reported speech worksheet b1

Reported speech - 1

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Reported speech

Worksheets - pdf exercises.

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• Worksheet - reported questions
• Reported yes/no questions
• Worksheet - reported speech
• Reported speech - exercises pdf
• Indirect speech - exercises
• Reported speech - exercises
• Mixed reported speech 1
• Mixed reported speech 2
• Reported speech 1 
• Reported speech 2  
• Reported speech 3 
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• Reported speech 5
• Reported wh- questions
• Reported speech - worksheet 
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• Reported questions
• Reported speech 1
• Reported speech 2
• Reported requests and orders
• Reported speech exercise
• Reported questions - worksheet
• Indirect speech - worksheet
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• Reported speech - grammar notes
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Reported speech (b1).

• RS001 - Reported Speech - Mixed Exercises
• Adjective - Adverb
• Gerund and Infinitive
• Reported Speech
• Language in Use
• Prepositions
• Phrasal Verbs
• Word Formation

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• B1-B2 grammar

Reported speech

Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job. 

Instructions

As you watch the video, look at the examples of reported speech. They are in  red  in the subtitles. Then read the conversation below to learn more. Finally, do the grammar exercises to check you understand, and can use, reported speech correctly.

Sophie:  Mmm, it’s so nice to be chilling out at home after all that running around.

Ollie: Oh, yeah, travelling to glamorous places for a living must be such a drag!

Ollie: Mum, you can be so childish sometimes. Hey, I wonder how Daisy’s getting on in her job interview.

Sophie: Oh, yes, she said she was having it at four o’clock, so it’ll have finished by now. That’ll be her ... yes. Hi, love. How did it go?

Daisy: Well, good I think, but I don’t really know. They said they’d phone later and let me know.

Sophie: What kind of thing did they ask you?

Daisy: They asked if I had any experience with people, so I told them about helping at the school fair and visiting old people at the home, that sort of stuff. But I think they meant work experience.

Sophie: I’m sure what you said was impressive. They can’t expect you to have had much work experience at your age.

Daisy:  And then they asked me what acting I had done, so I told them that I’d had a main part in the school play, and I showed them a bit of the video, so that was cool.

Sophie:  Great!

Daisy: Oh, and they also asked if I spoke any foreign languages.

Sophie: Languages?

Daisy: Yeah, because I might have to talk to tourists, you know.

Sophie: Oh, right, of course.

Daisy: So that was it really. They showed me the costume I’ll be wearing if I get the job. Sending it over ...

Ollie: Hey, sis, I heard that Brad Pitt started out as a giant chicken too! This could be your big break!

Daisy: Ha, ha, very funny.

Sophie: Take no notice, darling. I’m sure you’ll be a marvellous chicken.

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.

So, direct speech is what someone actually says? Like 'I want to know about reported speech'?

Yes, and you report it with a reporting verb.

He said he wanted to know about reported speech.

I said, I want and you changed it to he wanted .

Exactly. Verbs in the present simple change to the past simple; the present continuous changes to the past continuous; the present perfect changes to the past perfect; can changes to could ; will changes to would ; etc.

She said she was having the interview at four o’clock. (Direct speech: ' I’m having the interview at four o’clock.') They said they’d phone later and let me know. (Direct speech: ' We’ll phone later and let you know.')

OK, in that last example, you changed you to me too.

Yes, apart from changing the tense of the verb, you also have to think about changing other things, like pronouns and adverbs of time and place.

'We went yesterday.'  > She said they had been the day before. 'I’ll come tomorrow.' >  He said he’d come the next day.

I see, but what if you’re reporting something on the same day, like 'We went yesterday'?

Well, then you would leave the time reference as 'yesterday'. You have to use your common sense. For example, if someone is saying something which is true now or always, you wouldn’t change the tense.

'Dogs can’t eat chocolate.' > She said that dogs can’t eat chocolate. 'My hair grows really slowly.' >  He told me that his hair grows really slowly.

What about reporting questions?

We often use ask + if/whether , then change the tenses as with statements. In reported questions we don’t use question forms after the reporting verb.

'Do you have any experience working with people?' They asked if I had any experience working with people. 'What acting have you done?' They asked me what acting I had done .

Is there anything else I need to know about reported speech?

One thing that sometimes causes problems is imperative sentences.

You mean like 'Sit down, please' or 'Don’t go!'?

Exactly. Sentences that start with a verb in direct speech need a to + infinitive in reported speech.

She told him to be good. (Direct speech: 'Be good!') He told them not to forget. (Direct speech: 'Please don’t forget.')

OK. Can I also say 'He asked me to sit down'?

Yes. You could say 'He told me to …' or 'He asked me to …' depending on how it was said.

OK, I see. Are there any more reporting verbs?

Yes, there are lots of other reporting verbs like promise , remind , warn , advise , recommend , encourage which you can choose, depending on the situation. But say , tell and ask are the most common.

Great. I understand! My teacher said reported speech was difficult.

And I told you not to worry!

Check your grammar: matching

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What was the most memorable conversation you had yesterday? Who were you talking to and what did they say to you?

