English: REPORTED SPEECH

English

REPORTED SPEECH
Exercise 1. Fill in “say, tell, ask” in the correct form.
1. My parrot can _______ a few words in English.
2. Please _______me what you think of my new dress.
3. He _______that he couldn’t reply to any more questions.
4. My mother used to _______me a story before I went to bed.
5. He promised to _______no more about the matter.
6. She stopped to _______the time because she thought she was late.
7. The little girl _______her prayers and then went to sleep.
8. Sally couldn’t _______for certain whether or not she would be staying.
9. He had taken an oath so he had to _______the truth in court.
10. With identical twins you can rarely _______the difference between them.
11. The old many always _______good morning to his neighbors.
12. “I’d love to go,” she _______to me.
13. When I was younger, I used to _______my sister all my secrets.
14. “Could you help me with these bags?” she _______me.
15. Rachel keeps _________me that she’s going to change jobs, but she never does.
Exercise 2. Give the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Some of the verbs are passive.

It’s imperative that we (follow)___________ his orders to the last letter.
He insisted that he (pay) ___________for the meat.
He proposed that women (admit) ___________into the club.
It is important that you (take) ___________these pills three times a day.
He demanded that no one else (allow) ___________to see the contract.
She recommended that we (stay) ___________at the other hotel.
Exercise 3. Complete the sentences using the words in bold. Use two to five words.
1. “I’ve got better marks in the test than you did,” she said. (about)
→ She ________________________________ in the test than I had.
2. “How about going to the Caribbean for our honeymoon?” she asked. (suggested)

→She ________________________________for the Caribbean for their honeymoon.
3. “You must do your homework now,” he said. (on)
→ He ________________________________my homework immediately.
4. “First you turn right and then left to get to the shop,” he said. (how)
→ He ________________________________to get to the shop.
5. “No, I won’t lie for you any more,” she said to him. (to)
→ She ________________________________any more.
6. “Get this dog out of the house now!” he shouted at me. (demanded)
→ He ________________________________the dog out of the house immediately.
7. “You’d better not do that again or I’ll lose my temper,” he said to me. (warned)
→ He ________________________________that again or he’d lose his temper.
8. “Don’t forget to move everything out of the hall,” she said to us. (reminded)
→ She ________________________________everything out of the hall.
9. “You’re right, he is a bit strange,” she said. (agreed)
→She ________________________________a bit strange.
10. “Shall I go tonight?” he asked himself. (to)
→He ________________________________go that night.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

High School for Gifted Students - HNUE

Page 1


English

11. “I think you should stay in bed and get plenty of rest,” the doctor told her. (she)

→The doctor ________________________________in bed and get plenty of rest.
12. “Will I see him again soon?” she asked herself. (would)
→She ________________________________see him again soon.
13. “What a wonderful new outfit you’re wearing!” she said. (exclaimed)
→She ________________________________a wonderful new outfit.
14. “You mustn’t forget to buy a Father’s Day card this year,” she told me. (reminded)
→ She ________________________________a Father’s Day card that year.
15. “Nobody must find out where I’m hidden,” he said. (found)
→ He said that it was vital ________________________________where he was hidden.
16. “I’m the greatest footballer of all time,” he said. (boasted)
→ He ________________________________the greatest footballer of all time.
17. “I’ll never forget the way we met,” he said. (would)
→He ________________________________the way they had met.
18. “Tidy your room before you go out,” she said to me. (on)
→ She ________________________________my room before I went out.
19. “Let’s go for a walk,” she said to them. (go)
→She ________________________________for a walk.
20. “Do your shoelaces up or you’ll fall over,” she said. (me)
→ She ________________________________my shoelaces, otherwise I’d fall over.
21. “I don’t like this settlement,” he said. (complained)
→He ________________________________like that settlement.
Exercise 4. Find the word which should not be in the sentence.
1. The boss said about we were going to be given a few days off.
2. Sophie told to me she was looking for a better job.
3. He wanted to know if I did went to that party last night.
4. The reporter he asked the Prime Minister to comment on the election results.
5. Tony asked me if I was wanted to play golf with him that afternoon.

6. They wanted to know if that they were allowed to keep pets in the flat.
7. Celia asked Jim what time he was being leaving for the airport.
8. The student asked the teacher for to repeat what he had said.
9. The shop assistant told us do not touch any of the items on display.
10. My mother said that I had better to leave early.
11. She told me she was leaving and explaining that she was too tired.
12. He asked me if I could do the ironing and I said I could so.
13. Nicki promised that to pay me back as soon as possible.
14. She denied that she had been taken any money from them.
15. Fiona suggested that he would talk to the manager in person.
16. He wondered what had to do to set the situation right.
17. They threatened to will dismiss him if he didn’t change his attitude.
18. He asked me that what I intended to do when the term was over.
19. It is important that he should be told them the truth.
20. The doctor recommended that he should to stay at home for a few days.
Exercise 5. Phrasal verbs
keep at sth: continue working on sth
Fill in the correct particles.
keep away (from): stay away
1. She hired an assistant because she couldn’t keep
keep back: 1. Stay back/conceal
___________ the work.
keep behind: make sb remain after
2. The firefighter told us to keep ___________from the
others have left
burning building.
keep sb/sth down: control
3. It’s a good idea to keep ___________John as he might be
keep oneself from: prevent from/2.
helpful to you later.

