someone stole Jim’s bike lat night.
_________________________________________________________________________________

6. Rewrite these sentences in the passive voice.


a. They will build a new bridge next year.
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. Brian Brody directed The Ultimate Space Adventure.
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. Pierre Matie will design her costume.
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. Someone found my wallet.
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_________________________________________________________________________________
e. One of the students broke the window.
_________________________________________________________________________________
f. They will deliver my computer on Monday.
_________________________________________________________________________________
g. Mary invited Paul to her birthday party.
_________________________________________________________________________________
h. British astronomers discovered a new planet.
_________________________________________________________________________________

7. Form the question.


a. Paper is made from wood. Is paper made from wood ?
b. The telephone was invented by Mr Bell. ___________________________________________?
c. This picture was painted by Peter. ___________________________________________?
d. The thieves will be arrested by the police. ___________________________________________?
e. Champagne is made in France. ___________________________________________?
f. The letters will be sent next week. ___________________________________________?
g. The animals are fed three times a day. ___________________________________________?
h. This article was written by Stanley. ___________________________________________?
ENGLISH GRAMMAR Reported Speech

REPORTED SPEECH
DIRECT AND INDIRECT (OR REPORTED) SPEECH. INTRODUCTION
There are two ways of relating what a person has said: direct and indirect.
In direct speech we repeat the original speaker’s exact words:
He said, “I have lost my umbrella.”
Remarks thus repeated are placed between inverted commas, and a comma is placed immediately before
the remark. Direct speech is found in conversations in books, in plays and in quotations.
In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a remark or a speech, without necessarily using the
speaker’s exact words:
He said (that) he had lost his umbrella.
There is no comma after say in indirect speech. that can usually be omitted after say and tell + object. But
it should be kept after other verbs: complain, explain, object, point out, protest etc. Indirect speech is
normally used when conversation is reported verbally, though direct speech is sometimes here to give a
more dramatic effect.
When we turn direct speech into indirect, some changes are usually necessary.

PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES: CHANGES NECESSARY


A. First and second person pronouns and possessive adjectives normally change to the third person
except when the speaker is reporting his own words. (I = he, she; me = him, her; my = his, her; mine
= his, hers; we = they...)
She said, “he’s my son”.  She said that he was her son.
“I’m ill”, she said.  She said that she was ill.
B. THIS / THESE
This used in time expressions usually becomes that.
1 She said, “She’s coming this week”.  She said that she was coming that week.
This and that used as adjectives usually change to the.
He said, “I bought this pearl/these pearls for my mother”.
He said that he had bought the pearl/the pearls for his mother.
This, these used as pronouns can become it, they/them.
He came back with two knives and said, “I found these beside the king’s bed”.  He
said he had found them beside the king’s bed.
He said, “We will discuss this tomorrow”.  He said that they would discuss it (the
matter) the next day.

EXPRESSIONS OF TIME AND PLACE IN INDIRECT SPEECH


A. Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time change as follows:

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH


today that day
yesterday the day before
the day before yesterday two days before
tomorrow the next day/the following day
the day after tomorrow in two day’s time
next week/year etc. the following week/year etc.
last week/year etc. the previous week/year etc.
a year etc. ago a year before/the previous year
“I saw her the day before yesterday”, he said.  He said he’d seen her two days
before.
“I’ll do it tomorrow”, he promised.  He promised that he would do it the next day.
She said, “My father died a year ago”.  She said that her father had died a year
before/the previous year.
B. But if the speech is made and reported on the same day these time changes are not necessary:
At breakfast this morning he said, “I’ll be very busy today”.  At breakfast this
morning he said that he would be very busy today.
C. here can become there but only when it is clear what place is meant:
At the station he said, “I’ll be here again tomorrow”.  He said that he’d be there
again the next day.
Usually here has to be replaced by some phrase:
She said, “You can sit here, Tom”.  She told Tom that he could sit beside her.

