REPORTED SPEECH

 Teoría y ejercicios

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You can practice REPORTED SPEECH for a while on this web, and this one too.

* Reporting Verbs and structures


Test Your Knowledge of Reported Speech:
Once you've studied the rules - or if you already know the rules - test your knowledge:

Reported Speech Quiz

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Reporting Verbs Exercise at Auto-English

Fill the gaps using the verbs in the box. Use each verb once only.

advise hope promise suggest beg insist remind threaten deny invite refuse warn

1	"I didn't do it," she said.
	She ________________ doing it.
2	"Have lunch with me," she said.
	She ________________ me to have lunch with her.
3	"Why don't you buy one?" said Tom.
	Tom ________________ I buy one.
4	"I promise I'll take you to Prague," said Mary.
	Mary ________________ to take me to Prague.
5	"I hope Andy phones tonight," said Clare.
	Clare ________________ Andy would phone that night.
6	"Please, please don't tell anyone!" he said.
	He ________________ me not to tell anyone.
7	"I won't do it," he said.
	He ________________ to do it.
8	"You should have lessons," she said.
	She ________________ me to have lessons.
9	"We really must go with you," they said.
	They ________________ on going with me.
10	"Don't forget to phone Granny," said Mum.
	Mum ________________ me to phone Granny.
11	"If you wear my T-shirt again, I'll pinch you very hard," said Maggy.
	Maggie ________________ to pinch me very hard if I wore her T-shirt again.
12	"Don't fly kites near electric overhead cables," said my father.
	My father ________________ me not to fly kites near electric overhead cables. ====================================================== Grammar – How to Use the Verb ‘Suggest’ ========================================================== Rob's English Blog Grammar Tip 23: Suggest Which of these sentences sounds OK to you? 1. She suggested me to try Portugal for a holiday this year.  2. She suggested to me to try Portugal for a holiday this year.  3. She suggested that I should try Portugal for a holiday this year.  4. She suggested I try Portugal for a holiday this year. Well done if you said 'sentences 3 and 4 are correct'. But why? Suggest is a verb which can't be followed by a direct object personalpronoun (me, him, her, you, them). So example 1 is not good. The indirect personal pronoun 'to me' can be used with 'suggest' - so sentence 2 is OK at the beginning. But suggest is usually not followed by an infinitive. So using to try after suggest does not work well. Sentence 3 is correct. It uses a that clause with should. Sentence 4 is also correct. It is the same as 3, but that and should are deleted. Its a Subjunctive! In example 4, the verb is in the subjunctive. This means that the verb does not change, it remains in the infinitive. So we could change the pronouns: We suggested that he try..... They suggested that she try.... She suggested that they try..... and the verb 'try' remains the same. In each case 'that' could be deleted. Note: it is possible to put 'try' into the past tense. This is no longer subjunctive but normal reported speech. (See grammar tip 24 for more on reported speech.) She suggested I tried Portugal..... Gerund Again.... It is possible to use a gerund after 'suggest': She suggested my trying Portugal this year. But it sounds rather formal and is not as common as the examples 3 and 4 above. Other Verbs Look at for propose, explain and demand. These verbs also do not take a direct object personal pronoun like 'me'.