P U COLLEGES’ ENGLISH LECTURERS’ FORUM CHIKODI 2024

28. REPORT THE CONVERSATION

TYPES OF THE SENTENCES

1. DECLARATIVE SENTENCE. (Usually begins with subject and ends with full stop)

Dona Laura : I am so glad to be here.

- Dona Laura told Petra that she was so glad to be there

common Reporting verbs are - told/said to/said

Common linker used is - that

Change takes place in Pronouns, Verbs and Time and Place references

Note:

* Reply is also a declarative sentence.

* Some other relevant reporting verbs are also used like replied, assured, declared etc

2. IMPERATIVE SENTENCE. (Usually begins with main verb and ends with full stop)

(request) Don Gonzalo : Pardon me, Senora.

Dona Gonzalo requested Dona Laura to pardon him.

(order) Dona Laura : Give me the breadcrumbs.

Dona Laura ordered Petra to give her the breadcrumbs.

(+ve warn / instruct) Dona Laura : Remain within a calling distance.

Dona Laura warned / instructed Petra to remain within the calling distance.

(-ve warn / instruct) Dona Laura : Don’t remain more than ten minutes.

Dona Laura warned / instructed her not to remain more than ten minutes.

(Suggest) Jaunito: Sit here.

Jaunito suggested Don Gonzalo to sit there.

(Permit) Dona Laura : Read as loud as you please.

Dona Laura permitted Don Gonzalo to read as loud as he pleased.

Note :

The imperatives take the respective reporting verbs like –requested, ordered, warned,
suggested, permitted etc

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 P U COLLEGES’ ENGLISH LECTURERS’ FORUM CHIKODI 2024

common Linker : to

Changes take place in Pronouns, Time and place reference but not in verb of the first clause.

for ex: Dona Laura : Read as loud you please.

Dona Laura permitted Don Gonzalo to read as loud as he pleased.

3. INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE (Begins with ‘wh’ word or helping verb and ends with Q mark)

Don Gonzalo : Have they gone? (Assume that ‘They have gone’)

Don Gonzalo asked Juanito if they had gone.

Dona Laura : Why have you been in America? (Assume that ‘Why you have been in America?’)

Don Gonzalo asked why he had been in America.

Note :

- Question is no more a question when it is reported.

- Note the changed order of Subject and verb

- Subject may contain more than one word.

- Foe ex : Roberto Alifano : Is finding precise words important in the art of poetry?

* Roberto Alifano asked Jorge Luis Borges if finding the precise words was important in the art of
poetry.

- Common reporting verb is asked

- No common linker as in case of declarative (that) and imperative (to) is used.

- For ‘wh’ question the ‘wh’ word of the statement is the linker.

- For Yes / No question (beginning with helping verb) ‘if’ is the linker.

4. EXCLAMATORY SENTENCE (Usually begins with ‘wh’ word and ends with an exclamatory mark)

Dona Laura : What a beautiful morning!

Dona Laura exclaimed with joy that it was a beautiful morning.

Note :

- One may undergo a wrong impression that the sentence is a question as it begins with ‘wh’

word but note that it doesn’t end with Question mark.

- Change the exclamatory sentence into declarative sentence.

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 P U COLLEGES’ ENGLISH LECTURERS’ FORUM CHIKODI 2024

For ex : What a beautiful morning! – It is a beautiful morning.

common Reporting verb – exclaimed with ........... (quote the feeling like sorrow, surprise, anger etc

- common Linker - that

Note :

- Only two lessons are considered for ‘Report the Conversation’.

1. A Sunny Morning

2. I Believe that Books will never Disappear

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 P U COLLEGES’ ENGLISH LECTURERS’ FORUM CHIKODI 2024

L 5 A SUNNY MORNING
1. Dona Laura : I am so glad to be here. I feared my seat would be occupied.
What a beautiful morning!.
Petra : The sun is hot.
2. Petra : He is not mine.
Dona Laura : He belongs more to you than the park. Go and find him.
Petra : I see him over there waiting for me.
3. Dona Laura : Do not remain more than ten minutes.
Petra : Very well Senora.
Dona Laura : Wait a moment.
Petra : What does the senora wish?
4. Dona Laura : Wait a moment.
Petra : What does the senora wish?
Dona Laura : Give me the breadcrumbs.
Petra : I don’t know the matter.
5. Jaunito : Can you sit here? There is only a lady.
Don Gonzalo : I won’t sit there. I want a bench to myself.
6. Don Gonzalo : That one over there is mine.
Jaunito : There are three priests sitting there.
Don Gonzalo : Rout them out. Have they gone?
7. Don Gonzalo : Are you speaking to me, Senora?
Dona Laura : I am speaking to you.
Don Gonzalo : What do you wish?
Dona Laura : You have scared away the birds who were feeding on my crumbs.
8. Dona Laura : You have scared away the birds who were feeding on my crumbs.
Don Gonzalo : Why do I care about the birds?
Dona Laura : I do care about the birds.
Don Gonzalo : This is a public park.
9. Don Gonzalo : The benches here are public property.
Dona Laura : Don’t grumble any more. I am not going to leave just to please you.
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 P U COLLEGES’ ENGLISH LECTURERS’ FORUM CHIKODI 2024

