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Direct and indirect speech exercise

June 6, 2014 B1pdf

Sentences are given in the direct speech. Change them into indirect speech.

1. ‘My Lord, is any of your silver missing?’ the Sergeant said to the Bishop.

2. ‘Did you see the exhibition?’ the teacher said to me.

3. ‘My son, when will you come back?’ said the mother.

4. ‘Can I get supper and lodging here for a night?’ said Jean Val Jean.

5. ‘I am a humble servant ready to obey the orders,’ said Madame Magloire to the Bishop.

6. Rob’s father said to Mary, ‘I hate to call Rob in the mornings.’

7. The teacher said to the boys, ‘If you do your best, you will surely pass.’

8. ‘Joseph, have you finished writing?’ asked the teacher.

9. ‘I have something to show you,’ Maya told her friend.

10. ‘Can you help me please?’ the tourist asked the policeman.

Answers

1. The Sergeant asked the Bishop if any of his silver was missing.

2. The teacher asked me if/whether I had seen the exhibition.

3. The mother asked her son when he would come back.

4. Jean Val Jean asked if/whether he could get supper and lodging there for a night.

5. Madame Magloire told the Bishop that she was a humble servant ready to obey the orders.

6. Rob’s father told Mary that he hated to call Rob in the mornings.

7. The teacher told the boys that if they did their best, they would surely pass.

8. The teacher asked Joseph if he had finished writing.

9. Maya told her friend that she had something to show her.

10. The tourist asked the man if he could help him.

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Related lesson in the course Reported statements: say, tell and backshift Module 08: Clauses & reporting · Lesson 5

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