Indirect speech: mixed types PEG 307-24

Read the notes to previous indirect speech exercises.
Note thatwant or would like is often useful when the speaker reports a request made to himself or made through him to someone else:

Tom (on the phone to Ann): Could you book me a room in a hotel for tonight?

Ann (telling Mary about this): Tom wants me to book him a room for tonight.

(Tom said that I am to book would also be possible but more authoritative.)
Similarly:

Mrs Jones (on the phone to Mary): Could you ask Mrs Smith to ring me back?

Mary (telling Mrs Smith about it): Mrs Jones rang. She wants/would like you to ring

her back.
(She says that you are to ring would be possible but very authoritative.)

1 Letter (from Paul to Ann): Please get me a small tent and camping equipment for two people.
Ann (telling Mary about this): Paul wants . . .

2 Mr White (on phone to Mr Black's secretary): Ask Mr Black to meet me at six in the bar on the ground floor.
Secretary (reporting this to Mr Black): Mr White would like . . .

3 'Shall I go and get a candle?' said Ann when the light went out suddenly.

'I'd rather you got another bulb,' said Mr Jones.
'But there aren't any,' said Ann, 'and the shops are shut.'

4 'Don't worry about a few mistakes,' said Peter. I make mistakes all the time.'

'Do you learn from your mistakes?' I asked. 'Or do you keep making the same ones?'

5 I'm looking for a man called Albert, who drinks in this bar,' I said.
I should keep away from Albert if I were you,' said the barman. 'He doesn't like strangers and might turn nasty.'

6 'Could I have a look at your paper for a moment?' said the man.
'I just want to see the football results.'
'I haven't quite finished with it,' I said. 'Could you wait a moment?'
'I can't wait long,' he said. I'm getting off at the next stop.'

7 'You woke everyone up last night,' said my mother. 'You must try to be quieter tonight.'
'We will,' I promised.

8 'The soup's cold again,' complained Mr Jones. 'Why do I never have hot soup?'

'Because the kitchen's so far from the dining room,' explained his wife. If you insist on

living in a castle you must put up with its disadvantages.'

'What about getting an ex-Olympic runner as an au pair girl?' said Mr Jones.
'She wouldn't stay,' sighed his wife.

9 'Your licence is out of date,' said the policeman.
'It is,' I admitted, 'but I've applied for a new one.'

'Next time,' he said severely, 'apply for a new one before your current one has expired.'

10 'I'll have the money for you next week. Shall I post it to you?' I said.
'Could you keep it in your safe till I can come and collect it?' said Tom. 'A lot of my mail has been going astray lately and I'd hate to lose one of your large cheques.'

11 'Could I borrow your map again?' said Peter.
'You're always borrowing it. Why don't you get one of your own?' I said.

12 'When you hear the fire bell,' he said, 'shut the windows and go downstairs.'
'And what shall we do if the stairs are blazing?' I asked.

13 'Can you hear that noise?' Ann said. 'What do you think it is?'
'I think it's only rats running up and down inside the wall,' I said.
'I think it's someone trying to get in,' she said. 'You'd better go and see.'

14 'It's your turn to baby-sit tonight,' they told Ann.
'It can't be!' said Ann indignantly. I baby-sat last night! And the night before! And I'm only supposed to do two nights a week!'

'Could you possibly do it just this once?' they said. 'And we promise not to ask you to do any next week.'

15 'This is the best restaurant in town,' said the taxi driver. 'The only problem is that they expect guests to wear ties.'
'Then why have you brought us here?' said the tourists indignantly.
'Don't get excited,' said the taxi-driver, opening a box. I keep ties specially for gentlemen in your predicament. What colour would you like? They're all the same price.'

16 'Shall I start tomorrow?' I said.
'I'd rather you started today,' said Tom.

17 'Why don't you go and see the film? It may help you to understand the book,' I said.
'But the film's quite different from the book,' Ann pointed out.

18 'I saw the two climbers,' said the helicopter pilot. 'And one of them sat up and waved to me.'
'Which one of them waved?' I said.

'I don't know,' he answered. 'I wasn't near enough to see them clearly.'

