Unit4: Language Focus

The teacher said to his students, “Do all the homework before you come to class”  The teacher told his students to do all the home work before they came to class 2.. “Go and see the ga

Language Focus

Grammar Reported Speech

positive imperative

Shut up!

tell + to infinitive

He told me to shut up

negative imperative

Don't do that again!

tell + not +

to infinitive

He told me not to do it again

imperatives as requests

Please give me some money

ask + to infinitive

He asked me

to give him some money

Reporting orders and requests

If someone says something which orders or requests someone to

do something, this can be reported with verbs such as tell and

ask, followed by an object and a to-infinitive , e.g.:

“Please sit down.” = She told us to sit down.

“Pass me the salt, would you?” = He asked me to pass him the

salt.

Other verbs that occur in this pattern include: order, command,

forbid, instruct, beg and urge, e.g.:

“Please don’t leave me!” = She begged him not to leave her.

 Indirect Orders with to + Base Form of Verbs

1. The teacher said to his students, “Do all the homework

before you come to class”

 The teacher told his students to do all the home work

before they came to class

2 “Go and see the game tomorrow ,” said Trung to Hoang

 Trung told Hoang to go and see the game the

following day

3 Father said ,”Don’t waste your time playing games all day

,son.”

 The Father told his son not to waste his time playing

games all day

a) Change the following sentences into reported speech

4. “Go ahead with your presentation,” said the

interviewer

 The interviewer told the interviewee to go

ahead with her presentation

5 “Please do not touch any of the materials here,” said

the employer to his assistant

 The employer told his assistant not to touch

any of the material here

6. The coach said, “Be fast and concentrate hard”

 The coach told the player to be fast and

concentrate hard

7. “Don’t hesitate to ask if you have a question,” said

the instructor to the students

 The instructors told the students not to

hesitate to ask if they had a question

Advise Ask Beg

b) Change the following sentences into directed speech Use the reporting verbs given in the box.

1 Nam said, “Can you do it for me, Mai?”

Nam asked Mai to do it for him

2 “You must do it right now,” said the teacher.

The teacher ordered his student to do it right away

3 “Smoking is not allowed, sir,” the flight attendant said

The flight attendant reminded the man that smoking

was not allowed

4 Mother said, “I wouldn’t lose hope if I were you.”

My mother advised me not to lose hope

5 “You have to do it for me, David,” said Peter.

Peter requested David to do it for him

6 “Some more soup, please,” said the little boy to the lady.

The little boy begged the lady to give him some more soup

Reporting suggestions

If someone makes a suggestion about what they or

someone else could do, this can be reported with verbs

such as advise, propose, recommend and suggest, followed

by an -ing clause, e.g.:

“You should eat in the hotel restaurant.” = He suggested

eating in the hotel restaurant.

 Reported Speech with Gerunds

1. “Let’s exchange our notes,” said Ba

Ba suggested exchanging the notes

2. “I’ll offer you a position in the company,” said the

manager

The manager insisted on offering me a position

in the company

3. “Let’s stop now and finish it later,” said the teacher

The teacher suggested stopping then and

finishing it later

4. “Don’t go out alone late at night,” she said

She suggested not going out alone late at night

Change the following sentences into directed speech Use the

reporting verbs given in the box.

5. “Why don’t we sit down and take a rest?” said the team

leader

The team leader suggested sitting down and taking a rest

6. “Let’s eat out tonight,” said my father

My father suggested eating out that night

7. “Shall we go to the beach to collect some shells?” said my

sister

My sister suggested/proposed going to the beach to collect some shells

8. “Sorry I’m late,” said the supervisor

The supervisor apologized for being late

9. “Let’s go for a walk,” said Mai

Mai suggested going for a walk

10. “Please turn down your radio,” said Minh

Minh insisted on turning down my radio