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Lesson planB150 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
She Said She Was Nervous: reporting what people said
Students learn to report statements, questions and commands from interviews, then interview someone and write a short report of what they said.
Reported statements · Reported questions · Reported commands · Interviews · News
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use reported statements accurately
- Use reported questions accurately
- Use reported commands and requests accurately
- Learn and use 10 words and phrases in one set: Reporting what people say
- Read for detail: an interview with a chef
Stages · 50 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about interviews and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 10 minControlled practice: Ex. 2–3
- 5 minAccuracy practice: Ex. 4
- 10 minReading: Ex. 5
- 10 minWriting: Ex. 6
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 2 PDFs)Grammar notes
Reporting statements
- say (that) + sentence: She said (that) she was nervous.
- tell + person + (that): She told me (that) she was nervous.
- Move the tense one step back: am/is → was, are → were, will → would, can → could, present simple → past simple.
- If something is still true, you can keep the present: She said she lives in Rome.
Reporting questions
- Use asked + if (yes/no questions): "Are you ready?" → He asked me if I was ready.
- Use asked + question word: "Where do you live?" → She asked me where I lived.
- Use normal word order, with no do/does/did: where I lived (not where did I live).
Reporting commands and requests
- told / asked + person + to + verb: "Wait here." → He told me to wait there.
- not to for negatives: "Please don't be late." → She asked us not to be late.
Study tips
- After a conversation, write three things the other person said, using said, told and asked.
- Remember the order in reported questions: asked + where + subject + verb.
Glossary
- Reporting what people say10 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Words for reporting
Choose the correct word.
- a
The journalist ___ that the minister was in London.
- b
The manager ___ us that the meeting was at three o'clock.
- c
Please ___ me what happened after the interview.
- d
Can you ___ this word to me? I don't understand it.
- e
I ___ my question three times, but nobody answered.
- f
We ___ with the interviewer — her ideas were really good.
2
Report what they said
Report what people said. Usually the tense moves one step back (am → was, will → would, can → could, work → worked). If something is still true, you can keep the present.
- a
Lucy: "I'm nervous." → Lucy said she nervous.
- b
The coach: "We will win." → The coach said they win.
- c
Tom: "I can't come to the interview." → Tom told me he come.
- d
Ana: "I work for a newspaper." → Ana said she for a newspaper.
- e
The journalist: "I'm writing an article." → The journalist said she writing an article.
- f
The students: "We are going to ask questions." → The students said they going to ask questions.
3
Reported questions and requests
Put the words in the right order.
- a
Tap the words in order…
- b
Tap the words in order…
- c
Tap the words in order…
- d
"Finish the report today."
Tap the words in order…
- e
"Please don't tell anyone."
Tap the words in order…
4
Find and correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correction: the corrected word(s) or the whole sentence.
- a
Can you explain me this word?
- b
Please answer to my question.
- c
She said me that she was busy.
- d
He asked me where did I live.
- e
The teacher told us to not talk during the test.
- f
He told to me to wait outside.
5
Read: an interview with a chef
Read the text. Are the sentences true, false or not given?
Last week our journalist, Priya, interviewed Marco Rossi, the chef who opened a new restaurant in Bath this year. Marco said he loved cooking and that his grandmother was his first teacher. Priya asked him why he chose Bath. He explained that the city was beautiful and that the rents were lower than in London. Priya asked if the restaurant was busy. Marco replied that it was full every weekend, but quiet on Mondays. He also announced that he wanted to open a second restaurant next year. At the end of the interview, he told Priya to come back for dinner, and he promised that he would cook his grandmother's famous fish soup.
- a
Marco learned to cook from his grandmother.
- b
Marco said Bath was more expensive than London.
- c
The restaurant is busy every day of the week.
- d
Marco wants to open another restaurant.
- e
Priya went back for dinner the next day.
- f
Marco's grandmother works in the restaurant.
6
Write: report an interview
Report an interview.
Interview a friend or a family member, or imagine an interview with someone famous. Then write a short report of what they said (8–10 sentences). Report at least two statements, two questions and one command or request. Word box: say · tell · ask · explain · answer · agree · journalist · announce · reply · promise Example: Yesterday I interviewed my grandfather. He said he was born in a small village. I asked him what his first job was, and he explained that he worked on a farm. He told me to visit the village one day.
Suggested minimum: 80 words
0 words · aim for at least 80
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Fix ItFind the mistake in each sentence, then correct it.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 10 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in one set.
Reporting what people say
- say
- to speak words, without saying who to: She said she was tired.
- tell
- to give information to someone: He told me the news.
- ask
- to say something because you want an answer or help
- explain
- to make something clear so that someone understands it
- answer
- to say or write something after a question
- reply
- to answer someone, often in a message or letter
- agree
- to have the same opinion as someone else
- announce
- to tell a lot of people something officially
- promise
- to say that you will certainly do something
- journalist
- a person who writes news stories for a newspaper, website or TV
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