Grammar Focus: Reported Speech and Headlines — Turn Zohran Mamdani’s Quotes into Reported Speech Exercises

Hook: Struggling to turn news quotes into clear reported speech?

Teachers and learners often tell me the same thing: they can identify direct quotes in a news article, but transforming them into natural, accurate reported speech — with correct tense changes, pronouns and time markers — feels messy and time-consuming. You want concise exercises for class, fast feedback for students, and reliable examples tied to current events. This lesson uses real-world material — quotes and paraphrases from Zohran Mamdani’s media appearances — to turn journalism into practical grammar practice you can use today.

What you'll get from this guide (quick takeaways)

• Clear rules for reporting speech across tenses and question/command forms.
• Step-by-step transformations of direct quotes from a recent Zohran Mamdani article (Deadline).
• Graded exercises with answers for classroom or self-study.
• Practical teacher notes and 2026 trends for using AI and headlines as teaching tools.

The context: Why use Zohran Mamdani’s quotes in class in 2026?

In late 2025 and early 2026, classroom practice has continued to shift toward authentic materials and tech-enabled feedback. Public figures’ quotations — short, clear, and topical — make excellent fodder for reported-speech drills. Deadline’s coverage of Zohran Mamdani (linked below) gives us a short set of naturally occurring spoken sentences and paraphrases that map neatly onto classic grammar transformations.

Source reference: Deadline — Zohran Mamdani. Using current news also helps students prepare for modern English tests and professional contexts where they’ll need to summarize interviews, reports, or social-media claims.

Quick refresher: Core rules for reported speech (strong essentials)

• Backshift the tense when the reporting verb is in a past tense: present simple → past simple; present continuous → past continuous; present perfect → past perfect; will → would.
• Pronouns and time markers often change: I → he/she; today → that day; yesterday → the day before; now → then.
• Commands and requests use reporting verbs like told/asked + to-infinitive (He said, "Sit down." → He told me to sit down.).
• Yes/no questions in direct speech become if/whether clauses in reported speech; wh-questions keep the question word.
• No backshift if the reporting verb is in the present or if the original utterance is still true or a general fact.

Real example from a news piece (direct quote)

“This is just one of the many threats that Donald Trump makes. Every day he wakes up, he makes another threat, a lot of the times about the city that he actually comes from,” Mamdani said on the show.

We’ll use that quote and other lines from the article to demonstrate transformations across different structures and tenses.

Step-by-step transformations: Direct → Reported

1) Present Simple to Past Simple

Direct: “This is just one of the many threats that Donald Trump makes,” Mamdani said.

Rule: Present simple → past simple when reporting verb is past.

Reported: Mamdani said that this was just one of the many threats that Donald Trump made.

Teacher note: The reporting verb said puts us in the past, so we backshift both verbs. Keep the demonstrative "this" — it can become "that" depending on context: "that was" is more natural when speaking later.

2) Present Continuous → Past Continuous

Direct (paraphrase from the same quote): “Every day he wakes up, he makes another threat.”

Reported: Mamdani said that every day Trump woke up and made another threat.

Alternate (if we keep the ongoing idea): Mamdani said that Trump was making new threats every day. Both are acceptable; the second emphasizes the ongoing nature.

3) Reporting Recent Interaction / Present Perfect → Past Perfect

Article paraphrase: Since then, Mamdani has met with Trump at the White House, and the president praised the incoming mayor.

Direct sentence (present perfect): “Since then, I have met with him,” (hypothetical).

Reported: He said that he had met with him at the White House and that the president had praised him.

Teacher tip: When there are two past events, past perfect clarifies sequence. Use past perfect to show which action happened first when the context requires it.

4) Will → Would (Future-in-the-past)

Direct (example drawn from media reports): “I will appear on the show on Tuesday.”

Reported: He said that he would appear on the show on Tuesday.

Note: If the appearance is still in the future relative to now (reporting verb in present), you can keep 'will'. But if the reporting verb is past, backshift to 'would'.

5) Questions: Yes/No and Wh-questions

Direct (imagined): “Did you talk about federal funding?”

Reported: He was asked whether he had talked about federal funding.

Direct (wh-): “When did he meet with the president?”

Reported: Reporters asked when he had met with the president.

Remember: change the question word order into a clause and use whether/if for yes/no questions.

6) Commands and Requests

Direct (example): “Don’t worry about funding.”

Reported: He told citizens not to worry about funding.

Use 'to' + infinitive for affirmative commands, and 'not to' + infinitive for negative ones.

Headline grammar: Turning quotes into short news headlines

Headlines often compress reported speech into present-tense, punchy statements and drop reporting verbs. Understanding headline transformation helps students summarize and write concise news summaries — a useful exam and professional skill.

Original quote (see above): “This is just one of the many threats that Donald Trump makes...”

Headline-style: Mamdani: Trump makes ‘many threats’ against city

Guidelines for headline conversions:

• Use present simple to give immediacy.
• Omit small function words when space is limited (no articles if necessary).
• Keep quotation marks sparingly for emphasis or exact phrases.
• Balance accuracy with brevity — don’t change the meaning.

