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The son promised his mother he would never be rude to her.
(Indirect speech)
“Why has the clock stopped?” thought Peter. (Direct speech)
Peter wondered why the clock had stopped. (Indirect speech)
In INDIRECT speech, the word/words or the sounds used by the
speaker to express an emotion is omitted.
EXAMPLES
“Wow! What a handsome man he is!” the girls said. – The
girls exclaimed what a handsome man he was.
“Hello!” my friend said to me. “How are you?” – My friend
greeted me and asked how I was.

13 Multiple choice test (indirect speech).

1. “Who took the wrench?” – He was curious to know who …
a) took the wrench;
b) had taken the wrench;
c) takes the wrench;
d) has taken the wrench.
2. “Where does the driller James work?” – Mr James wants to
know where …
a) the driller James worked;
b) the driller James works;
c) the driller James had worked;
d) the driller James would work.
3. “Who is to blame for Gulf Oil Spill?” – Dirk Olin, editor-in-
chief of Corporate Responsibility Magazine wants to know who…
a) would be to blame for Gulf Oil Spill;
b) had been to blame for Gulf Oil Spill;
c) was to blame for Gulf Oil Spill;
d) were to blame for Gulf Oil Spill.
4. “Rig operator Transocean and contractor Halliburton must
bear portions of the blame for the explosion and the resulting

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