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Lesson A
| Reported Speech - Statements |
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| Tony: "I want to drink some coffee." | Tony said (that) he wanted to drink some coffee. |
| "My cousin is watching TV now," Lan said. | Lan said (that) her cousin was watching TV at that moment. |
| Nam: "I will work out at the gym tomorrow. | Nam added (that) he would work out at the gym the following day. |
| Note: We use reported speech to report someone's thoughts or actions. When the reporting verb is in the past tense, we usually have to make some changes to the pronouns, tenses, and time expressions. When the reporting verb is in the present tense, there is no change of tense in the reported clause. Other changes may still be necessary. Tony says (that) he wants to drink some coffee. |
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| now | then / at that moment |
| today | that day |
| tomorrow | the next day/the following day |
| yesterday | the previous day/the day before |
A Change the direct speech into reported speech.
1. "I will need to work very long hours tomorrow."
He explained that _________________________________________________.
2. "We are taking the bus to school."
They said that _____________________________________________________.
3. "I'll try to get 100% on tests at school."
Jane promised that ________________________________________________.
4. "I don't want to eat any more vegetables."
Susan told her mom that __________________________________________.
5. "I'm going to buy a better laptop next year."
I said that __________________________________________________________.
B Change the reported speech into direct speech.
1. Binh said that he would learn to play basketball.
"_______________________________," Bình said.
2. Nga told me that she loved eating fast food.
"_______________________________," Nga told me.
3. John complained that his sister watched too much TV.
"_______________________________," John complained.
4. Lan said that she would take the bus home the next afternoon.
"_______________________________," Lan said.
5. David explained that he was doing exercise at that moment.
"_______________________________," David explained.
Lesson C
Reported Speech - Questions
We use reported speech when we tell someone what another person asked. In reported speech for questions, we change the question structure to a statement structure.
The subject comes before the verb in the reported speech for questions.
| Yes/No Questions (use ask + if/whether + clause) |
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| "Do you work out late?" | He asked me if I worked out late. |
| "Can I help you?" | She asked me whether she could help me. |
| Wh-Questions (use ask + question word + clause) |
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| "What are you doing?" | He asked me what I was doing. |
| "Where are you going?" | She asked me where I was going. |
C Turn the following questions into reported speech.
1. "How do they get downtown?"
He asked her how ________________________________.
2. "How long are you staying at the hotel?"
Nam asked me ________________________________.
3. "Do you have time for a walk?"
Greg asked me ________________________________.
4. "What are your favorite books?"
She asked me ________________________________.
5. "When will you start the lesson?"
He asked her ________________________________.
D Turn the following reported speech into direct questions.
1. Mary asked me why I wanted that expensive hat.
Mary asked me "________________________________"
2. The father asked the young girl where she wanted to go.
The father asked the young girl"________________________________"
3. Ann asked me if I could cook her a Vietnamese meal.
Ann asked me"________________________________"
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4. Eric wondered whether I wanted to do homework with him.
Eric wondered"________________________________"
5. I asked the lady where she came from.
I asked the lady "________________________________"
