Reported Speech (English Grammar)

Reported Speech: Dad's Not Coming Home for Dinner

Instructions: Change the dialog to the reported form. Tell what each person did and said.

 

Mrs. Cantor:    (comes into the living room) What are you doing, Andy?

Andy:              (looks up) I'm fixing my radio.

Mrs. Cantor:    Where's your sister?

Andy:              She's in the kitchen making a sandwich.

Mrs. Cantor:    (runs into the kitchen) Dolores! Don't eat anything before dinner!

Dolores:           (quickly swallows a piece of cake) Mom, I'm starving!

Mrs. Cantor:    Have some cheese, but don't eat the cake.

Dolores:           There isn't any cheese left. I ate it yesterday.

Mrs. Cantor:    (speaks angrily) Go to the store and buy some more because I'm making lasagna tonight.

Dolores:           Okay, I will. I'll go when I finish my homework.

Andy:              (enters the kitchen) Mom, when's Dad coming home?

Dolores:           He's working late tonight, remember?

Mrs. Cantor:    I completely forgot!

Andy:              Don't worry, Mom. He doesn't like your lasagna anyway.

                                                             

                                                              Suggested Answer

Mrs. Cantor came into the living room and asked her son, Andy, what he was doing. He looked up and answered that he was fixing his radio. Mrs. Cantor asked him where his sister was. He told her that she was in the kitchen making a sandwich. Mrs. Cantor ran into the kitchen and ordered Dolores not to eat anything before dinner. Dolores quickly swallowed a piece of cake and exclaimed to her mother that she was starving. Mrs. Cantor told her to have some cheese but not to eat the cake. Dolores informed her mother that there wasn't any cheese left because she had eaten it the day before. Mrs. Cantor spoke angrily and ordered Dolores to go to the store and to buy some more because she was making lasagna that night. Dolores agreed and said that she would go when she finished her homework. Andy entered the kitchen and asked his mother when his father was coming home. Dolores reminded him that their father was working late that night. Mrs. Cantor exclaimed that she had completely forgotten. Andy told his mother not to worry because his father didn't like her lasagna anyway.

A Bad Student

Instructions: Convert this dialog into a paragraph of reported speech.

 Mr. Jones:       Freddy, you aren't doing well in class, and you probably won't pass.

 Freddy:           I know that, but I don't have time to study.

 Mr. Jones:       Why don't you have time? Can't you make the time?

 Freddy:           I have to take my mother to the hospital every day. In fact, I took her there last night.

 Mr. Jones:       Are you the only one who can do that?

 Freddy:           She doesn't have anybody but me.  My father died last year.

 Mr. Jones:       Stop taking the class if you have family problems.  The stress will kill you.

 Freddy:           I may do that even though my mother wants me to continue.  She told me to stay in school.

 Mr. Jones:       Don't kill yourself. Take care of your mother until she feels better.

 Freddy:           She's not sick. She feels fine.

 Mr. Jones:       Why does she have to go to the hospital every day?

 Freddy:           She works there. She's a nurse.

The Unhappy Mother-In-Law

 Instructions: Convert each sentence to the reported speech form.

  1. He said, "Hello."

 2. She asked him, "Do you know what time it is?"

 3. He said, "I'm sorry I'm late."

 4. She told him, "I have something to tell you."

 5. He asked her, "What is it?"

 6. She said, "I don't want my daughter to go with you."

 7. He told her, "I'm not going to leave your daughter again."

 8. She asked him, "Why did you leave her the first time?"

 9. He answered, "I don't know, but maybe I was afraid."

10. She asked him, "Why did you sleep with her if you didn't have a condom?"

11. He explained, "I got careless."

12. She said, "Soon you will be going to New York, and I won't be able to see my daughter again."

13. He said, "When I make enough money, I'll fly you to New York."

14. She told him, "You won't find a job."

15. He said, "I can make money by selling drugs if I have to."

16. She said, "You'll end up in jail, and there is no one in New York who can get you out."

17. He told her, "Don't worry. I won't let your grandchild starve."

18. She told him, "Take care of my daughter and the baby, or you'll answer to my husband."

19. He told her, "I promise you. I will."

20. She asked him, "Do you know how to take care of a baby?"

21. He said, "No. But I'll learn. Don't worry."

22. She handed him some bills and said, "Take this, and don't waste it."

23. He promised, "I won't."

24. She said, "Call me if you have an emergency."

25. He said, "Thank you. Good‑bye, Mama."

Reported Speech Multiple Choice

 http://esl.lbcc.cc.ca.us/eesllessons/reported%20speech/repmul2.htm