Reported Speech – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are confronting a friend or a colleague who promised to help you with an important task but failed to do so. You are holding them accountable by reminding them of their exact words in the past. You must use reported speech to emphasize the contrast between what they promised and what actually happened. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “I am really disappointed in you. Last week, you promised that you ______ me with this difficult report.”
(A) will help
(B) would help
(C) help
(D) would helping
2 “When I asked if you were busy, you told me that you ______ completely free this weekend.”
(A) are
(B) was
(C) were
(D) have been
3 “You looked me in the eye and said that you ______ forget about our important meeting.”
(A) wouldn’t
(B) won’t
(C) didn’t
(D) couldn’t
4 “I had to do everything myself! You promised me that you ______ your part of the project by Friday.”
(A) will finish
(B) had finished
(C) finish
(D) have finished
5 “Why didn’t you show up yesterday? You said you ______ come over to help me paint the room.”
(A) can
(B) will
(C) could
(D) should
6 “You explicitly told me yesterday that you ______ to send the documents to the manager.”
(A) were going
(B) are going
(C) will go
(D) went
7 “This is so unfair. You promised that I ______ have to do all this heavy lifting alone.”
(A) wouldn’t
(B) won’t
(C) haven’t
(D) hadn’t
8 “Where is the equipment? You said you ______ it with you today.”
(A) will bring
(B) would bring
(C) brought
(D) had bring
9 “You assured me that your schedule ______ clear for the whole afternoon.”
(A) is
(B) was
(C) has been
(D) be
10 “We had an agreement. You promised that we ______ the cost of the trip 50/50”
(A) would split
(B) will split
(C) split
(D) are splitting
11 “You lied to me. You swore that you ______ the client already, but they just called me complaining.”
(A) have called
(B) called
(C) had called
(D) had call
12 “I have been waiting at the station for two hours! You said you ______ here by 9 AM.”
(A) will be
(B) are
(C) would be
(D) would been
13 “I trusted you because you promised you ______ me hanging like this.”
(A) wouldn’t leave
(B) won’t leave
(C) didn’t leave
(D) haven’t left
14 “Now the system is broken. You told me you ______ exactly how to fix it!”
(A) know
(B) knew
(C) have known
(D) known
15 “Why did you agree to help if you were busy? You assured me that you ______ enough time.”
(A) have
(B) had
(C) having
(D) had had
16 “I am so stressed right now. You promised that you ______ care of the event catering.”
(A) will take
(B) would take
(C) taking
(D) took
17 “The client is waiting in the lobby. You said the presentation ______ ready by this morning.”
(A) would be
(B) will be
(C) is
(D) be
18 “This is the third time this happens. You told me last month that you ______ any more empty promises.”
(A) wouldn’t make
(B) won’t make
(C) didn’t make
(D) hadn’t make
19 “You promised me that you ______ fully committed to helping me succeed.”
(A) are
(B) was
(C) were
(D) have been
20 “You said you ______ the invitation to everyone, but absolutely nobody received anything!”
(A) sent
(B) had sent
(C) have sent
(D) had send
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B)
- Correct (B) would help: The direct promise was “I will help you.” In reported speech, “will” must backshift to “would”.
- Common Mistake (A) will help: Forgetting to backshift. When you say “You promised that you will help”, it sounds like the promise is for the future, not a broken promise from the past.
- Structural Error (D) would helping: “Would” must be followed by a bare infinitive, not an “-ing” form.
2 (C)
- Correct (C) were: The direct speech (“I am completely free”) backshifts from Present Simple to Past Simple. Because the pronoun is “you”, the correct “to be” verb is “were”.
- Common Mistake (A) are: Failing to backshift the tense.
- Structural Error (B) was: Incorrect subject-verb agreement for the pronoun “you”.
3 (A)
- Correct (A) wouldn’t: The direct speech (“I won’t forget”) backshifts to “wouldn’t forget”.
- Common Mistake (B) won’t: Forgetting to apply the backshift rule.
- Strong Distractor (C) didn’t: Changes the meaning from a future promise to a past action.
4 (B)
- Correct (B) had finished: If the original promise was “I finished my part” (Past Simple) or “I have finished my part” (Present Perfect), it must backshift to Past Perfect (“had finished”).
- Common Mistake (A) will finish: No backshift, and doesn’t fit the context of the deadline (“by Friday”) already passing.
- Structural Error (C) finish: Fails to backshift and uses incorrect present tense.
5 (C)
- Correct (C) could: The modal verb “can” (ability/offer to help) backshifts to “could”.
- Common Mistake (A) can: Failing to backshift.
- Strong Distractor (B) will: While “will” makes sense for a promise, the sentence requires the backshifted form (“would”).
6 (A)
- Correct (A) were going: The “be going to” structure backshifts from Present Continuous (“I am going to”) to Past Continuous (“you were going to”).
- Common Mistake (B) are going: Forgetting to backshift the auxiliary verb “are”.
- Strong Distractor (C) will go: Incorrect structure and no backshift.
