Reported Speech – English Grammar Exercises for B1

1 (A)

• Correct (A) was heading: The direct speech (“A storm is heading”) backshifts from Present Continuous to Past Continuous in reported speech.
• Common Mistake (B) is heading: Forgetting to backshift the tense.
• Structural Error (C) had heading: Grammatically invalid combination.
• Strong Distractor (D) has headed: Present perfect changes the meaning from an approaching storm to a completed action.

2 (A)

• Correct (A) would rain: The future prediction (“It will rain”) backshifts to “would rain”.
• Common Mistake (B) will rain: Failing to backshift the modal “will”.
• Structural Error (C) would raining: “Would” must be followed by a bare infinitive, not an “-ing” form.
• Strong Distractor (D) rains: Present simple changes the meaning to a general fact rather than a specific forecast.

3 (A)

• Correct (A) didn’t want: Present Simple (“I don’t want”) backshifts to Past Simple (“she didn’t want”).
• Common Mistake (B) doesn’t want: Failing to apply the backshift rule.
• Structural Error (D) wasn’t wanting: “Want” is a stative verb and shouldn’t be used in continuous tenses.
• Strong Distractor (C) hasn’t wanted: Present perfect does not follow the backshifting rule from present simple.

4 (A)

• Correct (A) would be: The future auxiliary “will be” backshifts to “would be”.
• Common Mistake (B) will be: Keeping the direct speech “will”.
• Structural Error (D) would been: “Would” must be followed by the base verb “be”.
• Strong Distractor (C) are: Does not fit the future context “by tomorrow morning”.

5 (A)

• Correct (A) if he had cancelled: To report a Yes/No question (“Have you cancelled…?”), use if/whether + Statement Word Order (Subject + Verb) + Backshifted Tense (Past Perfect).
• Common Mistake (B) had he cancelled: Kept the question word order (verb before subject).
• Structural Error (C) that he cancelled: You cannot use “that” to report a question.
• Strong Distractor (D) if he has cancelled: Statement word order is correct, but failed to backshift the tense.

6 (A)

• Correct (A) to stay: To report advice or commands, use the structure: advised + object + to + base verb.
• Common Mistake (B) stay: Using the direct imperative form without “to”.
• Structural Error (C) that we staying: Grammatically invalid.
• Strong Distractor (D) staying: Some verbs take gerunds, but “advise someone” requires the “to-infinitive”.

7 (A)

• Correct (A) 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 (B) were we planning: Keeping the original question word order.
• Structural Error (C) did we plan: Incorrect tense and uses question word order.
• Strong Distractor (D) we are planning: Statement word order is correct, but failed to backshift.

8 (A)

• Correct (A) had dropped: The Present Perfect (“The temperature has dropped”) backshifts to the Past Perfect (“had dropped”).
• Common Mistake (B) has dropped: Forgetting to backshift the tense.
• Structural Error (C) dropped: Past Simple lacks the proper backshift rule from Present Perfect.
• Strong Distractor (D) would drop: Changes the meaning from an action that already happened to a future prediction.

9 (A)

• Correct (A) would call: The direct promise/intention (“I will call”) shifts to “would call”.
• Common Mistake (B) will call: Failing to backshift.
• Structural Error (C) called: Changes the meaning to a past event rather than a stated intention.
• Strong Distractor (D) am calling: Present continuous is incorrect for reported speech backshifting here.

10 (A)

• Correct (A) had bought: The Past Simple (“I bought a surfboard”) backshifts to the Past Perfect (“he had bought“).
• Common Mistake (B) has bought: Present perfect is incorrect in reported speech when the reporting verb is in the past.
• Structural Error (D) had buy: Requires the past participle (“bought”).
• Strong Distractor (C) buys: Present Simple is completely wrong for a completed past action.

11 (A)

• Correct (A) not to swim: To report a negative warning, use: warned + object + not to + base verb.
• Common Mistake (B) don’t swim: Keeping the direct negative imperative inside a reported sentence.
• Structural Error (D) to not swimming: Wrong word order and wrong verb form (gerund).
• Strong Distractor (C) didn’t swim: Looks like a past tense backshift, but warnings require the infinitive structure, not a clause.

