reported speech present simple game

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in Listening · Reading · Speaking

Reported Speech Games, Activities, Worksheets and Lesson Plans

If you’re looking for some of the best reported speech games and activities, then you’re certainly in the right place. Keep on reading for our top picks, along with worksheets, lesson plans and more.

Reported speech activities

ESL Reported Speech Games

Let’s get into the best activities and games for English learners.

#1: Reported Speech Board Game

I love to play board games in real life which is why I also like to play them with my students! It’s super easy to make your own to use for just about any grammatical point, including this concept.

In this case, fill the board with a bunch of statements like the following:

• Sister-has boyfriend
• Friend-fired from job
• Dad-playing golf tomorrow

Then, students have to make a reported speech statement using the information. It’s fun, engaging and a nice way to give students some practice with this important concept.

Check out this simple ESL board game so you can see how easy it is to make your own:

ESL Board Game .

#2: Ball Toss

This is a simple but versatile activity that’s perfect for reported speech. I write down a number of questions on the beach ball. Then, students take turns tossing the ball to each other and the person that catches it has to answer the question under their right thumb.

To add a reported speech element, have another student (the one who threw the ball?) report on that student’s answer. It’s simple but effective! Check it out:

Ball Toss Activity .

#3: Is that Sentence Correct

If you want to focus on forms, then consider using this simple error correction activity. Write some sentences that use the target grammar. Some have errors while others do not. Students have to find the incorrect ones and make the required changes.

It’s possible to do this in class, or for a homework activity. Have a look here:

Is that Sentence Correct? 

#4: Running Dictation

#5: Mixed Up Sentences

Making good sentences using reported speech can be a little bit tricky. If you want to focus on forms, consider using this simple activity.

Write some sentences on the board of PowerPoint, but mix them up in terms of the order. Students have to work quickly to put them in the correct order and the first time to finish is the winner. It also makes a nice homework assignment. Try it out for yourself:

Mixed Up Sentences .

• Amazon Kindle Edition
• Bolen, Jackie (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 137 Pages - 09/27/2020 (Publication Date)

#6: Man/Woman on the Street Interview Activity

If you want to level up the typical ESL interview activity, consider using Man or Woman on the Street. Then, to make it into a reported speech activity, have students tell someone else about what they heard. It’s fun, engaging, and lends itself well to this grammar point. Find out more:

Man/Woman on the Street Activity .

#7: Concentration

This is a fun memory game that’s ideal for a whole bunch of different grammar or vocabulary points. On one card, write down a statement, and then on the other, write down the correct form.

• I have a boyfriend (She told me that she has a boyfriend).

Make a number of these sets. I usually do 8 of them per group of 4. Then, students play a matching memory game. Learn more here:

Concentration Game .

#8: Vocabulary Auction

#9: Find Someone Who Bingo Game

This is a nice icebreaker activity that can also be used for some practice with this grammar point. Students have to circulate around the class, asking their classmates questions to find people to fill their Bingo grid.

To make this into a reported speech activity, have students report some of the things they learned about their classmates to a partner (bigger classes) or to the entire class (smaller classes). Find out more about it:

Find Someone Who Bingo Game .

#10: More Ideas for Teaching English

#11: dictogloss and reported speech.

This is a challenging ESL activity that’s perfect for developing listening skills. It also lends itself to almost any vocabulary set or grammatical point, including this one.

Find (or write) a passage of people talking about something that they heard.. Then, put students into pairs and read it out at a faster than normal pace. Students take notes and then attempt to recreate what they heard. Repeat the process again. Finally, they can compare what they have with the original. Check it out:

Dictogloss Activity .

#12: Surveys and Reported Speech

I love to use surveys and questionnaires in my classes. They’re engaging, student-centred and cover a range of skills in a single activity. They’re also great for working on this concept if you get each student to tell their partner some of the things they learned about their classmates.

This is a simple way to cover a new concept but have a quick review of this grammar point as well. Take a look at this activity:

ESL Surveys .

ESL games and activities

#13: Brochure Scanning Activity

This is a nice activity if you have a bunch of different travel brochures. Have students quickly scan them to find important information. For example:

• number of days

Then, have students use reported speech to tell their partner about the trip. Find out more:

Brochure Scanning Activity .

