Reported Speech – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are writing a 1-star review on a travel website. You are extremely disappointed with your recent hotel stay. You are using Reported Speech to quote the false promises made by the hotel’s website and staff, contrasting them with the terrible reality using the word “but”. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “The hotel’s website claimed that the resort ______ a five-star luxury experience, but it looked like a cheap motel!”
(A) is
(B) was
(C) be
(D) has been
2 “When I arrived, the receptionist told me that the cleaning staff ______ my room, but I had to wait in the lobby for two hours!”
(A) are cleaning
(B) were cleaning
(C) had cleaning
(D) was cleaning
3 “I complained about the broken air conditioner. The manager promised that someone ______ it immediately, but nobody ever came.”
(A) will fix
(B) would fix
(C) fixes
(D) would fixed
4 “The online brochure stated that all guests ______ the spa facilities for free, but they charged us $50 at the door!”
(A) can use
(B) could using
(C) could use
(D) can used
5 “The staff assured us that the chef ______ a special welcome dinner for us, but we only got cold, stale sandwiches.”
(A) had prepared
(B) has prepared
(C) prepares
(D) had prepare
6 “I called the front desk for extra towels, and the maid told me that ______ would bring them right away, but she never returned.”
(A) I
(B) she
(C) they
(D) you
7 “The manager apologized for the loud construction noise and assured me it would finish ______, but it continued for the rest of the week!”
(A) tomorrow
(B) yesterday
(C) the next day
(D) the tomorrow
8 “The advertisement said there was a beautiful, private beach right ______, but we had to take a 30-minute bus ride to see the ocean!”
(A) here
(B) this place
(C) there
(D) at there
9 “When I got angry about the extra fees, the manager aggressively told ______ my voice, even though I was speaking normally!”
(A) me not to raise
(B) me don’t raise
(C) to me not to raise
(D) that I didn’t raise
10 “Before booking, I called and asked ______ included in the price, and they said yes. At checkout, they billed me $40 for eggs!”
(A) that breakfast was
(B) was breakfast
(C) if breakfast was
(D) if was breakfast
11 “When they lost my suitcase, I angrily asked the bellboy where ______, but he just ignored me!”
(A) my luggage was
(B) was my luggage
(C) is my luggage
(D) my luggage is
12 “The booking email stated that we ______ pay a small security deposit, but they blocked $500 on my credit card!”
(A) must
(B) had to
(C) must to
(D) should
13 “The housekeeper claimed that she ______ the bathroom before our arrival, but there was hair in the sink!”
(A) cleaned
(B) has cleaned
(C) had cleaned
(D) had clean
14 “The receptionist proudly said that ______ gym was state-of-the-art, but half of the treadmills were completely broken.”
(A) our
(B) my
(C) their
(D) his
15 “The booking agent ______ the sea view from the balcony was amazing, but my window faced a dirty brick wall!”
(A) said me
(B) told me
(C) told to me
(D) asked me
16 “I went to the lobby and asked the staff why ______ working, and they rudely told me to use my own mobile data.”
(A) the Wi-Fi wasn’t
(B) wasn’t the Wi-Fi
(C) the Wi-Fi isn’t
(D) isn’t the Wi-Fi
17 “Because of the terrible smell, I politely requested the staff ______ my room, but they flatly refused.”
(A) change
(B) changing
(C) to change
(D) that they changing
18 “The manager lied and said the pool had been closed ______, but I talked to another guest who said it had been empty for a month!”
(A) yesterday
(B) the day before
(C) ago
(D) previous day
19 “They swore that a technician ______ repair the TV that evening, but I spent my whole vacation staring at a blank screen.”
(A) is going to
(B) goes to
(C) was going to
(D) went to
20 “They initially offered a room upgrade, but later told me that they ______ any available suites left.”
(A) don’t have
(B) didn’t have
(C) hadn’t had
(D) didn’t had
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B)
- Correct (B) was: The direct speech (“The resort is a luxury experience”) backshifts from Present Simple to Past Simple in reported speech.
- Common Mistake (A) is: Forgetting to backshift the tense.
- Structural Error (C) be: Incorrect verb conjugation.
