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Reported speech: statements, questions,
Grammar 1 commands & requests

1 Read about reported statements, questions, commands and requests.
Reported statements & questions • When the direct question begins with a
• We use reported speech to tell someone what question word, it is used in the reported
another person said. We use reporting verbs question.
such as say and tell. The main verb usually ‘Where is Wales?’ Kim asked. à Kim asked
moves back one tense into the past. where Wales was.
Sally said, ‘I speak Dutch.’ à Sally told me • When the direct question does not use a
(that) she spoke Dutch. question word, the reported question uses if or
Ted said, ‘I’ve been to Asia.’ à Ted said (that) whether.
he had been to Asia. ‘Is Chan Chinese?’ he asked me. à He asked
• When we report what someone said we change me if/whether Chan was Chinese.
the following: personal pronouns, possessive
pronouns, possessive adjectives, etc; time Reported commands & requests
words and phrases; other words such as this/ • We use tell to report commands and ask to
that, here/there, come/go, etc. report requests. We use an object after both.
Omar said, ‘I respect your beliefs.’ à Omar ‘Wait here!’ he said to me. à He told me to
said (that) he respected my beliefs. wait there.
I said, ‘I’ll text you tonight.’ à I said (that) I ‘Please help me,’ he said to us. à He asked us
would text her that night. to help him.
Pam said, ‘This is my map.’ à Pam said (that) • When we report commands and requests, we
that was her map. change the imperative to a full infinitive.
• When we report a question, the verb is not in ‘Come in!’ he said to his visitor. à He told his
question form. It is the same as in statements. visitor to come in.
We often use the reporting verb ask. ‘Please don’t touch that!’ she said to me. à
‘When is Joe coming back?’ I asked.à I asked She asked me not to touch that.
when Joe was coming back.

2 Read this sentence. Is it a question, a positive request or a negative command? Rewrite the
sentence using reported speech. Which reporting verb did you use?
‘Don’t leave the country!’ the officer said to me.

Read 10.1-10.3 of the Grammar Reference before you do the task.

3 Rewrite the following in reported speech in your notebook.

1 ‘We may have Chinese food tonight,’ they said.
2 ‘Can you help me with my project on UNESCO, please?’ she said.
3 ‘Have you heard of this civilisation?’ said the student to the teacher.
4 ‘Africa is here on the map,’ the teacher said.
5 ‘Don’t touch the statue!’ the guard said to me.
6 ‘What is the capital city of Australia?’ he said.
7 ‘We’re going to learn about Machu Picchu today,’ Mr Jones said.
8 ‘I’ll visit Stonehenge tomorrow,’ she said.
9 ‘Put your camera away,’ she said to Guy.
10 ‘I was reading about the Pyramids,’ I said.

UNIT 10 125
UNIT 1 0 125