Reported Speech Worksheet: Present tense to past tense

(TESOL Worksheets--Reported Speech) 

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[One of my young learner classes has a grammar test which includes a section on reported speech.  Every term they consistently fail all the reported speech questions.  This may be a sign that they're not yet ready for it, but as I'm stuck with a pre-determined book, test, and curriculum, I don't have the option of throwing it out the window.  Instead I've started to design worksheets that try and give them as much support as possible to try and get them to remember the changes they will need to make for the test.  This first worksheet concentrates only on the present tense changing to past tense.]

Find the differences between these two sentences.  Circle any of the boxes that are different.

1. My father said, "I want to eat a pizza."

My father said that he wanted to eat a pizza.

direct speech	My father	said	, "	I	want	to eat a pizza.	"
reported speech	My father	said that		he	wanted	to eat a pizza.

2.  Jason said, "My dad is the strongest man in the world."

Jason said that his dad was the strongest man in the world.

direct speech	Jason	said	, "	My	dad	is	the strongest man in the world.	"
reported speech	Jason	said that		his	dad	was	the strongest man in the world.

3.  Susan said, "I walk my dog every day."

Susan said that she walked her dog every day.

direct speech	Susan	said	, "	I	walk	my	dog every day.	"
reported speech	Susan	said that		she	walked	her	dog every day.

4. Mike said, "I like to do my homework after school."

Mike said that he liked to do his homework after school.

direct speech	Mike	said	, "	I	like	to do	my	homework after school.	"
reported speech	Mike	said that		he	liked	to do	his	homework after school.

What changes in reported speech?

direct speech	said	V1	I		my
	↓	↓	↓		↓
reported speech

Now, see if you can fill in missing boxes:

5. Jack said, "I can't swim." [Jack is a boy's name.]

direct speech	Jack	said,	"I	can't	swim."
reported speech	Jack				swim.

6. Mary said, "My dog can speak English." [Mary is a girl's name.]

direct speech	Mary	said,	"My	dog	can	speak  English."
reported speech	Mary			dog		speak English.

7. Tom said, "I am going to the cinema tomorrow." [Tom is a boy's name.]

direct speech	Tom	said,	"I	am	going to the cinema tomorrow."
reported speech	Tom				going to the cinema tomorrow.

8. Kate said, "I really love my boyfriend." [Kate is a girl's name.]

direct speech	Kate	said,	"I	really	love	my	boyfriend."
reported speech	Kate			really			boyfriend.

9. Harry said, "I play soccer after school." [Harry is a boy's name.]

direct speech	Harry	said,	"I	play	soccer after school."
reported speech	Harry				soccer after school.

10. Alison said, "I enjoy watching TV." [Alison is a girl's name.]

direct speech	Alison	said,	"I	enjoy	watching TV."
reported speech	Alison				watching TV.

11. William said, "I can't find my keys."  [William is a boy's name.]

direct speech	William said, "I can't find my keys."
reported speech

12. Jane said, "pizza is my favorite food." [Jane is a girl's name.]

direct speech	Jane said, "pizza is my favorite food."
reported speech

13. Richard said, "I am doing my homework." [Richard is a boy's name.]

direct speech	Richard said, "I am doing my homework."
reported speech

14. Anne said, "I have two cats." [Anne is a girl's name.]

direct speech	Anne said, "I have two cats."
reported speech

15. Edward said, "I go home every day after school."  [Edward is a boy's name.]

direct speech	Edward said, "I go home every day after school."
reported speech