#14: ESL Review Games and Activities

#15: Daily Routine Activities and Reported Speech

In terms of topics to combine with this concept, daily routine is one of the best. It’s very simple to set up activities that lead to sentences like the following:

• Tim told me that he gets up at 7 am.
• Jenny said that she usually sleeps in on the weekends.

For some more ideas, have a look here:

Daily Routine ESL Activities .

#16: Error Correction Relay Race

This is a simple activity that takes something old (error correction) and makes it new again. Students have to work in teams to fix errors in a number of reported speech sentences. The first team to make all the corrections is the winner!

Want to give it a try? Learn more:

Error Correction Relay Race .

#17: Dialogue Substitution

#18: News Reporting

Provide students with news headlines or short news articles. Ask them to transform from direct speech (quoted speech) to reported speech (indirect speech) when retelling the news. This activity helps students practice the appropriate changes in verb tenses, pronouns, and time and place references.

#19: Interview and Report

Pair students up and ask them to conduct mock interviews. Afterward, have them report the interview to a different partner using reported speech. This activity allows students to practice converting direct speech into reported while maintaining the meaning and context of the conversation.

#20: Picture Stories

Provide students with a series of pictures that depict a sequence of events. Ask them to create a story using reported speech to describe what is happening in each picture. This activity encourages students to use this language in a narrative context and practice converting direct speech into reported speech.

#21: Role Plays

Create role play scenarios where students take on different roles and engage in conversations. Afterward, ask them to report the conversations to another person using reported speech. This activity allows students to practice converting direct speech into reported speech in a context that mimics real-life situations.

#22: Song Lyrics Transformation

Choose a song that contains direct speech and ask students to rewrite the lyrics using reported speech. This activity helps students practice converting direct speech in songs into reported speech while exploring the meaning and context of the lyrics.

Online Practice for Reported Speech

There are a number of sites for online practice and quizzes that cover this. They are excellent resources to recommend to students who want a little bit of extra practice. Check it out here:

Perfect English Grammar

Exam English

My English Pages

Reported Speech ESL Lesson Plans

There are lots of nice lesson plans. Here are some of the best ones to consider using:

Lingua House

Reported Speech Worksheets

If you’re a busy teacher then you’re going to know what a huge time saver it can be to use worksheets that other teachers have made. Here are some of the top picks:

ISL Collective

English Grammar

There are a number of common questions that people have about using this method of speech. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What is reported speech ESL?

Reported speech ESL is when we tell someone what another person said. You often have to use a tense that is further back in time (backshift) and may also need to change the pronouns.

What are some examples of reported speech?

Some examples of reported speech are the following:

• They said you didn’t want to come.
• My mom told me that she was angry at my dad.
• I asked her what her plans were.

How do you teach reported speech?

To teach reported speech, first set the context with a short video clip, discussion question, etc. Then, explain the grammar rules for it and do some controlled practice. Finally, use an ESL game or activity that allows students to practice further.

What are the types of reported speech?

The types of reported speech are direct speech and indirect speech.

Tips for Teaching Reported Speech To English Learners

Teaching reported speech to ESL learners can be challenging, as it involves a shift in verb tense and pronoun usage. Here are some tips to make the teaching process more effective and engaging.

Start with Direct Speech

Begin by introducing and reviewing direct speech, which is the original statement or question spoken by someone. Ensure students are familiar with the use of quotation marks and the appropriate verb tenses in direct speech.

Introduce Reporting Verbs

Teach students a variety of reporting verbs such as say, tell, ask, explain, suggest, etc. Explain the different patterns that follow these reporting verbs, including the use of direct objects, indirect objects, and prepositions.

Present Tense Changes

Demonstrate how to change verb tenses when reporting speech. Provide clear examples of how present simple changes to past simple, present continuous changes to past continuous, and so on. Reinforce the importance of maintaining accuracy in verb tense changes.

Practice Conversion of Pronouns

Show students how pronouns change when reporting speech. Explain the transformation from the speaker’s pronouns (I, you, we) to the appropriate pronouns in reported speech (he, she, they). Emphasize the use of possessive pronouns when necessary.

Provide Contextualized Examples

Use authentic materials, such as dialogues, interviews, or news articles, to provide meaningful examples of reported speech. This helps students understand the purpose and practical application in real-life situations.

Use Reporting Structures

Teach students reporting structures, such as reporting statements, reporting questions, and reporting commands. Practice transforming direct speech into reported speech using these structures and provide opportunities for students to generate their own examples.

