Complete the e-mail. Use the correct form of the verbs in brackets. There may be more than one possible answer
New Message
I’ve been asking my friends about webcams for you. Marco says that you (0) .....can get......(can / get) them for about £20. He says he (1) ........................... (buy) his last year on the Internet. Another friend tells me that the more expensive ones (2) ........................... (have) a better picture and audio quality, and that you (need) to get a special program too. He says they (4) ........................... (be) very easy to install. I think they’re great!
I tried to persuade my sister in America to get one, but she said she (5) ........................... (not want) one. She said she (6) ........................... (not like) cameras. It’s a shame because I’d liketo see her and talk to her more often.
Reporting verbs
• We don’t always use say or tell to report someone’s words. We often use other reporting verbs to summarise what someone said: ‘I’m sorry I’m late,’ Lisa said. – Lisa apologised for being late. ‘I didn’t steal the money, ’ Joe said. – Joe den........................... ied stealing the money.
• We use the following structures. The verbs marked * can be followed by more than one structure:
| verb + to-infinitive agree*, offer, promise*, refuse | She offered to giveus a lift. Mike refused to helpme. |
| verb + object + to-infinitive advise, invite, persuade*, remind*, warn* | 1 advised him not to leave. He reminded me tophone Tim. |
| verb (+ object)+ -ing form admit*, accuse somebody of, apologise for, congratulate somebody on, deny*, suggest* | She admitted lyingto me. He accused me of stealing. We suggested gettinga taxi. |
| verb+ that clause admit*, agree*, complain, deny*, explain, promise*, suggest* | 1 agreed that I’d madea mistake. She denied that she’d cheated. 1 promised that i’d bethere. |
| verb + object+ that clause inform, persuade*, remind*, warn* | The waiter informed us thatour table was ready. |
Report the statements. Use the verbs in the box.
|
0 ‘Yes, OK. I’ll book the tennis court for Monday,’ Jack said.
Jack ...... agreed to book...... the tennis court for Mounday.
1 ‘No, I’m not going to pay for your ticket,’ he told me.
He ........................... for my ticket.
2 ‘I didn’t start the fight!’ Scott said.
Skott ........................... the fight.
3 ‘Don’t go near that dog,’ he told us.
He ........................... near the dog.
4 ‘You took my money!’ he told Emma.
He ........................... his money.
5 ‘I’m sorry I shouted at you,’ she said.
She ........................... at me.
6 ‘Would you like to play volleyball with us?’ Kim’s sister asked me.
Kim’s sister ........................... volleyball with them.
7 ‘Shall I wrap the chocolates for you?’ the shop assistant asked me.
8 The shop assistant the chocolates for me.
The shop assistant ........................... the chocolates for me.
9 ‘I think you should do engineering,’ his tutor said.
His tutor ........................... engineering.
Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first, using the word in bold. Use between two and five words.
0 ‘You’ll get your exam results on 7th May,’ the principal told us. informed
The principal...... informed us that we’d......get our exam results on 7th May.
1 ‘My computer’s very slow,’ Becky said. complained
Becky ........................... very slow.
2 ‘The bus is much cheaper than the train,’ Jamie said. explained
Jamie ........................... much cheaper than the train.
3 ‘We’re meeting Adam tonight,’ I told Mark. reminded
I ........................... meeting Adam that night.
4 ‘I don’t do enough exercise,’ he said. admitted
He ........................... do enough exercise.
5 ‘I’ll call you tomorrow,’ he said. promised
He ........................... me the next day.
6 ‘I didn’t give him the password,’ she said. denied
She........................... him the password.
Reported questions
• Reported questions have the same tense and word changes as reported statements
• Common reporting verbs/phrases in questions are ask and want to know.
They asked me what I was doing. She wanted to know where Jack was.
• When we report a yes/no question, we use if,/whether after the reporting verb:
‘Do you speak French?' – She asked me if I spoke French.
Are you coming? – He asked her whether she was coming.
• When we report a wh- question, we use the question word: ‘Where's the station?’ – She wanted to know where the station was.
• The word order in reported questions is the same as in statements. We don’t use the auxiliary do/does/did: ‘Where are you going?’ – He asked me where I was going. (Not He asked me where was I going.) ‘Do you like swimming?’ – She asked me if I liked swimming. (Not She asked me did I like swimming) ‘What do you want to do?’ – They asked me what I wanted to do. (Not They asked me what did I want to do).
• We don’t use a question mark (?) in reported questions.
Report the questions.
Yesterday Rob asked his friend Philip for advice about flats in London. Now he’s telling another friend about their conversation.
0 ‘Is your room very expensive?’
I asked him ......if his room was very expensive............
1 ‘Are you looking for somewhere cheap?’
He asked me ........................... .
2 ‘Is your flat near the city centre?’
I asked him ........................... .
3 ‘Can you get there easily?’
I wanted to know ........................... .
4 ‘Does your flat have a washing machine?’
I asked him ........................... .
5 ‘Was it very hard to find your room?'
I asked him ........................... .
6 ‘Did you look at a tot of flats?’
I wanted to know ........................... .
7 ‘Have you looked on the Internet?’
He asked me ........................... .
8 ‘Would you like to stay with me for a few days?’
He asked me ........................... .
Report the questions.
0 ‘Where can I get some tissues?’ she asked.
She asked ......where she could tissues...... .
1 ‘When are you going to visit us?’ he asked us.
He asked ........................... .
2 ‘Why is everybody looking at me?’ I asked.
I wanted ........................... .
3 ‘What sports do you do at college?’ Joe asked me.
Joe asked ........................... .
4 ‘What has your brother decided to do?’ I asked her.
I wanted ........................... .
5 ‘How did you get to the beach?’ I asked them.
I asked ........................... .
6 ‘How long have you been here?’ they asked us.
They asked ........................... .
7 ‘Who won’t be here next week?’ the tennis coach asked.
The tennis coach wanted ........................... .
8 ‘How much did you pay for your ticket?’ she asked him.
She asked ........................... .
9 ‘How often do your cousins stay with you?’ I asked her.
I asked ........................... .
10 ‘Where’s Kate?’ I asked.
I wanted ........................... .