STATEMENTS IN INDIRECT SPEECH: TENSE CHANGES NECESSARY


A. Indirect speech can be introduced by a verb in a present tense: He says that ... This is usual when
we are:
a. reporting a conversation that is still going on
b. reading a letter and reporting what it says
c. reading instructions and reporting them
d. reporting a statement that someone makes very often, e.g. Tom says that he’ll never get
married.
When the introductory verb is in a present, present perfect or future tense we can report the direct
2 speech without any change of tense:
PAUL (phoning from the station): I’m trying to get a taxi.
ANN (to Mary, who is standing beside her): Paul says he is trying to get
a taxi.
B. But indirect speech is usually introduced by a verb in the past tense. Verbs in the direct speech have
then to be changed into a corresponding past tense. The changes are shown in the following table.

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH


Simple Present Simple Past
“I never eat meat”, he explained. = He explained (that) he never ate meat.
Present Continuous Past Continuous
“I’m waiting for Ann”, he said. = He said (that) he was waiting for Ann.
Present Perfect Past Perfect
“I have found a flat”, he said. = He said (that) he had found a flat.
Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
He said, “I’ve been waiting for ages”. = He said (that) he had been waiting for ages.
Simple Past Past Perfect
“I took it home with me”, she said. = She said (that) he had taken it home with her.
Future Conditional
He said, “I will/shall be in Paris on Monday”. = He said (that) he would be in Paris on Monday.
Future Continuous Conditional Continuous
“I will/shall be using the car myself on the 24h”, = She said (that) she’d been using the car herself
she said. on the 24th.
Conditional Conditional
I said, “I would like to see it”. = I said (that) I would like to see it.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR Reported Speech

All those changes represent the distancing effect of the reported speech. Common sense, together
with the time aspect from the speaker’s point of view, are more important than the rules when
making the usual changes.

QUESTIONS IN INDIRECT SPEECH


Direct question: He said, “Where is she going?”
Indirect question: He asked where she was going.
A. When we turn direct questions into indirect speech, the following changes are necessary:
a. tenses, pronouns and possessive adjectives, and adverbs of time and place change as in
statements.
b. the interrogative form of the verb changes to the affirmative form.
c. the question mark is omitted in indirect questions.
B. If the introductory verb is say, it must be changed to a verb of inquiry, e.g. ask, wonder, want to
know etc.
He said, “Where is the station?”  He asked where the station was.
C. ask can be followed by the person addressed (indirect object):
He asked, “What have you got in your bag?”  He asked (me) what I had got in my
bag.
But wonder and want to know cannot take an indirect object, so if we wish to report a question
where the person addressed is mentioned, we must use ask.
He said, ”Mary, when is the next train?”  He asked Mary when the next train was.
D. If the direct question begins with a question word (when, where, who, how, why etc.) the question
word is repeated in the indirect question:
He said, “Why didn’t you put on the brake?”  He asked (her) why she hadn’t put on
the brake.
She said, “What do you want?”  She asked (them) what they wanted.
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E. If there is no question word, if or whether must be used:
“Is anyone there?” he asked  He asked if/whether anyone was there.

COMMANDS, REQUESTS, ADVICE IN INDIRECT SPEECH


Direct command: He said, “Lie down, Tom”.
Indirect command: He told Tom to lie down.
Indirect commands, requests, advice are usually expressed by a verb of command/request/advice + object
+ infinitive.
A. The following verbs can be used: advise, ask, beg, command, order, remind, tell, warn etc.
He said, “Get your coat, Tom!”  He told Tom to get his coat.
B. Negative commands, requests etc. are usually reported by not + infinitive:
“Don’t swim out too far, boys”, I said  I warned/told the boys not to swim out too far.