19 'What caused the ship to sink?' I said.
'She must have struck the submerged wreck,' said the coxswain of the lifeboat. 'But I can't understand it, because the wreck is very clearly marked with buoys.'

20 'My car won't start!' exclaimed Mary. 'The battery's flat again!
Could you possibly give me a push just to start me down the hill?'
'Why don't you sell that car?' said Bill.
'Nobody would buy it,' said Peter. 'What about just putting a match to it?'

21 'I've been given so many bottles of wine lately that I'll have to buy another wine rack,' said Mr Jones.

'Why don't you throw a party and save yourself the expense of a wine rack?'

I suggested.

22 'Press button A to start the engine,' he said.
'But last time you told me to press button B!' I said.
'That was on a slightly different type of machine,' he explained.

23 'Don't brake if you find yourself skidding,' said Tom. 'That only makes it worse. Try to steer into the skid.'
'I know what I should do,' I said. 'But when I start skidding I get so excited that I do the exact opposite.'

'Then stop and let me take over,' said Tom. 'We're just coming to an icy bit and I don't

want to die just yet.'

24 'I've run out of stamps,' said my father. 'Have you got any?'
'No, but I'll go out and get you some if you like,' I said.
'Don't bother,' he said. I've missed the post anyway.'

25 'Repairs to cars rented from us must be arranged through our office,' he said. 'So if anything goes wrong with the one you've hired, please ring the number printed on your card. The office is open from nine to six, Monday to Friday.'
'But what shall I do if something goes wrong with it outside office hours?' I said.

26 'Why didn't you signal to the tanker that she was coming too close?' I said.

'We did signal,' said the pilot, 'but she came on in and ran aground.'

'What's going to happen to her?' I said.
'We're going to try to tow her off at the next high tide,' he said.
'But if we don't get her off tonight she'll be here till she breaks up, and there'll be an oil

slick all along the coast.'

27 'Why are you spending so long on those accounts?' I asked.
'Because I can't make them balance,' he said. 'I seem to be £13 short; and that means that I'll have to put in £13 of my own money to make it up.' 'Would you like me to go through them and see if I can find a mistake?' I said. 'No,' he said, 'but I'd like you to lend me £13.'

28 'Why are you looking so depressed, Jack?' I said.
'Because I've just asked Ann to marry me and she's refused,' he said sadly.

'I think she prefers clean-shaven men,' I said. 'Why don't you cut your hair and shave

off your beard and try again?'

29 'How did you get up that tree?' Mary asked.
'I used a ladder, of course,' he snapped. 'But someone went off with it when I was sawing. Go and get another one and don't just stand there asking silly questions.'

30 'Are you ill?' he said coldly.
'No.' I said.

'Did you sleep well last night?'
'Yes,' I said.

'Then why are you sitting about when all the others are working? Go out at once and

give them a hand.'

31 'Will passengers with nothing to declare please go through the green door?' said a customs official.

'You'd better go through the green door, Mary,' said Peter, 'but I'll have to go through

the other one. I'll take a bit longer than you will, I so wait for me at the other end.'

32 (Imagine that you have received the following postcard from your brother Tom. Report it at once to the other members of the family. Begin: Tom says... ) Don't worry about me. I wasn't badly injured and I'm being very well looked after. I'm coming back next Wednesday on the nine o'clock flight from Zurich. Could you please meet the plane?

33 'What shall I do with my wet shoes?' said the boy.
'You'd better stuff them with newspaper and put them near the fire,' said his mother. 'But don't put them too near or they'll go hard.'

34 'Let's drive on to the next village and try the hotel there,' he said.
'But what'll we do if that's full too?' I asked.
'We'll just have to sleep in the car,' he said. It will be too late to try anywhere else.'

35 'They have a rather fierce dog,' said Ann; 'but he's a heavy sleeper, and with any luck he won't hear you breaking in.'
'What'll I do if he wakes up?' I said.

'If he starts growling, give him some of these biscuits,' said Ann.
'How do you know that he likes these particular biscuits?'
'All dogs like them,' Ann assured me. It says so on the packet.'
36 If you even touch one of the pictures,' warned the attendant, 'alarm bells will ring all

over the gallery and you will be arrested instantly.'
'Are you serious?' I said.
'Try it and see,' he answered with a glint in his eye.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 1663