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.

Looking for an easy way to Learning of new elementary english grammar and composition for class 8 answers, Solutions. You have to learn basic English Grammar topics like Tenses Verbs, Nouns, etc… In this article, we will review the best English Grammer Topics and compare them against each other.

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?

“I know quite a lot of people here.’ Robert said.	Present Simple	Simple Past	He said that he knew quite a lot of people there
‘John is feeling much better ‘Paul said.	Present continuous	Past Continuous	He said that John was feeling much better.
‘I enjoyed my holiday in the States’ David said.	Simple Past	Past Perfect	He said that he had enjoyed his holiday in the States.
‘Jackie wasn’t feeling very well’ The teacher said.	Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	He said that Jackie had been feeling very well.
‘They’ve seen the Eiffel Tower’ john Said	Present Perfect	Past Perfect	He said that they had seen the Eiffel Tower.
‘I have been waiting for ages ‘My father said.	Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	He said that he had been waiting for ages.
‘Nobody had warned them about the storm’ He said.	Present Perfect	Past Perfect	He said that had warned about the storm.
‘She had been reading all ‘Brenda said.	Past Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	She said that she had been reading all day.

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.

Would
They said, “we would apply for a visa” He said “I would start a business. She said, “I would appear in exam”	They said that they would apply for visa. He said that he would start a business. She said that she would appear in the exam.
Could
She said, “she could play the piano” They said, “we couldn’t learn the lesson” He said, “I could run faster	She said that she could play a violin. They said they couldn’t learn the lesson. He said that he could run faster.
Might
He said, “guest might come” She said, “it might rain” John said, “I might meet him”	He said that guest might come. She said that it might rain. John said that he might meet him.
Should
He said, “I should avail the opportunity,” She said, “I should help a him” They said, “we said take the exam”	He said that he should avail the opportunity. She said that she should help him. They said that they should take the exam.
Ought to
He said to me, “you ought to wait for him” She said, “I ought to learn method of study” They said, we ought to attend our classes”	He said to me that I ought to wait for him. She said that she ought to learn method of study. They said that they ought to attend their classes.

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:

Direct Request	Reported Request
Please help me.	She asked me to help her.

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.

For example:

• 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’:
• Reported speech: She told me to sit down.
  

  Direct Order	Reported Order
  Go to bed!	He told the child to go to bed.
  Don’t worry!	He told her not to worry.
  Be on time!	He told me to be on time.
  Don’t smoke!	He told us not to smoke.

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.”
___________________________________________________