1. Which verb can be used to report the direct speech in the sentences below? Put a letter a - j in the box.
tell order remind beg advise ask invite warn refuse offer
a ‘Please can you translate this sentence for me?' Maria said to Mark.
b 'Don't forget to send Aunt Maud a birthday card,' Mary said to her son.
c ‘Sign on the dotted line,' the postman said to me.
d 'Please, please, please marry me. I can't live without you,' John said to Moira.
e ‘Please come to our wedding,' John said to his boss.
f ‘I'll pay for the next round,' Mark said.
g 'Don't run round the edge of the swimming pool or you'll fall in,' Mary said to her children.
h ‘I won't go to bed!' Bobby said.
i 'You should talk to your solicitor,' Ben said to Bill.
j ‘Take that chewing gum out of your mouth immediately!' the teacher said to Jo.
Change the sentences in Exercise 1 into indirect speech using the appropriate verbs.
2. Put the correct preposition into each gap.
a. He was accused ____________ stealing from the till.
b. I apologized ____________ the mess.
c. She blamed me ____________ losing the contract.
d. She's always boasting ____________ her children's achievements.
e. I wish you'd stop complaining ____________ everything!
f. The manager complimented her staff ____________ their loyalty and devotion.
g. He congratulated me ____________ passing my exams.
h. I managed to convince him ____________ the need to invest his earnings. i. She never forgave me ____________ losing the ring she had given me. j. He insisted ____________ leaving immediately.
3. Report the following direct speech, using one of the verbs in Exercise 2. Make the sentences quite short. Report the essence of the direct speech, not every word.
Example
'Listen, I really am terribly sorry about scraping your car. I'll get it repaired, honestly,' he said.
He apologized for scraping her car, and offered to get it repaired.
NOT
*He said that he really was sorry about scraping her car, and that he would honestly get it repaired.
a. 'Peter, don't forget about the phone bill. Otherwise, we might get cut off,' she said.
b. 'I wasn't involved in the bank robbery at all,' James Last told the police.
c. 'You've had a boy! That's great! Well done!' he said to Sheila.
d. 'True,' she said to Henry, 'I haven't always told you the whole truth, but I have never, absolutely never, told you a lie.'
e. 'I really do think you should take the job in America, Joanna. I'll pay the air fare for you,' said John.
f. 'What absolutely appalling weather!' Lisa said to her husband. 'It's your fault. You wanted to come to Scotland in winter.'
g. 'Actually, Lisa,' said Malcolm to his wife, 'we came to Scotland because you went on and on and on about visiting your friends here.'
h. 'Why don't you open a second shop?' said the bank manager to Alice. 'Of course, the bank would be prepared to lend you the capital.'
i. 'But don't forget that I already have debts of over ten thousand pounds!' replied Alice. 'And anyway, the market isn't big enough for two shops.'
4
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Listening
1
You are policemen or policewomen taking statements.
1 Divide into two groups.
Group A
Listen to Pauline Peters and take notes about what she says happened.
Group B
L
isten
to Iris Fish and take notes about what she says happened.
2 Find a partner from the other group and report what you heard. Find the differences. Begin like this.
A Pauline admitted that they sometimes argued. She said that ...
B Iris complained that they argued every night. She said that ...
3 Write the reports for the police records.
LANGUAGE REVIEW Reported statements The usual rule for reported statements is that the verb form moves back one tense when the reporting verb is in the past tense. The verbs say and tell are used to report statements but other verbs can also be used. ‘He's having a shower.’ She said/told me (that) he was having a shower. ‘I've lost my wallet!' He said/complained (that) he had lost his wallet. 'They took a taxi.’ I said/thought (that) they had taken a taxi. ‘I’ll ring you tomorrow.’ He said (that) he would ring me the next day./He promised to ring me the next day. The Past Simple and the Present Perfect both change to the Past Perfect.
Reported questions In reported questions the word order is like a statement. Verbs other than ask can be used. When are you leaving? He asked (me) / He wondered when I was leaving. Where does John live? She inquired where John lived. Have you met Moira? He asked (me) if I had met Moira. When there is no question word, if is used, and there is no question mark.
Reported commands These are formed with the infinitive with to. The verbs ask and tell are used to report commands but other verbs can be used as well according to the meaning. Sit down and be quiet! He told/ordered them to sit down and be quiet. Please can you give me a lift? She asked him to give her a lift. If I were you I'd see a doctor. She advised me to see a doctor.
‘Pointer word’ changes 'Pointer words' are words referring to specific times and places, e.g. 'this', 'now', 'here', 'tomorrow'.
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/Adapted from New Headway English Course. Intermediate Student’s Book. Liz and John Soars/
Listening 2
1. Put the crimes below in order of seriousness. Decide on the punishment you think a person guilty of each crime should get.
mugging swearing in public kidnapping drink driving graffiti creating and releasing computer viruses trespassing dropping litter |