Rewrite the following in reported speech.

11 Revision exercise.
a  ‘We are12 a past result,’ he added.
b  ‘I’ve broken your beer glass,’ he said.
c  ‘I can’t abide him: he’s so selfish,’ she said.
d  He said, ‘It’s no good talking about this issue.’
e  ‘We’ll go with you, John,’ we said.
f  ‘After taking two glasses of whisky, she unbent a
   little,’ her husband said.
g  ‘I had a hunch that she would come with me,’ he said.
h  ‘This will create a precedent,’ she said.
i  ‘What I have just done will establish a precedent,’ I assure
   you.
j  ‘I was thinking of getting rid of my cottage, but I changed my
   mind when I realised that it will double its value in a few
   years,’ he remarked.
k  ‘When I mentioned my boss that I was very left, it was like a
   red rag to a bull; he’s a right-wing extremist,’ he said.
l  ‘It’s getting late,’ he pointed out.
m  ‘I’m of humble birth,’ he told me. ‘My girl-friend is of
   noble birth.’
n  ‘Last year I was still at the high school, John,’ I said.
o  ‘It has gone ten,’ he remarked.
p  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I’ll be on duty then.’
q  ‘I’d like to cash some traveller’s cheques,’ he said.
r  ‘I switched on the ignition,’ he said. ‘The car wouldn’t
   start.’
s  ‘I’ll have to go to Germany next summer to polish up my
   German,’ she said.
t  ‘I bought it in a DIY13 shop last week,’ she said.
u  ‘We had never seen the sea before,’ they said.
v  ‘We can’t come now,’ they said. ‘We are very busy.’
w  ‘We have no time to lose,’ she said. ‘Time is pressing.’
x  ‘I had a terrible backache last night, but I rubbed some
   medicinal oil that I had just bought into my back, and now
   the pain has worn off,’ she said.
y  ‘My heart was in my mouth when I received their letter,’ he
   said. ‘I was waiting for an answer to my application for the
   job.’ 
z  ‘I took yours by mistake,’ I said to him.


12 Examples: (questions)
   ‘Have you got a tin opener?’ he said.
   He asked (me) if/whether I had a tin opener.
   ‘Why are they cutting the traffic?’ he wondered.
   He wondered why they were cutting the traffic.
   ‘Who broke the window?’ he said.
   He wanted to know who had broken the window.

   Say and tell are not used to introduce an indirect
   question. Instead, we use ask, want to know, and so
   forth. Notice as well that the order of the sentence
   is affirmative (not interrogative), and that if (or
   whether) is necessary, unless we have a wh-question14.

a  ‘What’s wrong with you?’ she said.
b  They said, ‘Have you ever been to Alaska?’
c  ‘Where did you pick up that bit of information?’ he inquired.
d  ‘Have you seen my eyeliner anywhere?’ she said.
e  ‘Who lives next door?’ he said.


13 Revision exercise.
a  ‘What are you talking about?’ they asked.
b  ‘We’re talking about politics,’ we answered.
c  ‘The death penalty should be abolished everywhere,’ she said.
d  ‘What’s the purpose of your stay here?’ he inquired.
e  ‘When are you going to tell him?’ I asked.
f  ‘My dog was run over by a lorry last night,’ she said.
g  ‘Can you bring me the files I need?’ he asked his secretary.
h  ‘We used to live in a large house when we were in Glasgow,’
   they said.
i  ‘When I entered the house, I found her tied up in the kitchen,
   so I unbound her,’ he said.
j  ‘They might have heard you,’ she said.
k  ‘Could you direct us to Piccadilly Circus?’ they asked us.
l  ‘Is there a bank near here?’ they said.
m  ‘Where is Park Lane?’ he said.
n  ‘Is there any use my explaining everything to them?’ he
   wondered.
o  ‘Asking my father to give you money is like trying to get
   blood out of a stone,’ she said.
p  ‘What’s the use of insulting them?’ he said. ‘It’ll only
   make things worse.’
q  ‘What happened to you the day before yesterday?’ she said.
r  ‘How many hours of hard work will be needed?’ he wondered.
s  ‘How many cans of beer have you bought?’ he inquired.
t  ‘Twenty,’ she answered.
u  ‘I got cramp in my leg a moment ago,’ she said.
v  ‘My foot has gone to sleep,’ he said.
w  ‘What time is it?’ he said.
x  ‘We can’t do without you tomorrow, Delia,’ he said.
y  ‘How did you get away with the money?’ he asked.
z  ‘They have been playing that horrendous music for hours on
   end,’ he said angrily. ‘I wish they would stop playing it.’