Focus on Reporting Verbs of Perception

Highlight reporting verbs of perception like see, hear, feel, notice, etc., which require a change in verb tense but do not require reporting the exact words. Provide examples to help students understand the difference between reporting statements and reporting verbs of perception.

Incorporate Speaking and Writing Activities

Encourage students to practice reported speech through role-plays, interviews, or storytelling activities. Assign writing tasks where students report a conversation or summarize an article using reported speech.

Address Common Errors

Be aware of common errors students make when learning reported speech, such as incorrect verb tense changes or pronoun usage. Provide corrective feedback and offer opportunities for targeted practice to overcome these challenges.

Review and Reinforce

Regularly review with students and provide opportunities for reinforcement through quizzes, games, or interactive exercises. Repetition and reinforcement are key to solidifying understanding and application of this language.

Did you like these Reported Speech Activities?

• 87 Pages - 10/24/2019 (Publication Date)

Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to love this book on Amazon: 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Grammar Activities for Teenagers and Adults . It’s the book you need if you want to have more engaging and interactive grammar lessons.

You can find the book in both digital and print formats. Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide. Or, take the e-version with you to your favourite coffee shop for some lesson planning on the go.

Whatever the case, get ready for some ESL grammar teaching awesome in your life. Head over to Amazon to find out more about it:

Have your Say about Reported Speech Games and Activities

What do you think about these activities? Are they a winner, or do you have another one that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

Also, be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy English teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 60 books for English teachers and English learners, including Business English Vocabulary Builder and 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

You can find her on social media at: YouTube Facebook Pinterest TikTok LinkedIn Instagram

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ESL Speaking

Games + Activities to Try Out Today!

in Activities for Adults · Activities for Kids

Tell your Story | ESL Speaking Activity to Practice Reported Speech

If you’re looking for a reported speech speaking activity, look no further than tell your story . It’s a fun reported speech activity to try out with your higher-level ESL or EFL students. Keep on reading for all the details you need to know about teaching indirect speech!

Speaking Activity to Practice Reported Speech

You can often find a unit on reported speech in most intermediate-level English textbooks. But, it’s not that easy to design some ESL activities to practice this. Not to worry. Keep on reading for one of the best reported speech activities to try out with your students.

Check out one of my favourites: “Tell a Story.” It’s fun, and engaging, and creates some great opportunities for students to practice this important skill. Reported speech activities don’t have to be terrible any longer! Have some fun with reported speech ESL.

Reported Speech ESL Speaking Activity

Skills: Writing/reading/speaking/listening Time: 15-30 minutes Level: Intermediate to Advanced Materials Required: Nothing

Have students write something interesting. Some examples are the most embarrassing moment, the scariest thing you’ve ever done, your dream for the future, future predictions , etc. Base it on whatever topic you are studying in class that day. Make it clear to the students that it should be something they’re willing to share with the entire class so as not to write something very private.

Then, distribute the stories to other people in the class. Then the students have to go around the class, finding the person whose story they have by asking questions. Once they find that person, they have to ask them three interesting questions about the story. And the person who originally wrote the story has to answer them of course.

I like this part of it because it gets students up and out of their seats, moving around and talking to different people. It gets boring sitting down all the time and talking to only 1 person! It’s ideal for those sleepy classes that you might have on Friday afternoon or those ones who are just waking up on Monday morning.

Reported speech ESL activities

Teaching Tips for Tell Your Story:

Emphasize to students that they are to practice asking good questions. For example, “USA?” is not a good question, while, “Did you study abroad in the USA?” is much better. Full sentences are the key here.

Also, emphasize that students should think of interesting follow-up questions that expand upon their knowledge about that situation. This involves reading carefully so they can avoid asking about things that are already mentioned.

You can give your students a couple of minutes before the activity starts to write down a few questions based on the paper they received to help facilitate this. Based on the topic you’ve assigned for the story, there should be some obvious ones that they’d want to ask.

This activity provides an excellent opportunity for your students to work on reported speech. This is something that high-level students are often surprisingly weak at. If you have a small class (less than 10), students can report what they learned about their partner to everyone.

If larger, students can tell their seating partner what they learned. For example, students might say something like, “I talked to Min-Ji. She told me that she got in a car accident last year. She said that it was really scary, but thankfully nobody got injured seriously.”

