Tense, direct and reported speech english study here. Here are some exercises to help you practice and understand. For the interview activity, print enough of the reported speech interviews worksheets in. Our committee meets on the first monday of every month. On of the most important things that you must know is how to change the tenses of the verbs. Reported speech exercises with all tenses pdf download. Reported speech or indirect speech free english grammar lesson. Backshift of tenses direct speech reported speech present simple past simple john is the reporter, he said. No change in verb tenses in reported speech 7 e s l. Direct and indirect present simple tense practice exercise with answers.
Mar 07, 2015 2 tenses if the sentence starts in the present, there is no backshift of tenses in reported speech. Indirect speech can be introduced by a verb in a present tense. Specifically, shall we use shall or should in sentence b. Backshift of tenses in reported speech online exercise. There are some changes to the verbs with reported speech. Indirect speech for imperative and exclamatory sentences change in pronoun in indirect speech change in time and adverb in indirect speech. Pdf in reported speech, a thatclause depending on a reporting verb in the past tense can under certain conditions use the present tense. We explained that it could be difficult to find our house. With reported speech, the pattern is the following. Quoted and reported speech san jose state university. The tenses may not change if the statement is still relevant or if it is a universal truth.
Reported speech and the sequence of tenses polished paper. This page may help if you would like to see a simple list of the tense changes click here. Read morereported speech exercise with present simple tense. Rewrite the sentences so that they have the same meaning as the original. Reported statements mixed exercise change this direct speech into reported speech. Reported speech exercise 9 perfect english grammar. Additional information and exceptions in reported speech learn english online free exercises, explanations, games, teaching materials and plenty of information on english language. Reported speech or indirect speech free english grammar. The other way of repeating what a person says is called reported speech. Please contact me if you have any questions or ntact me if you have any questions or comments. Time and place must often change when going from direct to reported speech. Choose from the dropdown menu and mind the tenses of the reporting verbs. The 2008 film, the dark knight, tells the story of batman, a fictional superhero.
Reported speech and present simple other english exercises on the same topic. Change of tenses in reported speech english grammar. Improve your understanding of reported speech here. You do not need to change the tense if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the original statement was about something that is still true, e. He says, i work for my company he said that he worked for my company. When changing from direct to indirect speech, you need to change the grammar in certain ways.
The progressive tenses or continuous tenses are used to talk about things that are happening at that moment. Reported speech is often also called indirect speech. If the reported sentence deals with a fact or general truth, the present tense is can be retained example. The general rule is that reported speech backs up one verb tense. Choose from the drop down menu and mind the tenses of the reporting verbs. Heres a list of all the reported speech exercises on this site.
Modal verbs in indirect speech the modals would, should, could, might, ought and must are usually unchanged in indirect speech. Reported speech in different english tenses exercise. For statements, we insert that after the say verb in the reported speech. Direct and indirect practice present tense exercise with solved answers and available for free download pdf. Are you feeling past continuous simple past i was there last year. The most widely used verbs in reported speech that introduce what someone said are say and tell. If you want to check your answers click the three question marks. She said, there is a big pool with lots of alligators. This reported speech exercise looks at statements with the past simple. Simple past present continuous im working at the moment.
Present simple past simple present continuous past continuous. We often use reported speech when talking about a conversation that happened in the past. Direct speech is found in conversations in books, in plays and in quotations. But more importantly, continuous tenses are used by speakers to organize information in certain. T he introductory verb is in the present, present perfect or future. Im sure people are familiar with the rule that the tense is moved backward when using reported speech i. Tense direct speech reported speech present simple i like ice cream. The primary theme of the presidents speech will be peace. You do not need to change the time tenses in the following situations. Keep reading to understand how to use reported speech and download this free. Reported speech is also known as indirect speech and is used to tell somebody else what another person said. Present simple reported statement exercise quite easy in pdf here. These modal verbs do not change in reported speech.
These exercises are intended for the easy study of beginner and elementary english language learner. Interrogative clauses difficulties in reported speech direct and indirect interrogative forms. Normally, the tense in reported speech is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech. Most likely your students are guilty of hypercorrection.
