English Grammar Test English Grammar Reported Speech 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Jack said, 'I may be late.' What is the reported speech?
- Jack said that he may be late.
- Jack said that he might be late. (Correct answer)
- Jack said that he could be late.
- Jack said that he would be late.
Correct answer: Jack said that he might be late.
'May' backshifts to 'might' in reported speech.
Question 2: She said, 'I visited Rome last year.' What is the reported speech?
- She said that she visited Rome the previous year.
- She said that she had visited Rome the previous year. (Correct answer)
- She said that she has visited Rome last year.
- She said that she was visiting Rome last year.
Correct answer: She said that she had visited Rome the previous year.
Past simple 'visited' backshifts to past perfect 'had visited,' and 'last year' becomes 'the previous year.'
Question 3: He asked, 'Where do you live?' What is the reported speech?
- He asked where do I live.
- He asked where I lived. (Correct answer)
- He asked where did I live.
- He asked where I live.
Correct answer: He asked where I lived.
Wh-questions in reported speech use statement word order and backshift the tense.
Question 4: She said, 'I will call you tomorrow.' What is the reported speech?
- She said she would call me tomorrow.
- She said she will call me the next day.
- She said she would call me the next day. (Correct answer)
- She said she called me the next day.
Correct answer: She said she would call me the next day.
'Will' becomes 'would' and 'tomorrow' changes to 'the next day' in reported speech.
Question 5: Which sentence correctly reports: 'Please sit down,' said the teacher?
- The teacher said please to sit down.
- The teacher told the students sit down.
- The teacher asked the students to sit down. (Correct answer)
- The teacher said that please sit down.
Correct answer: The teacher asked the students to sit down.
Polite imperatives become 'asked/told + object + to-infinitive' in reported speech.
Question 6: He said, 'I must finish this today.' What is the reported speech?
- He said that he must finish it that day.
- He said that he had to finish it that day.
- He said that he should finish it that day.
- Both A and B are correct. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Both A and B are correct.
'Must' can remain as 'must' or become 'had to' in reported speech; both are widely accepted.
Question 7: She said, 'This is my book.' What is the reported speech?
- She said that this is her book.
- She said that that was her book. (Correct answer)
- She said that this was her book.
- She said that it was her book.
Correct answer: She said that that was her book.
'This' changes to 'that' and the demonstrative shifts in reported speech.
English Grammar Test English Grammar Reported Speech 3
Jack said, 'I may be late.' What is the reported speech?