- Strong Distractor (D) has been: Present perfect does not follow the standard backshifting rule here.
2 (B)
- Correct (B) were cleaning: Present Continuous (“The staff are cleaning“) backshifts to Past Continuous (“were cleaning”). “Staff” can take a plural verb.
- Common Mistake (A) are cleaning: Failing to backshift the auxiliary verb.
- Structural Error (C) had cleaning: Grammatically invalid structure.
- Strong Distractor (D) was cleaning: While “staff” can sometimes be singular, “were cleaning” is preferred for a group of workers, but mainly (A) is the trap.
3 (B)
- Correct (B) would fix: The future promise (“Someone will fix it”) shifts to “would fix”.
- Common Mistake (A) will fix: Forgetting to shift “will”.
- Structural Error (D) would fixed: “Would” must be followed by a bare infinitive, not a past tense verb.
- Strong Distractor (C) fixes: Changes the meaning to a present routine rather than a promise.
4 (C)
- Correct (C) could use: The modal verb “can” (permission/ability) backshifts to “could”.
- Common Mistake (A) can use: Failing to backshift.
- Structural Error (B) could using: Modals are followed by the base form, not gerunds.
- Strong Distractor (D) can used: Grammatically incorrect combination.
5 (A)
- Correct (A) had prepared: The Present Perfect (“The chef has prepared“) backshifts to the Past Perfect (“had prepared”).
- Common Mistake (B) has prepared: Failing to backshift the auxiliary verb.
- Structural Error (D) had prepare: Requires the past participle (“prepared”).
- Strong Distractor (C) prepares: Present Simple lacks the proper meaning and backshift.
6 (B)
- Correct (B) she: The maid originally said, “I will bring them.” When reporting, you must change “I” to “she” to refer to the maid.
- Common Mistake (A) I: Forgetting to change the perspective. It sounds like you promised to bring the towels.
- Structural Error (D) you: Incorrect pronoun perspective.
- Strong Distractor (C) they: The maid is a singular female (“she”), not plural.
7 (C)
- Correct (C) the next day: Time expressions must shift 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 you write the review.
- Structural Error (D) the tomorrow: Grammatically invalid phrase.
- Strong Distractor (B) yesterday: Shifts the time backward instead of forward.
8 (C)
- Correct (C) there: Place words change in reported speech. “Here” becomes “there”.
- Common Mistake (A) here: Forgetting to shift the location word.
- Structural Error (D) at there: The preposition “at” is not used before “there”.
- Strong Distractor (B) this place: Too informal and incorrect.
9 (A)
- Correct (A) me not to raise: To report a negative command (“Don’t raise your voice”), use: told + object + not to + base verb.
- Common Mistake (B) me don’t raise: Keeping the direct negative imperative inside a reported sentence.
- Structural Error (C) to me not to raise: You do not use “to” after the verb “tell”.
- Strong Distractor (D) that I didn’t raise: Looks like a past tense backshift, but commands require the infinitive structure.
10 (C)
- Correct (C) if breakfast was: To report a Yes/No question (“Is breakfast included?”), use if/whether + Statement Word Order (Subject + Verb) + Backshifted Tense.
- Common Mistake (B) was breakfast: Kept the question word order (verb before subject).
- Structural Error (A) that breakfast was: You cannot use “that” to report a question.
- Strong Distractor (D) if was breakfast: Double error: used “if” but kept the inverted word order.
11 (A)
- Correct (A) my luggage was: When reporting a Wh- question (“Where is my luggage?”), keep the Wh- word, use statement word order, and backshift the tense (“is” -> “was”).
- Common Mistake (B) was my luggage: Keeping the original question word order.
- Structural Error (C) is my luggage: Question word order and failed to backshift.
- Strong Distractor (D) my luggage is: Statement word order is correct, but failed to backshift.
12 (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 payment requirement to a recommendation.
13 (C)
- Correct (C) had cleaned: The Past Simple (“I cleaned”) backshifts to the Past Perfect (“she had cleaned”).
- Common Mistake (A) cleaned: Failing to backshift from Past Simple to Past Perfect.
- Structural Error (D) had clean: Requires the past participle (“cleaned”).
