Reported Speech – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You just had a meeting with Professor Davis regarding your group’s final research project. You are now talking to your group mates, summarizing his strict instructions and academic rules. You must report his words accurately so that the group doesn’t lose any points! Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “Listen up, guys. I just met with Professor Davis. He said that our current research topic ______ way too broad.”
(A) is
(B) be
(C) was
(D) had been
2 “He looked at our initial outline and explicitly told me that ______ needed to rewrite the entire introduction.”
(A) we
(B) you
(C) us
(D) they
3 “He was very strict about the references. He emphasized that we ______ use at least ten peer-reviewed academic sources.”
(A) must
(B) must to
(C) ought to
(D) had to
4 “Also, do not submit this late! He warned me that he ______ accept any late submissions under any circumstances.”
(A) wouldn’t
(B) won’t
(C) didn’t
(D) wouldn’t to
5 “When I asked him to confirm the deadline, he ______ me that it was strictly next Friday at 5 PM.”
(A) said
(B) explained
(C) told
(D) spoke
6 “He noticed our document formatting and pointed out that we ______ the wrong citation style.”
(A) were using
(B) are using
(C) had using
(D) used
7 “He was quite disappointed because he said that we ______ the main instruction sheet he gave us last month.”
(A) ignored
(B) had ignore
(C) have ignored
(D) had ignored
8 “He wants to check our progress soon. He told me to submit the first draft by ______ at the latest.”
(A) tomorrow
(B) the next day
(C) yesterday
(D) the tomorrow
9 “I begged for a word count extension, but he said that he ______ give us one because it wouldn’t be fair to others.”
(A) shouldn’t
(B) can’t
(C) couldn’t
(D) didn’t could
10 “He checked our bibliography and told me that we ______ Wikipedia too many times.”
(A) had cited
(B) have cited
(C) cited
(D) had citing
11 “I asked him ______ include personal interviews in our research data.”
(A) could we
(B) if we could
(C) that we could
(D) if could we
12 “He looked at our survey plan and asked me where ______ to find the target demographic.”
(A) were we planning
(B) we are planning
(C) did we plan
(D) we were planning
13 “He is absolutely ruthless about plagiarism. He warned us ______ copy anything directly from the internet.”
(A) don’t
(B) not to
(C) didn’t
(D) to not to
14 “He pointed at the printed graph I brought and said that ______ specific chart was confusing.”
(A) this
(B) the this
(C) that
(D) those
15 “To get a better grade, he advised ______ the methodology section completely before the final submission.”
(A) us rewrite
(B) us to rewrite
(C) to us to rewrite
(D) that we rewriting
16 “I asked if we needed to print a hard copy. He said we ______ submit a digital PDF instead to save paper.”
(A) should
(B) shall
(C) had to
(D) should to
17 “He told me to bring the final printed signed cover page to his office and leave it ______ on his desk.”
(A) somewhere
(B) here
(C) at here
(D) there
18 “He seemed annoyed and asked me ______ taking our group so long to collect the survey results.”
(A) why was it
(B) why did it
(C) why it was
(D) why it is
19 “He also complained that our team members ______ attention during his previous lectures on research methods.”
(A) aren’t paying
(B) hadn’t been paying
(C) wasn’t paying
(D) haven’t paid
20 “Finally, as I was leaving, he reminded ______ double-check all the spelling and grammar before submitting.”
(A) us to
(B) we
(C) us that
(D) to us to
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C)
- Correct (C) was: The professor’s direct speech was “Your topic is too broad.” In reported speech, the present simple “is” backshifts to the past simple “was”.
- Common Mistake (A) is: Forgetting to backshift the tense.
- Structural Error (B) be: Incorrect verb conjugation.
- Strong Distractor (D) had been: Overshifting. Past perfect is only used if the original direct speech was in the past simple or present perfect.
2 (A)
- Correct (A) we: The professor originally said “You need to rewrite…” Since the student is reporting this to the group, “you” (plural) must shift to “we” to match the current perspective.
- Common Mistake (B) you: Forgetting to shift the pronoun, which makes it sound like only the listeners have to do it, excluding the speaker.
- Structural Error (C) us: “Us” is an object pronoun, but a subject pronoun is needed here.