Don Gonzalo : If the ground were sprinkled a little water, it would be an improvement.
10. Dona Laura : Do you use your handkerchief as a shoe brush?
Don Gonzalo : Why not I use my handkerchief as a shoe brush?
Dona Laura : Can you use your shoe brush as a handkerchief?
Don Gonzalo : What right have you to criticize my actions?
11. Dona Laura : I thought you were taking out a telescope.
Don Gonzalo : I am reading the book of love poems.
Dona Laura : Your eyesight must be keen
Don Gonzalo : My eyesight is keener than yours.
12. Don Gonzalo : First I shall take a pinch of snuff. Will you have some?
Dona Laura : If it is good.
Don Gonzalo : It is of the finest.
13. Dona Laura : Do you sneeze?
Don Gonzalo : I sneeze.
Dona Laura : I also sneeze. What a coincidence!
14. Don Gonzalo : Can you read without any?
Dona Laura : Certainly I can read without any.
Don Gonzalo : Is it true at your age? I think you are jesting.
15. Don Gonzalo : I envy your wonderful eye sight.
Dona Laura : I know every word by heart.
Don Gonzalo : I am fond of good verses. I composed some in my youth.
16. Don Gonzalo : I am fond of good verses. I composed some in my youth.
Dona Laura : Were the verses good ones?
Don Gonzalo : They were of all kinds.
17. Don Gonzalo : I met Zorilla in America.
Dona Laura : Why have you been in America?
Don Gonzalo : Several times. I was only six years old.
18. Dona Laura : Do you sneeze?
Don Gonzalo : I sneeze three times.
Dona Laura : What a coincidence!
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 P U COLLEGES’ ENGLISH LECTURERS’ FORUM CHIKODI 2024

Don Gonzalo : I feel better.

L 9 I BELIEVE THAT BOOKS WILL NEVER DISAPPEAR

19. Roberto Alifano : What was your first literary reading?

Jorge Luis Borges : My first literary reading was Grimm’s Fairy Tales in English version.
Roberto Alifano : Can we talk about Dona Leonor, your mother?
Jorge Luis Borges : My mother was an extra ordinary person.
20. Roberto Alifano : Please forgive me, for asking this. What is blindness to you?
Jorge Luis Borges : It is a way of life. All the things have been given to us for a purpose.
21. Roberto Alifano : What is poetry? How would you define it?
Jorge Luis Borges : I believe that poetry is something more intimate and essential. It cannot be
defined without oversimplifying it.
22. Roberto Alifano : What is important in the art of poetry? Is it finding the precise words?
Jorge Luis Borges : Finding the precise words is an important in the art of poetry to the greater
extent. I remember the wonderful lines in the poem by Emily Dickinson.
23. Roberto Alifano : You have said that metaphors exist from the very beginning. Can you
expound on that concept.
Jorge Luis Borges : I believe that true metaphors exist from the beginning. The essential
metaphors are five to six.
24. Roberto Alifano : Some people assert that modern developments in communication will
replace books. What do you think of that?
Jorge Luis Borges : I believe that books will never disappear. They are the extensions of
knowledge and memory.

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 P U COLLEGES’ ENGLISH LECTURERS’ FORUM CHIKODI 2024

ANSWERS

A SUNNY MORNING
1. Dona Laura told Petra that s he was so glad to be there. He added that he had feared his seat
would be occupied. Dona Laura exclaimed with joy that it was a beautiful morning. Petra declared
that the sun was hot.

2. Petra told Dona Laura that he was not hers. Dona Laura told her that he belonged more to her
than the park. Dona Laura ordered her to go and find him. Petra told Dona Laura that she saw him
over there waiting for her.

3. Dona Laura warned Petra not to remain more than ten minutes. Petra responded positively. Dona
Laura ordered Petra to wait a moment. Petra asked her what the senora wished.

4. Dona Laura ordered Petra to wait a moment. Petra asked her what the senora wished. Dona Laura
asked her to give the breadcrumbs. Petra told her that she didn’t know the matter.

5. Juanito asked Don Gonzalo if he could sit there. He told him that there was only a lady. Don
Gonzalo replied that he wouldn’t sit there. He also said that he wanted a bench to himself.

6. Don Gonzalo told Juanito that that one over there was his bench. Juanito told him that there were
three priests sitting there. Don Gonzalo ordered Jaunito to rout them out. He asked him if they had
gone.

