Sentences are given in direct speech. Change them into indirect speech.
Note
We usually report statements using a that-clause.
1My mother said, "You are the laziest boy I have ever seen." / My mother said that I ............... the laziest boy she had ever seen.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, "are" usually changes to "was" in reported speech.
2He told me, "I don't like your hairstyle." / He told me that he ............... my hairstyle.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, "don't like" changes to "didn't like" in reported speech.
3Martin said, "If my father gives me permission, I will go to Singapore." / Martin said that if his father ............... him permission, he would go to Singapore.
Wrong!
In reported speech after a past reporting verb, "gives" changes to "gave" in the if-clause.
4The father said to his son, "I will show you how to do it." / The father told his son that he ............... him how to do it.
Wrong!
In reported speech after a past reporting verb, "will show" changes to "would show".
5The boy said, "I have come to borrow a book from the library." / The boy said that he ............... to borrow a book from the library.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, the present perfect "have come" changes to "had come".
6He says, "I am going to the US." / He says that he ............... to the US.
Wrong!
Because the reporting verb "says" is present, the tense does not change; "am going" becomes "is going" only because "I" becomes "he".
7He told the agent, "I want to see the house before I buy it." / He told the agent that he ............... to see the house before he bought it.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, "want" changes to "wanted" in reported speech.
8My mother said, "You must change your wet clothes." / My mother told me that I ............... change my wet clothes.
Wrong!
For past reported obligation, "must" commonly changes to "had to" in reported speech.
9He said, "We needn't tell her." / He said that they ............... to tell her.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, "needn't" is reported as "didn't need" before "to".
10The speaker said, "No one can say what will happen next." / The speaker said that no one ............... what would happen next.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, "can say" changes to "could say" in reported speech.
Exercise complete
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correct answers
Answers
- My mother said, “You are the laziest boy I have ever seen.” / My mother said that I was the laziest boy she had ever seen.
- He told me, “I don’t like your hairstyle.” / He told me that he didn’t like my hairstyle.
- Martin said, “If my father gives me permission, I will go to Singapore.” / Martin said that if his father gave him permission, he would go to Singapore.
- The father said to his son, “I will show you how to do it.” / The father told his son that he would show him how to do it.
- The boy said, “I have come to borrow a book from the library.” / The boy said that he had come to borrow a book from the library.
- He says, “I am going to the US.” / He says that he is going to the US.
- He told the agent, “I want to see the house before I buy it.” / He told the agent that he wanted to see the house before he bought it.
- My mother said, “You must change your wet clothes.” / My mother told me that I had to change my wet clothes.
- He said, “We needn’t tell her.” / He said that they didn’t need to tell her.
- The speaker said, “No one can say what will happen next.” / The speaker said that no one could say what would happen next.