Procedure for this Reported Speech Activity:

• Have students write an interesting story based on a certain topic. Adjust for length and difficulty depending on your students.
• Collect stories and redistribute them–one per student, making sure a student does not get their own story.
• Students go around the class asking people if that is their story. For example, “Did you get in a car accident when you were little?”
• When they find the person, they must ask them three interesting follow-up questions about it.
• Do the optional variation of having students tell other people what they learned about their classmate in order to practice using reported speech.
• Follow-up with a worksheet, other activity or homework assignment.

Do You Like this Reported Speech ESL Speaking Activity?

• Amazon Kindle Edition
• Bolen, Jackie (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 148 Pages - 03/09/2016 (Publication Date)

If you like this ESL speaking activity to help your students practice reported speech, then you’re going to love this book: 101 ESL Activities: For Teenagers and Adults . It’s lesson planning made easy, guaranteed. The key to better English classes is a wide variety of engaging and interactive games and activities and this book will help you get there in style.

There are dozens of top-quality ESL games and activities for teenagers and adults that are organized into various categories: reading, writing, speaking, writing, warm-ups, and 4-skills. You’re sure to find something that will work for any level of students or topic.

You can get the book on Amazon in both print and digital formats. The (cheaper!) digital copy can be read on any device by downloading the free Kindle reading app. It’s super easy to have fun, engaging ESL activities with you anywhere you go.

Or, buy the book and keep it as a handy reference on your bookshelf, or teacher supply room. You can check out 101 ESL Activities for yourself over on Amazon:

Teaching Reported Speech FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about reported speech games and activities for English learners. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What is reported speech in English?

Reported speech is when we talk about or repeat what someone else has said using our own words.

Why do we use reported speech?

We use reported speech to share information, statements, or questions that someone else has said.

What changes occur when turning direct speech into indirect speech?

Pronouns, tense, and time expressions often change for indirect speech.

Can you give an example of direct speech changing to reported speech?

Direct: She said, “I am going to the store.” Reported: She said that she was going to the store.

What happens to the pronouns in reported speech?

Pronouns usually change to match the perspective of the speaker in reported speech.

How do you shift tenses in reported speech?

Generally, you shift the tense back one step. For example, present simple becomes past simple.

Do all time expressions remain the same in indirect speech?

No, time expressions usually change, e.g., “now” becomes “then,” “today” becomes “that day.”

What’s the reporting verb?

The verb that introduces indirect speech can be things like, “said,” “told,” “asked.”

Can questions be reported too?

Yes, questions can be reported using reporting verbs like “asked” or “wondered.”

How do you report imperative sentences?

Imperative sentences are reported using the verb “to” + infinitive, or with phrases like “ordered” or “told.”

What’s the key to successfully teaching indirect speech to ESL students?

Practice and exposure through various exercises and real-life examples are crucial for understanding indirect speech.

Reported speech games and activities for ESL

Tell your Story English Speaking Activity: Have your Say!

What do you think of this activity to practice ESL reported speech? Is it a good one or do you have another reported speech lesson plan activity that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2024-04-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 100 books for English teachers and English learners, including 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults and 1001 English Expressions and Phrases . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

You can find her on social media at: YouTube Facebook TikTok Pinterest Instagram

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Fun Ways of Practising Reported Speech

1. Reported speech reversi Prepare cards with reported speech on one side and direct speech of the same sentence on the other. Students have to correctly say what is on the other side to turn it over and score one point. There are many games you can play with these cards, including the TEFL version of Reversi/ Othello that was first described by Mario Rinvolucri in Grammar Games and that is the subject of an upcoming article of mine.

2. Go betweens This is also a game from a classic TEFL supplementary book that can easily be done without access to the book (in this case Intermediate Communication Games). Two students have such a problem with each other that they are refusing to speak, and another student shuttles between them trying to find a compromise. The two students need to be sitting so far apart that they can’t hear the other people speak and so really need to listen to the peacemaker, e.g. by sitting in different rooms or one half of the students sitting in the corridor. Making both sides have complaints about the other and giving out roleplay cards can also help set up this activity well, as can having different groups of students working on different situations so that they can’t listen into the neighbouring teams. Possible situations to roleplay include students who have problems with the other students’ behaviour in class (speaking too much, not speaking enough, holding up the lesson because they haven’t done their homework, distracting the teacher from the lesson plan by asking questions, etc- maybe leading onto discussion of good classroom behaviour), neighbours, neighbouring countries, married couples, or suppliers and customers who are near breaking point in their relationship. This can also be used for non-conflict negotiations such as premarital contracts or price negotiations. Note that students usually get into this activity so much that they completely forget about Reported Speech, so you might want to do this as a controlled activity where they must make an effort to use the structures you have presented.

