Warm-up
News and Media
Radio, news, reporting what people said and sharing information
Today’s grammar
Talk first
- How do you get the news?
- Do you trust what you hear on the radio or read online?
- What was the last important news you heard?
After this lesson you will be able to...
- Report what someone said or asked.
- Use say, tell and ask correctly.
- Talk about news, radio and the internet.
- Discuss how to check information.
Vocabulary
Words to learn
| the news | новини I listen to the news every morning. |
| a headline | заголовок The headline was surprising. |
| a report | репортаж, звіт The report was on the radio. |
| a journalist | журналіст My friend is a journalist. |
| an interview | інтерв’ю I heard an interview on the radio. |
| a source | джерело Always check the source. |
| true / false | правдивий / хибний The story is false. |
| to announce | оголошувати They announced the news. |
Grammar
Reported speech (statements)
When we report what someone said, we usually move the verb one step back in time: present simple → past simple; present continuous → past continuous; will → would; can → could; present perfect → past perfect or stays. “I am tired,” she said. → She said (that) she was tired. “I will call you,” he said. → He said (that) he would call me.
Time words also change: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, now → then, yesterday → the day before.
| “I am busy,” she said. → She said she was busy. |
| “I will call you,” he said. → He said he would call me. |
| “We can’t come,” they said. → They said they couldn’t come. |
| He said he was working on Tuesday. |
Reported questions
For Yes/No questions we use IF or WHETHER: “Do you like music?” → She asked if I liked music. For wh-questions we keep the question word: “Where do you live?” → He asked where I lived.
Word order in reported questions is like a statement (no do / does / did): “What time does it start?” → She asked what time it started. We use ask (not say) for questions.
| “Do you like music?” → She asked if I liked music. |
| “Where do you live?” → He asked where I lived. |
| “What time does it start?” → She asked what time it started. |
| They asked whether I was ready. |
Say, tell, ask
SAY + (that) + statement: He said (that) he was ill. TELL + person + (that): He told me (that) he was ill. We always need a person after tell. ASK + person + question: She asked me where I lived.
Also: tell someone to do / not to do something: She told me to wait. He told us not to worry. Ask someone to do something: She asked me to help her.
| He said that he was ill. |
| He told me that he was ill. |
| She told me to wait here. |
| She asked me to open the window. |
Speaking
Easy — warm up your speaking
- How do you get the news?
- Do you listen to the radio?
- Do you read the news every day?
- Do you watch the news on TV?
- Do you like podcasts about news?
- What time do you hear the news?
- Do you share news with friends?
- Who tells you the news?
- Do you like talk shows?
- Do you trust the news?
- What is your favourite radio station?
- Do you follow the weather forecast?
Medium — say more
- What was the last news story you heard?
- What did your friend say to you today?
- Tell me about an interview you heard.
- What did your last teacher tell you?
- How do you check if news is true?
- Tell me about a time you heard false information.
- What did you ask the doctor, or a teacher, last time?
- What did your mother tell you when you were a child?
- What do you think about the news today?
- How has the way we get news changed?
- What did someone promise you last week?
- What would you like to ask a journalist?
Deeper — explain and give reasons
- Why is it important to have free news?
- How can we spot false news?
- Do you think the media has too much power? Explain.
- Is it better to get the news from the radio, TV or the internet?
- What is the role of a journalist?
- How does social media change the news?
- Should there be rules for what is published? Why?
- If you were a journalist, what would you report on?
More questions
- What did she say yesterday?
- What did he tell you?
- Did she ask if you were ready?
- What did he ask you?
- What did the radio say about tomorrow’s weather?
- Who told you the news?
- What did they tell you about the exam?
- Did he say where he was?
- She asked where I lived, didn’t she?
- Did your friend say that he would come?
- Who asked you for help?
- What did they announce?
Opinions and what-ifs
- Do you think people believe everything they hear?
- Would you rather read or listen to the news?
- What if there were no news for a week?
- Is it good to share news quickly?
- Which is better: a daily newspaper or a news app?
- Would you like to be a radio presenter?
- Do you think the news is mostly bad?
- What advice would you give to a person who reads too much news?