2335

Ten minutes ago he said, ―My son is coming today.‖ — Ten minutes ago he said that his son was coming today.

He said, ―I saw her yesterday.‖ — He said that he had seen her the day before.

I said, ―I‘ll do it tomorrow.‖ — I said that I‘d do it the next day. (I‘d = I would)

He said, ―I‘ll be going away next week.‖ — He said he‘d be going away the following week. (he‘d == he would)

She said, ―My father died last year‖ — She said that her father died the year before.

Exercise 1. Change the following sentences into reported speech.

1. He said ―I attend the language laboratory almost every day. I am working hard at my pronunciation, and I hope I‘ll make good progress soon.‖ 2. Helen said to Roger, ―I‘ll join you in a moment if you wait for me at the entrance door.‖ 3. Mother said to her children: ―If Aunt Emily invites us we‘ll spend the week-end at the seaside.‖ 4. ―I‘m sure I‘ll still be sleeping when you start. I don‘t want to get up so early,‖ said Alice. 7. ―I recommend you to join our company if you want to have a good rest,‖ said Roger, ―we are going to the river, I know a good place for bathing there.‖ 8. She said: ―The tall trees make a green corridor, and their leaves are murmuring above our heads while we walk along that wonderful alley.‖ 9. ―If you watch TV for a long time, you‘ll get tired,‖ said Mother to the boy. 10. She said: ―I‘ll give him your note if you like. I‘ll be seeing him tomorrow as we work together.‖

Exercise 2. Turn the following sentences into reported speech.

M o d e l: Robert said, ‗This film is very funny.‘

Robert said (that) the film was very funny.

1. ‗I‘m starting a new job next week,‘ she said. 2. ‗I got my

exam results last week,‘ he told them. 3. ‗I can‘t afford to buy this dress,‘ said Sally. 4. ‗I would buy a car if I had enough money,‘ he said to her. 5. Frank said, ‗That‘s the house I was born.‘ 6. ‗That was a wonderful party,‘ said Jill. 7. ‗Oranges grow in hot countries,‘ the teacher said. 8. ‗A lot of people visit museums,‘ he said. 9. ‗This is a very famous statue,‘ the tour guide told us. 10. ‗I don‘t like that jacket,‘ said Bob. 11. ‗I‘m lost,‘ the boy said. (up-to- date reporting) 12. ‗I may be a little late this evening,‘ she said. 13. ‗You‘d better clean up this mess,‘ Mum said to Claire. 14. ‗I‘ve already done the shopping,‘ she said. (up-to-date reporting) 15. ‗I found this note under the sofa,‘ said Sue. 16. ‗I won‘t be late again,‘ he said to us. 17. ‗If I finish work early, I‘ll call you,‘ she said. 18. ‗I‘ve been training hard recently,‘ he told the reporters. 19. ‗We must go home now,‘ said the man to his children. 20. ‗Those are the boys who chased me,‘ Sarah said. 21. ‗I‘m going to a party tonight,‘ Lynne told her friends. (up-to-date reporting) 22. ‗I used to have long hair,‘ Laura said. 23. ‗There is too much violence on TV,‘ said Grandad. 24. ‗You ought to make a decision soon,‘ Andrew told her.

Exercise 3. Put the following statements into reported speech.

1. ‗I‘m going out now, but I‘ll be in by nine,‘ he said. (Omit now) 2. ‗I‘m working in a restaurant, and don‘t much care for it,‘ she said. 3. ‗I can‘t live on my basic salary,‘ said Peter. ‗I‘ll have to offer to do overtime.‘ 4. ‗My young brother wants to be a tax inspector,‘ said Mary. ‗I can‘t think why. None of my family has ever been a tax inspector.‘ 5. ‗We‘re waiting for a school bus,‘ said the children. ‗It‘s late again.‘ 6. ‗I‘ve made a terrible mistake!‘ said Peter. ‗You‘re always making terrible mistakes,‘ I said. ‗You should be used to it by now.‘ 7. ‗We make £450 a week,‘ said one of the men, ‗and send most of it to our wives.‘ 8. ‗It‘s lonely being away from our families,‘ said another, ‗but we earn three times as much in this factory as we would in our own country.‘ 9. ‗We‘ve been here for two and a half years,‘ said the man who had spoken

