Direct speech to Reported Speech
“I can't find my keys,” Emma said.
Emma said that she couldn't find her keys.
Upgrade both words: She was scared and walked slowly towards the door.
She was terrified and walked hesitantly towards the door.
Replace First with a more sophisticated expression:
First, we arrived at the village.
To begin with, Initially, At first
Upgrade walked: She walked towards the door.
approached, headed towards, made her way towards
Complete with the correct form: When I ______ (arrive) home, I ______ (take) off my coat.
arrived / took
“I will call you tomorrow,” Jack said to me.
Jack told me that he would call me the next day.
Upgrade both words: He looked carefully at the strange object.
He examined the mysterious object cautiously.
Replace Then:
Then, we heard a strange noise.
Shortly afterwards, Soon afterwards, A few moments later
Upgrade looked: He looked at the strange object.
stared at, gazed at, glanced at, examined, inspected
Complete with the correct tense: I ______ (walk) home when I suddenly ______ (hear) a strange noise.
was walking / heard
“Where did you put the letter?” Sarah asked me.
Sarah asked me where I had put the letter.
Upgrade the description: It was a dark night. She opened the door quietly.
It was a gloomy night. She opened the door silently.
Complete with a phrase showing that another event happened while this was happening:
__________, we heard someone knocking at the door.
Meanwhile, In the meantime, As we were talking
Upgrade said according to the context: “Get out of my house!” he said.
shouted, yelled, screamed, demanded
Complete with the correct forms: When we arrived at the station, the train ______ already ______ (leave).
had already left
Rewrite using a more precise reporting verb: “Don't go into that room. It's dangerous,” the man said to us.
The man warned us not to go into that room because it was dangerous.
Upgrade the description: The man was angry and spoke loudly.
The man was furious and shouted angrily.
Complete with a phrase showing that one event happened immediately after another:
__________ I opened the door, I realised something was wrong.
As soon as, The moment, No sooner had...than...
Upgrade all three verbs: He went into the room, looked at the man and said, “What are you doing here?”
entered, stared at/glanced at, demanded/asked
Complete the sentence using Past Continuous + Past Simple: While Sarah ______ (drive) home, she ______ (see) someone standing by the side of the road.
was driving / saw
Rewrite using a suitable reporting verb: “I didn't take the money. I swear!” Tom said.
Tom denied taking the money / Tom insisted that he hadn't taken the money.
Upgrade the description using at least 2 adjectives and 2 adverbs: The girl entered the old house and looked around.
The terrified girl cautiously entered the dilapidated house and nervously glanced around.
Rewrite this sequence using at least three different sequencing expressions:
We entered the house. Then, we heard a noise. Then, the lights went out. Then, someone screamed.
Shortly afterwards, moments later, suddenly, a few seconds later, before we knew it, eventually
Make the action more vivid: She went down the stairs, opened the door and saw a man standing outside.
crept/stumbled/rushed down; pushed/threw open/unlocked; spotted/caught sight of/noticed
Complete the paragraph using Past Simple, Past Continuous and Past Perfect: When I ______ (get) to the house, I realised that someone ______ (break) into it. The front door ______ (stand) open, and the wind ______ (blow) through the windows.
got / had broken / was standing / was blowing