Reported Statements Exercises PDFSet 6: Comprehensive Mixed Practice
20 questions·15 min·Answers included·Explanations included
Preview: Questions
Fill in the blank with the correct option.
1."I enjoy working from home today." → She said she ___ working from home ___.
a) enjoys ... todayb) enjoyed ... todayc) enjoyed ... that dayd) had enjoyed ... that day
2."I will submit the report tomorrow." → He said he ___ submit the report ___.
a) would ... the next dayb) will ... tomorrowc) would ... tomorrowd) will ... the next day
3."We are renovating our kitchen here in this apartment." → They said they ___ their kitchen ___ in ___ apartment.
a) are renovating ... here ... thisb) were renovating ... there ... thatc) were renovating ... here ... thisd) had been renovating ... there ... that
4."I saw your manager at the conference yesterday." → She said she ___ my manager at the conference ___.
a) saw ... yesterdayb) had seen ... yesterdayc) saw ... the day befored) had seen ... the day before
5."Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius." → The teacher said that water ___ at 100 degrees Celsius.
a) had boiledb) was boilingc) boilsd) boiled
... and 15 more questions in the PDF
Preview: Answers
1.enjoyed ... that day
2.would ... the next day
3.were renovating ... there ... that
4.had seen ... the day before
5.boils
... and 15 more answers in the PDF
Preview: Explanations
1."enjoyed ... that day"(c)
Present simple 'enjoy' backshifts to past simple 'enjoyed'. The time expression 'today' changes to 'that day' in reported speech. The pronoun 'I' changes to 'she'. Both the tense and the time expression must shift.
2."would ... the next day"(a)
The modal 'will' changes to 'would' in reported speech. The time expression 'tomorrow' shifts to 'the next day' (or 'the following day'). The pronoun 'I' changes to 'he'. Both the modal and the time expression must be adjusted.
3."were renovating ... there ... that"(b)
Present continuous 'are renovating' backshifts to past continuous 'were renovating'. The place word 'here' changes to 'there', and the demonstrative 'this' changes to 'that'. The possessive 'our' changes to 'their'. Multiple place-related shifts are required.
4."had seen ... the day before"(d)
Past simple 'saw' backshifts to past perfect 'had seen'. The time expression 'yesterday' changes to 'the day before' (or 'the previous day'). The pronoun 'your' changes to 'my' because the listener is now the reporter. All three changes are needed.
5."boils"(c)
When the original statement expresses a general truth or scientific fact, we do not need to backshift the tense. 'Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius' is always true, so the present simple 'boils' remains unchanged in reported speech.
... and 15 more explanations in the PDF
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