present perfect continuous reported speech exercises

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Reported speech – Present Progressive – Sentences – Exercise

Task no. 2337.

Finish the sentences using Reported speech. Always change the tense, although it is sometimes not necessary.

Joe, "I'm drawing a picture." Joe said (that)

Joe said (that) he was drawing a picture .

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Reported speech

Jenny, "I'm coming down." Jenny said (that) .
Tim, "Jack is having breakfast." Tim said (that) .
Jamy, "She's telling a joke." Jamy told me (that) .
Mavis, "The dog is running after the cat." Mavis remarked (that) .
Peter, "I'm playing the piano." Peter said (that) .
Zack, "You're drinking tea." Zack mentioned (that) .
Ella, "It's not raining." Ella remarked (that) .
Jacob, "Riley is checking the computer." Jacob said (that) .
Owen, "They aren't watching TV." Owen told me (that) .
Nora, "He is learning Spanish words." Nora said (that) .
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Direct Indirect Speech for Present Perfect Continuous

Last updated at April 2, 2024 by Teachoo

In this case,Present Perfect Continuous of Direct Speech becomes Past Perfect Continuous of Indirect Speech

The sportsman said "I have been training for 6 hours daily"

The sportsman said that I had been training for 6 hours daily

The man said "I have been watching you"

The man said that I had been watching you

The lady said "My husband has been dropping her home"

The lady said that My husband had been dropping her home

The teacher said "David has been bunking classes"

The teacher said that David had been bunking classes

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Present Perfect Continuous | Examples & Exercises

Present Perfect Continuous | Examples & Exercises

Published on July 11, 2023 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on September 25, 2023.

The present perfect continuous is a verb tense used to refer to an action that started sometime in the past and is still ongoing. It also sometimes describes an action that was just completed, as long as it’s still relevant to the present (e.g., “I’ve been working hard all day, and now I’m getting some rest”).

The present perfect continuous consists of “have been” or “has been” (depending on the subject) followed by the present participle (“-ing” form) of the main verb.

How to use the present perfect continuous, present perfect continuous vs. present perfect, present perfect continuous vs. present continuous, how to form negatives, how to form questions, how to form the passive voice, exercises: present perfect continuous, other interesting language articles, frequently asked questions about the present perfect continuous.

The present perfect continuous begins with either has (for the third-person singular) or have (for all other persons). It always continues with been (the past participle of “be”) followed by the present participle of the main verb . The subject may be contracted with “have” or “has” (e.g., “I’ve,” “she’s”).

This tense is used to refer to actions that:

Started in the past and are still ongoing
Were recently completed and have results that are still relevant to the present

She has been dancing all night and feels exhausted this morning.

I have been searching for a new apartment recently, but I haven’t had any luck so far.

Finally, you’re here! We’ve been waiting for your arrival. Note As with other continuous tenses, the present perfect continuous requires a dynamic verb —one that describes an action—and not a stative verb —one that describes a fixed state (e.g., “know,” “appear”). Use the present perfect instead with these verbs:

The United States of America has been existing as an independent nation since 1776.
The United States of America has existed as an independent nation since 1776.

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The present perfect and present perfect continuous can often be used interchangeably with little difference in meaning (e.g., “I have worked here for a long time” or “I have been working here for a long time”).

But there are situations where one is more appropriate than the other:

The present perfect continuous must refer to an action that is either still ongoing or only very recently completed.
The present perfect may refer to an action that’s still ongoing, but it may also describe an action that was completed a long time ago. Unlike the continuous, it may also be used with stative verbs (e.g., “I have known”).

The present continuous should not be used interchangeably with the present perfect continuous. Both tenses usually describe an ongoing action, but the present continuous differs in a few ways:

It never refers to a completed action (“I am walking” never means that I’ve recently stopped walking).
It doesn’t place emphasis on the past and shouldn’t be used with adverbial phrases that do (i.e., “I am walking since 2 o’clock” is incorrect).
It can also refer to the future (e.g., “I am going to Rome in September”).

