Reported Speech Exercises for Class 8 CBSE With Answers
Reported speech is when we express or say things that have already been said by somebody else.
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Reported Speech Exercises for Class 8 CBSE With Answers Pdf
When we say things that have been said, we use two ways of expressing it. The first is direct speech when we express what the speaker said as it is and the second is indirect speech where we express what was said in our words.
How do we use reported speech?
Reporting Questions We use a special form when we report questions:
WH – Questions : Where is + Tom’s house? He asked where Tom’s house + was. Where does Tom live? He asked where Tom lived,
Yes/No Questions: Does Tom live in Miami? She asked if Tom lived in Miami. Is Tom happy? She asked if Tom was happy.
Say vs. Tell Say something June : “I love English.” June said (that) she loved English.
Tell someone something June: “I love English.” June told me (that) she loved English.
Modal Verbs and Reported Speech Must, might, could, would, should, and ought to stay the same in reported speech. We usually change may to might.
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?
All of these requests mean the same thing, so we don’t need to report every word when we tell another person about it. We simply use ‘ask me + to + infinitive’:
- Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.
- Here are a few more examples:
Reported Orders And finally, how about if someone doesn’t ask so politely? We can call this an ‘order’ in English, when someone tells you very directly to do something.
- Direct speech: Sit down! In fact, we make this into reported speech in the same way as a request. We just use ‘tell’ instead of ‘ask’:
Changes in words showing proximity (time and place) Study the list given below to revise the changes in words showing the proximity of place and time when converting direct speech to indirect speech.
this becomes that these become those here becomes there now becomes then before becomes earlier/previously today becomes that day tomorrow becomes the next day yesterday becomes the previous day
Reported Speech Practice Exercises for Class 8 CBSE
A. Write the following sentences in indirect speech. The first one has been done for you.
1. He said, “I will meet you outside the post office at three tomorrow afternoon.” He said that he would meet me outside the post office at there the following afternoon .
2. The teacher told us, “The freezing point of water is 0°c.” _______________________________________ 3. “When I dropped the jug, it smashed to pieces,” my little brother says. _______________________________________ 4. The man said, “I have seen you somewhere before.” _______________________________________ 5. The mechanic said, “Your car was ready last night, but you did not come to get it.” _______________________________________ 7. He said, “I shall return your magazines tomorrow.” _______________________________________ 8. “My car broke down, and I had to walk two kilometers to get to a phone-booth,” the man said. _______________________________________ 9. “An English play is being held in the school hall now,” she told us. _______________________________________ 10. “The building burnt down many years before we moved here,” my father told me. _______________________________________
B. Write the following sentences into indirect speech.
1. “Don’t leave your bag out here, Tommy,” Kiren said. _______________________________________ 2. “Stand at attention!” the captain commanded his men. _______________________________________ 3. “Don’t touch it! Leave it alone!” I said _______________________________________ 4. “Please take me to the park, Father,” the little boy said. _______________________________________ 5. “Please tell me exactly what happened,” she said. _______________________________________ 6. “Speak up. I can’t hear you,” he said to the new boy. _______________________________________ 7. “Don’t shake the table while I am writing!” Pawan told his brother. _______________________________________ 8. “Please bring your own plates and spoons,” she told us. _______________________________________ 9. “Return to the ship immediately!” the officer ordered his men. _______________________________________ 10. “Open that drawer and bring me the scissors,” Deepak told his brother. _______________________________________
C. Write the following sentences in indirect speech.
1. “The Prince and Princess lived happily ever after,” the storyteller told the children. _______________________________________ 2. “Don’t push!” the conductor said to the passengers who were boarding the bus. _______________________________________ 3. “I’m sorry but I can’t join you for lunch,” he told his friend. _______________________________________ 4. “Do the exercises from pages sixty to sixty-two,” Miss Malhotra told the pupils. _______________________________________ 5. “Do you know how to operate a computer?” asked the personnel officer. _______________________________________ 6. “Help! Help! Help!” I heard someone shout. _______________________________________ 7. “Are you mad at me?” asked the elder sister. _______________________________________ 8. The cheerleaders shouted, “Hurray! Fight them! Show them all your might!” _______________________________________ 9. “Keep the change,” the rich man said to the waitress. _______________________________________ 10. I said to myself, “I will definitely beat him in the next event.” _______________________________________
