Upper Intermediate Level >> Speaking and Conversation Materials/Discussion Starters >> Students look at some famous quotations. Some are given in direct speech and some in reported speech. After the students have completed the table, the quotes themselves make good discussion prompts. Enough here for a lesson.
Famous Quotes
Upper Intermediate
| Quote | Reported | Who? |
|---|---|---|
| "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." | Winston Churchill | |
| He told people not to think what their country could do for them but what they could do for their country. | J. F. Kennedy | |
| "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. " | Oscar Wilde | |
| He told people not to stay in bed unless you could make money in bed. | George Burns | |
| "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." | Napoleon | |
| He said that if you were going through hell, to keep going. | Winston Churchill | |
| "I've had a wonderful time, but this wasn't it." | Groucho Marx | |
| He said that he didn't know anything about music but that in his line, you didn't have to | Elvis Presley | |
| "Always do right- this will gratify some and astonish the rest. " | Mark Twain | |
| She asked why he didn't write books that people could read. | Wife of James Joyce | |
| "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. " | IBM Chairman, 1943 | |
| He said that the president had kept all the promises he had intended to keep. | Bill Clinton spokesman, 1997 | |
| "I choose a block of marble and chop off whatever I don't need." | ||
| He said we were all in the gutter but that some of us were looking at the stars. |
