Tense Quotation Reported Speech

Present "I live alone." You said (that) you lived alone.
Simple

Present "I am having a good You said (that) we were having a

Continuous time." good time.

Past "I ate eggs for You said (that) you had eaten
Simple breakfast." eggs for breakfast.

Past "I was walking to school You said (that) you had been
Continuous at 8:30 AM." walking to school at 8:30 AM.

Present "I have never seen a You said (that) you had never
Perfect spaceship in real life." seen a spaceship in real life.
Simple

Present "I have been living here You said (that) you had been
Perfect for 3 years." living there for 3 years.
Continuous

Past "I hadn't woken up, yet." You said (that) you hadn't woken
Perfect up yet.
Simple*

Will "It will probably rain this You said (that) it would probably
afternoon." rain this afternoon.

Be Going "I am going to study You said (that) you were going
To tonight." to study tonight.

Can "I can play guitar." You said (that) you could play
guitar.

Could* "I couldn't understand You said (that) you couldn't

the movie very well." understand the movie very well.

Must "I must do better." You said (that) you had to do

better.
 Mustn't* "I mustn't waste time." You said (that) you mustn't
waste time.

Should* "I should go home You said (that) you should go

soon." home soon.

Would* "I would like to have a You said (that) you would like to
snack." have a snack.

May "The tea may be too hot You said (that) the tea might be
to drink." too hot to drink.

Might* "We might go away for You said (that) you might go
the weekend." away for the weekend.

* These tenses or words do not change.

1. Choose the correct reported speech version of the sentences:

a. James said, “I need to consider all the information before I decide.”

● James said he needs to consider all the information before I decide.

● James said he needed to consider all the information before he
decided.
● James said he has needed to consider all the information before he
decides.
b. The professor said to the class, “We have to reduce pollution in order to
save the planet.”

● The professor told the class we had to reduce pollution in order to

save the planet.
● The professor told we had to reduce pollution in order to save the
planet.
● The professor said the class we had to reduce pollution in order to
save the planet.
c. The boy said, “My favourite kind of movie is science fiction.”

● The boy said that his favourite kind of movie was science fiction.
● The boy said that my favourite kind of movie was science fiction.
● The boy said that my favourite kind of movie is science fiction.
d. My friend asked, “Do you need any help?”

● My friend asked me did I need any help.

● My friend asked me if I need any help.
● My friend asked me whether I needed any help.
e. Joan said to us, “We saw a UFO last night flying towards the east.”

● Joan told us that they had seen a UFO last night flying towards the
east.
● Joan told that they had seen a UFO last night flying towards the east.
● Joan told that they have seen a UFO last night flying towards the east.
f. Michael said, “We need to come up with a better plan for the party.”

● Michael said they need to come up with a better plan for the party.
● Michael said they needed to came up with a better plan for the party.
● Michael said they needed to come up with a better plan for the party.
g. The teacher said, “Comets are different from shooting stars.”

● The teacher said me that comets were different from shooting stars.
● The teacher said to me that comets were different from shooting stars.
● The teacher told to me that comets were different from shooting stars.
h. The engineer asked, “Is the material strong enough?”

● The engineer asked was the material strong enough.

● The engineer asked if was the material strong enough.
● The engineer asked if the material was strong enough.
i. The child asked, “How big is the universe?”

● The child asked her mother how big the universe was.
● The child asked her mother was how big the universe.
● The child asked her mother how big was the universe.
j. The student said, “I haven’t figured out the answer yet.”

● The student said that she hadn’t figured the answer out yet.
● The student said that she hasn’t figured the answer out yet.
● The student said that she didn’t figure the answer out yet.
k. Jane said, “My bag is too heavy to lift.”

● Jane said that her bag is too heavy to lift.

● Jane said that her bag was too heavy to lift.
● Jane said her bag is too heavy to lift.
l. Susan asked, “What should we do for Oscar’s birthday?”

● Susan asked what should we do for Oscar’s birthday?

● Susan asked what we should do for Oscar’s birthday?
● Susan asked what we should do for Oscar’s birthday.
 2. Change the direct speech sentences to reported speech:

You asked, “Are you having a good time?”

a.
You asked me if / whether I was having a good
time.

Peter said, “Earth has one moon.”

b.

Wendy said, “He is going to invest in the

company.”
c.

You asked, “Did you see the comets last night?”

d.

Suzanne asked, “Where did John go?”

e.

My friend asked, “When would you like to borrow

my telescope?”
f.
 Joanne asked, “Have you been to that
restaurant?”
g.

The teacher said, “Water is a liquid but ice is a

solid.”
h.

Shaun asked, “Can you give me a hand?”

i.

My girlfriend said, “It was freezing yesterday.”

j.

The businessman said, “The area is commercial.”

k.

The astronomer asked, “Which planet is the

spaceship going to?”
l.
3. Change the reported speech sentences to direct speech:

a. You asked me if I had seen the shooting star on Tuesday night.

You asked, “Did you see the shooting star on Tuesday night?”

b. Jesse told me that Peter was 19 years old.

c. The professor said that the planet was red.

d. You asked me if I would like to go out for dinner.

e. Jane told me she believed in aliens.

f. You asked me if you should pay a tip.

g. Mike told me that money was his priority.

h. You said that you couldn’t speak Chinese.

i. You asked me how far it was to the moon from Earth.

j. You told me that the solar system had eight planets.

4. Report the following conversations:

John Could I borrow twenty dollars?

Wendy What do you need the money for?

John I forgot my money at home. I promise to pay you back tomorrow.

Wendy Okay, John. I’ll lend you the money.

a. John asked Wendy if he could borrow twenty dollars. Wendy asked him
what he needed the money for. John said that he had forgotten the money at
home and that he promised to pay her back the next day. Wendy told John
she would lend him the money.
 Julian I feel terrible. I’m going to be sick.

Bill You should go to the bathroom.

Julian I always get sick on airplanes.

Bill You should just try to relax.

b.
 Kazu Do we have any homework?

Miho Yes, we have a test on Monday. We have to study.

Kazu Oh yeah, I forgot.

c.
 Gina Sam, how old are you?

Sam I’m 22 years old.

Gina Where are you from, Sam?

Sam I’m from Switzerland.

Gina Switzerland? I’ve never been there.

d.