Практикум по грамматике английского языка : учебное пособие

REPORTED STATEMENTS: with tense changes
• If the reporting verb is in the past tense, the tense in the reported statement 
is changed
"I'm writing a letter." => She said she was writing a letter. 
"I want to go home." => He said he wanted to go home.
• In complex sentences, only the first verb is changed
"I was walking home when I saw the accident." 
=>Sam said he had been walking home when he saw the accident.
• If we report something that is still true now, we sometimes use the same tense 
as the speaker used
"I live in Moscow." => She told me that she lives in Moscow.
NOTE:
But even when something is still true, we often change the tense in 
reported speech
She told me that she lived in Moscow.

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Speaker’s words
Reporting 
Verb
Reported statements
Present Simple
“My name’s Pete.” 
“I don’t like the idea.” 
“I haven’t got any money.”
Past Simple
his name was Pete. 
he didn’t like the idea. 
she didn’t have any money.
Present Continuous
“I’m waiting for Kate.”
Past Continuous
she was waiting for Kate.
Present Perfect Simple
“I haven’t done my 
homework.”
Past Perfect Simple
he hadn’t done his homework.
Past Simple
“I stayed in a hotel for a few 
weeks.”
Past Simple
or Past Perfect Simple
(Past Perfect Simple is often 
optional) 
she stayed/had stayed in a 
hotel for a few weeks.
Past Continuous
“They were seeing Pam off on 
her plane.”
Past Perfect Continuous
they had been seeing Pam off 
on her plane.
Past Perfect Simple
“I had eaten earlier.”
She said
Past Perfect Simple
she had eaten earlier.
will/shall
“I will phone the office from 
the air port.”
“I shall speak to him.” 
“We’ll have driven two 
hundred kilo metres by that 
time.” 
“John and Tom will probably 
be stay ing at an expensive 
hotel somewhere.”
He told
(me)
Would
he would phone the office 
from the airport.
she would speak to him.
we would have driven two 
hundred
kilometres by that time.
John and Tom would probably be
staying at an expensive hotel
somewhere.
Can
“I can speak English.”
Could
he could speak English.
Must
“I must find it out.” “I must 
work till late.”
must or had to (—necessity in 
the past)
she must/had to find it out. 
must or would have to
(— necessi ty in the future)
he must/would have to work 
till late.
Mustn’t
“Lilly mustn’t give up.”
mustn’t or couldn’t
Lilly mustn’t/couldn’t give up.

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181
Exercise 26. Write these sentences in indirect speech.
Example: “The car isn’t at my house,” he said.
 
He said that the car wasn’t at his house.
1. “I can’t speak any French,” he said.
2. “I’m trying to do my homework,” she said.
3. “I spoke to Jane at the party,” he said.
4. “I must leave in two days,” she said.
5. “I was having dinner at that moment,” he said.
6. “I’m keen on flower arranging,” she said.
7. “I haven’t been waiting long,” she said.
8. “I’ll have done it by then,” he said.
9. “I’ve already been to Berlin,” he said.
10. “I mustn’t skip meals,” she said.
11. “I’d been to the cinema with Eddie,” she said.
12. “I’ll be working all day,” he said.
13. “I must go home to make the dinner,” she said.
14. “I see Liz quite often,” he said.
15. “I’ve been with the company for most of my life,” she said.
REPORTED STATEMENTS: other changes
• Other words in direct speech need to be changed when you report them
tomorrow
→
the next day/the following day
yesterday
→
the day before
here
→
there
this/that
→
that
this morning
→
that morning
today
→
that day
tonight
→
that night
next/on Monday
→
the following Monday
last Monday/weekend
→
the previous Monday/weekend
the day after tomorrow
→
in two days’ time
ago
→
before/previously
last night
→
the night before
now
→
then/immediately
Exercise 27. Write these sentences in indirect speech, changing words 
where necessary.
Example: “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Sarah said.
 
Sarah said she would see me the next day.

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182
1. “I can see you tomorrow,” he told me.
2. “You must come to Dave’s party with me on Saturday,” Hilary said.
3. “I’m very busy now,” John told his son.
4. “I’m leaving this afternoon,” Ron said.
5. “Pete is bringing some records to the party tonight,” Helen told Simon.
6. “I saw him today,” Christine said.
7. “We visited Mr Simons last night,” he said.
8. “I’ll see my parents the day after tomorrow,” Sue told her friend.
9. “I don’t like this film,” Andrew said.
10. “I went to the theatre last weekend,” he said.
11. “The wedding will take place next Friday,” they told us.
12. “My parents are arriving tomorrow,” she told me.
13. “We waited an hour yesterday,” they said.
14. “Tonight I’m going to the theatre,” Mike told us.
15. “You’ll regret this!” she said.
16. “I really like this furniture,” my mother said.
17. “I dreamed of you last night,” he said.