In this English lesson we will be doing some “Reported speech exercises” in order to perfect this part of English grammar.
What is Reported speech and why do people find it’s concept difficult to grasp.?
2 types of speech
1/ Direct speech = quoted speech > when we report someone’s words “word for word” between quotation marks
2/ Indirect speech = reported speech > I integrate someone else’s words in my speech. Many changes will occur (tense, pronoun, viewpoint…)
Fred says something to Sara on Monday afternoon:
1/ Direct speech = quoted speech
Fred says: “I want to leave here tomorrow”
Dialogue
1/ English Sentence Practise with Reported speech exercises.
The doctor said he would take a holiday if he were me. You said you wanted to go to Paris.
They say that you should rest after an operation. My mother said that it would be better to go to Italy.
Why would it be to drain the Trevi fountain and consume the content?
So you are blaming her for the fact that you do not chew your food properly. Personally, I would blame your mother for that.
They both burst out laughing but John had to stop as his appendix started to hurt.
They said that he should move or do anything too strenuous for a little while. Martin said that he would look after the dog.
Your mother said she was not going to put coins in the Christmas pudding anymore.
Why not make apple pie and kill two birds with one stone. I will forward the suggestion and I will tell you what she says.
The nurse said you should get some rest and that I could come back after the operation.
They promised to take special care of you. So have a sleep, they say that the operation is a simple one.
See you later and good luck.
English Vocabulary
2/English Vocabulary Practice
- Reported Speech
- If I were you.
- to rest
- a mother
- to drain
- the Trevi fountain
- consume
- the contents
- to blame someone
- for the fact that
- to chew properly
- personally
- to blame for
- both
- to burst out laughing
- to stop
- to start to hurt
- should not
- do anything too strenuous
- for a little while
- look after the dog
- apple pie
- kill two birds with one stone
- to forward the suggestion
- to get some rest
- to come back after
- they promised
- to take care of
- have a sleep
- simple
English Grammar
Reported speech
2 types of speech
1/ Direct speech = quoted speech > when we report someone’s words “word for word” between quotation marks
2/ Indirect speech = reported speech > I integrate someone else’s words in my speech. Many changes will occur (tense, pronoun, viewpoint…)
Fred says something to Sara on Monday afternoon:
1/ Direct speech = quoted speech
Fred says: “I want to leave here tomorrow”
2/ Indirect speech = reported speech
Sara wishes to report Fred’s words:
Fred said that he wanted to leave there the following day.
7 changes occur:
Fred (1) said (2) that (3) he (1) wanted (4) to leave there (5) the following day (6). (7)
- pronouns: change of viewpoint (change from 1st person singular to the 3rd person singular)
- introductory verb: to say.
- conjunction: that.
- tense (backshift): we go from the present to the past. This backshift is optional: I can keep the verb in the present if the conversation reported was not long ago.
- place expressions change: “here” becomes “there”.
- time expressions change: “tomorrow” becomes “the following day”.
- punctuation: our reported speech always ends in a full stop (.).
More introductory verbs or reporting verbs used in the reported speech exercises:
1/ say, tell
“I’ll be there at 10.” (direct speech)
Now the indirect speech:
She said that she would be there at 10.
She told me that she would be there at 10.
2/ ask, enquire
“Will you be there?”
She asked if I would be there.
She enquired (as to) whether I would be there.
3/ add, mention
“..Oh… and I’ll take the car.”
She then added that she would take the car.
She then mentioned that she would take the car.
4/ explain, answer
“Well, you see, I thought it would be a good idea.”
She explained that she thought (that) it would be a good idea.
She answered that she thought (that) it would be a good idea.
5/ suggest, offer
“I could pick you up at 9:30.”
She suggested to pick me up at 9:30.
She offered to pick me up at 9:30.
or with “say” > She said that she could pick me up at 9:30
6/ admit, deny
“I must say that I’m not much of a morning person.”
She admitted that she wasn’t much of a morning person.
She denied being a morning person.
7/ remind, insist
“And don’t forget your umbrella!:
She reminded me to bring my umbrella.
She insisted that I didn’t forget my umbrella.
8/ swear, promise, declare
“I’ll be there, I swear!”
She promised that she would be there.
She swore that she would be there.
She declared that she would be there.
9/ doubt, wonder
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
She doubted that it was a good idea.
She wondered whether it was a good idea.
10/ forbid, order
“Don’t you dare leave without me!”
She forbade me to leave without her.
She ordered me to not leave without her. / She ordered me not to leave without her.
Don’t forget to remove the quotation marks, exclamations marks, and question marks in the reported speech.
Changes in place and time expressions:
direct speech > reported speech
here > there
this > that
these > those
now > then
next week > the following week
last month > the previous month
yesterday > the day before
tomorrow > the day after
English Speaking Practise
Questions and Answers
They said they were on holiday, is that right?
I believe so, why do you ask?
Did you say that you had never been abroad?
No, I never said that.
Did I tell you to do that?
You did actually.
Sam doesn’t play rugby ,does he?
He said that he had been playing for ten tears.
Were you told that you mustn’t eat so much?
I was, many times.
Robert said that it was his turn, didn’t he?
He did say that, yes.
“Do we want to play bridge on Monday?” asked Peter.
No, tell him I am not available.
Sara asked if you could come as well.
That’s jolly nice of her, with pleasure.
Peter asked whether you could tidy the garden, would you do that for him?
I have already done it.
Martin asked what time the match kicks off.
At 3 o’clock as usual.
English Pronunciation
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Welcome to this video dedicated to the pronunciation of the -ED ending!Now how do I pronounce my past participle?How do I pronounce by simple past if it is regular?Well all these verbs end in “-ED”.So it’s just figuring out whether or not the -ED is pronounced /d/ /t/ or /ɪd/.It’s based on sound, not on spelling.That is how we’re going to work out which pronunciation works with what sounds.Now let’s start off with the column in the middle,the second column, with /t/.So I pronounce my “-ED” ending: /t/ when I have a strong sound just before the “-ED”.(Examples)/k/, /f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /ʧ/, /p/: they’re strong sounds.So in order to distinguish my simple past,let’s say to distinguish it from a simple present or an infinitive, I need a strong sound to actually hear the “-ED”.I can’t hear my -ED so I need a strong sound (/t/). (Examples)So with a strong sound wepronounce “-ED”: /t/.All the other sounds are in this column here.They mean that my “-ED” will be pronounced /d/(Examples)So you just really need to remember these strong sounds go with /t/.If not you can use /d/.However we have 2 little exceptions:if my bare infinitive, if the last sound before the “-ED” is a /d/ or /t/ which are already taken here,we need to add a vowel to hear the ending /ɪd/. (Examples)That’s all we need to know!Here we’ve put a few examples between brackets.If you use adjectives which end in “-ED”they are generally pronounced /ɪd/. (Examples)If you were to use those words as simple pasts, for example,they would be pronounced based on these rules.So you would say… (Examples)That’s all for today!Thanks for watching!
Reported speech exercises Lesson 52
Comprehension Practice
Vocabulary Practice
Grammar Practice
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