Choose one of the situations below and tell your partner what people said to you, you said to other people or people said to each other at or around that time. (If you can’t remember what people said you can use expressions like “My father said something like/ something about…”, and if you have run out of situations you have been in you can use your imagination). Can they guess which situation you are speaking about?
1. Your wedding
2. Someone else’s wedding
3. A wedding anniversary
4. Anniversary of someone’s death
5. When someone proposed
6. When someone asked you out
7. When you told your friends and family about a boyfriend or girlfriend
8. When a pet died
9. When you got engaged
10. When you graduated from high school
11. When you graduated from college or university
12. When you went abroad for the first time
13. When you spoke to the police
14. When you were the victim of a crime
15. When you were interviewed for TV or a newspaper or magazine
16. When you were interviewing for a new job
17. When you had a meeting with your boss
18. When your teacher told you off
19. When you started in a new company
20. When you or your partner were pregnant or had a baby
21. When someone you knew was pregnant or had a baby
22. The first time an adult talked to you about sex
23. Your day or first week at school or university
24. A baby’s first birthday
(Variation: Tell your partner something someone said in one of the situations above and they have to guess whether that was really said, whether that was something someone said in a book or film, or whether that was just your imagination.)
Which are the most important occasions above for people in your country? What do people usually say on those occasions?
Which ones are not marked in any special way (e.g. graduating from school in the UK)?
How do these things change from country to country?
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PDF version for easy saving and printing: Special occasions Reported Speech
