Use reported speech l. she said: "i like oranges better than bananas." 2. the music teacher said (to me): "you play the piece very well." 3. "are you busy now? " he asked. 4. the dean said: "i want to have a word with you." 5. "do you always have ice-cream for dessert? " she asked. 6. "we'll have enough time to finish the work," the workers said. 7. the teacher asked: "how long will it take you to prepare your talk? " 8. my mother asked: "why are you so sad? " 9. "shall i open the window? " the student asked. 10. the boy said: "i'll never smoke again." 11. the librarian said: "there are a lot of english books in our library." 12. "do you know why he is absent? " the teacher asked.