Reported speech exercises

Exercise 1

Rewrite the sentences in the reported speech. Change the tenses, pronouns, expressions of time and place.

"It is too late to apologize," I said.

I said it too late to apologize.

"I have replied to them," claimed Peter.

Peter claimed that to them.

"I met you yesterday," he told me.

He told me he had met me .

"I cannot come to your birthday party," explained Mary.

Mary explained that to my birthday party.

"I could fall down the stairs," said my grandma.

My grandma said down the stairs.

"I will pay for it tomorrow," he suggested.

He suggested he would pay for it .

"The Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world," explained our teacher.

Our teacher explained that the Himalayas the highest mountains in the world.

"I may lend you some money," promised Bill.

Bill promised some money.

"I have been watching a romantic film," replied Mary.

Mary replied that a romantic film.

"Claire must rest a little bit," said the doctor.

The doctor said Claire a little bit.

"I have not done the shopping today," I explained to my mum last Friday.

I explained to my mum last Friday that I had not done the shopping .

"If I was twenty years younger, I would accept it," he thought.

He thought that if twenty years younger, he would accept it.

"I was with him at the disco last week," admitted Jill.

Jill admitted that with him at the disco the previous week.

"You needn't change your shoes in our house," she reminded me.

She reminded me that I my shoes in their house.

"I am calling my mum because of the boat trip," she said.

She said she her mum because of the boat trip.

"I will finish this picture tomorrow," supposed Diana.

Diana supposed that she would finish picture the next day.

"I would buy the house on the coast," she said.

She said the house on the coast.

"Greg used to be my best friend from school," he told us.

He told us Greg his best friend from school.

"We will meet here at 10.30," decided Paul.

Pau decided that we would meet at 10.30.

Related pages:

Online exercises with answers, PDF worksheets and grammar rules.

Direct and indirect speech

Reported speech exercises PDF

Reported questions, commands and requests

Remember:

In the reported speech we usually change tenses (one tense back), pronouns, time and place.

"I admire you," said Sarah.
Sarah said she admired me.

"We came back yesterday," they told me.
They told me they had come the day before.

"Peter has put it here," he thought.
He thought that Peter had put it there.

"I'm afraid that your parents won't like me," said George.
George said he was afraid that my parents wouldn't like him.

How to avoid the shift of tenses:

It is simple to avoid shift of tenses in the reported speech if you use the reporting verb in the present simple tense instead of the past simple tense.

"I admire you," said Sarah.
Sarah says she admires me.

"I'm afraid that your parents won't like me," said George.
George says that he is afraid that my parents won't like him.

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