REPORTED QUESTIONS

ask (sb) (sth), want to know, enquire

1. Betty said, "When did you come?" Betty wanted to know when I had come.

2. "Has John arrived?", Tom said. Tom asked if John had arrived.

3. Ronald asked, "Where does Maria park her car?" Ronald wanted to know if Maria had parked her car there.

4. The teacher said, "Did you watch the latest film?" The teacher asked me if I had watched the latest film.

5. The policeman said, "Can I help you?" The policeman asked if he could help me.

6. Andrew asked, "Will Mandy have lunch with Sue?" Andrew asked if Mandy would have lunch with Sue.

7. The manager shouted, "What are you doing?" The manager wanted to know what I was doing.

8. Frank asked, "How much pocket money does Lisa get?" Frank wanted to know how much pocket money Lisa got.

9. My mother asked her, "Must I do the shopping?" My mother asked her if she had to do the shopping.

10. That beautiful stranger said, "Do you want to dance?" That beautiful stranger asked me if I wanted to dance.

11. "How often do you go to the cinema?", he asked He wanted to know how often I went* to the cinema. (*go)

12. "How was the journey?", the old man said. The old man asked how the journey had been.

13. Dad asked, "What were you doing when I saw you?" Dan wanted to know what I was doing when he saw me.

14. "Where will you live after graduation?", she said. She enquired where I would live after graduation.

15. "What are you going to do at the weekend?, said the man The man asked me what I was going to do at the weekend.

16. My neighbour asked, "How is your mother?" My neighbour asked / wanted to know how my mother was.

17. "Who was that beautiful woman?", Tim said. Tim wanted to know who was that beautiful woman.

18. I said, "Why didn't you go out last night?" I wanted to know why s/he hadn’t gone out the night before / the previous night.

19. "Where is he?", the inspector asked. The inspector enquired where he was.

20. John said, "Do you live in London?" John asked if I lived in London.

21. "Did he arrive on time?", the man asked. The man asked if he had arrived on time.

22. "Have you been to Paris?", asked Sheila. Sheila asked if I had been to Paris.

23. "Can you help me?” The old man said. The olm man asked me to help him. (*) Be careful! It is not a question!!! It is a request.

24. She said, "Are you working tonight?" She wanted to know if I was working that night.

25. "Will you come later today?" the shopkeeper said. The shopkeeper wanted to know if I would come later that day.

26. "Do you like coffee?", he said. He asked me if I liked coffee.

27. The tourist said, "Is this the road to the station?" The tourist asked if that was the road to

the station.

28. "Did you do your homework?" said the teacher. The teacher asked me if I had dome my homework.

29. "Have you studied reported speech before?" said the English woman. The English woman asked if I / we had studied reported speech before.

REPORTED STATEMENTS

say (sth) (to sb), tell (sb) (sth), state (sth), explain (sth) (to sb), exclaim, answer, reply...

1) The officer said, "He works in a bank" The officer said / stated that he worked in a bank.

2) "We went out last night", Carlos told me. Carlos told me that they had gone out the previous night / the night before.

3) "I'm coming home tonight!", shouted his brother. His brother shouted that he was *going home that night. BE CAREFUL!

4) "I was waiting for the bus when Pete arrived", I said. (*)I said that I was waiting for the bus when Peter arrived.

5) "I'd never been here before", the woman explained to the guide. The woman explained to the guide that she had never been there before.

6) "I didn't go to the party", Linda said. Linda said that she hadn’t gone to the party.

7) "Lucy will come later" Michelle told me. Michelle told me that Lucy would come later.

8) The teacher said, "He hasn't eaten breakfast" The teacher said that he hadn’t eaten breakfast.

9) "I can help you tomorrow if you need it", Bob said Bob explained that he could help me / him / her tomorrow if I / he / she needed it.

10) "You should go to bed early" , said Mum. Mum said I should go to bed early.

