Reported Speech Quiz

In the sentence - Tom said, "I am going to the store," - which part is the direct speech?

• Tom said

• I am going to the store

• going to the store

• Tom said I am going

Answer explanation

The direct speech in the sentence is the part that conveys what Tom is saying. In this case, "I am going to the store" is the exact words spoken by Tom, making it the correct choice.

Which punctuation mark is used to introduce direct speech?

• Period (.)

• Comma (,)

• Semicolon (;)

• Question mark (?)

Answer explanation

The comma (,) is used to introduce direct speech, separating the speaker's words from the rest of the sentence. For example: He said, "Hello." Other punctuation marks do not serve this purpose.

What is the reported speech version of

Mary said, "I love chocolate"?

• Mary said she loves chocolate

• Mary said I love chocolate

• Mary said she loved chocolate

• Mary said she is loving chocolate

Answer explanation

In reported speech, the present tense 'love' changes to the past tense 'loved' when reporting what Mary said. Therefore, the correct version is 'Mary said she loved chocolate.'

The sentence - He asked, "What time is it?" - in reported speech becomes:

• He asked what time is it

• He asked what time it was

• He asked what was the time

• He asked what time was it

Answer explanation

In reported speech, questions are typically transformed into statements. The correct form is 'He asked what time it was' because 'was' is the past tense of 'is', aligning with the reporting verb 'asked'.

In the sentence - The teacher said that the Earth revolves around the Sun, - the word 'that':

• Can be omitted

• Must always be included

• Should never be used

• Changes the meaning of the sentence

Answer explanation

In the sentence, 'that' is a conjunction introducing a noun clause. It can be omitted without changing the meaning, making 'The teacher said the Earth revolves around the Sun' still correct.

"I will finish it tomorrow," John promised.

In reported speech, 'tomorrow' changes to:

• that day

• yesterday

• today

• the next day

Answer explanation

In reported speech, time expressions change. 'Tomorrow' refers to the day after today, so it changes to 'the next day' to reflect the new context of the statement.

How would you report: "I have never been to Paris," she said.

• She said she had never been to Paris

• She said I had never been to Paris

• She said she has never been to Paris

• She said she never went to Paris

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'She said she had never been to Paris' because it accurately reflects the past perfect tense used in the original statement, indicating that the action of never visiting Paris occurred before another past time.

Which sentence correctly reports: "Are you coming to the party?" asked Tom.

• Tom asked was I coming to the party

• Tom asked am I coming to the party

• Tom asked if I was coming to the party

• Tom asked do I come to the party

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'Tom asked if I was coming to the party' because it accurately transforms the direct question into reported speech, using 'if' and the past tense 'was' to reflect the original question.

"Don't touch the wire!" the electrician warned.

Choose the correct reported speech:

• The electrician warned to not touch the wire

• The electrician warned not to touch the wire

• The electrician warned that don't touch the wire

• The electrician warned about touching the wire

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'The electrician warned not to touch the wire' because it accurately reflects the original warning in reported speech without altering the meaning or structure.

What changes in reported speech when the direct speech is a universal truth?

• The tense must change

• The tense remains the same

• The pronouns don't change

• The sentence structure changes completely

Answer explanation

In reported speech, universal truths remain unchanged in tense because they are always valid. Therefore, the correct choice is that the tense remains the same.