first, ‗and we‘re going to stay another six months.‘ 10. ‗I‘ve got a job on an oil-rig,‘ said Paul. ‗That‘ll be very hard work,‘ I said. ‗I know it‘ll be hard,‘ he replied, ‗but I don‘t mind hard work, and it‘ll be a good experience.‘ 11. ‗The ice will soon be hard enough to skate on,‘ said Tom. ‗I‘ll look for my skates when I get home,‘ Ann said. 12. ‗I‘m living with my parents at present,‘ she said, ‗but I hope to have a flat of my own soon.‘ 13. ‗I‘m leaving tomorrow,‘ she said, ‗by the 4.30 from Victoria.‘ ‗We‘ll come and see you off,‘ we said. 14. ‗I‘ve just bought a car,‘ said Peter, ‗but it‘s not insured yet so I can‘t take you for a drive.‘ 15. ‗I‘d like to speak to Susan,‘ said Mary, ‗but I‘m bathing the babies and they will drown if I leave them alone in the bath while I go to the phone.‘ 16. Mary has just received a postcard from Ann, beginning, ‗I‘m coming up to

London next week. I hope you and Jack will meet me for lunch one day.‘ (Imagine that Mary is reading this card to Jack. Begin: Ann says … ) 17. ‗Nothing ever happens in the village,‘ she said. ‗It‘s like a dead village. All the young people have drifted away to the towns.‘ 18. ‗I‘ve missed my train,‘ said Bill. ‗Now I‘ll be late for work and my boss will be furious.‘ 19. ‗We‘ll wait for you if you‘re late,‘ they said. 20. ‗They are supposed to be landing at London airport,‘ I said. ‗But if the fog gets any thicker the plane may be diverted.‘ 21. ‗If you lend me a chainsaw,‘ said Mary, ‘I‘ll bring it back the day after tomorrow.‘ 22. ‗I hate getting up on dark mornings,‘ grumbled Peter. ‗It is horrible,‘ agreed his wife, ‗but the mornings will be lighter soon and then it won‘t be quite so bad.‘ 23. ‗The sales are starting tomorrow,‘ said the typist. ‗As soon as we finish work the whole typing pool is going to make a dash for the shops.‘ ‗I hope you‘ll all get what you want,‘ I said. 24. ‗I wish I had something to eat,‘ said Peter. ‗You‘ve only just had lunch,‘ said his sister. ‗I don‘t know how you can be hungry again so soon.‘ 25. ‗If you‘re short of money I can lend you £50,‘ said my aunt, ‗and you can take your time about paying it back.‘ 26. ‗I usually take my dog out for a walk when I come home from work,‘ he said. 27. ‗I have a message for your brother,‘ I said. ‗He isn‘t at home,‘ said Ann. ‗He left two days ago.‘ 28. ‗I bought this bag in Milan,‘ I said. ‗You shouldn‘t have bought that colour,‘ said Peter. ‗It doesn‘t go

with your coat.‘ 29. ‗I must hurry. My father is always furious if any of us are late for meals,‘ she said. 30. ‗If you want to smoke you‘ll have to go upstairs,‘ said the bus conductor. 31. ‗I‘m building myself a house,‘ said Charles. ‗I won‘t show it to you just yet but when the roof is on you can come and see it.‘ 32. ‗The lake will probably freeze tonight,‘ said Peter. ‗It‘s much colder than last night.‘ 33. ‗Someone is trying to murder me!‘ said Mrs Jones. ‗I keep getting threatening letters.‘ 34. ‗I‘m taking the children to the zoo tomorrow,‘ she said, ‗to see the baby polar bear.‘ 35. ‗All I can hear,‘ says Ann, ‗is a high-pitched buzz. I wonder if it‘s some sort of signal.‘ 36. ‗There‘s been an accident, and the road is blocked,‘ said the policeman. ‗It won‘t be clear for some time. You‘d better go round the other way.‘ 37. ‗I was thinking of going by bus,‘ said Paul. ‗I shouldn‘t go by bus (if I were you),‘ said his aunt. ‗It‘s an awfully bad service.‘ 38. ‗The puppy can sleep on our bed,‘ said Tom. ‗I‘d rather he slept in a basket,‘ said his wife. ‗That puppy will soon be a very big dog and then there won‘t be room for all three of us.‘ 39. ‗I wish we‘d brought our guitars,‘ said the students. ‗Then we could have offered to play in the restaurant and perhaps they‘d have given us a free meal.‘ 40. ‗I don‘t know why you waste so much time polishing the car,‘ said Mr Jones. ‗The neighbours all polish their cars,‘ said Mrs Jones, ‗and I don‘t want our Mini look like a poor relation. If you were any good you‘d help me instead of standing there criticizing,‘ she added. 41. ‗I‘d have enjoyed the journey more if the man next to me hadn‘t snored all the time,‘ said

Paul.

