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 is present, "am going" changes to "is going" only for the pronoun change.
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".
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.
Done.
Score: 0/10
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.