7. Don Gonzalo asked Dona Laura if she was speaking to him. Dona Laura replied that she was
speaking to him. Don Gonzalo asked her what she wished. Dona Laura replied that he had scared
away the birds who had been feeding on her crumbs.

8. Dona Laura told Don Gonzalo that he had scared away the birds who had been feeding on her
crumbs. Don Gonzalo asked her why he cared about the birds. Dona Laura replied that she cared
about the birds. Don Gonzalo reminded her that that was a public park.

9. Don Gonzalo told Dona Laura that the benches there were public property. Dona Laura suggested
him not to grumble any more. She said that she was not going to leave just to please him. Don
Gonzalo told her that if the ground had been sprinkled a little water, it would be an improvement.

CONCEPT : RAVI KAGALE GPUC MAJALATTI 9740639575 and MANOJKUMAR URAMANATTI GPUC MAJALATTI 9538568105 7
 P U COLLEGES’ ENGLISH LECTURERS’ FORUM CHIKODI 2024

10. Dona Laura told Don Gonzalo if he used his handkerchief as a shoe brush. Don Gonzalo asked her
why not he used his handkerchief as a shoe brush. Dona Laura asked him if he could use his shoe
brush as a handkerchief. In return Don Gonzalo asked what right she had to criticize his actions.

11. Dona Laura told Don Gonzalo that she had thought he had been taking out a telescope. Don
Gonzalo replied her that he was reading the book of love poems. Dona Laura told him that his
eyesight had to be keen.Don Gonzalo told her that his eyesight was keener than her eyesight.

12. Don Gonzalo told Dona Laura that first he should take a pinch of snuff. He asked her if she would
have some. Dona Laura replied him that she would have some if it was of the finest. Don Gonzalo
assured her that it was of the finest.

13. Dona Laura asked Don Gonzalo if he sneezed. Don Gonzalo replied positively that he sneezed. Dona
Laura told him that she also sneezed. She exclaimed with surprise that it was a coincidence.
14. Don Gonzalo asked Dona Laura if s he could read without any. Dona Laura replied him that
certainly she could read without any. Don Gonzalo asked her if it was true at her age. He said that he
thought she was jesting.

15. Don Gonzalo told Dona Laura that he envied her wonderful eyesight. Dona Laura told him that she
knew every word by heart. Don Gonzalo declared her that he was fond of good verses. He added that
he had composed some in his youth.

16. Don Gonzalo told Dona Laura that he was fond of good verses. He added that he had composed
some in his youth. Dona Laura asked him if the verses had been good ones. Don Gonzalo replied
that they had been of all kinds.

17. Don Gonzalo told Dona Laura that he had met Zorilla in America. Dona Laura asked him why he had
been in America. Don Gonzalo replied that he had been in America several times. He added that he
had been six years old.

18. Dona Laura asked Don Gonzalo if he sneezed. Don Gonzalo replied that he sneezed three times.
Dona Laura exclaimed with surprise that it was a coincidence. Don Gonzalo told him that she felt
better.

CONCEPT : RAVI KAGALE GPUC MAJALATTI 9740639575 and MANOJKUMAR URAMANATTI GPUC MAJALATTI 9538568105 8
 P U COLLEGES’ ENGLISH LECTURERS’ FORUM CHIKODI 2024

L 9 I BELIEVE THAT BOOKS WILL NEVER DISAPPEAR

19. Roberto Alifano asked Jorge Luis Borges what his first literary reading had been. Jorge Luis Borges
replied that his first literary reading had been Grimm’s Fairy Tales in English version. Roberto Alifano
asked him if they could talk about Dona Leonor his mother. Jorge Luis Borges replied that his
mother had been an extra ordinary person.

20. Roberto Alifano requested Jorge Luis Borges to forgive him for asking that. He asked what blindness
was to him. Jorge Luis Borges replied that it was a way of life. He added that all things had been
given to themfor a purpose.

21. Roberto Alifano asked Jorge Luis Borges what poetry was. He also asked how he would define it.
Jorge Luis Borges replied that he believed that poetry was something more intimate and essential.
He added that it could not be understood without simplifying.

22. Roberto Alifano asked Jorge Luis Borges what important in the art of poetry was. He also asked if it
was finding the precise words. Jorge Luis Borges replied that finding the precise words was the
important in the art of poetry to the greater extent. He added that he remembered the wonderful
lines in the poem by Emily Dickinson.

23. Roberto Alifano reminded Jorge Luis Borges that he had said that metaphors existed from the very
beginning. He asked him if he could expound on that concept. Jorge Luis Borges told him that he
believed that true metaphors existed from the beginning. He added that the essential metaphors
were five to six.

24. Roberto Alifano told Jorge Luis Boges that some people asserted that modern developments in
communication would replace books. He asked him what he thought of that. Jorge Luis Borges replied
that he believed that books would never disappear. He added that they were the extension of
imagination and memory.

* Kindly suggest the changes.

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