12 (A)

• Correct (A) had seen / the day before: The Past Simple “did you see” backshifts to Past Perfect “had seen”. The time marker “yesterday” shifts to “the day before”.
• Common Mistake (B) saw / yesterday: Forgetting to shift both the verb and the time word.
• Structural Error (D) had seen / yesterday: Half-shifted; forgot to change the time marker.
• Strong Distractor (C) has seen / the previous day: Half-shifted; failed to backshift the verb to past perfect.

13 (A)

• Correct (A) were expecting: Present Continuous (“we are expecting”) backshifts to Past Continuous (“they were expecting”).
• Common Mistake (B) are expecting: Failing to backshift the tense.
• Structural Error (D) expecting: Missing the auxiliary verb “were”.
• Strong Distractor (C) have expected: Present Perfect changes the continuous aspect of the original statement.

14 (A)

• Correct (A) was approaching: Present Continuous (“is approaching”) backshifts to Past Continuous (“was approaching”).
• Common Mistake (B) is approaching: Forgetting to backshift.
• Structural Error (C) had approach: Requires the past participle, and changes the continuous meaning.
• Strong Distractor (D) approach: Incorrect subject-verb agreement and lacks backshifting.

15 (A)

• Correct (A) was: Present Simple (“My summer is ruined”) backshifts to Past Simple (“was ruined”).
• Common Mistake (B) is: Failing to apply the backshift rule.
• Structural Error (D) had being: Grammatically invalid.
• Strong Distractor (C) has been: Present perfect does not follow the backshift rule.

16 (A)

• Correct (A) whether: To report a Yes/No question (“Can we get a refund?”), we use “if” or “whether”.
• Common Mistake (B) that: You cannot use “that” to report a question.
• Structural Error (D) did: “Did” creates a direct question, not an embedded reported clause.
• Strong Distractor (C) unless: “Unless” means “if not” and completely changes the logic of the sentence.

17 (A)

• Correct (A) didn’t give: The Present Simple (“The hotel doesn’t give refunds”) backshifts to the Past Simple (“didn’t give”).
• Common Mistake (B) doesn’t give: Failing to backshift from present simple.
• Structural Error (C) hasn’t given: Present perfect is incorrect.
• Strong Distractor (D) wasn’t giving: Past Continuous changes the meaning from a general hotel policy to a temporary action.

18 (A)

• Correct (A) why: When reporting a Wh- question (“Why are you still packing?”), you simply use the Wh- word followed by statement word order.
• Common Mistake (B) because: “Because” is used to answer questions, not to report them.
• Structural Error (C) that why: You cannot put “that” before a question word in reported speech.
• Strong Distractor (D) for what: Clunky and unnatural compared to “why”.

19 (A)

• Correct (A) had decided: Past Simple or Present Perfect (“We decided / We have decided“) backshifts to Past Perfect (“we had decided“).
• Common Mistake (B) have decided: Failing to backshift the tense.
• Structural Error (D) had decide: Requires the past participle (“decided”).
• Strong Distractor (C) decide: Present Simple is completely wrong for a past decision.

20 (A)

• Correct (A) would bring: The future promise (“I will bring”) backshifts to “would bring”.
• Common Mistake (B) will bring: Failing to backshift the modal.
• Structural Error (D) brings: Present simple is incorrect.
• Strong Distractor (C) brought: Changes the meaning from a future promise to a completed past action.

When your group is debating a plan and you need to justify cancelling it, using Reported Speech allows you to bring in outside authority (like the news or a meteorologist). It proves you aren’t just making things up; you are relying on facts.

1 The “Step Back in Time” Rule (Backshifting Tenses):

Because the news report was broadcast in the past, everything they said must take one step backward in time.

• Present Continuous → Past Continuous: “A storm is coming” → The news said a storm was coming.
• Present Perfect → Past Perfect: “The temperature has dropped” → He explained it had dropped.
• Future (Will) → Would: “It will rain” → They announced it would rain.

2 Reporting Warnings & Advice:

Weather forecasters rarely just give facts; they give instructions. Use the To-Infinitive structure to report these:

• Advised + Object + to + Verb: They advised us to stay home.
• Warned + Object + not to + Verb: They warned tourists not to swim.

3 Reporting Questions:

When a friend asks a question, and you report it later, it is no longer a question. It becomes a normal sentence. You must use Subject + Verb word order. Never keep the question word order (Verb + Subject).

• Incorrect: She asked where were we going.
• Correct: She asked where we were going.
• For Yes/No questions (like “Did you cancel it?”), add if or whether. (I asked Mark if he had cancelled it).