2015-08-13
909
• If the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g. soys), the tense does not change in reported speech: ‘I’ ll meet you there.’ – He says he’ll meet us there.
• If the statement we are reporting is still true in the present, we don’t have to change the tense after a past tense reporting verb: ‘It ’s a good restaurant.’ -– Helen said it ’s a good restaurant. (This is still true now.) ‘I ’ve got a brother. ’ – He told me he ’s got a brother. (This is still true now.)
• But if the reporting verb is in the past tense, we can change the tense: Helen said it was a good restaurant. He told me he had a brother.
Report the statements.
0 ‘We’ve got football practice.’
They say...... they’ve got football practice.......
1 ‘I’m exhausted.’
He says............................
2 ‘I’ll be back at six.’
Paul says............................
3 ‘The film is wonderful!’
Everybody says............................
4 ‘I didn’t borrow Kate’s earrings.’
Caroline says............................
5 ‘We’ve never been to the theatre.’
A lot of my friends say............................
6 ‘We’re going to be away next month.’
Our neighbours say............................
Complete the e-mail. Use the correct form of the verbs in brackets. There may be more than one possible answer.
New Message
I’ve been asking my friends about webcams for you. Marco says that you (0)..... can get......(can / get) them for about £20. He says he (1)........................... (buy) his last year on the Internet. Another friend tells me that the more expensive ones (2)........................... (have) a better picture and audio quality, and that you (need) to get a special program too. He says they (4)........................... (be) very easy to install. I think they’re great!
I tried to persuade my sister in America to get one, but she said she (5)........................... (not want) one. She said she (6)........................... (not like) cameras. It’s a shame because I’d liketo see her and talk to her more often.
