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Reported speech

Worksheets - pdf exercises.

• Reported statements - worksheet
• Worksheet - reported questions
• Reported yes/no questions
• Worksheet - reported speech
• Reported speech - exercises pdf
• Indirect speech - exercises
• Reported speech - exercises
• Mixed reported speech 1
• Mixed reported speech 2
• Reported speech 1 
• Reported speech 2  
• Reported speech 3 
• Reported speech 4
• Reported speech 5
• Reported wh- questions
• Reported speech - worksheet 
• Reported commands
• Reported questions
• Reported speech 1
• Reported speech 2
• Reported requests and orders
• Reported speech exercise
• Reported questions - worksheet
• Indirect speech - worksheet
• Worksheets pdf - print
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• Reported speech - grammar notes
• How to use reported speech - lesson
• Tense changes - grammar

Reported Speech Exercises

Perfect english grammar.

Here's a list of all the reported speech exercises on this site:

( Click here to read the explanations about reported speech )

Reported Statements:

• Present Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Present Continuous Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Past Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Present Perfect Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Future Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
• Mixed Tense Reported Statement Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• 'Say' and 'Tell' (quite easy) (in PDF here)

Reported Questions:

• Present Simple Reported Yes/No Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• Present Simple Reported Wh Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• Mixed Tense Reported Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)

Reported Orders and Requests:

• Reported Requests and Orders Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
• Reported Speech Mixed Exercise 1 (difficult) (in PDF here)
• Reported Speech Mixed Exercise 2 (difficult) (in PDF here)

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English Grammar Online Exercises and Downloadable Worksheets

• Reported Speech

All downloads are in PDF Format and consist of a worksheet and answer sheet to check your results.

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• RS002 - Reported Speech - Questions Intermediate
• RS003 - Reported Speech - Questions Intermediate
• RS004 - Reported Speech - Indirect Commands Intermediate

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Reported Speech - Free PDF Worksheets

Reported speech is when you tell someone else what someone else said. It's often used when talking about conversations or something someone else said in the past. When using reported speech, the tense often changes, pronouns and time expressions may also change. For example, "She said, 'I am going to the party'" becomes "She said that she was going to the party."

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Reported Speech – Free Exercise

Write the following sentences in indirect speech. Pay attention to backshift and the changes to pronouns, time, and place.

• Two weeks ago, he said, “I visited this museum last week.” → Two weeks ago, he said that   . I → he|simple past → past perfect|this → that|last …→ the … before
• She claimed, “I am the best for this job.” → She claimed that   . I → she|simple present→ simple past|this→ that
• Last year, the minister said, “The crisis will be overcome next year.” → Last year, the minister said that   . will → would|next …→ the following …
• My riding teacher said, “Nobody has ever fallen off a horse here.” → My riding teacher said that   . present perfect → past perfect|here→ there
• Last month, the boss explained, “None of my co-workers has to work overtime now.” → Last month, the boss explained that   . my → his/her|simple present→ simple past|now→ then

Rewrite the question sentences in indirect speech.

• She asked, “What did he say?” → She asked   . The subject comes directly after the question word.|simple past → past perfect
• He asked her, “Do you want to dance?” → He asked her   . The subject comes directly after whether/if |you → she|simple present → simple past
• I asked him, “How old are you?” → I asked him   . The subject comes directly after the question word + the corresponding adjective (how old)|you→ he|simple present → simple past
• The tourists asked me, “Can you show us the way?” → The tourists asked me   . The subject comes directly after whether/if |you→ I|us→ them
• The shop assistant asked the woman, “Which jacket have you already tried on?” → The shop assistant asked the woman   . The subject comes directly after the question word|you→ she|present perfect → past perfect

Rewrite the demands/requests in indirect speech.

• The passenger requested the taxi driver, “Stop the car.” → The passenger requested the taxi driver   . to + same wording as in direct speech
• The mother told her son, “Don’t be so loud.” → The mother told her son   . not to + same wording as in direct speech, but remove don’t
• The policeman told us, “Please keep moving.” → The policeman told us   . to + same wording as in direct speech ( please can be left off)
• She told me, “Don’t worry.” → She told me   . not to + same wording as in direct speech, but remove don’t
• The zookeeper told the children, “Don’t feed the animals.” → The zookeeper told the children   . not to + same wording as in direct speech, but remove don’t

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Reported speech exercises PDF

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Reported speech

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PDF book 1: English grammar exercises PDF

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PDF exercises with answers to download for free.

Reported speech PDF exercise 1

Key with answers 1

• Complete sentences: "It is too late." - I said it was too late.

