Reported Speech Quiz - Grade 8

"I love reading books," Nisa said.

• Nisa said that she loves reading books.

• Nisa said that she loved reading books.

• Nisa said that she had loved reading books.

• Nisa said that she was loving reading books.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'She said that she loved reading books.' This uses the past tense 'loved' to accurately reflect the reported speech, aligning with the original statement's past context.

"Where do you live?" he asked me.

• He asked me where do I live.

• He asked me where I lived.

• He asked me where did I live.

• He asked me where I was lived.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'He asked me where I lived.' because it properly reflects the past tense of the original question. The other options either misuse tense or structure.

"Did you see the movie?" she asked.

• She asked if I saw the movie.

• She asked if I had seen the movie.

• She asked did I see the movie.

• She asked had I seen the movie.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'She asked if I saw the movie.' because it accurately reflects the reported speech format for a yes/no question in the past tense.

"I am going to the mall now," she said.

• She said she is going to the mall now.

• She said she was going to the mall then.

• She said she was going to the mall now.

• She said she went to the mall then.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'She said she was going to the mall then.' because it accurately reflects the change in tense from present to past, aligning with reported speech rules.

"I will call you tomorrow," she said.

• She said she will call me tomorrow.

• She said she would call me the next day.

• She said she called me the next day.

• She said she will call me the next day.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'She said she would call me the next day' because it accurately reflects the future intention expressed in reported speech, changing 'will' to 'would' and 'tomorrow' to 'the next day'.

"We are watching TV," they said.

• They said they were watching TV.

• They said they had watched TV.

• They said they watched TV.

• They said they are watching TV.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'They said they were watching TV' because it accurately reflects the past tense of the original statement, maintaining the meaning while converting direct speech to reported speech.

"Where is my book?" she asked.

• She asked where is her book.

• She asked where was her book.

• She asked where her book was.

• She asked where her book is.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'She asked where her book was.' because the original question is in the past tense, so the reported speech should also reflect that by using 'was' instead of 'is'.

"Do you like coffee?" he asked me.

• He asked me if I like coffee.

• He asked me if I liked coffee.

• He asked me do I like coffee.

• He asked me did I like coffee.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'He asked me if I liked coffee.' because it properly reflects the past tense of the question, aligning with reported speech rules. The other options either misuse tense or structure.

"Why are you late?" the teacher asked.

• The teacher asked why I am late.

• The teacher asked why I was late.

• The teacher asked why was I late.

• The teacher asked why I had been late.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'The teacher asked why I was late.' because it maintains the past tense consistent with the teacher's question, which is in the past. The other options either use incorrect tense or structure.

"I must finish this work today," he said.

• He said he must finish the work today.

• He said he had to finish the work that day.

• He said he should finish the work today.

• He said he will finish the work today.

Answer explanation

The correct choice, 'He said he must finish the work today,' accurately reflects the original statement's urgency with 'must.' The other options alter the meaning or tense, making them incorrect.