Exercise 4. Complete the sentences with your own ideas using reported speech, as in the model.

M o d e l: ‗I bought a new dress yesterday.‘

	‗Did you? But you told me …you had bought
trousers.‘ …
1. ‗Bill is moving house on Saturday.‘
‗Is	he?

………………………………………………………………….. .‘

2.‗I like Chinese food a lot.‘

‗Do you?

……………………………………………………………….. .‘ 3. ‗Tom can speak German fluently.‘

‗Can he?

……………………………………………………………….. .‘ 4. ‗I haven‘t seen Anna for months.‘

‗Haven‘t you?

…………………………………………………………. .‘

5.‗Sam is working for his farther at the moment.‘

‗Is he?

…………………………………………………………………. .‘

6.‗I‘m afraid I have to work this weekend.‘

‗Do you?

………………………………………………………………. .‘ 7. ‗Janet knows about the surprise party.‘

‗Does she?

……………………………………………………………... .‘

Exercise 5. Last week you had lunch with Rachel, a friend you hadn’t seen for a long time. Look at the list of things she said to you, then tell another friend what she said. Use reported speech.

1.I‘m going to work in Spain next year.

2.I work for a small publishing company.

3.I‘m their marketing manager.

4.The company has opened an office in Barcelona.

5.It‘s been very successful.

6.I‘ve been chosen to run a new office in Madrid.

7.I‘m studying Spanish in the evenings.

8.I don‘t have much time to enjoy myself.

9.I haven‘t had lunch with a friend for ages.

10.I hope my friends will come and visit me in Madrid.

11.I went there last week with my secretary.

12.We didn‘t have much time for sightseeing.

13.I have to get back to work now.

Exercise 6. Choose the correct answer.

1.She said that it was going to be a wonderful party. a ‗It was going to be a wonderful party.‘

b ‗It‘s going to be a wonderful party.‘

2.He said the bus might be a little late today. a ‗The bus was a little late today.‘

b ‗The bus might be a little late today.‘

3.She told him that he should study harder. a ‗You should study harder.‘

b ‗You should have studied harder.‘

4.He said that the fire had done a lot of damage to the building.

a ‗The fire had done a lot of damage to the building.‘ b ‗The fire has done a lot of damage to the building.‘

5.He said that Michael was the best student he had ever

taught.

a ‗Michael is the best student I have ever taught.‘ b ‗Michael was the best student I have ever taught.‘

6.She told us that the new furniture had been delivered the day before.

a ‗The new furniture had been delivered yesterday.‘ b ‗The new furniture was delivered yesterday.‘

7.They said that the manager would inspect the office the following day.

a ‗The manager will inspect the office the following day.‘ b ‗The manager will inspect the office tomorrow.‘

8.He said that if we hadn‘t acted so quickly, the accident would have been even worse.

a ‗If you hadn‘t acted so quickly, the accident would have been even worse.‘

b ‗If you haven‘t acted so quickly, the accident would be even worse.‘

REPORTED QUESTIONS

When we turn direct questions into indirect questions, the following changes are necessary:

(1)Tenses, pronouns and adverbs of time and place change as in statement.

(2)The word-order of a question changes to that of a statement: subject — predicate; no question mark is used.

He said, ―Where does she live?‖ – He asked where she lived.

(3) If the introductory verb is say, it must be changed to a verb of inquiry, i.e., ask, inquire, wonder, want to know, etc.

He said, ―Where is the station?‖ — He asked where the station was.

The verbs ask, inquire, etc. can also be used in direct speech. They are then usually placed at the end of the sentence.

―Where is the station?‖ he inquired.

(4) If the direct question begins with an interrogative word (when, where, who, how, why, etc.), the interrogative word is repeated at the beginning of the indirect question.

―Why did you come?‖ she asked.— She asked why he had

come.

He said, ―How will you do it?‖ — He asked how she would

do it.