To create a negative statement in the present perfect continuous, just add the adverb not between “have”/”has” and “been.” It may also be contracted as “haven’t” or “hasn’t” in informal contexts.

Yes–no questions can be formed in the present perfect continuous by changing the word order: use “has”/”have,” followed by the subject , and then “been” and the present participle of the main verb .

You can form other types of questions with wh-words ( interrogative pronouns like “ whom ” and interrogative adverbs like “when”). Add the appropriate wh-word at the start, and then use the same word order as above.

It’s possible to use the present perfect continuous in the passive voice , but it’s quite rare to do so and often reads awkwardly. The awkwardness results from how long-winded this phrasing is and from the repetitive sound of “been being.”

If you do want to use the passive voice, the phrasing is “has/have been being” followed by the past participle of the main verb. But it’s almost always better to use the active voice instead or rephrase in some other way:

John is convinced that he has been being followed for the last three miles.
John is convinced that someone has been following him for the last three miles.
Faisal has been being trained for his new position since June.
Faisal has been in training for his new position since June.

Practice using the present perfect continuous correctly with the exercises below. In the blank space in each sentence, fill in the correct present perfect continuous form based on the subject and verb specified (e.g., “[she / ask]” becomes “she has been asking”). Some answers may also be negative statements or questions.

Practice questions
Answers and explanations
__________ [I / think] a lot about my future.
__________ [she / work] for the company for a long time.
__________ [my dog / not / behave] herself lately.
__________ [researchers / investigate] this phenomenon since the 1980s.
__________ [we / look forward] to meeting you!
Where __________ [you / stay] while you’re in town?
The auxiliary verb “Have” is used with the first-person subject “I,” and the present participle of “think” is “thinking.” It would also be fine to write the contraction “I’ve” in place of “I have.”
“Has” is used with the third-person singular subject “she.” It would also be fine to write the contraction “she’s” in place of “she has.”
“Has” is again used for the third person singular. Here, it’s contracted with “not” to create a negative statement. It would also be fine to write “has not” instead.
The third-person plural subject “researchers” requires “have.”
The contraction “we’ve” is used here to combine the subject with the auxiliary verb “have.” It would also be fine to write “we have.”
To creature a question (interrogative), the word order is changed so that the subject (“you”) appears after the auxiliary verb (“have”).

If you want to know more about nouns , pronouns , verbs , and other parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations and examples.

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The present perfect tense and the present perfect continuous can both be used to refer to the present consequences of a past action or situation:

The present perfect can be used to refer to a past action that may continue in the present (e.g., “I have lived here for six months”).
The present perfect continuous refers to actions or situations that began in the past and are definitely continuing in the present (e.g., “I have been arguing with him constantly”).

The “-ing” form of a verb is called the present participle . Present participles can be used as adjectives (e.g., “a thrilling story”) and to form the continuous verb tenses (e.g., the present continuous : “We are partying ”).

Gerunds also use the “-ing” form of a verb, but they function only as nouns (e.g., “I don’t enjoy studying ”).

Present participles and gerunds look identical, but they have different grammatical functions:

Present participles are used in various verb tenses (e.g., “I have been eating ”) and as adjectives (e.g., “a laughing child”).
Gerunds function as nouns (e.g., “I enjoy jogging ”).

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Caulfield, J. (2023, September 25). Present Perfect Continuous | Examples & Exercises. Scribbr. Retrieved April 3, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/verbs/present-perfect-continuous/

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Direct and Indirect Speech Present Perfect Continuous Tense Exercises

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English Grammar
Clause structure and verb patterns

Reported speech

Level: intermediate

Reporting and summarising

When we want to report what people say, we don't usually try to report their exact words. We usually give a summary , for example:

Direct speech (exact words) :

Mary : Oh dear. We've been walking for hours! I'm exhausted. I don't think I can go any further. I really need to stop for a rest. Peter : Don't worry. I'm not surprised you're tired. I'm tired too. I'll tell you what, let's see if we can find a place to sit down, and then we can stop and have our picnic.

Reported speech (summary) :

When Mary complained that she was tired out after walking so far, Peter said they could stop for a picnic.