EXCLAMATIONS IN INDIRECT SPEECH


Exclamations usually become statements in indirect speech. The exclamation mark disappears.
a. Exclamations beginning What (a) ... or How ... can be reported by:
- exclaim/say that:
He said, “What a dreadful idea!” or “How dreadful!”  He exclaimed that it
was a dreadful idea/was dreadful.
- give an exclamation of delight/disgust/horror/relief/surprise etc.
- if the exclamation is followed by an action we can use the construction with an
exclamation of delight/disgust etc. + he/she etc. + verb.
b. Other types of exclamation such as Good! Marvellous! Splendid! Heavens! Oh! Ugh! etc. can be
reported as in (b) or (c) above:
“Good!” he exclaimed.  He gave an exclamation of pleasure/satisfaction.
“Ugh!” she exclaimed, and turned the programme off.  With an exclamation of
disgust she turned the programme off.
c. Note also:
He said, “Thank you!”  He thanked me.
He said, “Good luck!”  He wished me luck.
He said, “Happy Christmas!”  He wished me a happy Christmas.
He said, “Congratulations!”  He congratulated me.
He said, “Liar!”  He called me a liar.
He said, “Damn!” etc.  He swore.
The notice said: WELCOME TO WALES!  The notice welcomed visitors to Wales.

YES AND NO IN INDIRECT SPEECH


yes and no are expressed in indirect speech by subject + appropriate auxiliary verb.
He said, “Can you swim?” and I said “No”  He asked (me) if I could swim and I said I
couldn’t.
He said, “Will you have time to do it?” and I said “Yes”  He asked if I would have
time to do it and I said that I would.

OFFERS AND SUGGESTIONS IN INDIRECT SPEECH


A. OFFERS
4 “Shall I bring you some tea?” could be reported He offered to bring me some tea.
B. SUGGESTIONS
“Shall we meet at the theatre? could be reported He suggested meeting at the
theatre.

INDIRECT SPEECH: MIXED TYPES


Direct speech may consist of statement + question, question + command, command + statement, or all
three together. Normally each requires its own introductory verb.
“I don’t know the way. Do you?” he asked.  He said he didn’t know the way and asked her
if she did/if she knew it.
He said, “Someone is coming. Get behind the screen.”  He said that someone was coming
and told me to get behind the screen.

REPORTED SPEECH: OTHER POINTS


A. MUST: after a past reporting verb, must does not usually change:
He said, “It must be pretty late, I really must go”.  He said that it must be pretty late and
he really must go.
had to is also possible in reported speech, but this is really the past of have to, not must.
He said, “I have to go. I have an appointment in half an hour”  He said that he had to go
because he had an appointment in half an hour.
B. MODAL VERBS: Past modal verbs (could, might, ought to, should, used to, etc. ) do not normally
change in reported speech.
He said, “I might come”.  He said that he might come.
He said, “I would help him if I could”.  He said that he would help
him if he could.
He said, “You needn’t wait”.  He said that I needn’t wait.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR Reported Speech

C. CONDITIONALS: Conditional sentences type two remain unchanged.


He said, “If my children were older I would emigrate”.  He said
that if his children were older he would emigrate.

SAY AND TELL AS INTRODUCTORY VERBS


A. say and tell with direct speech.
1. say can introduce a statement or follow it.
Tom said, “I’ve just heard the news”. or “I’ve just heard the news”,Tom said.
Inversion of say and noun subject is possible when say follows the statement.
“I’ve just heard the news”, said Tom.
say + to + person addressed is possible, but this phrase must follow the direct statement; it
cannot introduce it.
“I’m leaving at once”, Tom said to me.
Inversion is not possible here.
2. tell requires the person addressed.
Tell me. He told us. I’ll tell Tom.
Except with tell lies/stories/the truth/the time, when the person addressed need not to be
mentioned.
He told (me) lies. I’ll tell (you) a story.
Tell used with direct speech must be placed after the direct statement:
“I’m leaving at once”, Tom told me.
Inversion is not possible with tell.
B. say and tell with indirect speech
Indirect statements are normally introduced by say, or tell + object. Say + to + object is possible but
less usual than tell + object.
He said he’d just heard the news.
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He told me that he’d just heard the news.
Note also tell ... how/about:
He told us how he had crossed the mountains.
He told us about crossing the mountains.
He told us about his journeys.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
- A. J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, Oxford University Press, 1986
- R. Fernández Carmona, English Grammar… with exercises, Longman, 2000
- R. Murphy, English Grammar in Use, Cambridge University Press 1990
- M. Harrison, Grammar Spectrum 2, Oxford University Press, 1996
- N. Coe, Grammar Spectrum 3, Oxford University Press, 1996

