Direct and indirect speech exercises

Reporting Orders and Requests
When you give someone an order, you use the imperative form, which means using just the verb without a subject. For example:

• 
  “Call me back later.”
  
• 
  “Have a seat.”
  
• 
  “Don’t do that!”
  

To report an order we use ‘tell’ and the infinitive of the verb. For example:

• 
  You told me to call you back later.
  
• 
  He told me to have a seat.
  
• 
  She told us not to do that.
  

When you make a request, you normally use words like ‘can’, ‘could’, or ‘will’. For example:

• 
  “Could you call me back later?”
  
• 
  “Will you have a seat?”
  
• 
  “Can you not do that please?”
  

To report a request, we use the verb ‘to ask’ and the infinitive form of the verb. For example:

• 
  You asked me to call you back later.
  
• 
  He asked me to have a seat.
  
• 
  She asked us not to do that.
  

 
Now you’ve seen how we use direct and indirect speech, practice using them yourself. An excellent and easy way to see how they are used is by reading a short story in English or a news article online, because stories and articles contain many examples of reported speech.