Basics. Reported Speech.: correct answers
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Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way to express what someone else has said without directly quoting their exact words. It is commonly used to relay information or recount events in a more natural and conversational manner.
To form reported speech, we usually change the tense of the original statement, and we replace the original speaker's pronouns with the appropriate third-person pronouns. Additionally, we may need to adjust time expressions and other contextual details.
For example, consider the following direct speech:
He said, "I am studying English."
When we convert it to reported speech, we get:
He said (that) he was studying English.
Here's a simple table to illustrate some of the main tense changes:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| Present Simple | Past Simple |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect |
Remember that the reported speech should convey the meaning of the original statement accurately, even if some of the words or tenses are changed. Practice with various examples to get a better understanding of how to form and use reported speech correctly.
Here are four more examples of reported speech:
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Direct speech: She says, "We are going to the cinema tonight." Reported speech: She says (that) they are going to the cinema tonight.
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Direct speech: They told us, "We have finished our project." Reported speech: They told us (that) they had finished their project.
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Direct speech: He said to her, "I will call you later." Reported speech: He told her (that) he would call her later.
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Direct speech: She said, "They were waiting for the bus." Reported speech: She said (that) they had been waiting for the bus.
Correct answers
Question 1
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I'm very busy," she told him.
Answers:
The correct answer is "She told him that she was very busy." In reported speech, we use "told" when addressing someone directly (like "him") and the present continuous tense changes to the past continuous tense.
Question 2
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I have to go out," she told them.
Answers:
The correct answer is "She told them she had to go out." In reported speech, we use "told" when addressing someone directly (like "them") and the present tense "have to" changes to the past tense "had to."
Question 3
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I'm learning Spanish," he said.
Answers:
The correct answer is "He said he was learning Spanish." In reported speech, we use "said" after a pronoun (like "he") and the present continuous tense changes to the past continuous tense.
Question 4
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I've never played soccer," he told her.
Answers:
The correct answer is "He told her he'd never played soccer." In reported speech, we use "told" when addressing someone directly (like "her") and the present perfect tense "have" changes to the past perfect tense "had."
Question 5
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "We can't go to the party," they said.
Answers:
The correct answer is "They said they couldn't go to the party." In reported speech, we use "said" after a pronoun (like "they") and the modal verb "can" changes to "couldn't."
Question 6
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "We don't have a key," they told us.
Answers:
The correct answer is "They told us they didn't have a key." In reported speech, we use "told" when addressing someone directly (like "us") and the present simple tense "don't have" changes to the past simple tense "didn't have."
Question 7
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "We'll be home late," they said.
Answers:
The correct answer is "They said they would be home late." In reported speech, we use "said" after a pronoun (like ""they") and the future tense "will" changes to "would."
Question 8
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I'm enjoying my new job," he said.
Answers:
The correct answer is "He said that he was enjoying his new job." In reported speech, we use "said" after a pronoun (like "he") and the present continuous tense changes to the past continuous tense.
Question 9
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I don't feel very well," she told her friend.
Answers:
The correct answer is "She told her friend she didn't feel very well." In reported speech, we use "told" when addressing someone directly (like "her friend") and the present simple tense changes to the past simple tense.
Question 10
Choose the correct reported speech for the following sentence: "I'm going to buy a guitar," she said.
Answers:
The correct answer is "She said she was going to buy a guitar." In reported speech, we use "said" after a pronoun (like "she") and the present continuous tense "am going to" changes to the past continuous tense "was going to."