D. Rewrite these sentences in direct speech. The first one has been done for you.
1. My mother asked me to buy a dozen eggs from the shop. “Can you buy me a dozen eggs from the shop?” asked my mother .
2. I told myself that I would finish painting the gate by that afternoon. _______________________________________ 3. The judge asked the defendant to speak louder. _______________________________________ 4. The engineer wanted the workers to complete the project by the following day. _______________________________________ 5. Anu reported to the police about her purse being snatched. _______________________________________
E. Use past tenses, present perfect or past perfect tenses to complete the sentences.
We _____________ in Bristol from January to March. (stay) Where is my wine? Someone _____________ my wine! (drink) When you _____________ you _____________ fast? (crash, drive) I’m sorry. Dad isn’t here. He _____________ our neighbour’s flat since the morning. (decorate) What a nice coat! Where _____________ you _____________ it? (buy) At 6 o’clock he _____________ there for three hours! (sit) I want to learn French. But I _____________ yet. (not start) We didn’t want to spend our holiday in Strobl because _____________ already _____________ there. (be) What _____________ ? You are so dirty! (do) Oh, no! I _____________ my way. What shall I do? (lose) Jim _____________ the dishes after dinner. The kitchen sink is full of plates. (not wash) She _____________ three clients since the morning. (contact) I couldn’t help you. I _____________ your problems. (not understand) Does he know about it? _____________ him yet? (tell) Bill admitted that he _____________ the catalogue to the agency. (not send) As soon as I _____________ the message, I _____________ my house (get, leave) While Maggie _____________ a new Jumper, Jill and I _____________ (knit, read) Here he is! He _____________ for me all the time, he _____________ for Ann! (not look, wait) _____________ you in your room at 5.30? Yes, I think I _____________ my suitcase. (be, pack) Nice to meet you! I _____________ uyou for 10 years. What _____________ you _____________ all this time? (not see, do) He _____________ but he’ll be back home today. The doctors ____________ to cure him. (die, manage) After we _____________ to the top of hill we had a great view of the bay. (elimb) The pigeon finally delivered the news after it _____________ for the whole day. (fly)
F. In the following sentences the speakers are all saying something different to what they told you before. Write replies to their statements as given in the example. Example:
- “I’m going out with Alisha.” But you said you weren’t going out with her .
1. “I haven’t finished my project.” I thought you said ________________ 2. “I’m better at tennis than golf.” But you told me ________________ 3. “I enjoy parties.” I remember you saying ________________ 4. “I’ve got a video recorder.” But you said yesterday ________________ 5. “I’m applying for the job.” I thought you told me ________________ 6. “I like Indian food more than Chinese.” But you said ________________ 7. “I prefer pop music to classical music.” You told me ________________
G. Change the following sentence to indirect speech.
1. Our teacher said, “Time is precious, so spend your free time in the best possible way.” ________________________________________________ 2. “Ugh! This toilet is so smelly,” Rita said. ________________________________________________ 3. Chetan said, “Please buy me a bar of chocolate.” ________________________________________________ 4. “Polish your boots,” the army officer said to his men. ________________________________________________ 5. “Get me a glass of water,” he said to her. ________________________________________________ 6. “What a beautiful car!” he remarked. ________________________________________________ 7. “Please spare me some money,” the beggar said. ________________________________________________ 8. “You must listen to me!” his mother cried. ________________________________________________ 9. “Pass me that salt, please,” the man said to her. ________________________________________________ 10. “Get out or I’ll call the police!” the lady said to him. ________________________________________________
H. Change the following to reported speech by completing the sentence.
1. She asked, “Have you been here before?” She asked me if _________________ 2. “Is your sister still asleep?” my mother asked. My mother asked _________________ 3. The policeman said, “Show me your license.” The policeman demanded _________________ 4. “Shall I open the windows for you?” he asked. He asked me whether _________________ He offered to _________________ 5. “Where will you be going for your holidays?” she asked. She wanted to know _________________ 6. “When will you be visiting the hospital? I want to come along,” she said. She wanted to know _________________ 7. “Is the ship leaving on Monday or Tuesday?” She inquired. She inquired whether _________________ 8. “What’s wrong with your cheek? Have you been fighting again?” my mother asked. My mother asked what _________________ 9. “Did you learn anything interesting at the seminar?” he inquired. He inquired _________________ 10. “The purpose of this project is to encourage teamwork and inculcate a sense of belonging,” he said. He said that _________________
I. Change these sentences from Direct to Indirect Speech. Example
- “Oh!” she cried in fright on seeing him.
