Question
How do you recognize a reported sentence?
By the use of a reporting verb, for example say, tell, and ask.
My dad said that he didn't love me.
The word "that" in this sentence cannot be omitted .
False.
You can omit the word "that" after reporting verbs.
He asked, "How are you doing"?
No. Periods, question marks and quotations should go BEFORE the final quotation mark.
Report:
He asked me, "Are you good at dealing with misunderstandings?"
He asked me if I was good at dealing with misunderstandings.
Or
He asked me whether (or not) I was good at dealing with misunderstandings.
I asked my brother if he had something to do the next day.
I asked my brother, "Do you have something to do tomorrow?"
Apart from say, tell, and ask, mention 3 other reporting verbs.
claim, reply, and state, for example
The verbs tell and say are used in the same way.
False. You say something, but you tell someone something.
"Don't take that", he said.
It's correct! The quoted part of the sentence can come at the beginning or the end of the sentence.
"Have you been lying to me?" the teacher asked John.
The teacher asked John if he had been lying to him.
My boss told me to turn in the report tonight.
My boss told me, "Turn in the report tonight."
What is the right word order when you report a question?
Use a statement word order.
The following sentence is correct:
My mom said me we needed to work harder on our communication skills.
False.
My mom said TO me we needed to work harder on or communication skills.
"Mrs. Terrence," he said, "Why did you say that?"
It's incorrect! When the quotation is interrupted by a reporting verb, do not capitalize the first word in the second part of the quotation.
They asked their parents, "Who is going to take us to the party?"
They asked their parents who was going to take them to the party.
The nurse told the doctor that she had seen the patient leave the hospital the day before.
The nurse told the doctor, "I saw the patient leave the hospital yesterday."
Which modals do not change when reported?
Could, had better, might, ought to, should, and would.
You always have to change verbs in indirect speech.
It's false! Sometimes you do not change the tenses, for example, when you report something that has just been said, a general truth, or when the reporting verb is in simple present, present continuous, present perfect or future.
The teacher said that water boils at 100ºC.
It's correct! Since it is a general truth, the verb does not have to be changed.
The man said, "I traveled to Europe two years ago."
The man said he had traveled to Europe two years before/previously.
The doctor asked if he had ever had surgery.
The doctor asked, "Have you ever had surgery?"
In reported speech, must changes to...
had to
When you report a question, you do not use do, does or did.
It's true! Drop these elements and use statement word order when reporting a question.
I told my mom I went to the movies.
It's incorrect! You need to report the verb. The right answer is:
I told my mom I had gone to the movies.
"Shall we dance?" he asked the woman.
He asked the woman if they should dance.
The police officer said I had to accompany him the the police station.
The police officer said, "You must accompany us to the police station."
Or
The police officer said, "You have to accompany us to the police station."