- Strong Distractor (B) has cleaned: Present perfect does not follow the backshifting rule.
14 (C)
- Correct (C) their: The receptionist said “Our gym.” When writing your review, you must shift “our” to “their” to refer to the hotel’s gym.
- Common Mistake (A) our: Forgetting to change the pronoun. It sounds like you own the gym.
- Structural Error (B) my: Wrong perspective.
- Strong Distractor (D) his: A hotel is generally referred to as an entity (“its” or “their”), not a single man (“his”).
15 (B)
- Correct (B) told me: The reporting verb “tell” must be followed directly by an object pronoun (“me”).
- Common Mistake (A) said me: “Said” cannot be followed directly by an object without “to” (e.g., “said to me”).
- Structural Error (C) told to me: We do not use “to” after “tell”.
- Strong Distractor (D) asked me: The agent is making a statement, not asking a question.
16 (A)
- Correct (A) the Wi-Fi wasn’t: For an embedded/reported Wh- question (“Why isn’t the Wi-Fi working?”), switch to statement word order (“the Wi-Fi wasn’t”) and backshift the verb.
- Common Mistake (B) wasn’t the Wi-Fi: Keeping the question word order and auxiliary inversion.
- Structural Error (D) isn’t the Wi-Fi: Question word order and no backshift.
- Strong Distractor (C) the Wi-Fi isn’t: Word order is correct, but failed to backshift.
17 (C)
- Correct (C) to change: The verb “request” follows the pattern: request + object + to + base verb.
- Common Mistake (A) change: Missing the “to” infinitive.
- Structural Error (B) changing: Using the gerund instead of the infinitive.
- Strong Distractor (D) that they changing: Grammatically invalid structure.
18 (B)
- Correct (B) the day before: Time markers representing the past shift in reported speech. “Yesterday” becomes “the day before” or “the previous day”.
- Common Mistake (A) yesterday: Forgetting to shift the time marker.
- Structural Error (D) previous day: Missing the article “the”.
- Strong Distractor (C) ago: “Ago” shifts to “before”, but cannot replace “yesterday”.
19 (C)
- Correct (C) was going to: The “be going to” future structure backshifts from “is going to” to “was going to”.
- Common Mistake (A) is going to: Failing to backshift the auxiliary verb “is”.
- Structural Error (B) goes to: Changes the meaning entirely.
- Strong Distractor (D) went to: Loses the future-in-the-past intention of the original promise.
20 (B)
- Correct (B) didn’t have: The negative Present Simple (“We don’t have”) backshifts to the negative Past Simple (“they didn’t have”).
- Common Mistake (A) don’t have: Forgetting to backshift.
- Structural Error (D) didn’t had: “Didn’t” must be followed by the base verb (“have”), not the past form.
- Strong Distractor (C) hadn’t had: Over-shifting to past perfect, which is unnecessary for a present simple statement.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When writing a review, one of the most effective ways to express your frustration is to point out the stark contrast between Promises and Reality. To professionally quote what the hotel promised, you must use Reported Speech and apply the rule of Backshifting.
1 Backshifting for Contrast:
When contrasting a past promise with a disappointing reality, you must shift the tense of the original statement one step backward in time.
- Website advertisement: “The pool is free.” → The website said the pool was free, but they charged us!
- Staff’s promise: “I will fix it.” → The manager promised he would fix it, but he didn’t.
- Hotel’s claim: “We have cleaned the room.” → They claimed they had cleaned the room, but it was filthy.
2 Reported Questions:
When you write about asking the staff a question, remember that it is no longer a direct question. You must change it into an affirmative statement using Subject + Verb word order.
- Incorrect: I asked why was the room dirty.
- Correct: I asked why the room was dirty.
3 Shifting Pronouns:
In a review, the staff’s pronouns (“We”, “Our”) must be changed to the third person (“They”, “Their”) to fit your perspective as the reviewer.
- They said: “Our food is great.” → You write: They said their food was great.
4 Say vs. Tell:
This is the most classic mistake when reporting conversations:
- Use Say without an object pronoun: The receptionist said that…
- Use Tell WITH an object pronoun (like me, us, him, her): The receptionist told me that… (Never write “said me”).