Reporting verbs

When we want to report what people say, we use reporting verbs . Different reporting verbs have different patterns, for example:

Mary complained (that) she was tired . (verb + that clause) She asked if they could stop for a rest . (verb + if clause) Peter told her not to worry . (verb + to -infinitive) He suggested stopping and having a picnic . (verb + - ing form)

See reporting verbs with that , wh- and if clauses , verbs followed by the infinitive , verbs followed by the -ing form .

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Tenses in reported speech

When reporting what people say or think in English, we need to remember that the rules for tense forms in reported speech are exactly the same as in the rest of the language.

This is a letter that Andrew wrote ten years ago:

If we wanted to report what Andrew said in his letter, we might say something like this:

Andrew said that when he was 22, he was an engineering student in his last month at university. He wanted to travel abroad after he had finished his course at the university, but he would need to earn some money while he was abroad so he wanted to learn to teach English as a foreign language. A friend had recommended a course but Andrew needed more information, so he wrote to the school and asked them when their courses started and how much they were . He also wanted to know if there was an examination at the end of the course.

We would naturally use past tense forms to talk about things which happened ten years ago. So, tenses in reports and summaries in English are the same as in the rest of the language.

Sometimes we can choose between a past tense form and a present tense form. If we're talking about the past but we mention something that's still true , we can use the present tense:

John said he'd stayed at the Shangri-la because it' s the best hotel in town. Mary said she enjoyed the film because Robert de Niro is her favourite actor. Helen said she loves visiting New York.

or the past tense:

John said he'd stayed at the Shangri-la because it was the best hotel in town. Mary said she enjoyed the film because Robert de Niro was her favourite actor. Helen said she loved visiting New York.

If we're talking about something that everybody knows is true , we normally use the present tense :

Michael said he'd always wanted to climb Everest because it' s the highest mountain in the world. Mary said she loved visiting New York because it' s such an exciting city.

Hi! I found the following paragraph from a grammar site while I was studying the reported speech. Can you help me? It says; --> We can use a perfect form with have + -ed form after modal verbs, especially where the report looks back to a hypothetical event in the past: He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. (original statement: ‘The noise might be the postman delivering letters.’)

And my question is: How do we understand if it is a hypothetical event in the past or not? We normally don't change 'might' in reported speech. (e.g. ‘It might snow tonight,’ he warned. --> He warned that it might snow that night.) But why do we say 'He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters.' instead of 'He said that the noise might be the postman delivering letters.’ What's the difference between these two indirect reported speeches? Could you please explain the difference? And I also found this example which is about the same rule above: --> He said he would have helped us if we’d needed a volunteer. (original statement: a) ‘I’ll help you if you need a volunteer’ or b) ‘I’d help you if you needed a volunteer.’) Can you also explain why we report this sentence like that. How can we both change a) and b) into the same indirect reported speech? Thank you very much!

Hello Melis_06,

1. He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters. 2. He said that the noise might be the postman delivering letters.

In sentence 1 it is clear that the noise has ended; it is a noise that 'he' could hear but it is not a noise that you can hear now. In sentence 2 the noise could have ended or it could be a noise that you can still hear now. For example, if the noise is one which is constant, such as a noise that comes from your car engine that you are still trying to identify, then you would use sentence 2. In other words, sentence 2 allows for a wider range of time possibilities - both past (ended) and present (still current).

Your second question is similar:

He said he would have helped us if we needed a volunteer - you no longer need a volunteer

He said he would help us if we needed a volunteer - this could still be relevant; you may still need a volunteer.

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello my friend : what are you doing now? me : I'm eating an apple now and My friend repeated his question now

my question

Can I repeat the sentence in the past ( I was eating an apple) and mean( I'm eating an apple now) ?

You can but it is unusual. If you say I was eating an apple (past continuous), it means that it was in the past. You already finished eating the apple and you are not eating it now. But if your friend asked you just a moment ago, I guess you are still eating the apple when she/he asks the second question, so I would say I'm eating an apple (because you are still doing it).

