Reported/Indirect Speech Practice- Festivals and celebrations vocabulary

What to say during important life events

reported speech/ festivals and celebrations vocabulary/ functional language

Choose one of the life events on the next page but don’t tell your partner which one you chose. Report what people usually say, what people really said during a situation of that kind, etc, continuing until your partner guesses which one you are talking about. Switch roles and do the same, then continue taking turns until your teacher stops the game.

Possible people to talk about

• I
• The head teacher
• The CEO
• My father
• My mother
• My grandmother
• My grandfather

Useful reporting verbs

• advise/ recommend/ encourage/ suggest
• agree
• announce
• ask
• command/ order
• congratulate
• discuss
• insist
• offer
• pray
• promise
• remind
• request
• say
• shout
• sing
• tell
• thank
• warn
• wish

Which are the most important occasions below for people in your country? What do people usually say on those occasions?

Which ones are not marked in any special way (like the first day of school in the UK)?

How do these things vary from country to country?

Possible events to talk about

• (1^st/18^th/ 20^th/ 21^st) birthday
• anniversary of someone’s death
• April Fool’s Day
• asking someone out on a date
• birth/ having a baby
• buying your own home
• careers fair
• children move out
• christening/ naming a baby
• Christmas (Eve/ Day)
• coming of age (= becoming an adult)
• death of a pet
• divorce
• engagement
• (school/ university) entrance tests
• Father’s Day/ Mother’s Day
• first day (in a new company/ of work)
• first day of school/ entering school
• funeral/ wake/ after someone dies
• getting your driver’s license
• graduation ceremony
• having your… blessed
• job interview
• leaving home/ moving out
• marriage proposal
• meeting someone in the new year
• meeting your (future) in-laws
• moving abroad
• moving house
• national day
• national exams (e.g. university entrance exams)
• (Lunar/ Chinese) New Year’s (Eve/ Day)
• on the… th… of… (every year)
• quit your job/ resign
• retirement
• saint’s day
• setting up your own business/ becoming self-employed/ going freelance
• split up/ got divorced
• starting university
• summer festival
• teacher’s day
• training in a new company
• Valentine’s day
• wedding anniversary
• wedding (ceremony/ reception/ party)
• wedding proposal

Match these phrases to the situations above. Some have the words above taken out (so that guessing isn’t too easy). Two phrases match one situation above.

• “… to love and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness or health, till death do us part”
• “Congratulations on the __________ of a beautiful baby girl”
• “Happy ________________”
• “I’m sorry for your loss”
• “Merry ________________”
• He congratulated me for successfully finishing university.
• He got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him.
• He told me it was just a joke.
• He warned me not to drink too much.
• I asked my father to give a speech.
• I sent an anonymous card that told a girl that I liked her.
• I thanked everyone for the lovely presents.
• I thanked my wife for 25 happy years together.
• I told my mother that she could stay in bed because I would bring breakfast to her there.
• My father told me that it was really important that I do well.
• My father told me to shake hands firmly but not too firmly.
• My mother waved at me from the gates and told me to be good.
• The best man told everyone lots of embarrassing stories about the groom.
• The godfather and godmother promised to help look after the baby.
• We promised to support each other for the rest of our lives.

Which two lines above match with each other?

Write direct speech of the other reported speech ones above. As with the matched examples above, often the reported version uses quite different words to the direct version. 

Write other pairs of direct and reported speech for the situations above, then discuss if that is the same as what English speakers would usually say.