Avoid
4. He’s going to keep ___________taking his driving test
keep in with: remain friendly with
until he passes.
keep on: continue:
5. He put up a “No Trespassing” sign to keep walkers
High School for Gifted Students - HNUE

Page 2


English

keep up with: stay level with sb/sth
let sth down: lengthen a garment
let sb down: disappoint
let sb off: not to punish
let on: reveal a secret
let out: make (a garment) looser, larger
etc
let up: lessen, stop gradually

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

___________his land.
Tell me the whole story: don’t keep anything
___________.
The judge let the boys ___________with a warning.
When she put on weight she had to let___________ all
her clothes.
It was raining hard earlier but it’s letting _________now.
John didn’t let ________that Jim had broken the window.
This skirt is rather short. You’d better let it ___________.
I thought I could trust Sam, but he let me ___________.

Exercise 6. Fill in the correct preposition.
1. There was a long queue ______ the bus stop.
2. We have to win this election ______all costs.
3. His gambling habit left him seriously
______debt.
4. She left the oven on all day ______accident.
5. Many Asian countries, India ______instance.
6. My pen pal and I have a lot ______common.
7. The officer was ______charge of 20 men.
8. ______all accounts, he’s very capable
diplomat.
9. ______the beginning of the play the hero
sees the heroine for the first time.
10. I thought he was honest ______the
beginning, but I was wrong.
11. I don’t like being taken ______granted!
12. By the end of the film the viewers were
______tears.
13. Dr

Milton discovered the vaccine
______chance.
14. Please don’t change all your plans just
______my sake.
15. Read the text ______detail, then answer the
questions.
16. The scandal has been ______the news for
weeks now.
17. We can offer you a 10% discount if you pay
______cash.

18. Payment can be made ______cheque or with
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.

a credit card.
Martha was ______a loss to explain why
she’d been sacked.

There’s a beautiful cottage ______sale in our
village.
You’re ______a good mood today! Have you
had some good news?
Your order will be sent ______post within 3
days.
There’s a restaurant______ the top of the
Eiffel Tower.
The books were piled one ______top of the
other.
We regret that the lift is not ______use today.
I’m sorry. I took your jacket ______mistake
this morning.
The judges announced their decision
______the end of the competition.
We were worried at first but ______the end
everything went well.
Let’s go out to dinner ______a change.
The offices are ______77 Oxford St.
He lives ______the suburbs and commutes to
the city every day.
The mirror lay ______pieces on the floor.

Exercise 7. Complete the sentences using the words in bold. Use two to five words.
1. How long will it take you to build the shelves? (building)
→ When __________________________________ the shelves?
2. Perhaps she got caught in traffic. (have)
→She __________________________________in traffic.
3. The management won’t let passengers smoke on the train. (are)
→ Passengers __________________________________on the train.

4. “Why is he so secretive?” she asked herself. (was)
→She __________________________________so secretive.
5. People say he is very clever. (be)
→He __________________________________very clever.
6. She is proud of her beautiful house. (pride)
→She __________________________________beautiful house.
7. We couldn’t sleep at night as the air conditioning was faulty. (difficult)
→The faulty air conditioning __________________________________to sleep at night.
High School for Gifted Students - HNUE

Page 3


English

8. “You’ve caused a lot of pain to my family,” she said to him. (causing)

→ She __________________________________a lot of pain to her family.
9. She is scared to be alone in the house at night. (afraid)
→She __________________________________in the house at night.
10. She won’t tolerate his rudeness any longer. (put)
→She won’t __________________________________any longer.
11. It’s likely that they will go to the party. (are)
→They __________________________________the party.
12. You will be collected from your hotel at 8.00 by taxi. (call)
→A taxi __________________________________at your hotel at 8.00.
Exercise 8. Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space.
WORLD POPULATION
By 1993, (0.)_______world’s human population had reached 5.5 thousand million and, (1.)
_______the growth has slowed (2.) _______in recent years, it will be many decades (3.) _______it stops.