Alternatively, you can use a past tense reporting verb e.g. I said I was eating an apple (referring to the time of the first question), or I said I 'm eating an apple (to show that you are still eating it now, at the moment of speaking).

LearnEnglish team

Am I correct then? When someone wants us to repeat the sentence we have just said a moment ago we say 'I said I am doing...' if we are still doing that action. But if we are done with that action, then we say 'I said I was doing...' Did I get it right? Thanks!

Hello Meldo,

Yes, that's correct. Well done!

Hi. I wish to enquire if the verb tense used after a conjunction also changes in complex sentences as per tense transition rules, especially if it is already in simple past tense. In order to explain, could you please solve the following for me: 1. It has been quite a while since I last saw you. 2. Nevertheless, she has been quite desensitized to such perverse actions to the extent that it seldom ever seems obnoxious to her. 3. Let me keep this in my cupboard lest I misplace this. 4. I had arrived at the station before you even left your house. 5. I met my grandfather before he died.

Hi Aamna bluemoon,

The verb may or may not be backshifted, depending on whether the original speaker's point of view and the reporter's point of view are the same or not. For example:

She said it had been quite a while since she last saw me . (it seems relatively recent, for both the original speaker and the reporter)
She said it had been quite a while since she had last seen us . (a lot of time has passed between speaking and reporting this, or the situation has changed a lot since then e.g. they have met frequently since then)
She said she had met her grandfather before he died . (seems quite recent)
She said she had met her grandfather before he'd died . (a lot of time has passed between speaking and reporting this)

I hope that helps.

Hi, can you help me, please? How could I report this famous quotation: 'There's no such things as good news in America'.

Hi bri.q630,

First of all, the sentence is not grammatically correct. The phrase is 'no such thing' (singular), not 'things'.

How you report it depends. Using 'said' as the reporting verb we have two possibilities:

1. They said (that) there's no such thing as good news in America. 2. They said (that) there was no such thing as good news in America.

Sentence 2 tells that only about the time when 'they' said it. It does not tell us if it is still true or not.

Sentence 1 tells us that what 'they' said is still relevant today. In other words there was no good news (in their opinion) when they spoke, and there is still no good news now.

Thank you Peter,

All things are getting clear to me.

So, you mean, I can use both sentences depending on what I want to indicate, can't I?

then the possible indications are bellow, are those correct?

1-a I remembered the World War 2 ended in 1945. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.)

1-b I remembered the World War 2 had ended in 1945. (This would be indicated I might missunderstand.)

2-a I felt time is money. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.)

2-b I felf time was money. (This would be indicated I might not feel any more.)

3-a I knew the sun rises in the east. (This would be indicated the statement is still true.)

3-b I knew the sun rase in the east. (This would be indicated I might misunderstand or forget.)

4-a I guessed* that Darth Vader is Luke's father. (This would be indicated I still believe he is.*sorry for the typo)

4-2 I guessed that Darth Vader was Luke's father. (This would be indicated I might know he is not.)

Thank you in advance.

Hello again Nobori,

1-a I remembered the World War 2 ended in 1945. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.) 1-b I remembered the World War 2 had ended in 1945. (This would be indicated I might missunderstand.)

Both forms are possible here. The 'ending' is a moment in the past; after this there is no war. By the way, we treat 'World War 2' as a name so there is no article before it.

2-a I felt time is money. (This would be indicated the statement is still ture.) 2-b I felf time was money. (This would be indicated I might not feel any more.)

That's correct. Remember that backshifting the verb does not mean something is no longer true; it simply does not tell us anything about the present. Here, it tells the reader how you felt at a given moment in time; you may

3-a I knew the sun rises in the east. (This would be indicated the statement is still true.) 3-b I knew the sun rase in the east. (This would be indicated I might misunderstand or forget.)

That's also correct. Again, remember that backshifting the verb does not mean something is no longer true; it simply does not tell us anything about the present.

4-a I guessed* that Darth Vader is Luke's father. (This would be indicated I still believe he is.*sorry for the typo) 4-2 I guessed that Darth Vader was Luke's father. (This would be indicated I might know he is not.)

