Change the direct speech into reported speech. Mike said: "My friend is a painter".

Solution:

To change direct speech to reported speech, we need to make a few changes:

1. Change the verb tense: The present simple tense ('is') in direct speech changes to the past simple tense ('was') in reported speech.
2. Remove punctuation: The quotation marks and the comma after 'said' are removed.
3. Add a conjunction: We often use 'that' to introduce reported speech, although it can sometimes be omitted.

Applying these rules to the sentence:

• Direct speech: Mike said, "My friend is a painter."
• Reported speech: Mike said that his friend was a painter.

Note: 'My' changes to 'his' because we are reporting what Mike said about his friend.

Answer: Mike said that his friend was a painter.