3. What they told you Give the students a list of people they have probably been spoken to by in their lives (e.g. teachers, policemen, future employers, immigration officers and market researchers) or brainstorm such a list onto the board. Students choose one of the people on the list and say things that this person really said to them, e.g. “He asked me whether I wanted a single or return”, and the other students guess which person from the list was speaking. As a more challenging extension, they can continue the game with people not on the list. This can also be done as Twenty Questions, e.g. “Has this person ever asked you whether you were carrying any drugs?” This game links well with the vocabulary of jobs or practising situational language such as “At the airport”. The same game can also be done with the vocabulary of relationships like “colleague”, “acquaintance” and “classmate”.

4. Reported speech pairwork dictation This idea lacks the fun element of the other games here (unless you choose or write an amusing dialogue or one with a surprising twist), but is easy to do and check and can lead to examination of things we usually leave out of reported speech such as “well” and “yes”. It can also be a lead in to the similar but more fun activities below. Student A has one person’s part of a dialogue and Student B has the other person’s part, and they convert their part into reported speech and tell their partner what the person on their worksheet said so that their partner can convert it back into direct speech (in their heads) and write it down in the gaps on their sheet. At the end when they check their worksheets with each other they should have identical dialogues written down. This activity can be made more challenging by one of the students having their half of the dialogue in mixed up order.

5. Reported speech pairwork dictation same or different A more intellectually challenging version of pairwork dictation is giving students similar but not identical direct speech sentences on Student A and Student B sheets. They dictate them to each other in reported speech and work together to decide if the original two sentences were the same or not, e.g. Student A reports “Do you feel happy?” as “He asked me whether I felt happy” and Student B reports “Are you feeling happy?” as “He asked me if I was feeling happy”, and they decide together that the original sentences were different (without ever telling their partner exactly what is on their sheet). You can add some trick questions where the direct speech sentences are different but the reported speech versions are the same, e.g. “I have been there” and “I was there” or “I was there that day” and “I have been there today”. They might feel robbed if you include sentences like this as it will stop them finishing the game successfully, but they will really pay attention when you bring that grammar point up later!

6. Pairwork dictation match the sentences Another good way of using sentences that sound similar when converted into reported speech (either correctly or wrongly) is to put the same direct speech sentences on Student A’s and Student B’s worksheets but mixed up and labelled 1 to 10 (for example) on one student’s and a to j on the other. They then dictate them to each other in reported speech and decide which ones are the same.

7. Pairwork dictation match the dialogue pairs Rather than matching identical sentences as above, you can add extra language and challenge by the students trying to match up typical functional language sentence pairs such as “Would you like anything else?” on Student A’s sheet and “No, that’s all thanks” on Student B’s. The sentences on their worksheets can be given in reported speech for them just to read out and convert back to direct speech in their heads while trying to work out which typical sentences or (more challenging) be given as direct speech for them to convert to reported speech when they tell them to their partner as in the games above.

8. Reported Speech sentence completion guessing game Give the students a list of sentence stems that should be completed with reported speech such as “I forgot to tell someone…”, “ or “Someone told me that I…”. They complete as many sentences as they can and then read out only the part they have written for the other students to guess which sentence that comes from.

9. Guess the backshift Students tell their partner(s) something that was said to them in direct speech (maybe using the air speech marks gesture), and their partner(s) convert it into reported speech, using the right kind of backshift or not by guessing whether it is something that is generally true about them, whether it is something their brother always says to them or whether it was a one off thing that is no longer true, e.g. choosing to convert “My brother said ‘You look sad’” to “Your brother said that you looked sad” or “Your brother (often) says that you look sad/ your brother once said that you always look sad” depending on whether they think that is generally true or not.

10. The … thing he ever said Give prompts containing superlatives for real things people said to them, e.g. “The worst thing your siblings have said to you” or “The best advice you have ever had”. Students tell their partner(s) one of these things, and their partners guess which prompt it refers to.

11. Referring to who guessing game Students report something they said or heard about someone else, e.g. gossip about someone famous, news about a politician, a reviewer’s opinion on someone’s acting or a colleague slagging off their boss, and the other students guess who was being spoken about.

