Exercise: Reported Speech

Change the following sentences into reported speech.
1. The spokesman said: “I can’t understand why billiards has been prohibited.”
2. Gihan exclaimed: “We have had too many prohibitions.”
3. The young lady said: “I did not make such a mistake.”
4. She said: “We’ll go and get some food.”
5. Winston Churchill said: “I wake up at six every day”
6. A company representative said: “This probably won’t happen.”
7. A farmer said: “If the situation goes on like this, we will lose the consumers’ confidence for ever”.
8. He added: “We need someone who will realise that celibacy has to be a personal choice”.
9. She said: “I think the amount of immigrants right now is OK, but I don’t think we need any more”.
10. He said: “In Japan paper-folding was valued for its decorative function”.
11. “If I don’t win this game, I will retire,” Kasparov said.
12. The police said: “Youssef planned the World Trade Centre bombing”.
13. She said: “As a woman, my life will change with the new millennium”.
14. “I watched a documentary about dolphins on TV yesterday,” said John.
15. “I’m living the adventure of my life,” Banderas said.
16. Al Gore said: “As a teenager, one of the books that I read was Silent Spring.”
17. “I was taught information technology in this course,” she said.
18. My aunt said: “Single men should drive slowly if they want to live longer”
19. He said: “We are here today to reach consensus”
20. Last week Julia said: “We will meet our new instructor tomorrow”
21. He said to one of them: “Let me see the streets once more before I die. I’ll be back in five minutes.”
22. “Please, don’t say anything to him”, he said.
23. “Don’t talk to me like that,” said his mother.
24. She said: “Don’t smoke if you want to save money.”
25. “Buy me the paper if you’re going out”, Alice asked her brother.
26. He asked: “Do you often play rugby?”
27. The doctor asked: “Do you ever feel this pain in your stomach before meals?”
28. Michael asked her: “Where did you find these trainers?
29. Michael wondered: “Why do I do this every day?”
30. “What time did the film start?” she asked.
31. Her parents asked her: “Why do you want to become a bullfighter?”
32. They asked her mother: “Does he often come home late from school?”
33. The judge asked Karl: “How long have you known the accused? “

ANSWERS

1. The spokesman said that he couldn’t understand why billiards had been prohibited.

2. Gihan exclaimed that they had too many prohibitions.

3. The young lady said that she had not made such a mistake.

4. She said that that they would go and get some food.

5. Winston Churchill said that he woke up at six every day.

6. A company representative said that probably wouldn’t happen.

7. A farmer said that if the situation went on like that they would lose the consumers’ confidence for ever.

8. He added that they needed someone who would realise that celibacy had to be a personal choice.

9. She said that she thought the amount of immigrants at that moment was OK, but she didn’t think they needed any more.

10. He said that in Japan paper-folding had been valued for its decorative function.

11. Kasparov said that if he didn’t win that game he would retire.

12. The police said that Youssef had planned the World Trade Centre bombing.

13. She said that as a woman, her life would change with the new millennium.

14. John said that he had watched a documentary about dolphins on TV the day before.

15. Banderas said that he was living the adventure of his life.

16. Al Gore said that as a teenager, one of the books that he had read had been Silent Spring.

17. She said that she had been taught information technology in that course.

18. My aunt said that single men should drive slowly if they wanted to live longer.

19. He said that they were there that day to reach consensus.

20. Last week Julia said that they would meet their new instructor the following day.

21. He asked one of them to let him see the streets once more before he died, and then he promised to be back in five minutes.

22. He begged her not to say anything to him.

23. His mother told him not to talk to her like that.

24. She advised him not to smoke if he wanted to save money.

25. Alice asked her brother to buy her the paper if he was going out.

26. He asked if he often played rugby.

27. The doctor asked me if I ever felt that pain in my stomach before meals.

28. Michael asked her where she had found those trainers.

29. Michael wondered why he did that every day.

30. She asked what time the film started.

31. Her parents asked her why she wanted to become a bullfighter.

32. They asked her mother if she often came home late from school.

33. The judge asked Karl how long he had known the accused.