Unit 6 · Pair speaking
Describe what you see. Listen closely. Report your partner’s words.
Before you speak
A: describe in the present. B: report the same ideas using said that + past. Then swap roles.
Underlined words: hover for Spanish; click to listen. On a phone, tap. Each picture has five words to help you describe it.
Start with your partner’s name: Ana said (that)… or Ana told me (that)…. That is optional. Use told with a person: told me.
For this exercise, practise reporting later with a past reporting verb. We move present verbs back to the past. In real conversations, a fact that is still true can sometimes stay in the present.
I → he / she / they when I means your partner. Check who we and you refer to. Change now → then, today → that day and here → there only when the time or place changes.
Report what A actually said. Do not add new details or change an opinion into a fact.
| A · Present | B · Reported |
|---|---|
| is / are | was / were |
| is talking / are helping | was talking / were helping |
| needs / need | needed |
| has / holds | had / held |
| I can see… | she could see… |
| doesn’t have / don’t have | didn’t have |
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Student A · Describe
Use present simple and present continuous. Say three short sentences. Pause after each one.
There is / There are…
The person is… + -ing
I can see…
Student B · Report
My partner said that…
He / She / They said that…
…was / were… · …could see…
You can ask: “Could you say that again?”
Ana is the example speaker. Replace her name and pronouns with your own partner’s. These are possible answers; report the words your partner actually uses.
No scene matches. Try another word.
Choose two students. Project only the picture first. Give A a few seconds to look, then invite three present-tense sentences. B listens and reports A’s words. Ask the class to check one verb change and one pronoun. Reveal the possible answer only after both students speak. Invite the next pair and swap roles. The pictures depict fictional news and events.
No recording, submission or academic grade. Aim for meaning first, then practise one useful correction aloud.