REPORTED SPEECH: KEY EXERCISE 1 – Write the following sentences in reported speech. 1.
‘The shops weren’t open yesterday afternoon,’ the woman said. The woman said the shops weren’t open / hadn’t been open the previous afternoon / the afternoon before.
2.
‘I would like to visit my parents,’ Linda said to David. Linda said to David she would like to visit her parents.
3.
‘A lot of gold is mined in South Africa,’ the diplomat pointed out. The diplomat pointed out a lot of gold was mined in South Africa.
4.
‘I want you to take the car to the garage next Friday,’ he told his wife. He told his wife he wanted her to take the car to the garage the following Friday.
5.
‘I can’t see you yet,’ the nurse apologized. The nurse apologized for not being able to see them / him / her then.
6.
‘You shouldn’t eat in the living-room,’ the mother told her son. The mother told her son he shouldn’t eat in the living-room.
7.
‘Their car might have broken down,’ my husband told me. My husband told me their car might have broken down.
8.
‘I have to do my homework now,’ Penny said to her friend. Penny said to her friend she had to do her homework then / at that moment.
9.
‘My cousins have often visited France,’ Joanna pointed out. Joanna pointed out her cousins had often visited France. rd
10. ‘The Christmas holidays will start on December 23 ,’ my father remarked. rd
My father remarked the Christmas holidays would start on December 23 . 11. ‘The boys were saving up for a canoe,’ the man explained. The man explained the boys had been saving up for a canoe. 12. ‘We can save a lot of trees by recycling paper,’ the ecologist argued. The ecologist argued they/we could save a lot of trees by recycling paper. 13. ‘The children have been studying geography,’ he said. He said the children had been studying geography. 14. ‘Johnson used to be a Member of Parliament,’ Errol said. Errol said Johnson used to be a Member of Parliament. 15. She didn’t leave work early once last week,’ Tom said. Tom said she hadn’t left work early once the previous week / the week before.