Time Place Reported Speech Exercises (B1-B2)

⏱ Time: 07:30 📝 Questions: 15 📊 Level: B1, B2 📚 Type: Grammar ⭐ XP: up to +16 (on pass)

Track your Time Place Reported Speech progress with 15 exercises at Level B1-B2. Take the quiz today, note your score, and retake it next week to see how much you have improved. Every question includes a full explanation so each attempt teaches you something new.

⏱ You have 07:30 to answer 15 questions. The timer only starts when you click Begin.

Q1  15
Q1 15

Question 1: She said, 'I am busy now.' → She said that she was busy ___.

Question 1 options
'Then' is correct because in reported speech, 'now' shifts to 'then' to reflect the change in time reference. 'Today', 'here', and 'soon' do not correspond to the direct speech word 'now'.
Q2 15

Question 2: He said, 'I will call you tomorrow.' → He said he would call me ___.

Question 2 options
'The next day' is correct because in reported speech, 'tomorrow' shifts to 'the next day' or 'the following day'. 'Tomorrow', 'yesterday', and 'that morning' do not correctly replace 'tomorrow' in reported speech.
Q3 15

Question 3: In reported speech, the time word 'today' changes to 'that day'.

Question 3 options
True because when reporting speech at a later time, 'today' must shift to 'that day' to correctly indicate the original time reference is no longer the current day.
Q4 15

Question 4: Why do time and place expressions change in reported speech?

Question 4 options
Time and place expressions change because the speaker is reporting from a different time or place than when the original words were spoken, so references like 'now' and 'here' no longer point to the same moment or location.
Q5 15

Question 5: Arrange the words to make a correct sentence:

Question 5 options
  • she had finished
  • her work
  • She said
  • the day before

Drag items or use arrows to arrange them in the correct order.

The correct order is 'She said she had finished her work the day before' because 'yesterday' in direct speech becomes 'the day before' in reported speech, and the past perfect is used for the reported verb.
Q6 15

Question 6: Which sentence correctly uses reported speech time expressions?

Question 6 options
'She said she would meet me the following week' is correct because 'next week' changes to 'the following week' in reported speech. The other options incorrectly keep the original direct speech time words unchanged.
Q7 15

Question 7: Tom said: 'The package arrived two days ago.' Later, Anna reported: 'Tom said the package had arrived two days ___.'

Question 7 options
'Before' is correct because in reported speech, 'ago' shifts to 'before' or 'previously'. 'Ago', 'earlier today', and 'after' do not correctly represent the shift from direct to reported speech.
Q8 15

Question 8: Which sentence correctly contrasts 'here' in direct speech with its reported speech equivalent?

Question 8 options
'He told us to wait there' is correct because 'here' in direct speech becomes 'there' in reported speech. The other options incorrectly keep 'here' or use unrelated place words.
Q9 15

Question 9: Put the words in the correct order:

Question 9 options
  • they had been
  • that week
  • They said
  • very busy

Drag items or use arrows to arrange them in the correct order.

The correct order is 'They said they had been very busy that week' because 'this week' in direct speech becomes 'that week' in reported speech.
Q10 15

Question 10: She said, 'We had a great party last week.' → She said they had had a great party ___.

Question 10 options
'The previous week' is correct because 'last week' in direct speech shifts to 'the previous week' or 'the week before' in reported speech. The other options do not correctly replace 'last week'.
Q11 15

Question 11: Which statement about time expressions in reported speech is true?

Question 11 options
'Tonight' changes to 'that night' in reported speech because the speaker is reporting from a different point in time, so the evening referred to is no longer 'tonight' but a specific past evening.
Q12 15

Question 12: Direct speech: 'I will finish the report tomorrow.' → Reported speech: She said she would finish the report ___.

Question 12 options
'The following day' is correct because 'tomorrow' in direct speech becomes 'the following day', 'the next day', or 'the day after' in reported speech. 'That day' refers to the same day the speech was made, not the next day.
Q13 15

Question 13: Match each direct speech time/place word to its correct reported speech equivalent.

Question 13 options
now
here
yesterday
next week
the following week
there
the day before
then

Select an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

In reported speech, time and place expressions shift: 'now'→'then', 'here'→'there', 'yesterday'→'the day before/the previous day', 'next week'→'the following week/the next week'.
Q14 15

Question 14: Time and place expressions in reported speech must always change, even if the reporting happens immediately after the original statement.

Question 14 options
False because if the reporting happens at the same time and place as the original statement, it may not be necessary to change time and place expressions. For example, if someone is still 'here' or it is still 'today', the original words can sometimes remain.
Q15 15

Question 15: Which sentence best reports the original statement 'I saw him here this morning' when reported that same evening?

Question 15 options
'She said she had seen him there that morning' is the most natural reported form because 'here' becomes 'there' and 'this morning' becomes 'that morning' when reporting from a different place and later in the same day. Keeping 'here' or 'this morning' unchanged is less natural when the location and time frame have shifted.