EXERCISES
STATEMENTS
1. These people are saying these things. Report them, using says that.
a. Paul: “Atlanta is a wonderful city.” ____________________________________________________
b. Ruth: “I go jogging every morning.” ___________________________________________________
c. Anna: “Jenny isn’t studying for her exams.” _____________________________________________
d. Andrew: “I used to be very fat.” _______________________________________________________
e. e.- Jim: “I can’t swim.” ______________________________________________________________
2. People made these statements. Report them, using said.
a. “Mary works in a bank”, Jane said. ____________________________________________________
b. “I’m staying with some friends”, Jim said. _______________________________________________
c. “I’ve never been to Russia”, Mike said. _________________________________________________
d. “Tom can’t use a computer”, Ella said. _________________________________________________
e. “Everybody must try to do their best”, Jill said. __________________________________________
f. “Jane may move to a new flat”, Rachel said. ____________________________________________
g. “I’ll stay at home on Sunday”, Bill said. _________________________________________________

3. Report what the guests said at a wedding last Sunday.


a. Miss Moore: “They’ll make a lovely couple.” _____________________________________________
b. Mr Smith: “They’re going to live in Brighton.” ____________________________________________
c. Mrs Jones: “The bride and the groom are very nice young people.” __________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. Mr Roberts: “The bride is wearing a beautiful wedding dress.” ______________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. Mr Clarke: “The couple’s parents look happy.” ___________________________________________
f. Miss Mayall: “The bride’s father has bought them a big flat.” _______________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

4. Change the following statements into the reported speech.


a. “I have something to show you”, I said to her.
_________________________________________________________________________________
6 b. “I’m going away tomorrow”, he said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. “I’ve been in London for a month but I haven’t had time to visit the Tower”, said Rupert.
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. “I’ll come with you as soon as I’m ready”, she replied.
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. “We have a lift but very often it doesn’t work”, they said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
f. “I must go to the dentist tomorrow”, he said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
g. “I found an old Roman coin in the garden yesterday and I am going to take it to the museum this
afternoon”, he said.
_________________________________________________________________________________

5. Write these sentences in indirect speech.


a. “I’m very tired”, she said. ____________________________________________________________
b. “I’ll see them soon”, he said. _________________________________________________________
c. “I’m going to the cinema”, she said. ___________________________________________________
d. “I see the children quite often”, he said. ________________________________________________
e. “I’m having a bath”, she said. _________________________________________________________
f. “I’ve already met their parents”, she said. _______________________________________________
g. “I stayed in a hotel for a few weeks”, she said. ___________________________________________
h. “I must go home to make dinner”, he said. ______________________________________________
i. “I haven’t been waiting long”, she said. _________________________________________________
j. “I’m listening to the radio”, he said. ____________________________________________________
k. “I’ll tell them the news on Saturday”, she said. ___________________________________________
l. “I like swimming, dancing and playing tennis”, he said. ____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
ENGLISH GRAMMAR Reported Speech

m. “I can drive”, she said. ______________________________________________________________


n. “I walked home after the party”, he said. _______________________________________________
o. “I’m going to be sick”, she said. _______________________________________________________
p. “I must go out to post a letter”, he said. ________________________________________________
q. “I spoke to Jane last week”, she said. ___________________________________________________
r. “I’m trying to listen to the music”, he said. ______________________________________________
s. “I’ll phone the office from the airport”, she said. _________________________________________
t. “I can’t speak any foreign languages”, he said. ___________________________________________

6. Write these sentences in indirect speech, changing words where necessary.


a. “I’ll see you tomorrow”, she said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. “I saw her today”, he said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. “I don’t like this film”, she said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. She said, “We went swimming today.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. “I met her about three months ago”, he said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
f. “I’ll see Mary on Sunday”, she said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
g. “Pete and Sue are getting married tomorrow”, she said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
h. “Stephen’s bringing some records to the party tomorrow”, she said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
7
i. “I really like this furniture”, she said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
j. “My parents are arriving tomorrow”, she said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
k. “We visited her this morning” they said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
l. “We’ll see her next summer” they said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
m. “They were here three months ago”, he said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
n. “I’m meeting them at four o’clock today”, he said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
o. “I can see you tomorrow”, she said.
_________________________________________________________________________________

QUESTIONS
7. Report the police-officer’s questions to the shop owner.
a. What’s your name? _________________________________________________________________
b. Did you see the robbers? ____________________________________________________________
c. What were they wearing? ___________________________________________________________
d. How do you think they got in? ________________________________________________________
e. What did they take? ________________________________________________________________
ENGLISH GRAMMAR Reported Speech

y. “Why you won’t let me in?”, he shouted.


