Exercise Indirect speech | Exercises English Language

Indirect speech

Put the following statements into indirect speech.

1'I’m going out now. But I'll be in by nine,' he said.

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2'I’m working in a restaurant and don't much care for it.' she said.

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3'I can't live on my basic salary.' said Peter. 'I’ll have to offer to do overtime."

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4'My younger brother wants to be a tax inspector." said Mary. "I can't think why none of my family has

ever been a tax inspector.'

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5'We're waiting for the school bus,' said the children. It’s late again.'

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6'I’ve made a terrible mistake!' said Peter.

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7'You're always making terrible mistakes.' I said. 'You should be used to it by now.'

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8'We make £450 a week.' said one of the men. 'and send most of it home to our wives.'

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9'It's lonely being away from our families,' said another. 'but we earn three times as much in this factory

as we would in our own country.'

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10 'We've been here for two and a half years,' said the man who had spoken first. 'and we're going to stay

another six months.'

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11 'I’ve got a job on an oil-rig,' said Paul. 'That'll be very hard work.' I said.

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12 'I know it'll be hard.' he replied. 'but I don't mind hard work and it'll be a good experience.'

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13 'The ice will soon be hard enough to skate on.' said Tom. 'I’ll look for my skates when I get home.'

Ann said.

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14 'I’m living with my parents at present,' she said, 'but I hope to have a flat of my own soon.'

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15 'I'm leaving tomorrow.' she said. 'by the 4.30 from Victoria.' 'We'll come and see you off.' we said.

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16 'I’ve just bought a car.' said Peter, 'but it's not insured yet so I can't take you for a drive.'

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17 'I’d like to speak to Susan,' said Mary, 'but I'm bathing the babies and they will drown if I leave them

alone in the bath while I go to the phone.'

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18 'Mary has just received a postcard from Ann, beginning, I'm coming up to London next week. I hope

you and Jack will meet me for lunch one day.' (Begin Ann says .)

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19 'Nothing ever happens in the village,' she said. it's like a dead village. All the young people have

drifted away to the towns.'

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20 'I’ve missed my train,' said Bill. 'Now I’ll be late for work and my boss will be furious.'

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21 'We'll wait for you if you're late.' they said.

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22 'They are supposed to be landing at London airport' I said. 'But if the fog gets any thicker the plane

may be diverted.'

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23 'If you lend me the chainsaw.' said Mary. 'I’ll bring it back the day after tomorrow.'

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25 'I hate getting up on dark mornings.' grumbled Peter.

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Indirect speech

Put the following statements into indirect speech. 1 'I’m going out now. But I'll be in by nine,' he said. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2 'I’m working in a restaurant and don't much care for it.' she said. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 'I can't live on my basic salary.' said Peter. 'I’ll have to offer to do overtime." ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 'My younger brother wants to be a tax inspector." said Mary. "I can't think why none of my family has ever been a tax inspector.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 'We're waiting for the school bus,' said the children. It’s late again.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 'I’ve made a terrible mistake!' said Peter. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 'You're always making terrible mistakes.' I said. 'You should be used to it by now.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 'We make £450 a week.' said one of the men. 'and send most of it home to our wives.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 'It's lonely being away from our families,' said another. 'but we earn three times as much in this factory as we would in our own country.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 'We've been here for two and a half years,' said the man who had spoken first. 'and we're going to stay another six months.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 'I’ve got a job on an oil-rig,' said Paul. 'That'll be very hard work.' I said. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 'I know it'll be hard.' he replied. 'but I don't mind hard work and it'll be a good experience.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 'The ice will soon be hard enough to skate on.' said Tom. 'I’ll look for my skates when I get home.' Ann said. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 'I’m living with my parents at present,' she said, 'but I hope to have a flat of my own soon.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 'I'm leaving tomorrow.' she said. 'by the 4.30 from Victoria.' 'We'll come and see you off.' we said. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 'I’ve just bought a car.' said Peter, 'but it's not insured yet so I can't take you for a drive.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 'I’d like to speak to Susan,' said Mary, 'but I'm bathing the babies and they will drown if I leave them alone in the bath while I go to the phone.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 'Mary has just received a postcard from Ann, beginning, I'm coming up to London next week. I hope you and Jack will meet me for lunch one day.' (Begin Ann says .) ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 'Nothing ever happens in the village,' she said. it's like a dead village. All the young people have drifted away to the towns.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 'I’ve missed my train,' said Bill. 'Now I’ll be late for work and my boss will be furious.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 'We'll wait for you if you're late.' they said. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 'They are supposed to be landing at London airport' I said. 'But if the fog gets any thicker the plane may be diverted.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 'If you lend me the chainsaw.' said Mary. 'I’ll bring it back the day after tomorrow.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 'I hate getting up on dark mornings.' grumbled Peter.

26 'It is horrible.' agreed his wife. 'but the mornings will be lighter soon and then it won't be quite so bad.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 'The sales are starting tomorrow.' said the typist. 'As soon as we finish work the whole typing pool is going to make a dash for the shops.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 'I hope you’ll all get what you want.' I said. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 29 'I wish I had something to eat.' said Peter. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 'You've only just had lunch.' said his sister. 'I don't know how you can be hungry again so soon.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 31 'You shouldn't have bought that colour.' said Peter, 'it doesn't go with your coat.' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 32 'I must hurry. My father is always furious if any of us are late for meals,'she said. .....................................................................................................................................................................

