Reported Speech – English Grammar Exercises for B1
Your colleague, Mark, has just returned to the office after a two-week vacation. You are catching him up on the important instructions and announcements the director made during the team meeting he missed. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “Welcome back, Mark! The boss held a major meeting on Monday. He announced that the company ______ a completely new strategy.”
(A) needs
(B) is needing
(C) needed
(D) was needing
2 “He specifically mentioned your department. He told us that ______ to see your quarterly report as soon as possible.”
(A) he wanted
(B) I wanted
(C) he want
(D) we wanted
3 “As for the IT system, the director explained that they ______ the main software to a faster version.”
(A) are changing
(B) were changing
(C) was changing
(D) had changing
4 “There was some bad news, unfortunately. The boss said that we ______ our biggest client last month.”
(A) lost
(B) have lost
(C) had losing
(D) had lost
5 “But don’t worry! He promised that he ______ more staff next month to help us with the workload.”
(A) would hire
(B) will hire
(C) would hired
(D) had hired
6 “Regarding the new remote work policy, she announced that it would start ______.”
(A) tomorrow
(B) the day before
(C) the following day
(D) the next days
7 “The HR manager stated that everyone ______ attend the compliance training session.”
(A) must
(B) had to
(C) must to
(D) should
8 “During the meeting, the boss asked the sales team if ______ ready for the Q3 marketing campaign.”
(A) were they
(B) they are
(C) that they were
(D) they were
9 “About the travel budget, he instructed us ______ all flight expenses by Friday.”
(A) to submit
(B) submit
(C) submitting
(D) that we submitting
10 “For security reasons, she warned everybody ______ the new Wi-Fi password with anyone outside the company.”
(A) don’t share
(B) didn’t share
(C) not to share
(D) to not sharing
11 “And guess what? The director ______ that our holiday bonus was finally approved.”
(A) told
(B) said
(C) said me
(D) explained me
12 “I actually asked him when ______ finish, but he didn’t answer me directly.”
(A) the meeting would
(B) would the meeting
(C) the meeting will
(D) will the meeting
13 “Oh, about the office layout! He announced that they would build the new conference room ______.”
(A) here
(B) at there
(C) this place
(D) there
14 “The CEO was there too. She explained that she ______ all the department files personally.”
(A) has reviewed
(B) had reviewed
(C) had review
(D) reviewed
15 “He was a bit angry. He mentioned that he had sent the updated schedule two days ______.”
(A) ago
(B) since
(C) before
(D) later
16 “I asked for a budget increase. He told me he ______ approve my request if I sent the proposal ______.”
(A) could / that day
(B) can / today
(C) could / today
(D) would / that day
17 “The director also asked the marketing team why ______ so much money on social media ads.”
(A) did they spend
(B) they had spent
(C) had they spent
(D) they spend
18 “Then, the IT manager advised us ______ our computer passwords immediately to prevent hacking.”
(A) update
(B) that we updating
(C) to update
(D) updating
19 “Unfortunately, he explained that the budget was tight and they needed to cancel ______ projects.”
(A) these
(B) the those
(C) that
(D) those
20 “Before the meeting ended, the boss asked me what time ______ coming back to work ______.”
(A) you were / the following day
(B) were you / tomorrow
(C) you are / the next day
(D) you was / yesterday
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C)
- Correct (C) needed: The direct speech (“The company needs…”) backshifts from Present Simple to Past Simple in reported speech.
- Common Mistake (A) needs: Forgetting to backshift the tense.
- Structural Error (B) is needing: Using continuous tense for a stative verb (“need”).
- Strong Distractor (D) was needing: Backshifted properly to past, but “need” cannot be used in continuous tenses.
2 (A)
- Correct (A) he wanted: The pronoun “I” shifts to “he”, and Present Simple (“want”) shifts to Past Simple (“wanted”).
- Common Mistake (B) I wanted: The speaker forgot to change the perspective from the boss (“I”) to the reporter (“he”).
- Structural Error (C) he want: Incorrect subject-verb agreement and lack of backshift.
