Extension: CLIL 1

Language and literature: Dialogue

1 We use reporting verbs in a text or dialogue to give a clearer impression of how people are speaking.
Complete the sentences with the past simple form of the verbs in the box.

accuse admit ask beg complain explain insist reply suggest tease

‘Please don’t hurt me!’ he begged .

1 ‘What about a trip to the museum?’ she .
2 ‘We’re late because the bus didn’t come, so we walked,’ he .
3 ‘I know you’re lying!’ she .
4 ‘No, I’m not,’ I .
5 ‘The truth is … I cheated in the exam,’ she .
6 ‘I can’t eat this food. It’s cold and horrible!’ he .
7 ‘I’ll tell you again: I didn’t do it!’ he .
8 ‘You look really silly in those trousers!’ they .
9 ‘Where’s the teacher?’ we .

2 Match 1–8 with the parts of the text a–h.

1 comma 4 full stop 7 reporting verb
2 direct speech 5 inverted comma 8 new paragraph
3 exclamation mark 6 question mark

It was a quiet evening and I was sitting in the living room with a magazine. The TV was on,
but I wasn’t watching it. a
c d
b Then mum walked into the room and asked, ‘Are you watching the TV?’ e

f ‘No, I’m not,’ I replied. g

h
‘Then please turn it off. It’s too noisy!’ she complained.

3 Complete the text with the words 1–8 in exercise 2.

Things to remember when writing dialogue in English

• When you write someone’s exact words, you call this direct speech . Put an (1)
before and after the words to show this. You can also use a (2) to describe how a
person says something.

• Punctuation shows this, too. For example, put a (3) after questions and if a person
shouts something, an (4) describes this. When we use a reporting verb after direct
speech, use a (5) at the end of the direct speech and not a (6) .
When you write the first sentence of direct speech, it is normal to begin a (7) .

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 1 Extension: CLIL
4 Read the text. Who is Jack in trouble with? Tick (✓) the correct answer.
1 his dad  2 his friend  3 his sister 

Jack’s friend
When I arrived home, my sister was in the kitchen. She turned around and stared at me.
‘Jack, It’s 1.30 in the morning. Where were you?’ she said asked.
‘I was at the cinema. I missed the last bus home, so I walked,’ I said (1) ,
determined not to tell her the truth.
5 ‘I don’t believe you. You were with Ben!’ she said (2) .
‘I wasn’t with him,’ I said (3) .
‘I know you were with Ben,’ she said again (4) . She looked confused now.
‘I just don’t understand. He’s so … unappealing. I think he’s bad for you.’
Maybe, but Ben was good fun. I spent time with him to escape from my boring life. His cheeky
10 smile and laid-back attitude made me happy. But of course my sister wanted to ruin everything.
‘You’re always trying to control my life!’ I said (5) . ‘Why can’t you leave me
alone? You make me so frustrated!’
My sister smiled, but her eyes looked spiteful. ‘Well, if you’re frustrated, let’s wake up Dad
and tell him all your problems,’ she said (6) .
15 ‘Please don’t wake him up!’ I said (7) , and started to feel a bit desperate.
‘OK, OK, I was with Ben,’ I said (8) .
My sister started to laugh. ‘It’s really easy to get the truth from you,’ she said
(9) . ‘You’re so weak!’

5 A text becomes more interesting and expressive when it uses different reporting verbs. Replace said in
the text with the reporting verbs in the box.

accused admitted asked begged complained explained insisted replied suggested teased

6 Read the text again. Then answer the questions.
1 Who did Jack spend the evening with?
2 Why did he lie to his sister?
3 Why does Jack spend so much time with Ben?
4 What does he like about Ben?
5 Why wasn’t their dad in the kitchen?
6 Why did Jack feel desperate?
7 Write the correct line numbers.
At what point in the text is it clear that Jack is
lying? Line 4
1 Which line shows that Jack’s sister knows he’s
lying? Line
2 Where does it become clear that Jack’s sister
always makes his life difficult? Line
3 At what point does the sister’s personality
become clearer? Line
4 Where does it become clear that Jack has
problems with his father? Line
8 The next morning, Jack’s sister tells their father
where Jack was the night before. Jack’s father
is very angry with him. Write the conversation
between Jack, his sister and their father. How
many reporting verbs can you use?

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