Graded Practice Exercises (use in class or for self-study)

Below are exercises that use direct quotes and paraphrases from the Deadline Mamdani article. Try to transform each direct quote into reported speech. Answers are below so teachers can use them for quick correction.

Level A — Basic (present → past)

1. Direct: “I will appear on the show on Tuesday,” Mamdani said. (Change to reported)
2. Direct: “This is just one of the many threats that Donald Trump makes,” Mamdani said. (Change to reported)

Level B — Intermediate (questions and perfect tenses)

1. Direct: “Did President Trump praise you at the White House?” the reporter asked. (Change to reported)
2. Direct: “Since then, I have met with him at the White House,” Mamdani said. (Change to reported)

Level C — Advanced (mixed structures and headlines)

1. Direct: “Every day he wakes up, he makes another threat, a lot of the times about the city that he actually comes from,” Mamdani said. (Change to reported)
2. Turn the above sentence into a short headline that preserves Mamdani’s meaning.

Answers and explanations

Level A

1. Reported: Mamdani said that he would appear on the show on Tuesday. (Will → would because the reporting verb is past.)
2. Reported: Mamdani said that that was just one of the many threats that Donald Trump made. (Backshift present simple → past simple.)

Level B

1. Reported: The reporter asked whether President Trump had praised him at the White House. (Yes/no question → whether + past perfect.)
2. Reported: Mamdani said that he had met with him at the White House since then. (Present perfect → past perfect.)

Level C

1. Reported: Mamdani said that every day Trump woke up and made another threat, often about the city he came from. (Backshift; also possible: "was making" to show ongoing action.)
2. Headline example: Mamdani: Trump makes ‘new threats’ about his city — short, present tense, keeps the key idea. Another option: Mamdani accuses Trump of repeated threats toward city.

Common errors and how to correct them

• No backshift: Students often forget to change will → would or present → past. Drill with pairs: direct vs reported until it becomes automatic.
• Wrong pronouns: I → he/she errors; practice by replacing speaker names with pronouns in a variety of sentences.
• Time marker mistakes: today → that day; tomorrow → the next day. Create a small chart and test students with mixed sentences.
• Retaining question word order: Remember to convert: “Where did you meet him?” → She asked where he had met him. (No inversion.)

Practical classroom activities (20–40 minutes)

1. Pair transformation relay (20 min): Give pairs 6 quotes. Student A converts three to reported speech; Student B checks and corrects, then they swap. Use a timer for urgency.
2. Headline sprint (15 min): Students convert 4 quotes into headlines, then vote on the most accurate and punchy headline. Discuss why some shrink meanings and how to avoid that.
3. AI-assisted peer correction (25 min): In 2026, many classrooms use AI tools to provide instant feedback. Have students draft reported sentences, submit to a classroom LLM for immediate correction, then discuss the AI’s suggestions and any disagreements as a class.

Using technology responsibly in 2026 — advice for teachers

Recent trends (late 2025–2026) show increased use of AI tutors and LLM-based correction tools in ESL practice. These are powerful for instant feedback, but they work best when teachers:

• Use AI suggestions as a starting point, not the final authority — ask students to explain the change the AI suggested.
• Keep authenticity: pair AI edits with real-world materials (like the Mamdani article) so students see how grammar maps to live discourse.
• Design tasks where students must defend corrections — builds meta-linguistic skills and reduces blind reliance on tools.

Why headline grammar still matters

In 2026, concise summarization is essential for social media, professional reports, and exam writing. Headline-style practice trains students to prioritize information and choose accurate verbs — an invaluable skill for IELTS/TOEFL speaking and writing tasks as well as workplace communications.

Extra: Printable mini-worksheet (teacher resource)

Copy this mini-worksheet for class. Use the quotes below and ask students to produce reported versions and headline summaries. Time: 15 minutes.

1. “I will appear on the show on Tuesday,” Mamdani said.
2. “This is just one of the many threats that Donald Trump makes,” Mamdani said.
3. “Since then, I have met with him at the White House,” he said.
4. “Every day he wakes up, he makes another threat,” he said.

Final checklist for teachers and learners

• Always note the reporting verb tense — that controls backshifting.
• Change pronouns and time markers appropriately.
• Convert questions into statements (use whether/if for yes/no questions).
• Practice with authentic texts — news quotes are ideal.
• Use AI tools for feedback, but require a human explanation of major changes.

Takeaway: Turn headlines and quotes into confident reported speech

Reported speech is not just a grammar exercise — it’s a professional skill. Using current news quotes, like those from Zohran Mamdani’s recent coverage, lets students practice with meaningful, timely material. The same transformations you practiced here will help learners summarize interviews, write concise news items, and succeed in exam tasks that require accurate paraphrase and reporting.

Call to action

Try the worksheet with your class this week: convert the four mini-quotes above, time the task, and then use an AI tool (if available) to get instant feedback — but make students explain every AI correction. Want a ready-to-print PDF of the exercises + answer key and slide-ready activities for teachers? Click to download our free Reported Speech & Headline Grammar Pack (2026 edition) and sign up for weekly ESL resources tailored for busy teachers and learners.

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