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Category: Reported Speech

  • Reported Speech: Statements (PDF)

    Reported Speech: Statements (PDF)

    Reporting what someone said in past time triggers backshift: every tense in the original utterance shifts back one step. Present Simple → Past Simple (“I work from home.” → She said she worked from home). Present Continuous → Past Continuous. Past Simple → Past Perfect. Will → would. Can → could. Must → had to. Pronouns shift (I → he/she), time and place words shift (today → that day, here → there), and the say/tell distinction matters: say takes no object (She said she would call); tell requires one (She told me she would call).

    This worksheet drills B1 reported speech with statements — the backshift table, pronoun shifts, and the say/tell split.

    What’s inside:

    • Grammar Box with the full backshift table (eight tense/modal shifts), the time/place shifts, and say vs tell
    • Transformation: convert direct statements into reported speech, including modal shifts
    • Gap-fill: complete reported sentences with the correct shifted tense
    • Say or tell? discrimination items in workplace scenarios
    • Full Answer Key plus Teacher Notes on the still-true exception (when backshift is optional)

    Common mistakes addressed: missing backshift (She said she is busy), say with an object (She said me she was tired), tell without an object (She told that she was tired), and missing pronoun shift (She said I am tired when reporting another speaker).

    For: Adult and teenage learners (14+) at CEFR B1, in intermediate classes, 1:1 lessons, or self-study. Reported speech is a recurring transformation in Cambridge B1 Preliminary (PET) and B2 First (FCE) Reading-Use of English. Part of the Reported Speech collection — the natural next step is Reported Speech: Questions and Commands, which extends the system to interrogative and imperative forms.

  • Reported Speech: Questions and Commands (PDF)

    Reported Speech: Questions and Commands (PDF)

    Reported questions and commands extend the backshift logic — with two structural twists. Yes/no questions are introduced by if or whether and shift to statement word order (“Are you available on Friday?” → She asked if I was available on Friday). Wh-questions keep the question word but also drop inversion (“Where do you work?” → He asked where I worked — not where did I work). Commands switch structure entirely, taking tell + object + (not) to + infinitive (“Submit your report by Friday.” → She told me to submit my report by Friday). Requests use ask in the same pattern (“Could you send me the figures?” → She asked me to send her the figures).

    This worksheet drills B1–B2 reported questions and commands in workplace contexts — interview questions, manager directives, and professional requests.

    What’s inside:

    • Grammar Box with reported yes/no questions (if/whether), reported wh-questions (no inversion), and the tell/ask + object + to-infinitive pattern for commands and requests
    • Report-the-questions: convert eight direct interview questions into reported form
    • Report-the-commands: rewrite six direct workplace commands and requests using tell or ask
    • Error correction: spot wrong word order, missing if, and tell/ask mix-ups
    • Full Answer Key plus Teacher Notes on the no-inversion rule and the tell/ask split

    Common mistakes addressed: inversion kept in reported questions (She asked where did I work), missing if in yes/no reports (She asked I was available), tell without an object (She told to submit the report), and missing not in negative commands (He told us share it with anyone).

    For: Adult and teenage learners (14+) at CEFR B1–B2, in intermediate and upper-intermediate classes, 1:1 lessons, or self-study. Reported questions are a high-frequency transformation in Cambridge B2 First (FCE) Reading-Use of English. Part of the Reported Speech collection — the natural sibling is Reported Speech: Statements, which sets up the backshift table this worksheet extends.