Commands and Requests — English Grammar Exercises

Reporting Commands and Requests

Imperatives — both commands and requests — are reported using the pattern: reporting verb + person + (not) to + infinitive. The imperative form itself disappears entirely; it is replaced by the to-infinitive. Negative imperatives ('Don't...') become 'not to + infinitive': 'Don't make noise' → 'told them not to make noise.' The reporting verb chosen conveys the speaker's intent: 'told' is neutral, 'asked' indicates a request, 'warned' signals danger, 'advised' signals recommendation, 'ordered' signals authority, 'begged' signals urgency. For suggestions with 'let's', the pattern is 'suggested + -ing': 'Let's go' → 'suggested going'. 'Suggest' does not take to + infinitive. When 'should' appears in direct speech as advice, it is commonly reported as 'advised + person + to + infinitive'.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tenses change in reported speech?

Every tense shifts one step back in time: present simple becomes past simple ('I am tired' → 'she said she was tired'), present continuous becomes past continuous, present perfect becomes past perfect, and will becomes would. Past perfect does not change — it is already as far back as possible. Modals also shift: can → could, may → might, must → had to, shall → would. Modals that are already past (could, would, might, should) remain unchanged.

What is the difference between say and tell in reported speech?

'Tell' always requires a direct person object: 'told me', 'told her', 'told them'. You cannot say 'he told that' — it must be 'he told me that'. 'Say' does not take a direct person object: 'he said that'. If you add a person with 'say', use 'to': 'he said to me that'. Additionally, 'tell' is required in fixed expressions: tell the truth, tell a lie, tell a story, tell the time. For fixed expressions with greetings — say hello, say goodbye, say sorry — 'say' is always used.

How do reported questions work?

Reported questions do not use question word order or auxiliaries like do/does/did. They follow normal statement word order with tense backshift. For yes/no questions, introduce the reported question with 'if' or 'whether': 'Are you coming?' → 'She asked if I was coming.' For wh-questions, keep the question word and use normal order: 'Where do you live?' → 'She asked where I lived.' No question mark is used in reported questions.

Which time and place words change in reported speech?

Time and place words shift to reflect the new perspective. Today → that day, tomorrow → the next day / the following day, yesterday → the day before / the previous day, now → then, here → there, ago → before, this → that, these → those, last week → the week before, next month → the following month. Not every sentence requires these changes — if you are reporting something immediately or if the context has not changed, some shifts may be unnecessary.