Reported Questions , Requests , Commands , Suggestions

· Reported questions are usually introduced with the verbs ask, inquire, wonder or want to know.

· When the direct questions begin with a question word (who, where, how old, how long, when, why, what, etc.), the reported questions are introduced with the same question word. E.g. ‘What do you want to know?’ she asked me. She asked me what I wanted to know.

· When the direct questions begin with an auxiliary (is, do have) or a modal verb (can, may, etc.), then the reported questions begin with if or whether. E.g. ‘Have you seen this man before?’ he asked me. He asked me if / whether I had seen him before.

· In reported questions, the verb is in the affirmative. The question mark and words / expressions such as please, well, oh, etc. are omitted. The verb tenses, pronouns and time expressions change as in statements. E.g. ‘Can you hold the door for me, please?’ the man asked me. – The man asked me if / whether I could hold the door for him.

· To report commands or instructions in reported speech, we use the introductory verbs order or tell + smb + (not) to-infinitive. E.g. a) ‘Put the gun down!’ he said to him. – He ordered him to put the gun down. b) ‘Don’t look down!’ he said to us. He told us not to look down.

· To report requests, we use the introductory verbs ask or beg + smb + (not) to- infinitive. The direct sentence usually contains the word ‘please’. E.g.  a) ‘Help me, please,’ Jean said. – Jean asked Tom to help her. b) ‘Please, please don’t call the police,’ he said to Collin. He begged Collin not to call the police.

· To report suggestions, we use the introductory verb suggest + ing form / that smb (should ) + bare infinitive. E.g. ‘Let’s go outside,’ I said to them.’ / ‘We can/could go outside,’ I said to them. / ‘Shall we go outside?’ I asked them. / ‘How about going outside?’ I said to them – I suggested going outside. / I suggested that we (should) go outside.

1. Fill in the gaps with say or tell in the correct tense:

a) Katie 1) ….. Dave that she had met a set of twins at a party. ‘They looked exactly the same,’ she 2) …. ‘I couldn’t 3) …. the difference between them.’ ‘I’ve got a twin brother, too’ 4) ….Dave. ‘Are you 5)…. me the truth?’ asked Katie. ‘6)…. me his name.’ ‘His name is Stephen,’ Dave 7) …. her. ‘I’ll take you to meet him tomorrow.’

b) ‘You never listen to me,’ Tara 1) …. Jim. ‘I 2) …… good morning to you three times today and you didn’t answer,’ she 3)…. . ‘To 4)….. you the truth, it makes me really angry. Why don’t you listen to me?’ ‘Oh, hello Tara,’ 5)…. Jim. ‘Did you just 6)….. something?’

c) ‘Claire 1) ….. me that she and John are getting married,’ 2) …… Sue. ‘She 3)….. that they’re going to have a big wedding with lots of guests.’ ‘That’ll be expensive,’ 4)…. Tom. ‘I thought John 5)…… that they couldn’t afford a big wedding.’ ‘Well that’s what Claire 6)……. me,’7)….. Sue. ‘I don’t think she would 8)…… a lie.’

2. Fill in the gaps with the correct pronoun or possessive adjective.

1. James said, ‘My boss wants me to summon the director board tomorrow.’ – James said ….. boss wanted ….. to summon the director board the following day. 2. Mary said, ‘I’m waiting for our company to make the offer.’ – Mary said ….. was waiting for ….. company to make the offer. 3. George said, ‘I’ve taken out insurance for my mum’s property.’ – George said …. had taken out insurance for …. Mum’s property. 4. Julie said, ‘I need you to help me with obtaining divorce decree.’ – Julie said … needed …. to help …. with obtaining divorce decree. 5. John said, ‘I’d like to annul my marriage.’ – John said ….’d like to annul …..marriage. 6. Helen said to Jane, ‘They are charging me with negligence.’ – Helen said to Jane …were charging … with negligence.