Pdf constraints on tense choice in reported speech researchgate. When the sayask verb is in the present or future, the reported speech does not change. Change pronouns and expressions of time and place where necessary. Reported speech and passive voice reported speech if we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speakers exact words direct speech, but reported indirect spee. Reported speech the words or thoughts of a person can be expressed through direct speech in this case we repeat the more or less exact words that were said or filtered through the language and the memory of the speaker, changing pronouns, tenses and other words if necessary. Learn how to use direct and indirect speech and tense changes when using reported speech in english with useful grammar rules and example sentences. Past progressive is used to talk about things happening in the past and were not finished then. If the sentence starts in the past, there is often backshift of tenses in reported speech. Direct and indirect speech basic rules indirect speech for question sentence indirect speech for modals i. If you move your mouse over the reported speech banners on the right, the reported speech of the text in red will appear in the box.
Direct and indirect speech exercises with all forms of tenses for your easy study. Changes of tenses, time and place in reported speech. The students may notice that verb tenses change in reported speech. Phrase in direct speech equivalent in reported speech. Additional information and exceptions in reported speech. Tenses and reported speech simple past simple present simple future simple examples thomas edison developed the first light bulb. Though, their example use of were could possibly be considered to be a dialectal extended use of irrealis were according to the 2002 cgel where the usual expectation for indirect reported speech would be either the backshifted preterite was or the nonbackshifted am. Reported statements mixed exercise perfect english grammar. This simple power point provides a quick oral revision of reported speech that can be used with a whole class letting students guess in. We explained, it could be difficult to find our house. Peter said that billyjoe and josephine them after the party. At one point in the movie, batmans enemy, the joker, says the following lines. Changes from direct speech to reported speech when the reporting verb is in a past tense1 direct speech reported speech tenses. Present progressive is used to talk about things happening now.
Backshift is the changing of a tense to an earlier one after the past form of a reporting verb. Using reported speech in english can sometimes be difficult for nonnative speakers as we usually change the verbs, pronouns and specific times. Tense changes when using reported speech english grammar ef. Lets say you and your friend, rebecca, are eating dinner at a restaurant on. We need to transform pronouns, verb tenses using something called the sequence of tenses, and place and time words. The general rule is that present tenses in direct speech change to past tenses in reported speech. The second theme of the speech is going to be prosperity. Mind the introductory sentences and backshift of tenses. Im going on holiday next week being reported a short time laterthe same day as he said he is going on holiday next week, which in my opinion invalidates the. Englishparts of speechverbstensesprogressive tenses.
Reported speech part 1 statements espresso english. However, there are many cases where it is ok not to change the tense e. Which is the correct ending of the sentence in reported speech. Present continuous past continuous i am writing the newsletter, she said. For exercises, you can reveal the answers first submit worksheet and print the page to have the exercise and the answers. Tense, direct and reported speech, english direct indirect speech and tense. Once the matchup cards have been printed, cut them into individual cards. Backshift of tenses verb tenses direct speech reported speech pronounsverb tenses simple present do you i am a carpenter. Aug 31, 2017 the 2008 film, the dark knight, tells the story of batman, a fictional superhero. Julia said she was taking a course in german that year. For facts that are always true, we dont have to shift back in time. Examplesreferences for not changing tense when using. Billyjoe and josephine have left us after the party. Tense changes when using reported speech english grammar.
Reported speech reporting verbs write these sentences in another way using the words at the end of the line. She said that she might bring a friend to the party. Click here to read the explanations about reported speech reported statements. Here are 10 exercises to help you practice and learn about reported speech using mixed english tenses. Reported speech tense change list direct speech reported speech simple present i live in paris. Reported speech indirect speech in english summary.
In one of those situations, you should absolutely not change the time tenses. Imagine you want to repeat sentences that you heard two weeks ago in another place. She said, i am reading english grammar book she said that i. In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a remark or a speech, without necessarily using the he said that he had lost his umbrella. Choosing which one to use is a question of whether the person who was originally addressed is important or not, since with say this person is very rarely introduced into the conversation. Reported speech tense shifting chart showing indirect speech to direct speech tense shift present simple to past simple, present continuous to past continuous, etc. Download reported speech exercise with present tenses, past tense, future tenses and sequence of tenses. Transform the following sentences into reported speech.
On the other hand, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech. English tenses exercises simple present tense simple past tense present perfect past perfect future 1 future perfect goingtofuture active and passive voice if clauses conditionals reported speech english reported speech exercises. Changing time and place references english grammar ef. Microsoft word main changes from direct speech to reported speech. The verbtell, requires the person addressed to be explicit they told me that he couldnt come. As we know, in the indirect speech, if the sentence starts in the past, there is often backshift of tenses in reported speech.
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