Again, correct. In the second example it might still be true that he is Luke's father, or it might have turned out to be not true. The sentence does not tell us.

Hi Peter, Thank you for your thoughtful answer. Allthing is now very clear to me. Best

Hi, I am translating a fiction novel into English and need your help regarding the reporting speech as for few things I am not getting any clear understanding over the internet. As you know in fiction, we need to write in non-ordinary way to create unique impressions of the word and academic writing is different than speaking. Will be grateful if you could give your insight below, especially considering in the context of fiction/academic writing.

1) Let’s say If someone is giving a speech or presentation, I want to mix their speech, indirect-direct and past tense- present tense. Below are three examples:

-He said, their company makes excellent profit every year OR their company made excellent profit every year ( can both be correct? As the sentence)

- Roger had given his speech yesterday. He said, their company makes excellent profit every year and your company will sustain for next hundred years.(Can YOUR be used in the sentence)

- Roger said people wants to feel important OR Roger said people wanted to feel important (which will be correct as this is a trait which is true in past and present)

2) He thought why he is talking to her OR He thought why he was talking to her (are both write? As usually I see in novels the second example with WAS)

3) Gia was sitting with Jake and she told him she had met with her last year. Her mother had taken her to the dinner. Her mother had told her about her future plans. Her mother also had paid the bill for the dinner. (Do I need to use every time past perfect in this example though it doesn’t feel natural? As a rule of thumb I think past perfect needs to be used when we talk about another past event in the past )

Hello Alamgir3,

We're happy to help with a few specific grammar questions, but I'm afraid we can't help you with your translation -- I'd suggest you find an editor for that.

1) In the second clause, you can use present or past. We often use the present when it's still true now, but the past is not wrong. FYI we don't normally use a comma after 'said' in reported speech.

2) 'Why was he talking to her?' he thought.

3) This is really more of a question of style than grammar. Here I would suggest doing something like combining the four sentences into two and then leaving out 'had' in the second verb in each sentence. Even if it isn't written, it's understood to be past perfect.

All the best, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Hello teachers, I'm sorry, I could not find where to new post. Could you tell me about the back-sifting of thoughts bellow? Which forms are correct?

1-a I remembered the World War 2 ended in 1945. 1-b I remembered the World War 2 had ended in 1945.

2-a I felt time is money. 2-b I felf time was money.

3-a I knew the sun rises in the east. 3-b I knew the sun rase in the east.

4-a I guess that Darth Vader is Luke's father. 4-2 I guessed that Darth Vader was Luke's father.

Do those questions have the same conclusion as indirect speech, such as say and tell?

Hello Nobori,

The verb form remains the same when we want to make it clear that the situation described by the verb is still true, and this works in the same way as indirect speech. For example:

She said she loves me. [she loved me then and she loves me still] She said she loved me. [she loved me then; no information on how she feels now]

Other than this rule, the choice is really contextual and stylistic (up to the speaker). Sometimes a choice implies something. For example, the saying 'time is money' is a general statement, so if you choose to backshift here the listener will know it is an intentional choice and suspect that something has changed (you no longer believe it).

Hi teachers, I've read almost the section of comments below and my summarize is the present tense only can be used if the statement is still true now and past simple only tells the statement was true in the past and doesn't tell the statement is true or not now. Just to make sure, I wanna ask, If I'm not sure whether the statement is still true or not now, can I choose backshift instead (this is still apply to past tense become past perfect)? Thank you

Hello rahmanagustiansyah,

It sounds to me as if you've got the right general idea. Could you please give a couple of example sentences that illustrate your question?

Thanks in advance, Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

For example, Steve said "Anna hates you." Then I wanna tell about that to my friend, but I'm not sure whether Anna still hates me or not now. What should I choose between these two options. Answer 1:Steve said Anna hates me or Answer 2 : Steve said Anna hated me. Thank you

Hi rahmanagustiansyah,

In that case, I would choose answer 2. I might even add "... but I don't know if she still does" to the sentence to clarify, if that is the key point you want to communicate.

Jonathan The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Natasa Tanasa,

Both sentences are grammatically possible.