7 (A)
- Correct (A) wouldn’t: The future negative “won’t” backshifts to “wouldn’t”.
- Common Mistake (B) won’t: Failing to shift “won’t” to “wouldn’t”.
- Strong Distractor (D) hadn’t: “Hadn’t” cannot be followed by the base verb “have”.
8 (B)
- Correct (B) would bring: The future promise (“I will bring”) shifts to “would bring”.
- Common Mistake (A) will bring: Forgetting to shift “will”.
- Strong Distractor (C) brought: Changes the meaning from a promise about a future action to a statement about a completed action.
9 (B)
- Correct (B) was: Present Simple (“My schedule is clear”) backshifts to Past Simple (“your schedule was clear”).
- Common Mistake (A) is: Failing to backshift the tense.
- Structural Error (D) be: Incorrect verb conjugation.
10 (A)
- Correct (A) would split: “Will split” backshifts to “would split”.
- Common Mistake (B) will split: Failing to backshift from “will” to “would”.
- Strong Distractor (D) are splitting: Does not follow the backshift rules for reported speech promises.
11 (C)
- Correct (C) had called: The direct speech (“I have called the client”) backshifts from Present Perfect to Past Perfect.
- Common Mistake (B) called: The reporter used Past Simple instead of Past Perfect, losing the emphasis that the action was supposedly completed before the conversation.
- Structural Error (D) had call: Requires the past participle (“called”).
12 (C)
- Correct (C) would be: “Will be” backshifts to “would be”.
- Common Mistake (A) will be: Failing to backshift.
- Structural Error (D) would been: “Would” must be followed by a bare infinitive, not “been”.
13 (A)
- Correct (A) wouldn’t leave: The negative promise (“I won’t leave you”) backshifts to “wouldn’t leave”.
- Common Mistake (B) won’t leave: Failing to backshift.
- Strong Distractor (C) didn’t leave: Changes the meaning to a past event rather than a broken promise.
14 (B)
- Correct (B) knew: The direct speech (“I know how to fix it”) backshifts from Present Simple to Past Simple.
- Common Mistake (A) know: Forgetting to backshift.
- Structural Error (D) known: Missing an auxiliary verb.
15 (B)
- Correct (B) had: Present Simple (“I have enough time”) backshifts to Past Simple (“you had enough time”).
- Common Mistake (A) have: Failing to backshift.
- Structural Error (C) having: Incorrect verb form for a reported clause.
16 (B)
- Correct (B) would take: The future auxiliary “will” backshifts to “would”.
- Common Mistake (A) will take: Forgetting to backshift.
- Strong Distractor (D) took: Past Simple loses the meaning of a future intention/promise.
17 (A)
- Correct (A) would be: “Will be ready” backshifts to “would be ready”.
- Common Mistake (B) will be: Failing to backshift.
- Structural Error (D) be: Incorrect verb conjugation.
18 (A)
- Correct (A) wouldn’t make: The negative promise “I won’t make…” backshifts to “you wouldn’t make…”.
- Common Mistake (B) won’t make: Forgetting to backshift the modal.
- Strong Distractor (C) didn’t make: Changes the meaning from a future intention to a past fact.
19 (C)
- Correct (C) were: “I am fully committed” backshifts to “you were fully committed”.
- Common Mistake (A) are: Failing to backshift.
- Structural Error (B) was: Incorrect subject-verb agreement for “you”.
20 (B)
- Correct (B) had sent: Past Simple (“I sent it”) backshifts to Past Perfect (“you had sent it”).
- Common Mistake (A) sent: Failing to backshift from Past Simple to Past Perfect.
- Structural Error (D) had send: Requires the past participle (“sent”).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When someone breaks a promise, you often need to remind them of exactly what they said. Because they made the promise in the past, their original words must take one step backward in time. This is called Backshifting.
Using reported speech with verbs like promised, swore, or assured is the strongest way to hold someone accountable for their words.
1 The “Will → Would” Rule (The core of broken promises):
Most promises are made using the future tense (“I will do it”). When you confront someone later because they failed, “will” must backshift to “would”. This highlights the contrast between their past intention and the current reality.
- Direct Promise: “I will help you.”
- Confrontation: “You promised you would help me!”
2 Other Important Tense Shifts:
- Present Simple → Past Simple: “I am free” → You told me you were free.
- Present Continuous → Past Continuous: “I am going to do it” → You said you were going to do it.
- Past Simple → Past Perfect: “I already sent it” → You swore you had already sent it.
3 Pronoun Shifts in Confrontations:
When confronting someone, the perspective flips. Their original “I” becomes “you” in your reported sentence.
- Direct: “I won’t leave you.”
- Reported: “You promised you wouldn’t leave me.”
4 Reporting Verbs for Promises:
To make your statement stronger, don’t just use “said”. Use these powerful reporting verbs:
- Promised (that): You promised that you would come.
- Swore (that): You swore that you had finished it. (Stronger than promise).
- Assured me (that): You assured me that everything was fine. (Used when they convinced you not to worry).
- Told me (that): You told me that you were ready. (Always use an object pronoun like “me” after told).