Reported speech PDF exercise 2

Key with answers 2

• A multiple choice choice test: "Sam may contact you." - He said Sam might contact me.

Reported speech PDF exercise 3

Key with answers 3

• Reported speech to direct speech: She said she lived in York. - "I live in York," she said.

Reported speech PDF exercise 4

Key with answers 4

• Time in reported speech: We will set off tomorrow." - They said they would set off the next day.

Reported speech PDF exercise 5

Key with answers 5

• Correct mistakes: "I have been with Jill since yesterday," said Joe on Friday morning. On Friday morning Joe said he had been with Jill since yesterday. Correct: On Friday morning Joe said he had been with Jill since the day before .

Reported speech PDF exercise 6

Key with answers 6

• All changes in reported speech: Tim said he had worked with them the previous month. - "I worked with them last month," said Tim.

Reported questions + commands exercises PDF Practise questions, commands and requests in the reported speech.

Online exercises with answers:

Direct and indirect speech exercises Multiple choice and gap-filling exercises on reported statements, questions and commands.

Grammar rules PDF:

Reported speech rules PDF Changes of tenses, pronouns, time and place in reported statements, questions and commands.

English grammar PDF All PDF rules with examples on this website to download for free.

The reported speech is used if we want to report what other people said, thought or felt. We use reporting verbs such as say, tell, explain, think, hope, etc. If these verbs are in the past tense, we change the following: a) verb tenses and verb forms b) pronouns c) adverbs of time and place

A) Verb tenses

We change the tenses in the following way.

• Present simple - past simple: "I work in York," Joe said. - Joe said (that) he worked in York.
• Present continuous - past continuous: "We are playing a game," Jane explained. - Jane explained (that) they were playing a game.
• Past simple - past perfect simple: "Sarah came back," I thought. - I thought (that) Sarah had come back.
• Past continuous - past perfect continuous: "I was talking to our new neighbour," Ben told me. - Ben told me (that) he had been talking to our new neighbour.
• Present perfect simple - past perfect simple: "I have eaten all sandwiches," he admitted. - He admitted (that) he had eaten all sandwiches.
• Present perfect continuous - past perfect continuous: "I have been driving for three hours," he comnplained. - He complained (that) he had been driving for three hours.
• Will - would I will wait outside the station," he reminded me. - He reminded me (that) he would wait outside the station.

Note: Some modal verbs change in a specific way, whereas other verb forms remain the same in special cases.

Read more: Direct and indirect speech

B) Pronouns

Personal pronouns

We have to change pronouns in the reported speech to keep the same meaning. "We are in Italy," he said. - He said they were in Italy. "They invited us," Betty said. - Betty said they had invited them. "I admire your new garden," she told me. - She told me she admired my new garden. "You can take my car," Peter said. - Peter said I could take his car.

This and these

This and these are usually substituted. "They will move this year," my mum said. - My mum said they would move that year. "I like these shoes," Tim insisted. - Tim insisted he liked the shoes.

C) Time and place

The time expressions change as follows.

now - then, today - that day, tomorrow - the next day/the following day, the day after tomorrow - in two days' time, yesterday - the day before, the day before yesterday - two days before, next week/month - the following week/month, last week/month - the previous week/month, a year ago - a year before/the previous year

Marion: "I will do it tomorrow." - Marion said she would do it the next day. Dan: "We arrived last week." - Dan said they had arrived the previous week. Judith: "Brian got married a year ago." - Judith said Brian had got married a year before.

Here and there

Here usually becomes there . But sometimes we have to make different adjustments. "I'll stay here till the evening," he said. - He said he would stay there till the evening. In the hospital: "We'll meet here." - He said they would meet in the hospital.

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English Grammar Exercises for A2 – Reported speech (2)

English Grammar Exercises for A2

1. Read the direct speech and complete the reported speech.

1   ‘I haven’t told the police about the vandalism,’ said Adrian.

      Adrian said that ………………………………………………… the vandalism.

2   ‘I can’t find my passport,’ said Julia.

      Julia said that she ………………………………………………… passport.

3   ‘I’ll be at the park at 7 o’clock,’ said Daniel.

      Daniel said that ………………………………………………… 7 o’clock.

4   ‘Somebody has stolen my new bike,’ said Joanna.

      Joanna said that ………………………………………………… new bike.

5   ‘My dad will lend me some money for the train,’ said Tina.

       Tina said that ………………………………………………… the train.

6   ‘I can speak French, but I can’t speak Spanish,’ said Sara.