3. Turn the following sentences into reported speech.

1. Robin said, ‘Law doesn’t punish theft by death.’ 2. ‘I can’t see you this afternoon because I’ve got to bring a lawsuit against the company,’ Ann told me. 3. The assistant came into the room holding some papers in her room, ‘I found these while I was tiding the desk drawers.’ 4. Fiona said, ‘The police filed the criminal charges against the suspect.’ 5. ‘Those were good times for street criminals,’ my granddad said. 6. ‘The judge dismissed the action this morning, but I haven’t looked into it yet,’ Tom said. 7. ‘You mustn’t break the rule again,’ Mum said to Bob. 8. ‘These requirements are out-of-date. You’d better revise them,’ my scientific supervisor said to me. 9. He said, ‘’I’m going to the polling station.’ 10. Tina said, ‘You should prohibit such actions.’ 11. They said, ‘We had settled a case before we left.’ 12. Tom said, ‘This evidence is unacceptable.’ 13. ‘I’ve won the case,’ she said to her friend. 14. ‘We’ve resolved to work harder next term,’ they told us. 15. Jill said, ‘I’ll take advantage of the opportunity.’ 16. She said to him, ‘The army has been maintained by the government.’ 17. She told me, ‘People must contribute to government decisions.’ 18. ‘The police have provided testimony,’ the prosecutor said to me. 19. They said, ‘We may improve welfare of the nation.’ 20. She said, ‘The court will not hear this case.’ 21. Keith said, ‘We are taking the action against the rival firm for fraud.’ 22. ‘They won’t be exercising supervision  over Tom this month,’ Sam told us. 23. Eric said, ‘They had been discussing these urgent issues for an hour before I interrupted them.’ 24. ‘He hasn’t committed any offence since last conviction,’ Gloria said. 25. ‘They delivered the contracts this morning,’ she said. 26. He said, ‘I have been afraid to drive since I was seriously injured in the last car accident.’ 27. ‘They aren’t going to dissolve their marriage’ he said. 28. Jane said, ‘The criminal has inflicted heavy injuries on the victim.’ 29. ‘All law-abiding citizens observe laws,’ Caroline said. 30. ‘We are going to take account of mitigating circumstances,’ I said. 31. ‘We want to set out the facts in our report tonight,’ the children said. 32. ‘We are to establish the cause of death’ the coroner said. 33. She said, ‘We must prohibit and eliminate chemical and nuclear weapons.’

4. After arrest, a criminal suspect is usually taken into police custody and ‘booked’. Turn the following answer of the suspect into reported speech.

Examples: ‘What is your name? → The policeman asked the suspect what his name was.

                   ‘Are you American?’ → He asked the suspect whether he was American.

1. ‘Where do you live?’ the policeman asked him. 2. ‘How old are you?’ the policeman asked him. 3. ‘Where is your place of work?’ the policeman asked him. 4. ‘Do you work every Monday?’ the policeman asked him. 5. The policeman asked him, ‘What time are you going to work today?’ 6. ‘Will you meet your supervisor today?’ the policeman asked. 7. ‘Who called you yesterday?’ the policeman asked him. 8. ‘When did you leave your office last night?’ the policeman asked the suspect. 9. ‘Who did you meet on your way home?’ the policeman asked him. 10. The policeman asked him, ‘Can anyone confirm your alibi?’ 11. ‘Have you been convicted of a crime before?’ the policeman asked the suspect. 12. ‘What crime did they charge you with?’ the policeman asked him.

5. You happened to be a witness of a crime. The detective asked you some questions. Turn them into reported speech.

‘Will you speak to your attorney before you answer the questions?’ the detective asked me. 2. ‘When did you see them break into the house?’ he asked me. 3. ‘Did you really see two men?’ the detective asked me. 4. ‘What did they look like?’ the detective asked me. 5. ‘What were they doing when you saw them?’ the detective asked me 6. ‘Was a passerby walking along the street?’ the detective asked me. 7. ‘Why did he act this way?’ he asked me. 8. ‘Can you describe him in detail?’ he asked me. 9. “Which of these descriptions suits him best?’ he asked me. 10. ‘Does this house belong to your acquaintance?’ he asked. 11. ‘Who used your mobile phone?’ he asked. 12. ‘Do you want to postpone your examination for tomorrow’ he asked me. 13. ‘Why didn’t you tell me the truth at once?’ he asked me. 14. ‘Have you been a witness before?’ the detective asked me. 15. The detective asked me, ‘Will you be able to come this afternoon?’ 16. The detective asked me, ‘Did you see them take anything away of the house?’ 17. The detective wanted to know, ‘Who else saw the burglary?’ 18. The detective asked, ‘Will you sign your testimony?’ 19.He questioned, ‘Can you repeat your words at trial?’

