direct indirect in English

Task - When the introduction is in past simple we have to go back a tense. In the first task you have to identify the tense of the sentence, write it into the correct box, then make a reported statement from it. Look at the example.

A    Your mother will have been sewing my blanket for 10 hours by 5 p.m. B     I had been waiting for you for hours before the film. C     I like chocolate. D    I was riding a bike at 5 o’clock yesterday. E     You are cleaning your teeth now. F     I will win the election. G    I have swum 5 miles since 2 o’clock. H    You won the championship yesterday. I     I will have completed the task by 4 p.m. J    I had done the washing-up before it. K     I have been reading this book for 6 hours. L     I will be flying to New York this time tomorrow.

DIRECT SPEECH	INDIRECT SPEECH
Present Simple	Past Simple
e.g.: I like chocolate.	She said to him she liked chocolate.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
You are cleaning your teeth now	She said to him he was cleaning his teeth then
Present Perfect	Past Perfect
I have swum 5 miles since 2 o’clock	She said to him she had swum 5 miles since 2 o’clock
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
I have been reading this book for 6 hours	She said to him she had been reading that book for 6 hours
Past Simple	Past Perfect
You won the championship yesterday	She said to him he had won the championship the day before
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
I was riding a bike at 5 o’clock yesterday	She said to him she had been riding a bike at 5 o’clock the day before
Past Perfect	Past Perfect
I had done the washing-up before it	She said to him she had done the washing-up before it
Past Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
I had been waiting for you for hours before the film	She said to him she had been waiting for him for hours before the film
Future Simple	would + V1
I will win the election	She said to him she would win the election
Future Continuous	would + be + V-ing
I will be flying to New York this time tomorrow	She said to him she would be flying to New York that time the following day
Future Perfect	would + have + V3
I will have completed the task by 4 p.m	She said to him she would have completed the task by 4 p.m
Future Perfect Continuous	would + have + been + V-ing
Your mother will have been sewing my blanket for 10 hours by 5 p.m	She said to him his mother would have been sewing her blanket for 10 hours by 5 p.m

Task - Make indirect sentences in the past.

1)      “My purse was found by the bus driver.” Mary to Peter

2)     “My friend has his suit sewed.” Lily to the girls

3)     “You will win the Nobel Prize.” She to me

4)     “We often go to the cinema on Fridays.” They to Sam

5)     “We’re going to send you an email with the further details.” Mr Barns to Mrs Johnson

6)     “I was studying all day yesterday.” Eva to her mother

7)     “I’ve been washing your dirty clothes all morning.” Tina to Ben

8)     “I would like to organize our wedding reception.” She to me

9)     “This time next week I will be lying on the beach in Costa Rica.” Lily to the girls

10)  “You are reading this book too close.” The teacher to Phil

                                              

Task - Make indirect sentences in the past. Now the receiver (Y) is given in the direct sentence.

1)      Mum: “Children, we have been digging the whole garden all afternoon.”

2)    Greg: “Mother, I don’t really want to hurt you.”

3)    Mrs Drill: “Philip, you have been rather rude to your parents.”

4)    Ms Stone: “Margaret, your mother will be proud of you for this composition.”

5)    Grandma: “Sam and Peter, the dinner is ready.”

6)    Mrs Farrell: “Mr Kyle, my guests arrived an hour ago.”

7)    Mr Marvel: “Mrs Lodge, I think your son is going out tonight.”

8)    Daisy: “Lana, I am going to lose some weight.”

9)    Doug: “Daddy, this Maths homework is too difficult for me.”

10) Tom: “Peggy, I’m leaving you for ever.”

                                                        

Task – Connect the sentences using indirect speech in the past. The connector is given after the sentence.

1)      “I’m writing a letter to my grandma now. Her birthday is today.” Tom to Peter - then and added that

2)    “I have improved my invention. The design wasn’t good enough.” Frank to me - because

3)    “I have been in this museum twice this month. The exhibition is so nice, so I decided to visit it again.” Anne to me - what’s more

4)    “My students are going to take an entrance exam this week. This will be their biggest challenge.” Donna to Luke - as well as

                                                          

Task – Make indirect sentences in the past. Be careful! There are modal verbs in the sentences.

1)      “I should give up eating so much fatty food.” Peter to me

2)     “You must finish your book.” Mary to Peter

3)     “You can survive this nightmare.” They to Sam

4)     “I mustn’t play with the matches.” Tim to Amy

5)     “I used to play basketball.” Gavin to Bill

6)     “We could help you if you needed.” They to Sam

7)     “We needn’t hurry, we have plenty of time.” Elise to Mark

8)     “I may catch the bus.” Ralph to Mary

9)     “You ought to call the police.” Mum to dad

10)  “You had better switch off the torch.” Davy to Lilly