12. Which occasion Students tell their partners something that was said to them at an important time, e.g. when they graduated from university or the first time their parents talked to them about sex, and their partners guess which occasion that thing was said at. The list of occasions can be given as a worksheet or brainstormed onto the board. This topic can easily be extended into an interesting cross cultural discussion on the traditional lack of school graduation ceremonies in the UK etc.

13. And this is how I felt sentence completion Students report something that was said to them or they heard that they had a strong emotional reaction to and the other students guess what their reaction was. This ties in well with a lesson on adjectives, and you can maybe give them a worksheet with some suggested adjectives on or brainstorm them before the activity, such as “… and I felt sad/ hungry/ romantic/ nostalgic/ old/ young/ flattered”

14. Reported mingling Almost any mingling activity (e.g. Find Someone Who) can be extended to include reported speech by people reporting back to their partners or the class what they learnt. Before doing this you will need to decide whether you want to encourage them to use Reported Speech or whether it is something you hope will come up naturally and that you might bring up later in an error correction stage.

15. Real or imagined reported speech This one works well with students whose memories freeze under the stress of speaking English or who don’t want to give away too much personal information. Students report something from prompts such as those described above, and then the other students guess whether that was really said to them or whether it was just made up.

You may also like:

• Yet Another 15 Games for Reported Speech
• More Reported Speech Games
• 15 Fun Ways of Practising the Past Perfect

11 Comments

thank for the material. it can add my knowledge. it used for may activity

The worksheets link I gave is still working, but the other parts of the article are now here: https://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/games/games-reported-speech/ https://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/games/reported-speech-games/

Great ideas shared, Alex!

I’ll try “And this is how I felt” with a twist to be carried out with my online students. I’ll include as a prompt: watching a short video like the ones that appear on Instagram (emotionally charged), for them to react to and report what was said and how it made them feel.

Let’s see how it works! Many thanks for the inspiration :)

Thanks, great ideas to use in my classroom.

Great ideas!! I will definetely try some in my classrrom. Thanks!!

Great ideas, thanks! I incorporated a few themes into a find someone who to start the topic of reported speech:

Find someone who:

1. Can remember some good advice they received

2. Has overheard an interesting conversation recently

3. Has had an interesting discussion recently

4. Knows some celebrity gossip

5. Has heard a joke in English

Parts Two and Three of this article are here:

http://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/games/reported-speech-games/

http://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/games/games-reported-speech/

And there are some worksheets here:

https://tefltastic.wordpress.com/worksheets/grammar/reported-speech/

excellent ideas, i will try some of them in my class today. thank you

Great activities. I tried “This is How I felt” as a follow-up and it really worked. Thanks

Hey there, speaking of Reversi games, I just posted a variation for teachers to use in one-to-one classes.

http://strictly4myteacherz.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/phrasal-verb-reversi-for-one-to-one/

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Reported speech – Simple Present – Sentences – Exercise

Task no. 2331.

Finish the sentences using Reported speech. Always change the tense, although it is sometimes not necessary.

Abigail, "Isabella hates fish." Abigail said (that)  

Abigail said (that) Isabella hated fish .

Do you need help?

Reported speech

• Helen, "I speak English and Spanish." Helen said (that) .
• Ken, "Joy often reads comics." Ken said (that) .
• Harry and Marie, "We go swimming in the lake." Harry and Marie told me (that) .
• Madison, "I'm tired." Madison remarked (that) .
• Amy, "The boys always wear jeans." Amy told me (that) .
• Oliver and Noah, "Our smartphones don't work." Oliver and Noah mentioned (that) .
• Lisa, "Alan sometimes meets friends." Lisa said (that) .
• Andrew, "I really love my moped." Andrew said (that) .
• Nick, "You have a fast car." Nick remarked (that) .
• Josie, "Your dogs are cute." Josie told me (that) .
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• Grammar Exercises
• Reported Speech