- “Why did you suddenly appear like this?”
She exclaimed in fright when she saw him and asked him why he had suddenly appeared like that.
1. “I am sorry,” she said to me, “but my brother won’t be back until late tonight.” ___________________________________________________ 2. The guard reported, “I heard some shots and ran out into the compound to investigate.” ___________________________________________________ 3. “When will he be back?” Sheela said. “I have something important to tell him.” ___________________________________________________ 4. “Did you go to the circus that’s performing here?” Jatin asked me. “It was a wonderful show.” ___________________________________________________ 5. “Good morning!” she said when she saw me. “How are you today? I heard you had been quite ill.” ___________________________________________________ 6. “Come here at once!” he ordered the frightened boy. “If you don’t, I shall give you a beating.” ___________________________________________________ 7. “Don’t do too much heavy work now,” the doctor advised Mrs. Birla. “Get as much rest as possible.” ___________________________________________________ 8. “Please come,” he said. “I want to show you my new fish. My father bought it yesterday.” ___________________________________________________ 9. “Are you going out now? If you are, see that you are back by ten,” my mother said to! me. ___________________________________________________ 10. “Yes, please do so,” I answered her. “I will wait here until you return.” ___________________________________________________
Class 8 English Grammar Reported Speech (Direct and Indirect) Exercise with Answer
Reported Speech – Reported speech refers to recording the speaker’s speech, whether it is done directly by recording the speaker’s words or indirectly by recording the speaker’s words but changing them.
For example Shyam said, “Taj Mahal was built by Shahjahan.” Shyam said is the reporting verb. “Taj Mahal was built by Shahjahan.” is the reported speech.
Direct Speech
It refers to reporting the exact words spoken by the speaker. There is no change in the verb or the sentence.
Rules of Direct Speech
- Speech should be opened with quotations or inverted commas.
- The word said is used to connect two sentences.
- Reporting clause should be used at the end of the sentence.
- At the end of the sentence full stop should be placed.
Let us look at some examples
- Neha said, “Roger Federer has won the match against Rafael Nadal.”
- Shivani says, “I am having my lunch.”
Indirect Speech
It is the speech that tells what someone has said but it does not explain the actual words spoken by the person. It just conveys the basic narration of what is being said to the third person.
Rules of Indirect Speech
- Past tense is used when the situation is uncertain.
- The present tense of the sentence is changed to the past tense in indirect speech.
- Universal facts tense remains the same.
- The use of the word “that” connects the reported verb and reported speech.
- Gargi said that she enjoyed watching the movie Avatar.
- Shiva says that he is eating an apple.
Changing direct speech into reported speech
Change of Pronouns
Change in Tenses
Change of Adverbs of Place and Adverbs of Time
Change of Modal Verbs
Let us look at some examples using comic strips-
Exercise on Reported Speech (Practice Questions)
Convert the following sentences into reported speech.
- Mohini said to her mother, “The ladies have been making pickles for 10 years.”
- The teacher said to us, “Water boils at 100°C.”
- Mr Gupta said, “All the flights are delayed due to heavy rains.”
- Radhika asked me, “When are you leaving?”
- She said, “He likes Mughlai food.”
- He said, “Her dress is ready.”
- Dronacharya said to Arjun, “Shoot the fish’s eye.”
- He said to her, “You are an understanding person.”
- The teacher said to Shelly, “Why are you laughing?”
- Rashi told him, “Your bag is new.”
- Meera said, “I’m reading a comic.”
- The old man said to the sailor, “The sea will be rough according to the weather forecast.”