14 Examples: (imperatives)
   ‘Please lend ME YOUR rubber,’ he said.
   He asked me/told me to lend HIM MY rubber.
   ‘Don’t count YOUR chickens before they are hatched,’ she said.
   She advised me/told me not to count MY chickens before they
   were hatched.

   Imperatives are reported by using a verb + the person
   addressed + the infinitive. Notice that say15 is not
   possible here, and the person addressed is necessary.

a  ‘Say five Hail Marys and two Our Fathers for your sins,’
   the priest said to his parishioner.
b  ‘Beware of vampires,’ the dying man warned us.
c  ‘Cease fire,’ the captain ordered his men.
d  ‘Don’t give up now,’ she said. (Omit ‘now’.)
e  ‘Don’t kill me,’ he pleaded. (He pleaded with her...)


15 Revision exercise.
a  ‘Bring them here at once!’ she ordered me.
b  ‘I didn’t sleep a wink last night,’ he said. ‘I had an
   awful stomach-ache the whole night.’
c  ‘Don’t put on the TV, please,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a
   terrible headache.
d  ‘Your shoelace has come loose, Peter,’ she said. ‘Do it up
   before you have an accident.
e  ‘How much milk is produced here?’ he enquired.
f  ‘Don’t go there all on your own,’ she warned him.
g  ‘Could you tell me where the post office is?’ he said.
h  ‘She snuffed it last year,’ he said to them. ‘You should have
   come to see her as soon as you received her letter. She’d have
   liked to talk to you before kicking the bucket.’
i  ‘I’ve lost the top of my pen,’ she said. ‘Have you seen
   it anywhere?’
j  ‘Do sit down, mother,’ she begged.
k  ‘Don’t drink any more,’ he said.
l  ‘Stop eating chocolates,’ my mother said. ‘You’re putting
   on weight.’
m  ‘How long have you been in New York?’ he asked them.
n  ‘My husband was knocked over by a van two days ago,’ she
   said. ‘Fortunately, he was not seriously hurt.
o  ‘How many people come to this place every day?’ he enquired.
p  ‘Are you attending evening classes?’ they asked her.
q  ‘Stop nosing around in my room, will you?’ she asked him.
r  ‘I can smell of burning,’ he said. ‘Is there anything on
   the stove?’
s  ‘When we looked for her, she had miracoulously vanished,’ they
   said.
t  ‘Don’t wash this beige blouse in hot water,’ he said. ‘It’ll
   fade.’
u  ‘It’s easier said than done,’ she responded.
v  ‘Our car has seen better days,’ they said. ‘We haven’t got
   enough money to buy another one. We’ll have to do with it.’
w  ‘Bring me some water, please,’ she said.
x  ‘They won’t be coming tomorrow morning,’ he said. ‘Their
   father is terribly ill.’
y  ‘Don’t pry into our affairs,’ they said.
z  ‘Whose is this lighter?’ he said.


16 Examples:
   ‘Would you like (me to give YOU) a lift to the airport?’ she
   said.
   She offered ME a lift to the airport.
   ‘I’ll buy YOU a drink,’ she said.
   She invited ME for a drink/She invited ME to have a drink.
   ‘Will YOU please stop nosing into MY affairs?’ he said/‘Stop
   nosing into MY affairs, will you?’ he said.
   He asked ME to stop nosing into HIS affairs.
   ‘If I were in YOUR place, I would go on,’ he said.
   He advised ME/encouraged ME to go on.
   ‘What about (or How about) going to the seaside?/Why don’t we
   go to the seaside?/Shall we go to the seaside?/Let’s go to
   the seaside,’ she said.
   She suggested16 going to the seaside/She suggested that we
   should go to the seaside.
   ‘YOU should give up smoking,’ my doctor said.
   My doctor advised ME to give up smoking.
   ‘Remember to lock the door when YOU leave,’ said my
   mother/‘Don’t forget to lock the door when YOU leave,’
   said my mother.
   My mother reminded me to lock the door when I left.
   ‘What’s the time?’ she said.
   She asked me the time.
   ‘Happy birthday,’ they said.
   They wished me a happy birthday.
   ‘YOU had better keep things quiet now,’ she said.
   She advised ME/warned ME to keep things quiet then.
   ‘This is not fair!’ he said.
   He said annoyingly that it was not fair/He expressed his
   annoyance/his dissatisfaction.
   ‘What a lovely house!’ she said.
   She exclaimed that the house was lovely.
   ‘Hello! How are YOU?’ he said.
   He greeted ME.

