Reported Commands and Requests

How do you tell someone what an instruction or order was?

Notice

  • “Close the door,” she said. → She told me to close the door.
  • “Don’t be late,” he said. → He told me not to be late.
  • “Please wait here,” the nurse said. → The nurse asked me to wait there.

Rule

To report a command or request, use told/asked + object + (not) to + base verb — no tense change needed, since infinitives don’t have tense. Tell is more direct/neutral; ask sounds more like a request.

Practice

  1. “Sit down,” the teacher said. → The teacher told us ___
    Answer: to sit down.
  2. “Don’t touch that,” she said. → She told him ___
    Answer: not to touch that.
  3. “Please call me later,” he said. → He asked me ___
    Answer: to call him later.
  4. “Don’t be late,” mum said. → Mum told me ___
    Answer: not to be late.
  5. “Open your books,” the teacher said. → The teacher told us ___
    Answer: to open our books.

Connect

Fix common mistakes in reported commands.

Try Error Correction →

CEFR: Spoken Interaction — pass on instructions and requests accurately.

Azizul Hakim
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