UoE_BACH 2_reported speech

1. UoE: 'Where are your keys?' my friend asked me.

   My friend asked ...

Answer explanation

My friend asked ... me where my keys were.

This is a Wh- question that is introduced by the wh- particle 'where' and followed by the affirmative word order (subject + verb + complements).

2. UoE: 'Don't shout and whisper, please' the librarian asked us.

   The librarian asked ...

Answer explanation

The librarian asked ... us not to shout and to whisper.

This is a request (please), so the structure is ask sb (not) to do sth.

3. UoE: 'These are endangered species in our town now' the scientist told her.

   The scientist said ...

Answer explanation

The scientist said ... to her that those were endangered species in their town then.

This is a statement. We need to use the preposition 'to' after the verb say (say to sb vs tell sb), and change 'there' for 'those', 'are' for 'were', 'our' for 'their' and 'now' for 'then'.

4. UoE: 'Why don't we meet tomorrow to start our project?' my classmate suggested.

   My classmate suggested ...

Answer explanation

My classmate suggested ... meeting the following day / the next day to start our project.

My classmate suggested ... that we met the following day / the next day to start our project.

In recommendations introduced with the verb suggest there are two verb patterns: gerund (-ing form) and relative clause (that ...). THE 'suggest sb to do sth' isn't possible with this verb.

'I threw my organic rubbish here last night' my neighbour told me.

My neighbour told ...

Answer explanation

My neighbour told ... me that he/she had thrown his/her organic rubbish there the previous night / the night before.

In this statement, as neighbour can be a man or a woman, the subject pronoun and possessive adjective can be male (he / his) or female (she / her).

6. UoE: 'Are you going to use recycled plastic in this art workshop next week?' the NGO volunteer wanted to know.

   The NGO volunteer wanted to know...

Answer explanation

The NGO volunteer wanted to know ... if / whether I / we was / were going to use recycled plastic in that art workshop the following week.

In this 'Yes/No question' we start the rephrasing with 'IF / WHETHER' and continue with the affirmative word order (subject + verb + complement)