The reason (4.) _______this growth is causing so (5.) _______concern is that we can’t keep up (6.)
_______the corresponding increase (7.) _______demand for food, water, healthcare, jobs, education and
housing. It also increases the likelihood of damage (8.) _______the environment. Much of the growth has
been in the poorer countries of the world, but overpopulation is also a problem for some rich countries,
including Britain. (9.) _______a population of approximately 58 million, Britain has 233 inhabitants (10.)
_______square kilometer. Furthermore, it is estimated that the (11.) _______of people in the country will
have increased to 62 million by 2031, at (12.) _______time it will start to decline again. Populations not
(13.) _______increase because of higher birth rates, but also because of people moving from poor to rich
countries, and from the countryside to the towns. In (14.) _______, the latter cause is greater (15.)
_______general population growth and is creating many problems in the towns and cities especially in
poorer parts of the world.
Exercise 9. Read the text, give the correct form of the word in brackets.
HAWAII
The Hawaiian islands (0. real)_________ are a tropical paradise. Palm trees, (1.scene)
_________views and breathtaking sunsets add up to many people’s ideal holiday. At the (2.fame)
_________resort of Waikiki you’ll find a wide (3.vary) _________of restaurants, bars and nightclubs, with
prices ranging from (4.fair) _________reasonable to very (5.expensive) _________. By day the beaches are
buzzing with (6.active) _________and, as the sun sets, nightlife of every (7.describe) _________can be
experienced. If you’re not keen on busy beaches, then there’s the (8.possible) _________of taking one of the
many excursions around the islands or even snorkeling in the (9.fascinate) _________bays. The final
(10.decide) _________on how you spend your time is yours, but few people ever regret going there.
Exercise 10. Fill in the correct preposition(s).
1. The surgeon is going to operate _______ my father tomorrow.
2. Ireland qualified _______the World Cup Finals in 1990.
3. He insisted _______having his lawyer present.
4. Mary is married _______John.
5. If he persists _______coming to work late everyday, I’ll have to speak to him.
6. He was criticized for his neglect _______his duties.
7. Frank is a very mean person. He finds it very difficult to part _______his money.
8. There were many objections _______the council building another shopping centre.

9. Mary was very nervous _______having a blood test.
10. Many people are ignorant _______the long-term effects of pollution.
11. He wrote a cheque _______$250.
12. His arguments are lacking _______logic.
13. John takes great pride _______his new car.
14. Sally prides herself _______being very honest.
15. Carmel is very proud _______her daughter’s achievements.
16. She paid _______her new dress _______cheque.
17. As the shop didn’t accept credit cards, I had to pay _______cash.
18. You can’t expect Joe to know everything. He’s still relatively new _______the job.
High School for Gifted Students - HNUE

Page 4


English

He presented the new employee _______the manger.
He was presented_______ a gold watch on his retirement.
I sometimes mistake Clare _______her sister on the phone.
I’m hoping _______a second interview next week.
John is notorious _______telling lies.
He’s fortunate _______having many good friends.
She quarreled _______Andrew _______which television programme to watch.
Exercise 11. Complete the sentences using the words in bold. Use two to five words.
1. It would be a good idea to lose some weight. (better)
→You _____________________________ some weight.
2. You didn’t need to buy me this ring. (have)
→You _____________________________this ring.
3. I don’t think I can finish all this work by tomorrow. (get)

→I don’t think I can _____________________________by tomorrow.
4. One of the three students he examined was Italian. (whom)
→He examined three students, _____________________________Italian.
5. He lost his job because he was extremely disorganized. (result)
→He was extremely disorganized _____________________________lost his job.
6. Sue is probably going to the cinema tonight. (likely)
→Sue _____________________________the cinema tonight.
7. They dint’ want to spend a lot of money so they booked a self-catering holiday. (avoid)
→The booked a self-catering holiday _____________________________a lot of money.
8. We were disconnected halfway through our conversation. (cut)
→We _____________________________halfway through our conversation.
9. “Ok, I’ll take you to the funfair,” father said to us. (to)
→Father _____________________________to the funfair.
10. He is an expert but he couldn’t answer my question. (being)
→In _____________________________he couldn’t answer my question.
11. “Of course I didn’t give them your name,” he said to me. (having)
→He _____________________________my name.
12. She was so irritated by his attitude that she felt like screaming. (irritating)
→His _____________________________she felt like screaming.
Exercise 12. Explain the meaning of the idioms in bold.
1. Mary has agreed to help us raise the money but her heart isn’t in it.
2. The students were told to learn the poem by heart as they would be asked to recite it in class the
next day.
3. That’s the third glass she’s broken this morning. She’s all fingers and thumbs.
4. I don’t know how Carla manages with two small children and a husband who never lifts a finger to
help.
5. My grandmother never looks at a recipe. She prefers to cook by rule of thumb.
6. It had been so long since I’d had a drink that the wine went straight to my head.
7. Max has been drawing up contracts for so long that he can now do it standing on his head.
8. Sue is looking very down in the mouth this morning. Has she had bad news?

9. Larry never had to advertise his business as people heard about him through word of mouth.
10. The employee was stealing company property right under our noses.
Exercise 13. Fill in “do” or “make” in the correct form.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

High School for Gifted Students - HNUE

Page 5


English

1. I enjoy ____ the crossword in The Guardian.
2. It’s not a good idea to _______an enemy of
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Clare.
We had better start _______preparation for
the christening.

Pete _______a great deal of damage already.
It’s your turn to _______the washing up
tonight.
The boy promised to _______his best in the
test.
She _______her exercises every morning
before work.
Pat doesn’t appreciate _______a fool of

High School for Gifted Students - HNUE

Page 6

9. I _______friends with some people from

Germany while I was travelling to Budapest.
10. They find it difficult _______ends meet.
11. Mum has promised to _______a cake for the
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

party.
A man phoned earlier to _______an
appointment.
He asked me what I _______for a living.
Our neighbors are always _______noise.
Can’t you at least _______an effort?

It appears that she _______a fortunate when
she was living in Japan.