- Strong Distractor (D) we wanted: Wrong pronoun perspective.
3 (B)
- Correct (B) were changing: Present Continuous (“are changing”) backshifts to Past Continuous (“were changing”).
- Common Mistake (A) are changing: No backshift applied.
- Structural Error (C) was changing: “They” requires the plural verb “were”, not “was”.
- Strong Distractor (D) had changing: Grammatically invalid structure.
4 (D)
- Correct (D) had lost: Past Simple (“we lost”) backshifts to Past Perfect (“we had lost”).
- Common Mistake (A) lost: Failing to backshift from Past Simple to Past Perfect.
- Structural Error (C) had losing: Requires the past participle (“lost”).
- Strong Distractor (B) have lost: Present Perfect is incorrect here; it doesn’t follow the backshift rule.
5 (A)
- Correct (A) would hire: The future auxiliary “will” backshifts to “would”.
- Common Mistake (B) will hire: Forgetting to shift “will”.
- Structural Error (C) would hired: “Would” must be followed by a bare infinitive, not a past tense verb.
- Strong Distractor (D) had hired: Changes the meaning to a past action instead of a future promise.
6 (C)
- Correct (C) the following day: Time expressions change. “Tomorrow” becomes “the next day” or “the following day”.
- Common Mistake (A) tomorrow: Failing to change the time word. “Tomorrow” would mean the day after you speak to Mark, not the day after the meeting.
- Structural Error (D) the next days: Incorrect phrase (should be singular “day”).
- Strong Distractor (B) the day before: This is the backshift for “yesterday”, not “tomorrow”.
7 (B)
- Correct (B) had to: The modal verb “must” (obligation) backshifts to “had to”.
- Common Mistake (A) must: Failing to backshift the modal verb.
- Structural Error (C) must to: “Must” is never followed by “to”.
- Strong Distractor (D) should: Changes the meaning from a strict obligation to a piece of advice.
8 (D)
- Correct (D) they were: To report a Yes/No question, use if/whether + Subject + Verb (backshifted).
- Common Mistake (A) were they: Keeping the question word order. Reported questions must use statement word order.
- Structural Error (C) that they were: You cannot use “that” to report a question.
- Strong Distractor (B) they are: Word order is correct, but failed to backshift the tense.
9 (A)
- Correct (A) to submit: To report an instruction, use the structure: instructed + object + to + base verb.
- Common Mistake (B) submit: Using the direct imperative form without “to”.
- Structural Error (C) submitting: Using the gerund form instead of the infinitive.
- Strong Distractor (D) that we submitting: Grammatically invalid.
10 (C)
- Correct (C) not to share: To report a negative command (“Don’t share”), use: warned + object + not to + base verb.
- Common Mistake (A) don’t share: Keeping the direct negative auxiliary.
- Structural Error (D) to not sharing: Wrong word order and wrong verb form (gerund).
- Strong Distractor (B) didn’t share: Looks like a past tense backshift, but commands require the infinitive structure, not a clause.
11 (B)
- Correct (B) said: The reporting verb “say” is used when there is no direct object pronoun following it.
- Common Mistake (A) told: “Told” requires a direct object (e.g., “told us that”).
- Structural Error (C) said me: You cannot put an object directly after “said” without “to”.
- Strong Distractor (D) explained me: “Explain” requires “to” before the object (“explained to me”).
12 (A)
- Correct (A) the meeting would: When reporting a Wh- question (“When will the meeting finish?”), keep the Wh- word, use statement word order (Subject + Verb), and backshift (“will” to “would”).
- Common Mistake (B) would the meeting: Kept the original question word order (Verb + Subject).
- Structural Error (C) the meeting will: Failed to backshift “will” to “would”.
- Strong Distractor (D) will the meeting: Question word order and no backshift.
13 (D)
- Correct (D) there: Place markers change in reported speech. “Here” becomes “there”.
- Common Mistake (A) here: Forgetting to change the place marker.
- Structural Error (B) at there: We do not use the preposition “at” before “there”.
- Strong Distractor (C) this place: Too informal and does not follow the standard shift.
