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English Quiz - Indirect Speech (Questions)

Practise 11 Plus indirect speech. Report what someone said, adjust tenses and pronouns, and change questions to statements so meaning stays clear.

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Fascinating Fact:

Turn questions into statements with if or whether, or a question word. No question mark: She asked whether they were ready.

In 11 Plus English, indirect (reported) speech tells what was said without quoting exact words. You’ll remove quotation marks, shift pronouns and time words, and backshift tenses when required.

Key Terms

  • Indirect speech: Reporting someone’s words without quotation marks, often with tense and pronoun changes.
  • Reporting verb: The verb that introduces the report, e.g., said, told, asked.
  • Backshift: Moving a tense one step into the past after a past reporting verb (e.g., is → was).

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do you change direct speech to indirect speech?

Remove quotation marks, choose a reporting verb, shift pronouns/time words to fit the new speaker, and backshift tenses if the reporting verb is in the past.

How do you report a yes/no question?

Use if or whether and change the question into a statement word order: “Are you ready?” → She asked whether we were ready. No question mark.

What tense changes happen in indirect speech?

Common backshifts: present simple → past simple; present continuous → past continuous; will → would; can → could; today → that day; tomorrow → the next day.

Try These Related Quizzes

1. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... I'm going to ..." (female subject)
[ ] she was going to
[ ] she is going to
[ ] she will go to
[ ] she would go to
2. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... it is ..."
[ ] it is
[ ] it will be
[ ] it was
[ ] it would
3. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... he may ..."
[ ] he may
[ ] he must
[ ] he might
[ ] he should
4. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... I was looking ..." (male subject)
[ ] he looked
[ ] he had been looking
[ ] he had looked
[ ] he would look
5. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... I will go ..." (male subject)
[ ] he could go
[ ] he should go
[ ] he must go
[ ] he would go
6. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... I can help..." (female subject)
[ ] she could help
[ ] she would help
[ ] she should help
[ ] she will help
7. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... a week ago ..." (reported on a different day)
[ ] a week gone
[ ] a week earlier
[ ] a week before
[ ] a week previously
8. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... here ..." (reported in a different place)
[ ] now
[ ] there
[ ] at this point
[ ] then
9. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... tomorrow ..." (reported on a different day)
[ ] tomorrow
[ ] the coming day
[ ] after today
[ ] the following day
10. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... this evening ..." (reported on a different day)
[ ] that evening
[ ] this evening
[ ] those evening
[ ] these evening
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English Quiz - Indirect Speech (Answers)
1. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... I'm going to ..." (female subject)
[x] she was going to
[ ] she is going to
[ ] she will go to
[ ] she would go to
For example: "I am going to London," she said. BECOMES She said she was going to London
2. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... it is ..."
[ ] it is
[ ] it will be
[x] it was
[ ] it would
For example: "It is cold," he said. BECOMES He said it was very cold
3. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... he may ..."
[ ] he may
[ ] he must
[x] he might
[ ] he should
For example: "He said, "I may be late." BECOMES He said he might be late
4. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... I was looking ..." (male subject)
[ ] he looked
[x] he had been looking
[ ] he had looked
[ ] he would look
For example: "I was looking for my pen," he said. BECOMES He said he had been looking for his pen
5. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... I will go ..." (male subject)
[ ] he could go
[ ] he should go
[ ] he must go
[x] he would go
For example: "I will go quietly," he said. BECOMES He said he would go quietly
6. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... I can help..." (female subject)
[x] she could help
[ ] she would help
[ ] she should help
[ ] she will help
For example: "I can help the children," she said. BECOMES She said she could help the children
7. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... a week ago ..." (reported on a different day)
[ ] a week gone
[ ] a week earlier
[x] a week before
[ ] a week previously
For example: "I saw him two weeks ago," she said. BECOMES She said that she had seen him two weeks before. NOTE: Expressions of time if reported on a different day have to be changed, e.g. 'now' becomes 'then'
8. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... here ..." (reported in a different place)
[ ] now
[x] there
[ ] at this point
[ ] then
For example: "I left it here," he said (in the living room). BECOMES He said that he had left it there (reported while in the dining room). NOTE: If you report something said to you in a different place to where you originally heard it, you must change 'here' to 'there'
9. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... tomorrow ..." (reported on a different day)
[ ] tomorrow
[ ] the coming day
[ ] after today
[x] the following day
For example: "I'll tell him tomorrow," she said. BECOMES She said that she would tell him the following/next day. NOTE: 1. The use of 'that' is optional, BUT it is never used in questions. 2. 'today' changes to 'yesterday'; 'tomorrow' changes to 'the next/following day'; last weekend' changes to 'the previous weekend'. 3. Obviously, expressions of time can be substituted for each other, e.g. month, year, week, Monday, Tuesday and so on
10. What does the given extract of direct speech change to in reported speech?
" ... this evening ..." (reported on a different day)
[x] that evening
[ ] this evening
[ ] those evening
[ ] these evening
For example: "Can I see you this evening?" she asked. BECOMES She asked if she could see him that evening. NOTE: The plural of 'these' changes to 'those'
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