- Strong Distractor (D) they: Wrong perspective. “They” refers to a completely different group of people.
3 (D)
- Correct (D) had to: The modal verb “must” (expressing obligation) backshifts to “had to” in reported speech.
- Common Mistake (A) must: Failing to backshift the modal verb.
- Structural Error (B) must to: “Must” is never followed by “to”.
- Strong Distractor (C) ought to: Changes the meaning entirely from a strict academic rule (must) to a gentle recommendation (ought to).
4 (A)
- Correct (A) wouldn’t: The future auxiliary “will” (or “won’t”) backshifts to “would” (or “wouldn’t”).
- Common Mistake (B) won’t: Forgetting to backshift.
- Structural Error (D) wouldn’t to: “Would” must be followed by a bare infinitive, not “to”.
- Strong Distractor (C) didn’t: Changes the meaning from a future refusal to a past action.
5 (C)
- Correct (C) told: The reporting verb “tell” must be followed directly by an object pronoun (“me”).
- Common Mistake (A) said: “Said” cannot be followed directly by an object (it must be “said to me”).
- Structural Error (D) spoke: You cannot “speak me that…”.
- Strong Distractor (B) explained: “Explain” requires the preposition “to” before the object (“explained to me”).
6 (A)
- Correct (A) were using: The Present Continuous (“You are using”) backshifts to the Past Continuous (“we were using”).
- Common Mistake (B) are using: No backshift applied.
- Structural Error (C) had using: Grammatically invalid structure.
- Strong Distractor (D) used: Past simple loses the continuous nature of the action (an ongoing mistake in their document).
7 (D)
- Correct (D) had ignored: The Past Simple (“You ignored”) backshifts to the Past Perfect (“we had ignored”).
- Common Mistake (A) ignored: Failing to backshift from past simple to past perfect.
- Structural Error (B) had ignore: Requires the past participle (“ignored”).
- Strong Distractor (C) have ignored: Present perfect does not follow the standard backshifting rule in reported speech.
8 (B)
- Correct (B) the next day: Time expressions change in reported speech. “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 this current conversation, not the day after the meeting.
- Structural Error (D) the tomorrow: Grammatically invalid phrase.
- Strong Distractor (C) yesterday: Shifts the time backward instead of forward.
9 (C)
- Correct (C) couldn’t: The modal “can’t” backshifts to “couldn’t”.
- Common Mistake (B) can’t: Forgetting to backshift.
- Structural Error (D) didn’t could: You cannot use “didn’t” to negate a modal verb.
- Strong Distractor (A) shouldn’t: Changes the meaning from “inability” to “advice/duty”.
10 (A)
- Correct (A) had cited: The Present Perfect (“You have cited”) backshifts to the Past Perfect (“we had cited”).
- Common Mistake (B) have cited: Forgetting to backshift the tense.
- Structural Error (D) had citing: Requires the past participle (“cited”), not a gerund.
- Strong Distractor (C) cited: Past Simple lacks the proper backshift connection from Present Perfect.
11 (B)
- Correct (B) if we could: To report a Yes/No question (“Can we include…?”), use “if” (or whether) + Statement Word Order (Subject + Verb) + Backshifted Modal (“could”).
- Common Mistake (A) could we: Kept the question word order (verb before subject).
- Structural Error (D) if could we: Double error of using “if” but keeping the inverted word order.
- Strong Distractor (C) that we could: You cannot use “that” to report a question.
12 (D)
- Correct (D) we were planning: When reporting a Wh- question (“Where are you planning…?”), keep the Wh- word, use statement word order, and backshift the tense (are -> were).
- Common Mistake (A) were we planning: Keeping the original question word order.
- Structural Error (C) did we plan: Question word order and incorrect tense shift.
- Strong Distractor (B) we are planning: Statement word order is correct, but failed to backshift the tense.
13 (B)
- Correct (B) not to: To report a negative command or warning (“Do not copy”), use the structure: warned + object + not to + base verb.
- Common Mistake (A) don’t: Keeping the direct negative imperative inside a reported sentence.
- Structural Error (D) to not to: Grammatically redundant and incorrect.
- Strong Distractor (C) didn’t: Looks like a past tense backshift, but commands require the infinitive structure, not a past tense clause.