_________________________________________________________________________________

COMMANDS, REQUESTS AND ADVICE


9. Rewrite these sentences in reported speech.
a. “Make some coffee, Bob”, Carol said.(ask)
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. “You must do the homework soon, Jane”, she said.(tell)
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. “Remember to buy a map, Ann” he said.(remind)
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. “You should see a doctor, Mrs Clark”, he said.(advise)
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. “Keep all the windows closed, Bill” they said.(warn)
_________________________________________________________________________________
f. “Go home, Paul”, Francis said.(tell)
_________________________________________________________________________________
g. “Please stay for supper, Bob”, he said.(try to persuade)
_________________________________________________________________________________

10. Report the following sentences.


a. “Don’t try to be funny.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. “Wait here till I come.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. “Go to bed and don’t get up till you’re called.”
9
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. “Be a good girl and sit quietly for five minutes.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. “Watch the milk and don’t let it boil over.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
f. “Don’t take your coat off.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
g. “Don’t forget to thank Mrs Jones when you’re saying good bye to her.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
h. “Stop that dog.”
_________________________________________________________________________________

11. Write the sentences in reported speech using the words given.
a. “Sit down, Mary.” (he told)
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. “Would you pass my suitcase?” (he asked)
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. “Don’t go near the sea, children.” (the children’s mother warned)
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. “Don’t be late, Tim.” (Tim’s father told)
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. “Be quiet, children.” (the librarian told)
_________________________________________________________________________________
f. “Have your tickets ready, please.” (the inspector told us)
_________________________________________________________________________________

SAY AND TELL


12. Use the correct form of SAY and TELL in these sentences.
a. She _______________________ me she didn’t agree.
b. He _______________________ , “Have we met before?”
c. I _______________________ them I wasn’t happy with their work.
d. She smiled and _______________________ to me, “I’m very pleased to meet you.”
e. She _______________________ me a story about her parents.
f. He _______________________, “Are you feeling OK?”
g. I didn’t hear. What did he _______________________?
h. Could you _______________________ me the time, please?
i. They _______________________ me they were going to a meeting.
j. I _______________________ the police my address.
k. I _______________________ I wanted to buy a magazine.
l. He _______________________ he wasn’t interested in politics.
m. Could you _______________________ me your name again?
n. Do you think he is _______________________ the truth?
o. Would you _______________________ him to come early tomorrow?
p. If he _______________________ that again there’ll be trouble.
q. I _______________________ them it was dangerous to swim here.
10 r. Did you _______________________ anything to him about your problem at work?
s. _______________________ me what happened.
t. I think he is _______________________ lies.
u. The policeman _______________________ the man was lying.
v. Philip _______________________ it would probably rain tomorrow.
w. Susan _______________________, “Let’s go out for dinner tonight.”
x. Jim _______________________ me about the party last night.
y. Our teacher _______________________ he was pleased with our work.
z. Stop _______________________ lies!

OFFERS AND SUGGESTIONS


13. Rewrite the sentences with the gerund or the infinitive and the in reported speech.
a. “I’ll bring my CDs to the party.”
He promised to bring his CDs to the party.
b. “Let’s go to the cinema tonight, shall we?
She suggested _____________________________________________________________________
c. “Yes, I stole the wallet.”
He admitted ______________________________________________________________________
d. “Be careful! The water is boiling.”
She warned us _____________________________________________________________________
e. “You must apologise to your teacher.”
My father insisted (on) ______________________________________________________________
f. “All right! I’ll share the expenses with you.”
My friend agreed ___________________________________________________________________

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