The first sentence is only possible if when the person asks the original question the woman is no longer there (she has already gone). The second sentence can be used in this situation too, or in a situation in which the woman was still there when the original question was asked. As the past tense is used in the original question ( Who was... ), both sentences are possible.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

When the situation is still true at the time of reporting, we can leave the verb form unchanged. For example:

1. She told me she loved me.

2. She told me she loves me.

In sentence 1 we know she loved me when she told me but we don't know whether or not she loves me now. In sentence 2, we know she loved me when she told me and we know that she loves me now.

In your example, if the supermarket is still in the same place then we can use either form. If the supermarket has been closed down or moved to another location then we need to use was .

As for which is 'safer', you'll need to make your own mind up! Keeping the verb in the same form carries more specific information and that may be appropriate or even important.

Hello eugelatina87,

I'll give you a hint: a verb is missing from the question.

Does that help you complete it?

All the best,

The first two sentences are possible and they can both mean that he is still Mary's boyfriend now. The first one makes this more clear, but the second one doesn't only refer to the past.

Hello magnuslin

Regarding your first question, the most common way of saying it is the second one. In some very specific situation, perhaps the first option would be possible.

This also answers your second question. It is not necessary to always backshift using the tenses you mention.

As for your third question, no, it is not necessary. In fact, it is probably more common to use the past simple in the reported speech as well.

All the best

Hello manu,

Both forms are possible. If you use had been then we understand that he was there earlier but not when he said it - in other words, when he said it he had already left. If you use was then he may have left at the time of speaking, or he may have still been there.

Hello _princess_

I would recommend using answer a) because this is the general pattern used in reported speech. Sometimes the verb in the reported clause can be in the present tense when we are speaking about a situation that is still true, but the reported verb in the past tense can also have the same meaning. Since here the time referred to could be either past or present, I'd recommend using the past form.

Hello mwright,

This is an example of an indirect question. An indirect question reports a question, but is not a question itself, which is why we do not use a question mark at the end. Since it is not a question, we use the normal word order without inversion or auxiliary verbs. For example:

Indicative: He lives in Rome. Interrogative: Does he live in Rome? (Where does he live?) Reported: She asked if he lives in Rome. (She asked where he lives.)

Hello ahlinthit

There are different styles of punctuating direct speech -- in other words, you might find other sources that will disagree with me -- but what I would use here is something different: "The boss is dead!" said the doctor.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes

Hello Timmosky,

The form that comes after the auxiliary verb 'do' (or 'does' or 'did') is not the plural present simple verb, but rather the bare infinitive (also known as 'base form' or 'first form') of the verb. Does that make sense?

All the best, Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hello sky-high,

This is very formal language. The phrase 'to the effect that' means 'with the meaning that'. In this context it can be understood to mean 'with the result that'.

Best wishes,

The difference is quite logical. If we use 'said' then we are talking about a claim by Peter in the past which he may or may not still maintain. If we use 'says' then we are talking about an opinion expressed by Peter which he still holds.

The reported information (whether or not Rooney is in good shape) can refer to only the past or to the present as well and the statement (what Peter thinks) can separately refer to only the past or the present as well. Of course, all of this is from the point of view of the person reporting Peter's opinion, and whether or not they think that Peter still thinks now what he thought then.

Both are possible. If you use the present tense then it is clear that the statement is still true (i.e. the business was not growing when Mary spoke and is still not growing now). If you use the past tense then no information is given regarding the present (i.e. the business was growing when Mary spoke and may or may not be growing now).

Hello aseel aftab,

It should be 'if they had'. This is not from this page, is it? I don't see it anywhere here, but if I've missed it please let me know.