14 (C)
- Correct (C) that: Demonstrative pronouns shift in reported speech. “This” becomes “that”.
- Common Mistake (A) this: Forgetting to shift the demonstrative word.
- Structural Error (B) the this: Invalid grammar combination.
- Strong Distractor (D) those: “Those” is plural, but “chart” is singular.
15 (B)
- Correct (B) us to rewrite: The reporting verb “advise” follows the pattern: advise + object + to + base verb.
- Common Mistake (A) us rewrite: Missing the “to” infinitive.
- Structural Error (C) to us to rewrite: You do not use “to” before the object of “advise”.
- Strong Distractor (D) that we rewriting: Grammatically invalid structure.
16 (A)
- Correct (A) should: The modal verb “should” (giving advice) does not backshift in reported speech. It remains “should”.
- Common Mistake (B) shall: Incorrect modal shift.
- Structural Error (D) should to: Modals are followed by a bare infinitive, never “to”.
- Strong Distractor (C) had to: “Had to” is the past of “must”. Changing it to “had to” alters the professor’s tone from advice/recommendation to strict obligation.
17 (D)
- Correct (D) there: Place markers change in reported speech. The professor said “Leave it here.” When reporting it elsewhere, “here” becomes “there”.
- Common Mistake (B) here: Forgetting to change the place marker.
- Structural Error (C) at here: We do not use the preposition “at” before “here/there”.
- Strong Distractor (A) somewhere: Changes the meaning. He specified his desk, not a random location.
18 (C)
- Correct (C) why it was: For an embedded question (“Why is it taking…”), use the Wh- word, switch to statement word order (“it was”), and backshift the verb.
- Common Mistake (A) why was it: Keeping the question word order (verb before subject).
- Structural Error (B) why did it: Incorrect auxiliary usage for continuous tense.
- Strong Distractor (D) why it is: Word order is correct, but failed to backshift.
19 (B)
- Correct (B) hadn’t been paying: The Past Continuous (“You were not paying”) backshifts to the Past Perfect Continuous (“we hadn’t been paying”).
- Common Mistake (A) aren’t paying: Failing to backshift the tense.
- Structural Error (C) wasn’t paying: “Members” is plural, so “wasn’t” is incorrect.
- Strong Distractor (D) haven’t paid: Present Perfect is incorrect here.
20 (A)
- Correct (A) us to: “Remind” follows the pattern: remind + object + to + base verb.
- Common Mistake (B) we: Missing the object pronoun (“us”).
- Structural Error (D) to us to: You do not put “to” before the object of “remind”.
- Strong Distractor (C) us that: Leaves the sentence incomplete. If you use “that”, you need a full subject and verb clause (e.g., “…reminded us that we needed to double-check”).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When working in a group, accuracy is critical. If you misreport the professor’s instructions, your team could fail! Reported Speech is the grammatical tool you use to transfer the professor’s past authority into your current group discussion.
1 The “Step Back in Time” Rule (Backshifting Tenses):
Because the professor spoke in the past, everything he said must take one step backward in time.
- Present Simple → Past Simple: “Your topic is bad” → He said our topic was bad.
- Present Continuous → Past Continuous: “You are using the wrong font” → He said we were using the wrong font.
- Past Simple → Past Perfect: “You ignored the rules” → He said we had ignored the rules.
- Present Perfect → Past Perfect: “You have cited Wikipedia” → He said we had cited Wikipedia.
2 Modal Verb Shifts (The Rules of Obligation):
- Will → Would (Future promises/refusals)
- Can → Could (Ability/Permission)
- Must → Had to (Strict obligation – very common for professors!)
- Note: Should, could, and might do not change.
3 Reporting Commands, Warnings & Advice:
Professors give a lot of orders. Do not use standard tense backshifting for commands. Use the To-Infinitive structure:
- Positive Command: advised / instructed / reminded + Object + to + Verb (He reminded us to check our spelling).
- Negative Command: warned / told + Object + not to + Verb (He warned us not to copy from the internet).
4 Reporting Questions:
When you report a question the professor asked, it is no longer a question. It becomes an affirmative statement. You must use Subject + Verb word order. Never keep the question word order (Verb + Subject).
- Incorrect: He asked where were we planning to go.
- Correct: He asked where we were planning to go.