      Sara said that ………………………………………………… Spanish.

7   ‘I’ve invited all of my friends to a barbecue at my house,’ said Michael.

      Michael said that ………………………………………………… house.

8   ‘I won’t tell anybody about the surprise party,’ said Anna.

      Anna said that ………………………………………………… surprise party.

1    Adrian said that he hadn’t told the police about the vandalism.

2    Julia said that she couldn’t find her passport.

3    Julia said that she would be at the park at 7 o’clock.

4    Joanna said that somebody had stolen her new bike.

5    Olga said that her dad would lend her some money for the train.

6    Sara said that she could speak French, but she couldn’t speak Spanish.

7    Michael said that he had invited all of his friends to a barbecue at his house.

8    Anna said that she wouldn’t tell anybody about the surprise party.

2. Complete the sentences with said or told.

1   Chloe …………………………… she would enjoy visiting the castle.

2   Jack …………………………… you his sister couldn’t swim.

3   Evie …………………………… the teacher that she had finished the exercise.

4   Emma …………………………… James would be home soon.

5   Max …………………………… everyone that he had met a famous actor.

6   Amelia …………………………… her dad she’d get home be 10 o’clock.

7   Steve …………………………… his cousins couldn’t speak English.

8   Jess …………………………… Lily had always been her best friend.

1 said   2 told    3 told   4 said   5 told   6 told

7 said   8 said

3. Change the reported speech in exercise 2 into direct speech.

1   Chloe: ‘ I’ll enjoy visiting the castle. ’

2   Jack: ‘…………………………………………………….’

3   Evie: ‘…………………………………………………….’

4   Emma: ‘…………………………………………………….’

5   Max: ‘…………………………………………………….’

6   Amelia: ‘…………………………………………………….’

7   Steve: ‘…………………………………………………….’

8   Jess: ‘…………………………………………………….’

2   ‘My sister can’t swim.’

3   ‘I’ve finished the exercise.’

4   ‘James will be home soon.’

5   ‘I met a famous film actor!’

6   ‘I’ll be home by 10 o’clock, dad.’

7   ‘My cousins can’t speak English.’

8   ‘Lily has always been my best friend.’

4. Read the dialogue. Then rewrite is as reported speech. Remember to change pronouns and time references if necessary.

Joe         I’ve seen two crimes this week. On Monday, I saw a robbery in the shopping centre.

Freya     I heard about that on the news!

Joe         I was there. I took lots of photos of the robbers on my phone.

Freya     You’ll probably get a reward!

Joe         I won’t get a reward because I can’t show the photos to the police.

Freya     I don’t understand …

Joe         Yesterday, I was the victim of another crime. A thief stole my phone on the bus!

Joe said he had seen two crimes that week. He said that on Monday, he …………………………………

……………………………………………………………………

… had seen a robbery in the shopping centre.

Freya said she’d heard about it on the news.

Joe said (that) he had been there. he said he had taken lots of photos of the robbers on his phone.

Freya said (that) he’d probably get a reward.

Joe said (that) he wouldn’t get a reward. he said (that) he couldn’t show the photos to the police.

Freya said (that) she didn’t understand.

Joe said (that), the day before, he’d been the victim of another crime. he said (that) a thief had stolen his phone on the bus.

5. Complete the sentences with reported speech, using your own ideas.

1   Our teacher told us we’d ……………………………………………………………………

2   My best friend said that …………………………………………………………………… soon.

3   I once told my friend that ……………………………………………………………………

your own answers

6. Rewrite the sentences in reported speech.

1   ‘Tell me everything you know about the suspect,’ Inspector Morris said to her.

      Inspector Morris ordered her …………………………………………………………..

2   ‘There is something in this flat we are not seeing,’ the detective said to his partner.

       The detective …………………………………………………………..

3   ‘Is this your phone?’ the man asked her.

       The man …………………………………………………………..

4   ‘The train has been late every morning this week,’ the girl told us.

       The girl told …………………………………………………………..

5   ‘How many times did he come into the shop?’ the detective asked.

       The detective wondered …………………………………………………………..

6   ‘I first realised that my car was missing last night,’ the man told the officer.

7   ‘I won’t tell you where my son was yesterday,’ the woman said to the detective.

       The woman refused …………………………………………………………..

1   to tell him/her everything she knew about the suspect.

2    said there was something in that flat they were not seeing.

3    asked her if that was her phone.

4   us that the train had been late every morning that week.

5   how many times he had come into the shop.

6   told the officer that he had first realised that his car was missing the night before.

