REPORTED SPEACH

Unit 1. He said that….

1. Read this short extract about a funny incident in the park. Once you have finished, answer the reading comprehension questions and complete the Reported Speech Activity.

Guess Who I Bumped Into?

Tim wandered along the path thinking aloud; "If I continue this diet I should lose twenty pounds by the end of..." when BOOM! He bumped into another city dweller out for a day's walk in the park. "I'm terribly sorry", he apologized. "I was so caught up in my thoughts I didn't see you!" he managed to stammer. Smiling, Sheila responded, "It's OK. Nothing's broken... No really, I wasn't watching my step either." Suddenly they both stopped making excuses and stared at each other. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" inquired Tim while Sheila exclaimed, "You're Tim, Jack's brother, aren't you?!" They both began to laugh as they had met each other the week before at a party that Jack had given. Still laughing, Tim suggested, "Why don't we have a cup a coffee and donut?" to which Sheila replied, "I thought you wanted to continue your diet!" They both were still laughing by the time they reached the Swimming Donut cafe.

2. Later that day Sheila reported the story to her friend Mike. Fill in the blanks with reported (indirect) speech using the text above and the words in the chart.

As he was walking down the path Tim said if he kept his diet he should lose twenty pounds. We bumped into each other. He apologized saying he was terribly sorry. I told him it was OK, that nothing happened. Tim said he was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not see. He seemed embarrassed, so I added

Reported Speech

that I hadn’t been watching my step either. At that moment we recognized each other! He asked me if he knew me from somewhere. I then remembered that he was Jack's brother. We both had a good laugh and then he invited me to have a cup of coffee and a donut. We had a great time together.

knew me continued his had been

was his was broken

hadn´t seen me recognized had

...