Reported Commands & Requests Exercises PDFSet 3: Negative Commands & Pronoun Shifts
20 questions·14 min·Answers included·Explanations included
Preview: Questions
Fill in the blank with the correct option.
1."Don't run in the corridor!" → The teacher told the students ___ in the corridor.
a) to not runb) not to runc) don't rund) not running
2."Don't be late!" → She told him ___ late.
a) not to beb) to not bec) don't bed) not being
3."Don't touch that!" → He told the children ___ that.
a) to not touchb) don't touchc) not to touchd) not touching
4."Don't open the door to strangers." → Mum told us ___ the door to strangers.
a) to not openb) don't openc) openingd) not to open
5."Don't make any noise." → The librarian told them ___ any noise.
a) not to makeb) to not makec) don't maked) not making
... and 15 more questions in the PDF
Preview: Answers
1.not to run
2.not to be
3.not to touch
4.not to open
5.not to make
... and 15 more answers in the PDF
Preview: Explanations
1."not to run"(b)
In reported negative commands, 'not' comes before 'to': 'not to run'. The order 'to not run' (split infinitive) is grammatically incorrect in standard English for reported speech.
2."not to be"(a)
The negative command 'Don't be late' is reported as 'not to be late'. Remember: 'not' always comes before 'to' in reported commands.
3."not to touch"(c)
'Don't touch' becomes 'not to touch' in reported speech. The direct speech auxiliary 'don't' is replaced by 'not to + infinitive'.
4."not to open"(d)
The negative command 'Don't open' is reported as 'not to open'. The pattern is: tell + object + not to + infinitive.
5."not to make"(a)
'Don't make' becomes 'not to make' in reported speech. The word order is always 'not to + infinitive', never 'to not + infinitive'.
... and 15 more explanations in the PDF
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