11) He announced, "I don't like chocolate" He announced that he didn’t like chocolate.

12) "I won't see you tomorrow", the teacher said. The teacher said that he wouldn’t see us the next day / the following day.

13) The neighbour told me, "She's living in Paris for a few months" The neighbour told me that she was living in Paris for a few months.

14) "I visited my parents at the weekend" she said. She explained that she had visited her parents at the weekend.

15) Andrew said, "She hasn't eaten sushi before" Andrew said that she hadn’t eaten sushi before.

16) "I hadn't travelled by underground before I came to London", he stated. (*) He stated that he hadn’t travelled by underground before he came to London.

17) "They would help if they could", we told them. We told them that they would help if they could.

18) "I'll do the washing-up later", my brother said. My brother said that he would do the washing-up later.

19) His father stated "He could read when he was three" (*) His father stated that he could read when he was three.

20) "New bodies were found on Syrian streets this morning", the newsperson stated. The newsperson stated that new bodies had been found on Syrian streets that morning.

REPORTED COMMANDS AND REQUESTS: VERB + TO -INF

Request: ask Command: tell (others are also possible) ATTENTION: DO NOT USE “SAY”!!!

1) "Please help me carry this", said the old woman. The old woman asked me to help her carry that.

2) Robert said, "Please come early" Robert asked me to come early.

3) "Please buy some milk", shouted my dad. My dad told / asked me to buy some milk.

4) The woman next to me said, "Could you please open the window?" The woman next to me asked me to open the window.

5) "Could you bring the book tonight?", the friends said. The friends asked me to bring the book that night.

6) "Can you help me with my homework, please?", the new student said. The new student asked me to help him/her with his/her homework.

7) My mum said, "Would you bring me a cup of coffee, please?” My mum asked me to bring her a cup of coffee.

8) "Would you mind passing the salt?", Tim said. Tim asked me to pass the salt.

9) "Would you mind lending me a pencil?", said Leonard. Leonard asked me to lend him a pencil.

10) "I was wondering if you could possibly tell me the time?" Sheldon said. Sheldon wondered if he could tell him the time.

11) "Do your homework!" said Mum. Mum told me to do my homework.

12) The man at the petrol station told the men, "Don't smoke!" The man at the petrol station told the men not to smoke.

13) "Don't be late!", said manager. The manager told me not to be late.

14) "Go to bed!" Dad said. Dad told me to go to bed.

15) "Tidy your room!", said my flatmate. My flatmate told me to tidy my room.

16) "Wait here!", said the cop. The cop told me to wait there.

17) "Don't do that!" I told my brother. I told my brother not to do that.

18) Mum said, "Eat your dinner!" Mum told me to eat my dinner.

19) "Don't make a mess!" Laura told me. Laura told me not to make a mess.

20) "Do the washing-up!", said Phil. Phil told me to do the washing-up.

OTHER REPORTING VERBS

There are a number of other reporting verbs which can more accurately describe what someone has said. These verbs take a variety of structures. The following list gives you reporting verbs in various categories based on sentence structure. Notice that a number of verbs can take more than one form.

verb object infinitive verb infinitive verb (that) verb gerund

verb object preposition gerund

verb preposition gerund

advise encourage invite remind warn

agree decide offer promise refuse threaten

admit agree decide deny explain insist promise recommend suggest

deny recommend suggest

accuse blame congratulate

apologize insist

Examples:

Jack encouraged me to look for a new job.

They invited all their friends to attend the presentation.

Examples:

She offered to give him a lift to work.

My brother refused to take no for an answer.

Examples:

Tom admitted (that) he had tried to leave early.

She agreed (that) we needed to reconsider our plans.

Examples:

He denied having anything to do with her.

Ken suggested studying early in the morning.

Examples:

They accused the boys of cheating on the exam.

She blamed her husband for missing the train.

Examples:He apologized for being late.

She insisted on doing the washing up.