QUETIONS

1 'Do you want to see The cathedral?' said The guide. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2 'Do you mind working on the night shifts?' he asked. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 'Would you like to come with us?' they said. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 'Who did you give the money to?' asked Ann. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 'How long does it take to get to Edinburgh by coach?' asked the tourist. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 'How much do you think it will cost?' he said. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 'What did you miss most when you were in prison?' Mary asked the ex-convict. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Another passenger came in and said, 'Is this seat laken?' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 'How do you get on with your mother-in-law?' said Paul. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 'How did you get into the house?' they asked him. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 'What were you doing with these skeleton keys?' said Mr Jones. 'Were you trying to get at the secret files?' ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 'Did you sleep well?' asked my hostess. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 'Have you been here long?' the other students asked him. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 'Can you tell me why Paul left the university without taking his degree?' Paul's sister asked. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 'How many people know the combination of the sale?" said the detective. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 'Are there any letters for me?' said Mary. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 'How long have you been learning English?' the examiner said. ................................................................................................................................................................... 19 'Why aren't you taking the exams?' said Paul. ................................................................................................................................................................... 20 'Are these free-range eggs?' said the customer. ...................................................................................................................................................................

18 'You're being exploited,' said the other au pair girls. 'You ought to leave your job.' ................................................................................................................................................................... 19 'Fasten your seat belts; there may be a little turbulence.' said the air hostess. ................................................................................................................................................................... 20 'Don't drive through fog with only a fog light on,' he said. 'or oncoming drivers may take you for a motorcycle." ................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................... 21 'Could I see your driving licence?' said the policeman. ................................................................................................................................................................... 22 'You'd better sweep up that broken glass,' I said. ................................................................................................................................................................... 23 'The bathroom's empty now,' she said. 'Will you put the light out when you've finished?' ................................................................................................................................................................... 24 'Rernember to insure your luggage,' my father said. ................................................................................................................................................................... 25 'Please don't drink any more.' said his wife. 'Don't forget that we have to drive home.' ................................................................................................................................................................... 26 'Do go to a dentist, Tom, before your toothache gets any worse.' I said. ................................................................................................................................................................... 27 'Why don't you cut your hair?' he said. 'You'd find it much easier to get a job if you looked tidy.' ................................................................................................................................................................... 28 'Could I have some more pudding, please?' said the boy ...................................................................................................................................................................

Put the following into direct speech with the appropriate punctuation.

1 She asked if he'd like to go to the concert and I said that I was sure she would. ................................................................................................................................................................... 2 She told me to look where I was going as the road was full of holes and was very badly lit. ................................................................................................................................................................... 3 They said that while they were bathing they saw someone examining their clothes. ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 I asked if she had looked everywhere and she said that she had. ................................................................................................................................................................... 5 He suggested giving her a bottle of wine. ................................................................................................................................................................... 6 He said that the new carpet had arrived and asked where he was to put it. ................................................................................................................................................................... 7 He said that two days previously an enormous load of firewood had been dumped at his front gate and that since then he hadn't been able to get his car out. ................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................... 8 They offered me some more wine and I accepted. ................................................................................................................................................................... 9 He said that if I found the front door locked I was to go round to the back. ................................................................................................................................................................... 10 She asked the burglars who they were and who had !et them in. They told her to sit down and keep quiet unless she wanted to get hurt. ................................................................................................................................................................... 11 He asked what the weather had been like during my holiday and I said that it had been awful. ................................................................................................................................................................... 12 He suggested going down to the harbour and seeing if they could hire a boat. ................................................................................................................................................................... 13 He said that if I didn't like escalators I could go up the emergency staffcase. I thanked him and said that 1 would do that. ................................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................................

14 He suggested that Tom and I should go ahead and get the tickets. ................................................................................................................................................................... 15 He said that he thought my electric iron was unsafe and advised me to have it seen to. ................................................................................................................................................................... 16 He said that if war broke out he would have to leave the country at once. ................................................................................................................................................................... 17 I asked him if he had enjoyed house-hunting and he said that he hadn't. ................................................................................................................................................................... 18 She said that she was surprised to see that the grandfather’s clock had stopped and asked if anyone had been fiddling with it. ................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................... 19 She said that she had tried to ring up her mother several times on the previous day but had not succeeded in getting through. ................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................... 20 I asked her if she'd like to borrow the book but she thanked me and said that she had alteady read it and hadn't liked it very much. ................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................... 21 He wanted to know if I was going to the dance and suggested that we should make up a party and go together. ................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................... 22 I told her to stop making a fuss about nothing and said that she was lucky to have got a seat at all. ................................................................................................................................................................... 23 The Clerk in the booking office inquired if I wanted a single or return ticket. I asked if a retum was any cheaper. He said it made no difference. ................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................... 24 My employer hoped I would not be offended if he told me that. In his opinion, I would do better in some other kind of job. ................................................................................................................................................................... 25 The AA man told the woman that if her wheels had gone a couple of inches nearer the edge, the car would have plunsed into the ravine. ................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................... 26 He said I mustn't mind if the first one wasn't any good. ................................................................................................................................................................... 27 He asked the crowd if they thought that he was a liar and the crowd shouted that they did. ................................................................................................................................................................... 28 I stopped a man in the street and asked him to help me with my car. The man asked if it would take long, explaining that he was on his way to catch a train. ................................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................................

1 'It will take a liltte time to look up your file.' said the clerk. 'Is it worth waiting.' said Ann. 'or shall I go away and come back later?" ................................................................................................................................................................ ... ................................................................................................................................................................ ... 2 'Shall I have to do the whole exam again if I fail in one paper?' said the student.'Yes.' said the teacher. ................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................... 3 "Where will you be tomorrow?" I said, 'in case I have to ring you. I shall be in my office till six.'

Exercise Indirect speech, Exercises of English Language

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Indirect speech

QUETIONS

Put the following into direct speech with the appropriate punctuation.