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Present perfect continuous 1
Present perfect continuous 2

Worksheets - handouts

Present perfect continuous

Worksheets - pdf exercises

Pr. perfect continuous - handout
Present perfect / present perfect continuous - pdf exercises
Present perfect simple and progressive
Present perfect continuous - pdf
Present perfect continuous: questions
Simple and continuous - pdf
Present perfect simple / continuous
Present perfect continuous 4
Present perfect continuous 5
Simple and progressive
Simple and Progressive 1
Simple and Progressive 2
Simple vs progressive - worksheet
Present perfect simple and progressive
Exercise 34 pdf
Exercise 35 pdf
Exercise 36 pdf
Exercise 37 pdf Answers_Key 34/35/36/37
Present perfect progressive pdf
Present perfect progressive - handouts
Present perfect continuous and pres. perfect simple - exercises
Present perfect simple and present perfect continuous

Grammar - lessons

Present perfect simple and continuous

ESL Discussion Topic — How do you solve problems?
ESL Speaking Activity — Past Simple Find Someone Who [set 1]
ESL Discussion Topic — Minimalism (less is more)
ESL Speaking Activity — Unfinished sentences [set 1]
ESL Speaking Activity — Talk for a minute [set 1]
Reported Speech — Present Continuous — Exercise 1
1. Justin, “Tom is writing an email to his friend.” Justin said (that) . Tom was writing an email to his friend
2. Fred, “Katie is wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans.” Fred said (that) . Katie was wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans
3. Amelia, “I am looking for a job in New York.” Amelia said (that) she was looking for a job in New York
4. Christy and Rob, “We are waiting for Michael.” Christy and Rob said (that) . they were waiting for Michael
5. Adam, “They are having a Spanish lesson.” Adam said (that) . they were having a Spanish lesson
6. Caroline, “Phil is cutting the grass.” Caroline said (that) . Phil was cutting the grass
7. Leo, “Lily is calling your mother.” Leo said (that) . Lily was calling my mother
8. Julia, “I’m meeting William at a restaurant.” Julia said (that) . she was meeting William at a restaurant
9. Mark, “It is raining.” Mark said (that) . it was raining
10. Matthew, “Chris is washing the car in the backyard.” Matthew said (that) . Chris was washing the car in the backyard
11. Peter and Charlotte, “We are listening to lounge music.” Peter and Charlotte said (that) . they were listening to lounge music
12. Margarette, “Kids are playing outside.” Margarette said (that) . kids were playing outside
Reported Speech — Present Continuous — Exercise 2
Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 1
Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 2
Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 3
Reported statements — mixed tenses — Exercise 4

Reported - Indirect Speech (Present Simple, Present Continuous, Past Simple)

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Nadine Prybyshenko

An exercise to practise Reported / Indirect Speech

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Reported - Indirect Speech (Present Simple, Present Continuous, Past Simple)

Direct and Indirect of Present Continuous Tense

Learn how to convey a message what someone is saying, feeling or thinking in present continuous tense. Direct and indirect of present continuous tense rules and structures of affirmative, negative, interrogative and negative interrogative sentences along with examples.

For direct and indirect speech complete rules click: Direct and indirect speech complete rules

Tense Change As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense, therefore, when we report what someone is saying in present continuous we go one tense back. Instead we use past continuous tense in reported speech.

Affirmatives

Direct speech: RP +, + S + be1 + V1ing + ROTS He said, “I am doing my homework.”
Indirect speech: RP + that + S + be2 + V1ing + ROTS He told me that he was doing his homework.

Interrogatives

Direct speech: RP +, + be1 + S + V1ing + ROTS He asked, “Are you going to school?”
Indirect speech: RP + if + S + be2 + V1ing + ROTS He asked me if I was coming/going to school.
Direct speech: RP +, + S + be1 not + V1ing + ROTS He said, “She is not listening to me.”
Indirect speech: RP + that + S + be2 not + V1ing + ROTS He said to me that she was not listening to him.

Negative interrogatives

Direct speech: RP +, + b2 not + S + V1ing + ROTS He asked, “Aren`t they staying with us for tonight?”
Indirect speech: RP + that + if + S + be2 not + V1ing + ROTS He asked if they weren`t staying with them for that night.

WH/Information questions

Direct speech: RP +, + WH + be1 + S + V1ing + ROTS She asked, “What are you buying tomorrow?”
Indirect speech: RP + that + WH + S + be2 + V1ing + ROTS She wanted to know what I was buying the next day.