   ‘Would you like...’ is an expression used to offer or invite
   people to do or take things. Consequently, we can replace it
   by ‘offer’ or ‘invite’. ‘Will you’ indicates a request, so it
   is usually reported by ‘ask’ or ‘request’ (very formal). In
   short, some expressions can be replaced with verbs or phrases
   that denote the same idea.

a  ‘How old are you?’ she said.
b  ‘Don’t forget to phone us when you arrive,’ his father said.
c  ‘Would you like to come to the theatre with me?’ she said.
d  ‘How about going to the zoo?’ he said.
e  ‘If I were you, I wouldn’t take sleeping pills,’ he said to
   her.


17 Examples: (unreal pasts17)
   ‘It’s time WE got down to work,’ she said to him.
   She said to him/told him (that) it was time THEY got down to
   work.
   ‘I wish YOU were here with ME,’ she said to him.
   She said to him/told him that she wished HE were/was18 there
   with HER.
   ‘If only I knew where YOU are now,’ she added.
   She added that she wished SHE knew where HE was then.
   ‘I would rather/sooner YOU didn’t study abroad,’ said his
   mother.
   His mother said that she would rather/sooner HE didn’t
   study abroad.
   ‘He talks as if/as though he were/was19 the richest person
   on earth,’ she said.
   She said that he talked as if/as though he were/was the
   richest person on earth.

   Back-shift does not take place with unreal pasts, as has been
   seen above.

a  ‘It’s time we went home,’ he said.
b  ‘We would rather you stayed here,’ they said to her.
c  ‘She behaves as if she were going to win the beauty contest,’
   they said.
d  ‘If only I could changed your mind,’ he said.
e  ‘I wish they hadn’t closed this street,’ she said.


18 Examples:
   ‘If I got a work permit, I would go there,’ he said.
   He said (that) if HE got a work permit, HE would go there.
   ‘If I had a car, I would take YOU sightseeing,’ he said to
   her.
   He said to her/He told her (that) if he had had a car, he
   would have taken her sightseeing.

   The first example suggests that he could still obtain a
   work permit. In the second instance, it is obviuous that
   he did not take her sightseeing, as he did not have a car.

a  ‘If I had the money, I would lend it to you,’ she said to
   them.
b  ‘If they gave me the grant, I would lend you the money you
   need,’ she said.
c  ‘If you were put behind bars, I would wait for you,’ he said.
d  ‘If I didn’t have such a cough, I wouldn’t stay in bed,’ he
   said.
e  ‘What would you do if you were to win the lottery?’ they asked
   her.


19 Examples20:
   ‘She must have had a great time in Majorca,’ he said.
   He said that she must have had a great time in Majorca.
   ‘YOU must not come home late,’ she said to him.
   She said to him/told him (that) HE must not/was not to
   come home late/She told him/ordered him not to come home
   late/She didn’t allow him to come home late.
   ‘YOU needn’t read the first chapter,’ our teacher said.
   Our teacher said that WE needn’t read/didn’t need to/didn’t
   have to read the first chapter.
   ‘Must/Need I finish MY supper, mummy?’ asked the little child.
   The little child asked his/her mother if/whether (S)HE
   was to finish/had to finish HIS/HER supper.

   Must and need not  are usually reported unchanged. Still,
   had to and would have to can be used in place of must; and
   did not need to (or did not have to), instead of need not.
   This is only possible when must and need not can be replaced
   by the present forms of the past forms just mentioned in
   direct speech:
     ‘WE must/will have to phone the police if she is not here
     by midnight,’ they said.
     They said (that) THEY must/had to/would have to phone
     the police if she was not there by midnight.
     ‘WE must/have to leave now,’ they said.
     They said (that) THEY had to21 leave then.
     ‘YOU needn’t/don’t need to/don’t have to go there
     alone,’ they said to him.
     They said to him/told him (that) HE needn’t/didn’t need
     to/didn’t have to go there alone.

   With must not, we have several alternatives: to leave it
   unchanged, to use ‘was/were not to’ or to use an infinitive
   structure, as seen above. In the interrogative, must and
   need usually become had to (or was/were to). Need not have
   + past participle does not change:
     ‘YOU needn’t have brought any food with YOU,’ they told us.
     They told us/said to us (that) WE needn’t have brought
     any food with US.

a  ‘We must retreat, as our men are falling like flies,’ said
   the sergeant.
b  ‘Must I do the shopping, mother?’ she asked.
c  ‘You must not skip any classes from now on,’ the teacher said.
d  ‘You needn’t have washed the dishes,’ he said. ‘The
   dishwasher could have done it.’
e  ‘When your father comes, you must tell him what you have just
   told me,’ said her grandmother.


