Training exercises:

Ex 1. Retell the following using reported speech introducing the sentences with the verbs above.

1.

• It is again very foggy this morning.

• The fog will soon rise; yesterday at sunset the sky was red: it is a favourable sign.

• I doubt it: the day before yesterday it was still redder and yet we had a lot of rain yesterday.

• Certainly, but where was the wind coming from?

• To tell the truth, I didn’t notice it.

• It came from the west, and the sky was cloudy while yesterday evening a north wind was blowing, besides the sky was cloudless. So don’t bother today; there will be neither rain nor snow.

2.

Mr Brown buys a parrot and sends it to his wife/ when he comes home at noon, he asks his wife:

• Where is the bird I sent you?

• I have roasted it for lunch.

• Roasted! Are you crazy? Why, it was a bird that could speak!

• Why didn’t it say anything than.

3.

A priest has ordered a large painting for his church. After some weeks the painting was ready. It was gorgeous. At first the priest was very pleased and praised it very much.

“But,” he said suddenly, “What have you done there? The angel has shoes!”

“Certainly,” replied the painter. “Why not?”

“Have you ever seen an angel with shoes?”

“And have you ever seen an angel without shoes?”

4.

The astrologer wished to cross the river which was broad and deep. So he asked the blacksmith to ferry him across.

The blacksmith agreed and they both got into the boat.

“Tell me, blacksmith,” the astrologer asked, “have you studied the stars?”

“No, I have never studied them,” replied the blacksmith.

“Then you’ve wasted a third of your life. Have you studied history?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Then you’ve lost half your life. What about mathematics?”

“I haven’t studied mathematics either.”

“Then you’ve lost three quarters of your life.”

They rowed on till they reached the middle of the river. Just then a big wave heat the side of the boat and turned it upside down.

“Tell me, astrologer,” the blacksmith yelled, “have your learned to swim?”

“No,” replied the astrologer.

“Well, then, you look like losing all your life. Hold on to my shoulders.”

5.

It is a cold winter day and an ant is bringing some grains of corn that he has gather in the summer and he wants to dry them.

A grasshopper who is very hungry sees him and says “Give me a few grains of corn; I’m starving.”

“But,” says the ant, “what had you been doing all the summer? Didn’t you store up any corn?”

“No,” replies the grasshopper, “I was too busy.”

“What did you do then?” says the ant.

“I was singing all days long,” answered the grasshopper.

“If you sang all summer,” says the ant, “go and dance all the winter.”

Ex 2. Do the following tasks. Don’t forget to use different verbs to introduce the reported speech.

1. Render the talk of two passengers in the plane, who are sitting next to each other.

2. Render your talk with your mother after you have failed your exam in English.

3. Render the talk with your friend who is keeping a diet at the moment.

4. Render a talk with a real estate agent: you are going to buy an apartment or house.

5. Render a talk with your friend who has just come from Cambridge where he took an English course.

6. Render a talk of two friends who are making their decisions of what University to enter.

7. Render your talk with your friend who has just married.