If there is no interrogative word, the word whether or if is placed after the main verb. Whether is always correct, but if cannot be used with all verbs.

―Are you going to the party?‖ he asked.— He asked me , whether I was going to the party. Or : He asked me if I was going to the party.

He said, "Is anyone there?" — He asked if anyone was there.

(5) As indirect questions have the same subject-predicate order as statements, they use the same form of the verb. It means that the auxiliary do is not used in positive indirect questions, because it is not used in the corresponding positive statements.

―Do you like coffee?‖ she asked.— She asked whether I liked coffee, (not ―whether I did like coffee‖)

But the auxiliary do is used in the corresponding negative indirect questions, because it is used in negative statements.

―Don‘t you like coffee?‖ she asked.— She asked him why he didn't like coffee.

(6) Questions beginning with shall I/we? These can be of two kinds: speculations and requests for instructions.

(a) Speculations, when put into indirect speech, follow the ordinary rule about shall/will and are usually introduced by the verb wonder.

He said, "Where shall I be in 2020?" — (Possible answer -. "Perhaps, I'll be on Mars.)—He wondered where he would be in 2020.

(b) Requests for instructions, however, retain shall/should.

He says, ―Where shall I put it?‖ (Possible answer — ―Put it in the safe.‖) — He asks where he shall put it. О г : He asks where he is to put it. (more usual).

He said, ―Where shall I put it?‖ — He asked where he should put it. О г: Не asked where he was to put it.

N o t e that an alternative to shall/should here is is to/was to. This is often used, especially in indirect speech. There is no difference in meaning.

―Shall I take the car?‖ he asked.— He asked if he should take the car/if he was to take the car.

(7) Indirect questions are not enclosed in inverted commas, and they do not have a question mark at the end. But a question mark is necessary if the whole complex sentence in which the indirect question is included as a clause is itself a direct question.

Did you remember to ask when the train arrived?

If the whole question were reported, so that the present main clause became a subordinate one, then the question mark would not be used.

He inquired whether I remembered to ask when the train arrived.

Exercise 7. Turn the questions into reported speech. Begin each one with I asked the … and give the name of the person who does the job, as in the model.

M o d e l: ‗Do I need another filling?‘ – I asked the dentist if I needed another filling.

1. ‗How much does this blouse cost?‘ 2. ‗How many tablets should I take each day?‘ 3. ‗Can I borrow the book for another week?‘ 4. ‗Will it cost very much to repair the television?‘ 5. ‗May I look at the menu, please?‘ 6. ‗What do I have to do for homework?‘ 7. ‗When will the report be typed?‘ 8. ‗Will you be able to deliver the flowers today?‘ 9. ‗Can I make an appointment to have my hair cut?‘

Exercise 8. Turn the following into reported questions.

1. ‗What is your name?‘ he asked me. 2. ‗Where are your parents?‘ Uncle Bill asked us. 3. ‗Will you help me carry the box, please?‘ Dad asked. 4. ‗What time will you be home?‘ Mum asked me. 5. ‗Can you play the guitar?‘ he asked her. 6. ‗Who was at the door?‘ David asked Janet. 7. ‗Where is the post office?‘ they asked us. 8. ‗When will you do your home work?‘ Meg asked me. 9. The boss asked me, ‗Have you finish those reports?‘ 10. John asked Sam, ‗Do you like computer games?‘ 11. ‗Will you give me a lift to work, please?‘ he asked her. 12. ‗Where is your jacket?‘ she asked him.

Exercise 9. Yesterday Simon interviewed a famous actor. He asked him the following questions. Turn them into reported speech.

1.‗Do you enjoy being famous?‘

2.‗What is the best part of your job?‘

3.‗What do you find difficult about acting?‘

4.‗How many films have you starred in?‘

5.‗What is your favourite film?‘

6.‗Have you met many other famous people?‘

7.Where would you most like to make a film?‘

8.‗Have you visited many interesting places?‘

9.‗What are your plans for the future?‘

10.‗Are you happy with your life?‘

Exercise 10. Put the following questions into reported speech.

1. ‗Who has been using my typewriter?‘ said my mother. 2. ‗Do you want to see the cathedral?‘ said the guide. 3. ‗Do you mind working on the night shifts?‘ he asked. 4. ‗Would you like to come with us?‘ they said. 5. ‗Who did you give the money to?‘ asked