Grammar Practice Exercises [ 25 ] , Upper Intermediate

25 - ] Grammar Practice Exercises 

Upper Intermediate

14 - ] Reported Speech

Reported Statements

Rewrite the sentences in reported speech

Example

1 . ‘I’ll come and see you on Friday if that’s all right ,’ (She said)

She said ( that ) she would come and see us on Friday if that was all right .

2 . ‘The conference will be spending a considerable time discussing the world debt crisis .’

(The statement said)

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3 . ‘The shop’s closing in half an hour .’ (She explained)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 . ‘He’s planning to set up his own business .’ (Karam tells me)

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5 . ‘We’re going to have to make quite a few cutbacks .’  (The managing director said)

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6 . ‘The police have been investigating new allegations of fraud .’ (A spokesperson said)

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7 . ‘When the project first started , there was a lot of interest in it ,’ (she explained)

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8 . ‘It’s pouring with rain down here .’ (She told me)

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9 . ‘I’ll have finished writing the report by the time you get there .’ (She promised me)

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10 . ‘My new computer has made a lot of difference to me.’ (She says)

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11 . ‘The 8.45 train from Aswan will be arriving in approximately five minutes .’ (The station announcer has just said)

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12 . ‘When we were setting up the organization , we had very little money .’ (They told me )

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13 . ‘The club lost quite a lot of money last month .’ (The treasurer told the meeting)

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14 . ‘It will be a very difficult time for all of us .’ (He agreed)

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15 . ‘You work too hard . You should take more time off .’ (He told me)

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Reported Questions

Write the following in reported speech

Example

1 . ‘Where do you think we should advertise ? ( He asked me )

He asked me where I thought we should advertise .

2 . ‘Are you going to audition for the play ?’ ( She asked me )

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3 . ‘Give me a ring if you need any help .’ ( She told me )

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 . ‘How is Laila getting on ?’ ( She often asks me ------you -------------)

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5 . ‘Shall I ask her out for a meal ?’ ( He’s been wondering )

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6 . ‘Why did Masaud look so embarrassed when he saw Nadia ? ( He asked )

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7 . ‘Must we stay here all evening ?’ ( He asked )

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8 . ‘What are they doing about publicity for the event ?’ ( She wondered )

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9 . ‘Will you send me the report when it’s finished ?’ ( He asked me )

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10 . ‘What have you done with the student records ?’ ( She asked me )

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11 . ‘Do you think you could keep your voices down a bit ?’ ( She asked me )

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12 . ‘Where did you buy that hat /’ ( He wanted to know )

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13 . ‘Have you been eating properly ?’ ( The doctor asked me )

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14 . ‘Don’t make any noise during the performance .’ ( They asked us )

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15 . ‘Were you still teaching music when you met Omar ?’ ( Malek asked me )

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Verbs Used In Reporting

Many different verbs are used in reporting . They can help to summarize the original words. 

Examples

1 - ] ‘Would you like to come and stay for the weekend ?’

He invited us to stay for the weekend .

2 - ] ‘No , no , I don’t want your money . I’m definitely going to pay for the meal and that’s that .’

He insisted on paying for the meal .

Examples of verbs used in reporting

1 - ] to- infinitive

[ advise someone to - agree to - decide to - encourage someone to - invite someone to - offer to- promise to- refuse to - warn someone ( not to ) - remind someone to - persuade someone to ]

2 - ] verb + ing Gerund

[ accuse someone of - agree on / about - apologize for - complain about - insist on - recommend - suggest - warn against - advise someone against - dissuade someone from -

persuade someone against ]   

3 - ] verb + that clause

[ agree - complain - decide - insist - recommend - suggest (+ should) - announce - boast - claim - concede ]

Put the sentences into reported speech , summarizing what was said and using the following verbs .

[ decide - complain - accuse - advise - apologize - offer - persuade - remind - warn - refuse ]

Examples

1 . ‘I know you’ve got a lot of work to do at the moment . I’ll help you type up that report if you like ,’ he said .

He offered to help me type up the report .

2 . A : I don’t think you should hand in your resignation immediately . Give yourself more time to think about it .

B : OK . I suppose you’re right . I’ll leave it for a while then .

He persuaded me not to hand in my resignation immediately .

3 . ‘No , I’m not going to discuss it with you . I think it’s a waste of time ,’ he said .

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4 . ‘I really think I should have been invited to the meeting . I’m very unhappy about the fact that I wasn’t ,’ he said .

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5 . ‘You’ve been quite ill and you need to recover . I really think you should take it easy for a few days ,’ the doctor said .

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6 . ‘You must not go near their house again or there will be trouble ,’ the police said to him.

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7 . ‘After giving the matter some serious thought , we have now reached a final decision . We are going to close down the naval base in two years’ time ,’ said the Ministry of Defence.

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8 . ‘Someone’s been reading my diary . I know they have . I found it in the wrong drawer this morning . It was you ,wasn’t it ? ‘

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9 . ‘Remember that you’ve got to apply for a new passport . Yours is out of date now ,’ he said to me .

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10 . ‘I’m really sorry about all the trouble I’ve caused . I didn’t mean to ,’ she said .

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