• Reported Speech — Present Simple — Exercise 1
• 1. Noah, “I go to the gym three times per week.” Noah said (that) . he went to the gym three times per week
• 2. Henry, “Emma doesn’t learn English.” Henry said (that) . Emma didn’t learn English
• 3. Charlotte, “My house is at the end of the street.” Charlotte said (that) . her house was at the end of the street
• 4. Amelia, “Chris looks tired.” Amelia said (that) . Chris looked tired
• 5. Ethan, “I am happy to meet you.” Ethan said (that) . he was happy to meet me
• 6. Daisy, “We enjoy our Spanish classes.” Daisy said (that) . they enjoyed their Spanish classes
• 7. Amy, “The day is amazing.” Amy said (that) . the day was amazing
• 8. Ryan, “I don’t want to answer your questions.” Ryan said (that) . he didn’t want to answer my questions
• 9. Charles, “They don’t work hard enough.” Charles said (that) . they didn’t work hard enough
• 10. Ella, “Peter usually reads science-fiction books.” Ella said (that) . Peter usually read science-fiction books
• 11. Claire, “I have a new job.” Claire said (that) . she had a new job
• 12. Adam, “Your car is dirty.” Adam said (that) . my car was dirty
• Reported Speech — Present Simple — Exercise 2
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 1
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 2
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 3
• Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 4

Reported Speech Activities

Crazy questions.

This is just a quick exercise to check understanding of reported speech questions.

Put some examples on the board:

Do you eat bananas in the shower?

Do you drive with your eyes closed?

Do you wear socks on your head?

Are you married to a ghost?

Have you ever eaten a lion?

Ask students to try and come up with a few more examples.

Then, going around the class each student, in turn, asks the person on their left a crazy question.

Now ask the person who was asked What did he/she ask you?

He asked me if I ate bananas in the shower.

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Reported speech games

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Reported Speech €“ English Grammar Game for kids

This is an English grammar activity to practice and develop skills in using reported speech for kids.

Reported Speech €“ We use reporting verbs like €˜say€™, €˜tell€™ or €˜ask€™ to report what someone else said as a direct speech. Hence, reported speech is alternatively referred to as indirect speech. Since reported speech is often use to talk about the past, we normally change the tense of the spoken words. We change the reporting verb when we introduce the reported words. Inverted commas are not used when turning direct speech into reported speech. Use the exercise above to practice correctly reporting direct speech.

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REPORTED SPEECH PRESENT SIMPLE

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REPORTED SPEECH

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Reported speech

Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job. 

Instructions

As you watch the video, look at the examples of reported speech. They are in  red  in the subtitles. Then read the conversation below to learn more. Finally, do the grammar exercises to check you understand, and can use, reported speech correctly.

Sophie:  Mmm, it’s so nice to be chilling out at home after all that running around.

Ollie: Oh, yeah, travelling to glamorous places for a living must be such a drag!

Ollie: Mum, you can be so childish sometimes. Hey, I wonder how Daisy’s getting on in her job interview.

Sophie: Oh, yes, she said she was having it at four o’clock, so it’ll have finished by now. That’ll be her ... yes. Hi, love. How did it go?

Daisy: Well, good I think, but I don’t really know. They said they’d phone later and let me know.

Sophie: What kind of thing did they ask you?

Daisy: They asked if I had any experience with people, so I told them about helping at the school fair and visiting old people at the home, that sort of stuff. But I think they meant work experience.

Sophie: I’m sure what you said was impressive. They can’t expect you to have had much work experience at your age.

Daisy:  And then they asked me what acting I had done, so I told them that I’d had a main part in the school play, and I showed them a bit of the video, so that was cool.

Sophie:  Great!

Daisy: Oh, and they also asked if I spoke any foreign languages.

Sophie: Languages?

Daisy: Yeah, because I might have to talk to tourists, you know.

Sophie: Oh, right, of course.

Daisy: So that was it really. They showed me the costume I’ll be wearing if I get the job. Sending it over ...

Ollie: Hey, sis, I heard that Brad Pitt started out as a giant chicken too! This could be your big break!

Daisy: Ha, ha, very funny.

Sophie: Take no notice, darling. I’m sure you’ll be a marvellous chicken.

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.

So, direct speech is what someone actually says? Like 'I want to know about reported speech'?

Yes, and you report it with a reporting verb.

He said he wanted to know about reported speech.

I said, I want and you changed it to he wanted .

Exactly. Verbs in the present simple change to the past simple; the present continuous changes to the past continuous; the present perfect changes to the past perfect; can changes to could ; will changes to would ; etc.

She said she was having the interview at four o’clock. (Direct speech: ' I’m having the interview at four o’clock.') They said they’d phone later and let me know. (Direct speech: ' We’ll phone later and let you know.')

OK, in that last example, you changed you to me too.

