Reported Statements Exercises PDFSet 1: Present Tense Backshift
20 questions·12 min·Answers included·Explanations included
Preview: Questions
Fill in the blank with the correct option.
1."I like pizza." → She said she ___ pizza.
a) likesb) is likingc) has likedd) liked
2."I work in a bank." → He said he ___ in a bank.
a) workedb) worksc) is workingd) has worked
3."We live in Paris." → They said they ___ in Paris.
a) liveb) livedc) are livingd) have lived
4."I play tennis every weekend." → She said she ___ tennis every weekend.
a) playsb) is playingc) playedd) has played
5."I know the answer." → He said he ___ the answer.
a) knowsb) is knowingc) has knownd) knew
... and 15 more questions in the PDF
Preview: Answers
1.liked
2.worked
3.lived
4.played
5.knew
... and 15 more answers in the PDF
Preview: Explanations
1."liked"(d)
In reported speech, present simple 'like' shifts back to past simple 'liked'. The pronoun 'I' changes to 'she' because we are reporting what she said.
2."worked"(a)
Present simple 'work' becomes past simple 'worked' in reported speech. 'I' changes to 'he' because we are reporting his words.
3."lived"(b)
Present simple 'live' shifts to past simple 'lived'. The pronoun 'we' changes to 'they' when reporting someone else's words.
4."played"(c)
Present simple 'play' becomes past simple 'played' in reported speech. Even though tennis is a regular habit, we still backshift the tense.
5."knew"(d)
Present simple 'know' becomes past simple 'knew' in reported speech. Note the irregular form: know → knew.
... and 15 more explanations in the PDF
Prefer practicing online?
Try our interactive exercises with instant feedback.