- My father said to me, “Please wait here till I return.”
- Rita told her, “Your friend likes you.”
- “Call the ambulance,” said the woman.
- The chef said to the helper, “Chop the vegetables quickly.”
- Robert said to me, “I shall do my homework.”
- The student said to the librarian, “Please allow me to go to the library.”
- Grandma said to Kishore, “Avoid drinking chilled water as it will further harm your sore throat.”
- He said to her, “Go there.”
- Mohini told her mother that the ladies had been making pickle for 10 years.
- The teacher told us that water boils at 100°C.
- Mr Gupta said that all the flights were delayed due to heavy rains.
- Radhika asked me when I was leaving.
- She said that he liked Mughlai food.
- He said that her dress was ready.
- Dronacharya ordered Arjun to shoot the fish’s eye.
- He told her that she was an understanding person.
- The teacher asked Shelly why she was laughing.
- Rashi told him that his bag was new.
- Mera said that she was reading a comic.
- The old man informed the sailor that the sea would be rough according to the weather forecast.
- My father requested me to wait there till he returned.
- Rita told her that her friend liked her.
- The woman urged to call the ambulance.
- The chef ordered the helper to chop the vegetables quickly.
- Robert said to me that he would do his homework.
- The student requested the librarian to allow him to go to the library.
- Grandma advised Kishore to avoid drinking chilled water as it would further harm his sore throat.
- He ordered her to go there.
Convert the dialogue in the comic strip into indirect speech-
Answers –
B Convert the following paragraph into reported speech.
- Mother said to Rahul, ”Drive slow”. He replied, “I always drive slow.” Handing over a packed lunch she said, “Keep me updated about your whereabouts.” Raghav hugged her goodbye and took off for Manali.
Ans. Mother said to Rahul to drive slow. He replied that he always drives slow. Mother gave him a packed lunch and asked him to keep her updated about his whereabouts. Raghav hugged her goodbye and took off for Manali.
- “Do you want to know something cool?” Preeti asked Rama. Rama said, “Why not.” Preeti said, “Did you know “strengths” is the longest word in the English language with one vowel?” Rama seemed surprised. Preeti said, “According to the Guinness Book of World Records, “strengths” is the longest word in the English language with one vowel. The word contains nine letters, eight of them being consonants.”
Ans Preeti asked Rama if she wanted to know something cool. Rama replied that why not. Preeti asked her whether she knew that “strengths” is the longest word in the English language with one vowel. Rama seemed surprised. Preeti said that according to the Guinness Book of World Records, “strengths” is the longest word in the English language with one vowel. The word contains nine letters, eight of them being consonants.
- She said, “You should eat your vegetables.” Raghav replied, “I don’t like brinjal, I want to have fries.” His mother said, “If you’ll have your vegetables throughout the week, then I will treat you with fries on the weekend.”
Ans She said to Raghav that he should eat his vegetables. Raghav replied that he did not like brinjal, he wanted to have fries. His mother told him that if he’d have his vegetables throughout the week then she would treat him with fries on the weekend.
- Robert asked Paul, “Are you a potterhead?” Paul excitedly replied, “Yes, a big one!” Robert asked, “Did you know actor Daniel Radcliffe went through nearly 70 wands and 160 pairs of glasses during the making of the Harry Potter films?” Paul was amazed to know this.
Ans Robert asked Paul whether he was a potterhead. Paul excitedly replied that he was a big one. Robert asked whether he knew that actor Daniel Radcliffe went through nearly 70 wands and 160 pairs of glasses during the making of the Harry Potter films. Paul was amazed to know this.
- Vinay said, “Good afternoon, sir! May I come in?” His boss replied, “Yes Vinay, please come in.” Vinay said, “Actually, I wanted to speak to you about something, so do let me know when you are free!” his boss said, ”Yes, Vinay please have a seat. What do you have to say, please do tell me!”
Ans Vinay wished good afternoon to his boss and asked whether he could come in. His boss said yes and requested him to go in. Vinay said that he actually wanted to speak to him about something so could he please let him know when he was free. His boss replied yes and asked him to have a seat and to tell him what he had to say.
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