20 Revision exercise.
a  ‘Thank you very much!’ he said. (Use ‘to thank’ as an
   introductory verb.)
b  ‘Shall we go for a swim in the sea?’ she suggested.
c  ‘Can you give me a cigarette, Paul?’ she said. ‘I’ve run out.’
d  ‘You needn’t do all the exercises for tomorrow,’ she said to
   her pupils.
e  ‘Our morale was fading away as we were getting further ahead,’
   they said.
f  ‘You ought to take things easy,’ she said to them.
g  ‘That street have been block off this afternoon,’ she
   reminded them.
h  ‘You look as if a monster had attacked you,’ she said.
i  ‘Have you got the time, please?’ she said to a man in the
   street.
j  ‘I wish I could stop time,’ she said. ‘It goes by too quick.’
k  ‘My husband eats like a horse and drinks like a fish,’ she
   said. ‘If I were you, I wouldn’t invite him for dinner at
   that restaurant. It will cost you a fortune.’
l  ‘Don’t forget to meet her at the airport!’ his mother said.
m  ‘I would like to find out what lies behind all this matter,’
   she pointed out.
n  ‘He’s really good-looking!’ she whispered in her girlfriend’s
   ear.
o  ‘If she asks me to marry, I will,’ she said. ‘I’m head over
   heels in love with him.’
p  ‘Would you like a coke?’ she said.
q  ‘What should I do?’ he said to her. (He asked (her) for...)
r  ‘Need I do the cooking tonight, father?’ she said.
s  He said, ‘Give me another chance,’ but I said, ‘I can’t. It’s
   too late now.’
t  ‘You must not overeat,’ her doctor said, ‘You need to lose
   weight urgently.’
u  ‘If I were in your shoes, I would go to university,’ he
   said to her.
v  ‘If she does not turn up soon, we must continue without her,’
   Alan said.
w  ‘You needn’t answer me today,’ he said. ‘You can do it
   tomorrow.’
x  ‘My wife’s physical beauty may have faded, but not her inner
   beauty,’ he said. ‘She’ll always be the most beautiful person
   on earth.’
y  ‘Don’t be such a wimp,’ they told him.
z  ‘It’s time I gave them a piece of my mind,’ she said.


____________________

12  Do not change the personal pronoun or the tense.
13  An abbreviation for ‘do-it-yourself’.
14  See unit 4.
15  Occasionally, you can come across say if the person addressed
   is not mentioned:
     ‘Read Romeo and Juliet for next week,’ said the teacher.
     The teacher said to read Romeo and Juliet for the
     following week.
16  For further details about ‘suggest’, see  unit 22, section 36.
17  See unit 9, sections 55, 56, 57 and 59.
18  See unit 9, section 55.
19  See unit 9, section 59.
20  For more details, see unit 22.
21  Had to suggests that they left. Must might suggest that they
   did not leave then.

Author: Miquel Molina i Diez

     Pages: 1, 2, and the key

   Contents
   Introduction
   Notes
1  Negative and interrogative sentences (Page 2 and the key)
2  Short answers (Page 2 and the key)
3  Question tags (Page 2 and the key)
4  Questions and exclamations (Page 2 and the key)
5  So, neither, nor, either (the key)
6  Be, used to, would, be/get/become used to, dare, have, get, become, grow, go, turn, fall and feel (Page 2 and the key)
7  Verb tenses: forms (Page 2 and the key)
8  Irregular verbs
9  Verb tenses: uses (Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5 and the key)
10 Personal pronouns, possessives and reflexive pronouns (Page 2 and the key)
11 The genitive case (the key)
12 Singular and plural nouns (Page 2 and the key)
13 Gender (the key)
14 A, an, some, any, no, not, none, each, every and the; compounds of some, any, no and every (Page 2, Page 3 and the key)
15 Neither, not...either, none, not...any, both and all (the key)
16 A few, few, a lot, lots, a little, little, many, much, no and plenty (the key)
17 Enough, too, so and such (the key)
18 Comparative and superlative sentences (Page 2 and the key)
19 Adjective order (the key)
20 Relative clauses (Page 2 and the key)
21 Do and make (the key)
22 Modal verbs (Page 2, Page 3 and the key)
23 Infinitives, gerunds and present participles (Page 2 and the key)
24 Conditional sentences (Page 2 and the key)
25 Passive sentences (the key)
26 Reported speech (Page 2 and the key)
27 Purpose (the key)
28 Word order (the key)
29 Inversion (the key)
30 Connectors (Page 2 and the key)
31 Prepositions (Page 2, Page 3 and the key)
32 Phrasal verbs (the key)