Reported speech exercises
- English grammar PDF
- PDF worksheets
- Mixed PDF tests
- Present tenses
- Past tenses
- Future tenses
- Present perfect
- Past perfect
- Future perfect
- Irregular verbs
- Modal verbs
- If-conditional
- Passive voice
- Reported speech
- Time clauses
- Relative clauses
- Indirect questions
- Question tags
- Imperative sentence
- Gerund and infinitive
- Direct | indirect object
Rewrite the sentences in the reported speech
Change the tenses, pronouns, expressions of time and place to rewrite the sentences from the direct to reported speech.
Check test Answer key Clear test
Direct and indirect speech Exercises with answers and grammar rules.
Reported speech worksheets PDF exercises with answers.
Reported questions, commands and requests Exercises and grammar rules.
Reported speech - brief summary
In the reported speech we usually change tenses (one tense back), pronouns, time and place.
"I admire you," said Sarah. Sarah said she admired me.
"We came back yesterday," they told me. They told me they had come the day before.
"Peter has put it here," he thought. He thought that Peter had put it there.
"I'm afraid that your parents won't like me," said George. George said he was afraid that my parents wouldn't like him.
How to avoid the shift of tenses:
It is simple to avoid shift of tenses in the reported speech if you use the reporting verb in the present simple tense instead of the past simple tense.
"I admire you," said Sarah. Sarah says she admires me.
"I'm afraid that your parents won't like me," said George. George says that he is afraid that my parents won't like him.
Reported Speech
Perfect english grammar.
Reported Statements
Here's how it works:
We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:
- Direct speech: I like ice cream.
- Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.
We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'. (As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in brackets () to show that it's optional. It's exactly the same if you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)
But , if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:
- Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.
* doesn't change.
- Direct speech: The sky is blue.
- Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.
Click here for a mixed tense exercise about practise reported statements. Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.
Reported Questions
So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about questions?
- Direct speech: Where do you live?
- Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.
- Direct speech: Where is Julie?
- Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.
- Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?
- Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.
Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions. Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions. Reported Requests
There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:
- Direct speech: Close the window, please
- Or: Could you close the window please?
- Or: Would you mind closing the window please?
- Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.
- Direct speech: Please don't be late.
- Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.
Reported Orders
- Direct speech: Sit down!
- Reported speech: She told me to sit down.
- Click here for an exercise to practise reported requests and orders.
- Click here for an exercise about using 'say' and 'tell'.
- Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.
Hello! I'm Seonaid! I'm here to help you understand grammar and speak correct, fluent English.
