reported speech present progressive exercises

Reported speech – Present Progressive – Sentences – Exercise

Task no. 2337.

Finish the sentences using Reported speech. Always change the tense, although it is sometimes not necessary.

Joe, "I'm drawing a picture." Joe said (that)  

Joe said (that) he was drawing a picture .

Do you need help?

Reported speech

• Jenny, "I'm coming down." Jenny said (that) .
• Tim, "Jack is having breakfast." Tim said (that) .
• Jamy, "She's telling a joke." Jamy told me (that) .
• Mavis, "The dog is running after the cat." Mavis remarked (that) .
• Peter, "I'm playing the piano." Peter said (that) .
• Zack, "You're drinking tea." Zack mentioned (that) .
• Ella, "It's not raining." Ella remarked (that) .
• Jacob, "Riley is checking the computer." Jacob said (that) .
• Owen, "They aren't watching TV." Owen told me (that) .
• Nora, "He is learning Spanish words." Nora said (that) .
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Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

Change of the tenses.

If the reporting verb is in the past form (said, told,...), you have to change the tense .

Example: Peter said, "Carol is a nice girl." Peter said (that) Carol was a nice girl.

Don't change these verbs: might, could, would, should

He said, "I might arrive late." He said (that) he might arrive late.

It isn't necessary to change the present tense into the past tense if the information in the direct speech is still true or a general statement .

Frank said, "My sister is a secretary." Frank said (that) his sister is (was) a secretary.

He told us, "The sun rises in the east." He told us that the sun rises (rose) in the east.

Change of the pronouns

When you form the reported speech, you have to pay attention that the pronouns refer to the correct persons.

Susan said, " My parents are clever scientists." Susan said (that) her parents were clever scientists.

Tom said, " I like PE best." Tom said (that) he liked PE best.

They said, " We went swimming with our friends." They said (that) they had gone swimming with their friend.

Betty said, "Sam told me the truth." Betty said (that) Sam had told her the truth.

You and your:

They told her / him / me / them / us , "George likes you ."

They told her / him / me / them / us (that) George liked her / him / me / them / us .

They told her / him / me / them / us ,"George likes your sister."

They told her / him / me / them / us (that) George likes her / his / my / their / our sister.

They told her / him / me / them / us ," You are clever."

They told her / him / me / them / us (that) she / he / I / they / we was / were clever.

Change of expressions of time and place

Example: She said, "I have already seen Carol today ." She said (that) she had already seen Carol that day .

Reported Questions

If there is a question word , we keep it.

They asked me, " Where is the next supermarket?" They asked me where the next supermarket was.

She asked them, " How often do you play golf?" She asked them how often they played golf.

If there is no question word , we start the reported speech with if or whether .

She asked me, "Do you like some tea?" She asked me if/whether I liked some tea.

We asked them, "Did she arrive in time?" We asked them if/whether she had arrived in time.

Reported Requests

If someone asks you in a polite way, use (not) to + infinitive

He asked her, "Could you close the door, please?" He asked her to close the door.

She asked them, "Help me, please." She asked them to help her.

Reported Commands

If someone doesn't ask you politely or gives you an order, use (not) to + infinitive .

She told us, "Don't stay up too late!" She told us not to stay up too late.

Reported Speech Exercise 1 - statements - mixed tenses

Reported Speech Exercise 2 - statements - present tense

Reported Speech Exercise 3 - statements - present tense

Reported Speech Exercise 4 - statements - mixed tenses

Reported Speech Exercise 5 - statements - mixed tenses

Reported Speech Exercise 6 - statements, questions, commands

Reported Speech Exercise 7 - statements, questions, commands

Reported Speech Exercise 8 - questions, commands

Reported Speech Exercise 9 - questions, commands

Reported Speech Exercise 10 - statements, questions, commands

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• Reported Speech — Present Continuous — Exercise 2
• 1. Della, “I am leaving for work.” Della said (that) . she was leaving for work
• 2. Sophia, “You aren’t listening to me.” Sophia said (that) . I wasn’t listening to her
• 3. Harry, “My friend is sitting in the chair.” Harry said (that) . his friend was sitting in the chair
• 4. Anthony and Claire, “We are making pasta for dinner.” Anthony and Claire said (that) . they were making pasta for dinner
• 5. Rose, “Lucas is talking on the phone.” Rose said (that) . Lucas was talking on the phone
• 6. Amy, “The baby is drinking her bottle.” Amy said (that) the baby was drinking her bottle
• 7. Noah, “You are gossiping with your friends about me.” Noah said (that) . I was gossiping with my friends about him
• 8. Charlotte, “Someone is singing a beautiful song.” Charlotte said (that) . someone was singing a beautiful song
• 9. William and Peter, “We are studying engineering in college.” Willian and Peter said (that) . they were studying engineering in college
• 10. Olivia, “I am preparing for the test.” Olivia said (that) . she was preparing for the test
• 11. Daisy, “My neighbors are having a pool party.” Daisy said (that) . her neighbors were having a pool party
• 12. Ben, “I am coming with you.” Ben said (that) . he was coming with me
• Reported Speech — Present Continuous — Exercise 1
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 1
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 2
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 3
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 4

Reported Speech

Perfect english grammar.

Reported Statements

Here's how it works:

We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:

• Direct speech: I like ice cream.
• Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'. (As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in brackets () to show that it's optional. It's exactly the same if you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)

But , if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:

• Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

* doesn't change.

• Direct speech: The sky is blue.
• Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.

Click here for a mixed tense exercise about practise reported statements. Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

Reported Questions

So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about questions?

• Direct speech: Where do you live?
• Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.
• Direct speech: Where is Julie?
• Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.
• Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?
• Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions. Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions. Reported Requests

There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:

• Direct speech: Close the window, please
• Or: Could you close the window please?
• Or: Would you mind closing the window please?
• Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.
• Direct speech: Please don't be late.
• Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.

Reported Orders

• Direct speech: Sit down!
• Reported speech: She told me to sit down.
• Click here for an exercise to practise reported requests and orders.
• Click here for an exercise about using 'say' and 'tell'.
• Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

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