6. Fill in the gaps with the introductory verbs in the correct form.

       Order; tell; ask; beg; suggest

1. ‘Please visit me in hospital,’ Joan said to Colin. - Joan …… Collin to visit her in hospital. 2. ‘Let’s eat out this evening,’ Paul said to her. – Paul … eating out that evening. 3. Please, please be careful,’ she said to him. – She …. him to be careful. 4. ‘Don’t go near the fire,’ Dad said to us. – Dad …. us not to go near the fire. 5. ‘Be quiet!’ the commander said to the troops. – The commander …. the troops to be quiet.

Revision

1 . Choose the correct answer .

1. The money on the table ... for this week's shopping.

a) have been; b) are; c) is; d) were

2. Where is Melanie? – She ... in her bedroom, I think.   

a) studied; b) studies; c) is studying; d) study

3. Have you seen James? – Yes. He … me he’s having a party on Saturday.

a) says; b) said; c) told; d) has told;

4. The meal is great. Everything … delicious!    

a) taste; b) tastes; c) is tasting; d) are tasting;

5. She … very still when she saw a light downstairs.     

a) is standing; b) stood; c) stands; d) was standing;

6. I didn’t know Sarah could drive. – Oh yes, she … since last summer.

a) has driven; b) has been driven; c) is driving; d) has been driving;

7. Keri was very angry. He ... for Sarah for two hours.

a) had been waiting; b) was waiting; c) waited; d) is waiting;

8. What are your plans for the weekend? I ... time with my friends.

a) spend; b) am spending; c) will spend; d) spent;

9. Can you give this message to Mike? - Well, I’ll try if I ... him tonight.

a) see; b) will see; c) shall see; d) saw;

10. By the end of next week, she ... her training.

a) will be finishing; b) will have finished, c) will finish; d) will have been finishing;

11. Is she studying? – Yes, she claims that she ....

a) studies; b) studied; c) is studying; d) has studied;

12. He admitted that he ... in an accident.

a) injured; b) was injured; c) has injured; d) had been injured;

13. She ... to look after the children.

a) promises; b) promise; c) is promised; d) was promised; 

14. She … to type the letter.

a) didn’t see; b) hasn’t seen c) hasn’t been seen; d) haven’t been seen; 

15. He promised her that he ... to her boss.

a) will speak; b) would speak; c) speaks; d) will be speaking;

16. He told me ... if I didn’t want to be late for work.

a) to hurry; b) hurry; c) hurried, d) hurrying;

17. He … about the meeting.

a) remind; b) would remind; c) reminded; d) was reminded;

18. Tony said that if he ... he would help us.

a) knew; b) knows; c) will know; d) would know;

19. Eric said they ... on the phone for an hour before I interrupted them.

a) talked; b) were talking; c) had talked; d) had been talking

20. His mother said he ... in the garden then.

a) played; b) was playing; c) had played; d) had been playing;

21. Tom promised he would come to see me if he ... free.     

a) will be; b) would be, c) is; d) was;

22. Do you still work at Greens and Co? – Yes, I do. I … by Mr Green for five years now.

a) have employed; b) had employed; c) have been employed; d) was employed;

23. The lock was broken ... a hammer.

a) by; b) with; c) of; d) from;

24. Did you see many places when you were on holiday? – Well, on the first day we … on a tour of the historical monuments by our guide.

a) took; b) have taken; c) were taken; d) had been taken

25. What’s happening over there? – Oh, a new cinema …. .

a) is being built; b) is built; c) was built; d) had been built;

26. The children said they … to watch a film that night.

a) don’t want; b) didn’t want; c) hadn’t wanted; d) haven’t wanted;

27. He suggested ….chess.

a) play; b) to play; c) playing; d) played;  

28. I wanted them … an appointment for tomorrow.

a) make; b) made; c) to make d) making;  

29. It is known that this church … in the 18^th century.

a) is being built; b) was built; c) is built, d) have been built; 

30. She accused him … having lied to her  a) in; b) on; c) about; d) of

UNIT 4

Legalese

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