7    to say where her son had been the day before.

Related Posts

• English Grammar Exercises for A2 – Reported speech
• English Grammar Exercises for A2 – Reported speech (1)
• WORDPOWER: age – English Grammar Exercises for A2
• WORDPOWER: preposition + noun – English Grammar Exercises for A2
• WORDPOWER: Multi-word verbs with on – English Grammar Exercises for A2
• WORDPOWER: Multi-word verbs with put – English Grammar Exercises for A2

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Reported Speech

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Revision of reported speech

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Reported speech

Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job. 

Instructions

As you watch the video, look at the examples of reported speech. They are in  red  in the subtitles. Then read the conversation below to learn more. Finally, do the grammar exercises to check you understand, and can use, reported speech correctly.

Sophie:  Mmm, it’s so nice to be chilling out at home after all that running around.

Ollie: Oh, yeah, travelling to glamorous places for a living must be such a drag!

Ollie: Mum, you can be so childish sometimes. Hey, I wonder how Daisy’s getting on in her job interview.

Sophie: Oh, yes, she said she was having it at four o’clock, so it’ll have finished by now. That’ll be her ... yes. Hi, love. How did it go?

Daisy: Well, good I think, but I don’t really know. They said they’d phone later and let me know.

Sophie: What kind of thing did they ask you?

Daisy: They asked if I had any experience with people, so I told them about helping at the school fair and visiting old people at the home, that sort of stuff. But I think they meant work experience.

Sophie: I’m sure what you said was impressive. They can’t expect you to have had much work experience at your age.

Daisy:  And then they asked me what acting I had done, so I told them that I’d had a main part in the school play, and I showed them a bit of the video, so that was cool.

Sophie:  Great!

Daisy: Oh, and they also asked if I spoke any foreign languages.

Sophie: Languages?

Daisy: Yeah, because I might have to talk to tourists, you know.

Sophie: Oh, right, of course.

Daisy: So that was it really. They showed me the costume I’ll be wearing if I get the job. Sending it over ...

Ollie: Hey, sis, I heard that Brad Pitt started out as a giant chicken too! This could be your big break!

Daisy: Ha, ha, very funny.

Sophie: Take no notice, darling. I’m sure you’ll be a marvellous chicken.

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.

So, direct speech is what someone actually says? Like 'I want to know about reported speech'?

Yes, and you report it with a reporting verb.

He said he wanted to know about reported speech.

I said, I want and you changed it to he wanted .

Exactly. Verbs in the present simple change to the past simple; the present continuous changes to the past continuous; the present perfect changes to the past perfect; can changes to could ; will changes to would ; etc.

She said she was having the interview at four o’clock. (Direct speech: ' I’m having the interview at four o’clock.') They said they’d phone later and let me know. (Direct speech: ' We’ll phone later and let you know.')

OK, in that last example, you changed you to me too.

Yes, apart from changing the tense of the verb, you also have to think about changing other things, like pronouns and adverbs of time and place.

'We went yesterday.'  > She said they had been the day before. 'I’ll come tomorrow.' >  He said he’d come the next day.

I see, but what if you’re reporting something on the same day, like 'We went yesterday'?

Well, then you would leave the time reference as 'yesterday'. You have to use your common sense. For example, if someone is saying something which is true now or always, you wouldn’t change the tense.

'Dogs can’t eat chocolate.' > She said that dogs can’t eat chocolate. 'My hair grows really slowly.' >  He told me that his hair grows really slowly.

What about reporting questions?

We often use ask + if/whether , then change the tenses as with statements. In reported questions we don’t use question forms after the reporting verb.

'Do you have any experience working with people?' They asked if I had any experience working with people. 'What acting have you done?' They asked me what acting I had done .

Is there anything else I need to know about reported speech?

One thing that sometimes causes problems is imperative sentences.

You mean like 'Sit down, please' or 'Don’t go!'?

Exactly. Sentences that start with a verb in direct speech need a to + infinitive in reported speech.

She told him to be good. (Direct speech: 'Be good!') He told them not to forget. (Direct speech: 'Please don’t forget.')

OK. Can I also say 'He asked me to sit down'?

Yes. You could say 'He told me to …' or 'He asked me to …' depending on how it was said.

OK, I see. Are there any more reporting verbs?

Yes, there are lots of other reporting verbs like promise , remind , warn , advise , recommend , encourage which you can choose, depending on the situation. But say , tell and ask are the most common.

Great. I understand! My teacher said reported speech was difficult.

And I told you not to worry!

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