14 (B)
- Correct (B) had reviewed: The Present Perfect (“I have reviewed”) backshifts to the Past Perfect (“she had reviewed”).
- Common Mistake (A) has reviewed: Forgetting to backshift.
- Structural Error (C) had review: Requires the past participle (“reviewed”).
- Strong Distractor (D) reviewed: Past Simple lacks the proper backshift rule from Present Perfect.
15 (C)
- Correct (C) before: Time markers representing the past shift. “Ago” becomes “before” or “previously”.
- Common Mistake (A) ago: Forgetting to shift the time marker.
- Structural Error (B) since: Grammatically incorrect usage in this position.
- Strong Distractor (D) later: Shifts the time forward instead of backward.
16 (A)
- Correct (A) could / that day: The modal “can” shifts to “could”, and “today” shifts to “that day”.
- Common Mistake (B) can / today: Forgetting to shift both the verb and the time word.
- Structural Error (C) could / today: Half-shifted; forgot to change “today”.
- Strong Distractor (D) would / that day: Wrong modal verb (“would” instead of “could”).
17 (B)
- Correct (B) they had spent: Wh- question reporting requires statement word order (Subject + Verb) and a tense backshift (Past Simple -> Past Perfect).
- Common Mistake (A) did they spend: Keeping the question word order and the auxiliary “did”.
- Structural Error (C) had they spent: Correct tense but incorrect question word order.
- Strong Distractor (D) they spend: Statement word order but wrong tense.
18 (C)
- Correct (C) to update: The verb “advise” follows the pattern: advise + object + to + base verb.
- Common Mistake (A) update: Missing the “to” infinitive.
- Structural Error (B) that we updating: Grammatically invalid.
- Strong Distractor (D) updating: “Suggest” takes a gerund (suggest updating), but “advise someone” takes the infinitive (advise us to update).
19 (D)
- Correct (D) those: Demonstrative pronouns shift. Plural “these” becomes “those”.
- Common Mistake (A) these: Forgetting to shift the demonstrative word.
- Structural Error (B) the those: Invalid grammar combination.
- Strong Distractor (C) that: “That” is singular, but “projects” is plural.
20 (A)
- Correct (A) you were / the following day: Question reporting needs statement word order (“you were”), and “tomorrow” shifts to “the following day”.
- Common Mistake (B) were you / tomorrow: Kept the question word order and forgot to shift the time word.
- Structural Error (C) you are / the next day: Forgot to backshift the tense (“are” to “were”).
- Strong Distractor (D) you was / yesterday: “You” requires “were”, not “was”, and “yesterday” is the wrong time shift for “tomorrow”.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When relaying official information or instructions in an office environment, we use Reported Speech to sound professional and objective. Because the boss’s words were spoken in the past, everything must take one step backward in time. This is called Backshifting.
1 The “Step Back in Time” Rule (Tense Shifts):
- Present Simple → Past Simple (“We need a plan” → He said we needed a plan).
- Present Continuous → Past Continuous (“We are changing it” → She said they were changing it).
- Past Simple → Past Perfect (“We lost money” → He said we had lost money).
- Present Perfect → Past Perfect (“I have finished” → She said she had finished).
2 Modal Verb Shifts:
- Will → Would
- Can → Could
- Must → Had to
3 Reporting Office Commands & Advice:
Bosses give a lot of orders. Do not use standard tense backshifting for commands. Use the To-Infinitive structure:
- Positive Command: instructed / told / advised + Object + to + Verb (He instructed us to submit reports).
- Negative Command: warned / told + Object + not to + Verb (She warned us not to share passwords).
4 Shifting Time & Place Words:
Because the meeting is over, the time and place vocabulary must adapt:
- Tomorrow → The next day / The following day
- Today → That day
- Here → There
- These → Those
5 Reporting Questions:
When you report a question the boss asked, it is no longer a question. It becomes a normal statement. You must use Subject + Verb word order.
- Direct: “Are you ready?”
- Reported: He asked if we were ready. (NOT: if were we ready).