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English Grammar Exercises for B1- Reported speech

1. Complete 1-5 with the tenses below. Then complete 6-9 with the correct verb forms.

past continuous      past perfect      past perfect

past perfect      past simple

Show answers

1) past simple   2) past continuous    3) past perfect

4) past perfect    5) past perfect    6) could / couldn’t

7) would / wouldn’t    8) might    9) should

2. Circle the correct words.

Last weekend

1) John said he ____ ill.

a is   b was

2) Maisie said that she ____ buy a new phone.

a would   b will

3) Nathan said he ____ looking forward to summer.

4) Harry said that Kay ____ gone to Italy.

a has   b had

5) Emma told me that she ____ find her phone.

a couldn’t   b can’t

6) Pete told me he ____ go to the party.

a had to   b might have

1) b    2) a    3) b    4) b    5) a    6) a

1) that day    2) a week earlier    3) the day before

4) the year before    5) the next day

6) the following month    7) there

4. Complete the text with said or told.

Dan  1) _____. Bev that he had bought her a new phone. She looked at it and  2) _____. him that it was too big. He  3) _____. her that they were all that big nowadays. She  4) _____. she wanted him to change it. He  5) _____. that he couldn’t change it and  6) _____. her that it had cost a lot of money. She  7) _____. she didn’t care and  8) _____. him she wouldn’t use it.

1) told    2) told    3) told    4) said    5) said    6) told

7) said    8) told

5. Rewrite the sentences as reported speech. If necessary, change the pronouns, possessive adjectives and references to time and place.

1) John to Sue: ‘I left a message for you yesterday.’

     John told ________.

2) Mark: ‘I’ll top up phone this evening.’

  ________.

3) Jenny to Dave: ‘I can’t hear you.’

4) Ann: ‘I’ve checked balance three times this week.’

5) Jo to Si: ‘You should turn off data roaming.’

6) Kate: ‘I had already texted Harry at the weekend.’

7) Fran to Fred: ‘I called Tom two days ago.’

      ________.

1) John told Sue (that) he had left a message for her the day before.

2) Mark said (that) he would top up his phone that evening.

3) Jenny told Dave (that) she couldn’t hear him.

4) Ann said (that) she had checked her balance three times that week.

5) Jo told Si (that) he should turn off data roaming.

6) Kate said (that) she had already texted Harry the weekend before.

7) Fran told Fred (that) she had called Tom two days earlier.

6. Read the reported conversation between two identical twins. Write the direct speech below.

Imo was walking down the road when she slipped and fell. Her twin sister Zoe phoned just afterwards. Zoe told Imo that she has fallen over a few moments before. Imo told her that was an amazing coincidence because she had just done the same! Zoe said her leg was hurting so much that she couldn’t walk. Imo told Zoe that her own leg was OK and that she could easily walk home. But Imo told Zoe that if she couldn’t walk, she should call an ambulance. Zoe said that wouldn’t be necessary and that she could phone their parents.

1) Zoe: ________

2) Imo: ________

  Because ________

3) Zoe: ________

4) Imo: ________

5) Imo: But ________

6) Zoe: ________

1) I fell over a few moments ago.

2) That’s an amazing coincidence; I’ve just done the same.

3) leg’s hurting so much that I can’t walk.

4) leg is OK and I can easily walk home.

5) if you can’t walk, you should call an ambulance.

6) That won’t be necessary. I can phone our parents.

7. Complete the reported speech.

1) ‘I think battery has run out.’

  Andy said __________________

2) ‘We don’t want to go home now.’

  We said __________________

3) ‘Beth texted me an hour ago.’

   Julia told us __________________

4) ‘I can’t hear what you’re saying.’

    brother said __________________

5) ‘I won’t be going to school tomorrow.’

  Peter said __________________

6) ‘I didn’t have time to call you.’

   dad said __________________

7) ‘I was angry because you’d forgotten birthday.’

   She told him __________________

8) ‘I’d like to get a new phone.’

       Sue told her parents __________________

1) (that) he thought (that) his battery had run out

2) (that) we didn’t want to go home then/at that moment

3) (that) Beth had texted her an hour earlier

4) (that) he couldn’t hear what I was saying

5) (that) he wouldn’t be going to school the following day

6) (that) he hadn’t had time to call me

7) (that) she’d been angry because he had forgotten her birthday.

8) (that) she would like to get a new phone.

8. Complete the reported speech with said or told .

1) I ______________ you I’d be late.

2) She ______________ it didn’t matter.

3) They ______________ us they were moving abroad.

4) He ______________ to me he wasn’t sure.

5) We ______________ we were very sorry.

6) You ______________ me we didn’t have an exam.

1) told    2) said    3) told    4) said    5) said    6) told

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Reported speech, b1 grammar topics.

• Alternative comparison  
• Both, either, neither  
• Conditional, 2nd  
• Conditional, 3rd  
• Connecting words  
• Embedded questions  
• Future Continuous  
• So, such, too, enough  
• May, might + adverbs of probability  
• Modals for Recommendations  
• Modals for Past Deduction  
• Modals for Present Deduction  
• Prepositions of place  
• Prepositions of time  
• Present Perfect Continuous  
• Present Perfect vs Past Simple  
• Passives  
• Past Perfect  
• Reported Speech  
• Question Tags  
• Should have  

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