Yes, apart from changing the tense of the verb, you also have to think about changing other things, like pronouns and adverbs of time and place.

'We went yesterday.'  > She said they had been the day before. 'I’ll come tomorrow.' >  He said he’d come the next day.

I see, but what if you’re reporting something on the same day, like 'We went yesterday'?

Well, then you would leave the time reference as 'yesterday'. You have to use your common sense. For example, if someone is saying something which is true now or always, you wouldn’t change the tense.

'Dogs can’t eat chocolate.' > She said that dogs can’t eat chocolate. 'My hair grows really slowly.' >  He told me that his hair grows really slowly.

What about reporting questions?

We often use ask + if/whether , then change the tenses as with statements. In reported questions we don’t use question forms after the reporting verb.

'Do you have any experience working with people?' They asked if I had any experience working with people. 'What acting have you done?' They asked me what acting I had done .

Is there anything else I need to know about reported speech?

One thing that sometimes causes problems is imperative sentences.

You mean like 'Sit down, please' or 'Don’t go!'?

Exactly. Sentences that start with a verb in direct speech need a to + infinitive in reported speech.

She told him to be good. (Direct speech: 'Be good!') He told them not to forget. (Direct speech: 'Please don’t forget.')

OK. Can I also say 'He asked me to sit down'?

Yes. You could say 'He told me to …' or 'He asked me to …' depending on how it was said.

OK, I see. Are there any more reporting verbs?

Yes, there are lots of other reporting verbs like promise , remind , warn , advise , recommend , encourage which you can choose, depending on the situation. But say , tell and ask are the most common.

Great. I understand! My teacher said reported speech was difficult.

And I told you not to worry!

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Reported Speech

Perfect english grammar.

Reported Statements

Here's how it works:

We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. ( Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell' .) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:

• Direct speech: I like ice cream.
• Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'. (As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in brackets () to show that it's optional. It's exactly the same if you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)

But , if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:

• Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

* doesn't change.

• Direct speech: The sky is blue.
• Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.

Click here for a mixed tense exercise about practise reported statements. Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

Reported Questions

So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about questions?

• Direct speech: Where do you live?
• Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.
• Direct speech: Where is Julie?
• Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.
• Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?
• Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions. Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions. Reported Requests

There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:

• Direct speech: Close the window, please
• Or: Could you close the window please?
• Or: Would you mind closing the window please?
• Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.
• Direct speech: Please don't be late.
• Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.

Reported Orders

• Direct speech: Sit down!
• Reported speech: She told me to sit down.
• Click here for an exercise to practise reported requests and orders.
• Click here for an exercise about using 'say' and 'tell'.
• Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

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Reported Speech Present SImple and Continuous

• Game Code: 452954
•  English     25      Public Reported Speech
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• JOHN: "I like apples." HE SAID HE LIKED APPLES
• SARAH: "I live in Ermua." SHE SAID SHE LIVED IN ERMUA
• PAUL AND CHRIS: "We are watching Netflix." THEY SAID THEY WERE WATCHING NETFLIX
• PETER: "Chris is watching a film." HE SAID CHRIS WAS WATCHING A FILM
• ANNA: "I am doing my homework." SHE SAID SHE WAS DOING HER HOMEWORK
• ANDREW: "My sister is doing her homework." HE SAID HIS SISTER WAS DOING HER HOMEWORK.
• EMMA AND PAUL: "We are going to the shops." THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO THE SHOPS
• SARAH: "I work in a factory." SHE SAID SHE WORKED IN A FACTORY
• JULEN: "Mikel does his homework everyday." HE SAID MIKEL DID HIS HOMEWORK EVERYDAY
• AMY: "YOU have a nice dog." SHE SAID I HAD A NICE DOG
• AMY: "I don´t live in France." SHE SAID SHE DIDN´T LIVE IN FRANCE
• JOE: "I´m not eating pizza." HE SAID HE WASN´T EATING PIZZA
• JON AND TOM: "We aren´t playing football." THEY SAID THEY WEREN´T PLAYING FOOTBALL
• UNAX: "My Mum isn´t reading a book." UNAX SAID HIS MUM WASN´T READING A BOOK
• RAVI: "My Dad doesn´t listen to music." HE SAID HIS DAD DIDN´T LISTEN TO MUSIC

• I want to play for Arsenal. HE SAID HE WANTED TO PLAY FOR ARSENAL

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