Fill in the blanks.
1The boy told the girl that he ............... her hairstyle.
Wrong!
After the past reporting verb "told", "liked" is the normal backshift form.
2She told me she ............... to come with me.
Wrong!
After the past reporting verb "told", "wanted" is the normal backshift form.
3He said that if his parents gave him permission, he ............... go abroad.
Wrong!
After the past reporting verb "said", "would" is the normal backshift of "will".
4He told me that he ............... such a lazy boy as I was.
Wrong!
In reported speech after a past reporting verb, "had never seen" is the normal backshift of the present perfect.
5She said that she ............... to lock the door.
Wrong!
In reported speech after a past reporting verb, "had forgotten" is the normal backshift of the past simple.
6He says that he ............... to be an astronaut.
Wrong!
After the present reporting verb "says", "wants" stays in the present simple.
7The mother asked the child ............... her wet clothes.
Wrong!
A reported command after "asked the child" uses the to-infinitive "to change".
8I reminded him that his wife ............... for him.
Wrong!
In reported speech after a past reporting verb, "might be waiting" is the normal backshift of "may be waiting".
9She told me that she would let me know as soon as she ............... information.
Wrong!
In this reported future-time clause, "received" fits the past-time frame after "as soon as".
10He said that he ............... something behind the curtain.
Wrong!
In reported speech after a past reporting verb, "had seen" is the normal backshift of the past simple.
11The Jester said that Lenore knew more about the moon than they ............... .
Wrong!
The comparison refers back to the past verb "knew", so the substitute auxiliary is "did".
12She told me that she ............... that book on my table the other day.
Wrong!
In reported speech after a past reporting verb, "had seen" is the normal backshift of the past simple.
Done.
Score: 0/12
Answers
- The boy told the girl that he liked her hairstyle.
- She told me she wanted to come with me.
- He said that if his parents gave him permission, he would go abroad.
- He told me that he had never seen such a lazy boy as I was.
- She said that she had forgotten to lock the door.
- He says that he wants to be an astronaut.
- The mother asked the child to change her wet clothes.
- I reminded him that his wife might be waiting for him.
- She told me that she would let me know as soon as she received information.
- He said that he had seen something behind the curtain.
- The Jester said that Lenore knew more about the moon than they did .
- She told me that she had seen that book on my table the other day.
