Exercise 22. Rewrite these sentences in reported speech
1. “I’m going to call him this afternoon”, she said.
2. “I’ll write to you next week”, he said.
3. “He rang me from the airport yesterday”, she said.
4. “I won’t be home tonight”, he said.
5. “He left ten minutes ago”, she said.
6. “I’ll see him tomorrow”, she said.
Exercise 23. Turn these reported questions into direct questions.
1. She asked who he was. – “Who are you?” she asked.
2. He asked me if she read a newspaper.
3. She asked him why he listened to the radio.
4. He asked her if she watched a lot of television.
5. She asked her if she had heard the news.
6. He asked her what she was doing.
Exercise 24. Turn these direct questions into reported questions.
1. “Do you read a daily newspaper?” she asked.
2. “What’s your favourite TV programme?” she asked.
3. “Is satellite television growing?” she asked.
4. “Where do most people listen to the radio in your country?” she said.
5. “Do you go out much?” she asked.
6. “Have you watched any TV today?” she asked.
Exercise 25. Put the words in order to make reported statements.
1. her / she / come / to / along / told
2. him / she / for / keep / told / to / it / her
3. that / she / had / none / replied / she
4. asked / some / money / her / to / give / she / her
5. she / tea / invited / home / for / her
6. her / she / assured / she / it / meant
Exercise 26. Read the statements paying attention to the reporting verbs. Write down
What you think the people actually said.
1. She invited her to sit down in a comfortable chair.
2. She told her not to be frightened.
3. She apologized and said she was going to faint.
4. She told her to come and get warm.
5. She told her not to cry.
6. She offered to look after her.
Exercise 27. Rewrite these direct statements in reported speech using a suitable
Reporting verb.
1. “I’ll arrange something, I promise.”
2. “Rosemary, may I come in?” It was Philip.
3. Philip asked, “Explain. Who is she?”
4. “Look again. I think you’re making a mistake.”
5. “Philip,” she whispered, “am I pretty?”
Exercise 28. Write these reported statements in direct speech.
1. He said it was raining.
2. She said she didn’t have any money.
3. He said he liked watching television.
4. She said she would leave early.
5. He said he’d spoken to his mother the week before.
6. She said she hadn’t understood the question.
Exercise 29. Write these direct statements in reported speech.
1. “I’m late,” she said.
2. “I’m getting angry,” she said.
3. “She’s gone,” he said.
4. “He’s working abroad,” she said.
5. “I called her this morning,” he said.
6. “We’ll pay for this,” she said.
Exercise 30. Write reported questions.
1. “Who is he?” she asked.
2. “Why is she working so late?” he asked.
3. “Is she British?” he asked.
4. “What’s her name?” he asked.
5. “What did she buy?” he asked.
6. “Will you have something to eat?” she asked.
7. “Have you got any money?” he asked me.
8. “How did you do this?” she asked.
Exercise 31. Rewrite the following sentences in reported speech using the reporting
verbs below.
Agree decide offer promise advise warn
1. “Would you like a lift?” he said.
2. “I know! I’ll take the train,” she said.
3. “I’ll ring when I get there,” he said.
4. “Don’t drive so fast!” she said.
5. “Why don’t you go and lie down?” she said.
6. “OK, I’ll pay you ten pounds,” he said.
Exercise 32. Look at these statements in reported speech and write down what the
Characters actually said.
1. She said she liked him.
2. She said she was seeing him that evening.
3. She said she had never felt like that before.
4. He said he had enjoyed meeting her that night.
5. He said he would ring her the next day.
Exercise 33. Match the sentences in box A to their reported equivalents in box B.
A
| She said: a) “I’ll always think about you.” b) “I've always thought about you” c) “I’m always thinking about you.” d) “I always think about you.” e) “I always thought about you.” f) “I was always thinking about you.” |
B
| She said … 1 she had always thought about him. 2 she had always been thinking about him. 3 she always thought about him. 4 she would always think about him. 5 she was always thinking about him. |
Exercise 34. Report the following actual statements of the great movie directors and
Backshift the tenses.
In their own words
1. “Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. Directing is not a mystery, it’s not an art. The main thing is: photograph the people’s eyes.” (John Ford)
2. 
“Actors can be a terrible bore on the set, though I enjoy having dinner with them.” (Sir David Lean)
3. “Less isn’t more. More is more.” (James Cameron)
4. “We do pander to the audience. But the audience we think about is us.” (The Coen Bros.)
5. “We had access to too much money…and little by little we went insane.” (Francis Ford Coppola)
6. “When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, “No, I went to films.” (Quentin Tarantino)
7. 
“I’m a filmmaker, not a documentarian. I try to hit the truth.” (Sir Ridley Scott)
8. “I think when you’re young and have that first burst of energy, and make five or six pictures in a row that tell the stories of all the things in life you want to say…Well, maybe those are the films that should have won me the Oscar.” (Martin Scorsese)
9. “If you have a story that is very commercial and simple, you have to find the art. You have to take the other elements of the film, and make them as good as possible, and doing that will uplift the film.” (Steven Allan Spielberg)
10. 
“Telling me to take a vacation from filmmaking is like telling a child to take a vacation from playing.” (Stanley Kubrick)
11. “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it by not dying.” (Woody Allen)
12. “In films painting and literature, theatre and music come together. But a film is still a film.” (Akira Kurosawa)
VOCABULARY
AND SPEAKING