LISTEN → UNDERSTAND → REPORT
Direct & Indirect Speech.
Track who spoke, who listened, and what the words mean in this context. Then report the conversation.
Follow the connected lesson path
- ○ Direct Speech
- ○ Indirect Speech
- ○ Speaker, Listener and Meaning
- ○ A Reporting Plan
- ○ Pronouns Depend on People
- ○ Common Tense Backshift
- ○ Past and Modal Changes
- ○ When Backshift Is Not Needed
- ○ Time and Place Depend on Context
- ○ Said and Told
- ○ Reported Statements
- ○ Yes/No Questions
- ○ WH Questions
- ○ Commands and Orders
- ○ Requests
- ○ Advice
- ○ Suggestions
- ○ Exclamations and Emotion
- ○ Reporting Verbs and Their Patterns
- ○ Advanced Reporting Verbs
- ○ A Possible Original Quotation
- ○ Conversation Reporting
- ○ Picture Conversations
- ○ From Dialogue to a Paragraph
- ○ Reported Speech Final Review
Context comes first
Speaker
Who said the words?
Listener
Who heard them?
Reporter
When and where is the report made?
“I” does not always become he or she. Tense, time and place do not always change. A report must preserve meaning.
Reporting verbs and their patterns
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| say/said + (that) clause | She said that she was ready. |
| tell/told + person + (that) clause | He told me that he was busy. |
| ask + person + if/whether or WH clause | She asked me where I lived. |
| ask + person + to + V1 | She asked me to help. |
| advise + person + to + V1 | The teacher advised us to revise. |
| request + that-clause | She requested that we wait. |
| suggest + V-ing or that-clause | He suggested going by bus. |
| order + person + to + V1 | The teacher ordered the students to stop. |
| warn + person + not to + V1 | Dad warned Evan not to touch it. |
| promise + to + V1 or that-clause | She promised to return. |
| reply + that-clause | He replied that he was ready. |
| explain + that-clause; explain something to someone | She explained the task to me. |
| admit + V-ing or that-clause | He admitted making a mistake. |
| deny + V-ing or that-clause | She denied taking the book. |
| agree + to + V1 | They agreed to help. |
| refuse + to + V1 | He refused to leave. |
| offer + to + V1 | She offered to carry the bag. |
| recommend + V-ing or that-clause | He recommended reading the guide. |
| remind + person + to + V1 | Mom reminded Evan to take his bag. |
| encourage + person + to + V1 | The teacher encouraged us to practise. |
| apologize for + V-ing | He apologized for arriving late. |
| complain + that-clause | She complained that the room was cold. |
Report the words, step by step
Choose the people and context decisions before writing. Wrong choices give hints and another attempt.
From conversation to a report
Write with beginner, intermediate, or advanced support. Words are optional; your ideas belong in the paragraph.
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Speech and ordering show answer accuracy. Open sentence and paragraph activities show practice coverage, not an automated quality score.