Ex. 24. Practise the following according to the model. Model “My train leaves at 10.”
What did he say?
He said that his train left at 10.
1. “My friend is waiting outside.”
What did he say?
2. “I know them quite well.”
What did he say?
3. “They are engineers.”
What did he say?
4. “She gets up early.”
What did he say?
5. “I met him last year.”
What did he say?
6. “He has been ill for a week.”
What did he say?
7. “The Smiths have been living here since 1990.”
What did he say?
8. “You came too late.”
What did he say?
9. “I’ll be ready in a minute.”
What did he say?
10. “I’ll be translating the article all day long.”
What did he say?
11. “I’ll speak with him.”
What did he say?

1. "My friend is waiting outside."
What did he say?
He said that his friend was waiting outside.

Explanation: The verb "is" in the original sentence is changed to "was" in the reported speech to indicate that the action is in the past. Additionally, the pronoun "my" is changed to "his" to reflect that the friend belongs to the person speaking.

2. "I know them quite well."
What did he say?
He said that he knew them quite well.

Explanation: The verb "know" remains unchanged as there is no change in tense. The pronoun "I" is also retained.

3. "They are engineers."
What did he say?
He said that they were engineers.

Explanation: The verb "are" is changed to "were" to indicate that the action is in the past. The pronoun "they" remains the same.

4. "She gets up early."
What did he say?
He said that she got up early.

Explanation: The verb "gets" is changed to "got" to indicate that the action is in the past. The pronoun "she" remains unchanged.

5. "I met him last year."
What did he say?
He said that he had met him last year.

Explanation: The verb "met" is changed to "had met" to indicate that the action is in the past before another past action. The pronoun "I" remains unchanged.

6. "He has been ill for a week."
What did he say?
He said that he had been ill for a week.

Explanation: The verb "has been" is changed to "had been" to indicate that the action was in the past before another past action. The pronoun "he" remains unchanged.

7. "The Smiths have been living here since 1990."
What did he say?
He said that the Smiths had been living there since 1990.

Explanation: The verb "have been living" is changed to "had been living" to indicate that the action was in the past before another past action. The noun "the Smiths" remains unchanged.

8. "You came too late."
What did he say?
He said that they had come too late.

Explanation: The verb "came" is changed to "had come" to indicate that the action was in the past before another past action. The pronoun "you" is changed to "they" to reflect the change in subject.

9. "I'll be ready in a minute."
What did he say?
He said that he would be ready in a minute.

Explanation: The contraction "I'll" (I will) is changed to "he would" to indicate future action in relation to the past. The pronoun "I" is changed to "he" to reflect the change in subject.

10. "I'll be translating the article all day long."
What did he say?
He said that he would be translating the article all day long.

Explanation: The contraction "I'll" (I will) is changed to "he would" to indicate future action in relation to the past. The pronoun "I" is changed to "he" to reflect the change in subject.

11. "I'll speak with him."
What did he say?
He said that he would speak with him.

Explanation: The contraction "I'll" (I will) is changed to "he would" to indicate future action in relation to the past. The pronoun "I" is changed to "he" to reflect the change in subject.