1-TitlePage

Direct:
How long is the presentation?
—
Embedded:
Can you tell me 
how long the presentation is
? 

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Embedded Yes-No 
Questions 
—
Embedded yes / no questions use if, whether or 
whether or not.
—
If is the most common. 
Direct Question:
 
Did their flight arrive?
Embedded: 
—
Do you know 
if their flight arrived?
—
Do you know 
whether their flight arrived
? 
—
Do you know 
whether or not their flight arrived
? 
—
Do you know 
whether their flight arrived or not
? 

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Phrases commonly used to introduce 
embedded questions.
Statements
—
I don’t know… 
—
I’m not sure… 
—
I don’t understand 
—
I’d like to know… 
—
I wonder… 
—
Let’s ask… 
Questions 
—
Do you know…?
—
Can you 
remember…? 
—
Could you tell me…? 
—
Could you 
explain…? 

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1 
Lesson 5 Instructions, Commands, Requests and Invitations 
Objective
Students will learn how to use reported speech for instructions, commands, requests and 
invitations. 
Contents 
Note to the Teacher 
Power Point Slides 1-7 
Practice Exercises 1-3 
Homework Exercise 
Answer Key 
To the Teacher 
Instructions, commands, requests and invitations are often changed to infinitives in reported 
speech. Thus, the doctor instructions, “Take two tablets and call me in the morning,” becomes 
“The doctor told me to take two tablets and to call him in the morning,” in reported speech.
This lesson should be fairly easy for the students since there is only one choice for verb tense – 
the infinitive. As in all reported speech, changes in pronouns may be necessary to maintain the 
original meaning of what is being reported.
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