REPORTED SPEECH: PRACTICE EXERCISE 1 – Write the following sentences in reported speech. 1.
‘The shops weren’t open yesterday afternoon,’ the woman said.
2.
‘I would like to visit my parents,’ Linda said to David.
3.
‘A lot of gold is mined in South Africa,’ the diplomat pointed out.
4.
‘I want you to take the car to the garage next Friday,’ he told his wife.
5.
‘I can’t see you yet,’ the nurse apologized.
6.
‘You shouldn’t eat in the living-room,’ the mother told her son.
7.
‘Their car might have broken down,’ my husband told me.
8.
‘I have to do my homework now,’ Penny said to her friend.
9.
‘My cousins have often visited France,’ Joanna pointed out. rd
10. ‘The Christmas holidays will start on December 23 ,’ my father remarked. 11. ‘The boys were saving up for a canoe,’ the man explained. 12. ‘We can save a lot of trees by recycling paper,’ the ecologist argued. 13. ‘The children have been studying geography,’ he said. 14. ‘Johnson used to be a Member of Parliament,’ Errol said. 15. She didn’t leave work early once last week,’ Tom said.
EXERCISE 2 – Write the following commands in indirect speech. 1.
‘Please don’t leave me,’ he said to her.
2.
‘Don’t smoke in my office, please,’ the boss said.
3.
‘Please help yourself to food and drink,’ the hostess said.
4.
‘Keep quiet!’ the nurse said to the visitors.
5.
‘Take the children home!’ he said to the driver.
6.
‘Give me your papers!’ the policeman instructed me.
7.
‘Don’t forget to phone me!’ the father said to his son.
8.
‘Stand up straight!’ the teacher said to the pupil.
9.
‘Come over for supper next Friday!’ my neighbour said.
10. ‘Don’t make a noise!’ the librarian said to the readers.
EXERCISE 3 – Write the following Yes/No questions in indirect speech. 1.
‘Are you going to the club now?’ he wanted to know.
2.
‘Haven’t you ever worked on a computer before?’ she wanted to know.
3.
‘Have you ever visited the Tate Gallery in London?’ she wanted to know.
4.
‘Will the workers be at work next Saturday?’ the manager asked.
5.
‘Was Don Quixote de la Mancha written by Cervantes?’ he wondered.
6.
‘Can we see him this evening of tomorrow morning?’ the woman wondered.
7.
‘Do you read the newspaper every day?’ he asked.
8.
‘Did anyone try to save her life?’ the police officer asked.
9.
‘Does your dog know its way home?’ she wanted to know.
10. ‘Do you think it will rain tomorrow?’ I asked my mother.
EXERCISE 4 – Write the following Wh-questions in indirect speech. 1.
‘Whose pencil is this?’ the teacher enquired.
2.
‘Where are the Niagara Falls?’ the child asked.
3.
‘Who assassinated Abraham Lincoln?’ he asked.
4.
‘Who was singing just now’’ my mother asked.
5.
‘When did the committee decide to fire the workers?’ he wondered.
6.
‘How far is the station from our hotel?’ the girl wanted to know.
7.
‘Where will Jane be next Thursday at six o’clock?’ Carol asked.
8.
‘What have you made for dinner?’ she asked him.
9.
‘How are you going to pay?’ the cashier asked me.
10. ‘Who is your favourite actor?’ she asked me.