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Note On Reporting Speech

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Published in: English
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Direct and indirect speech conversion rules

Mahi / Moradabad

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  1. Direct and Indirect Speech — Complete Notes Definition of Direct and Indirect Speech Direct Speech: The exact words spoken by a person are written inside quotation marks. Example: She said, "l love reading books." Indirect Speech: The words are reported without quotation marks, and necessary changes are made in tense, pronouns, and time expressions. Example: She said that she loved reading books. Rules for Changing Direct to Indirect Speech 1 . Remove Quotation Marks (" n ) 2. Change the Pronouns I —+ He/She We They You —+ l/He/She 3. Change the Tenses A. Simple Present changes to Simple Past Direct: He said, "l like tea." Indirect: He said that he liked tea. Direct: She said, "l go to school every day." Indirect: She said that she went to school every day.
  2. B. Present Continuous changes to Past Continuous Direct: She said, "l am reading a book." Indirect: She said that she was reading a book. Direct: They said, "We are watching a movie." Indirect: They said that they were watching a movie. C. Present Perfect changes to Past Perfect Direct: He said, "l have finished my work." Indirect: He said that he had finished his work. Direct: She said, "l have seen that movie." Indirect: She said that she had seen that movie. D. Present Perfect Continuous changes to Past Perfect Continuous Direct: She said, "l have been waiting for an hour." Indirect: She said that she had been waiting for an hour. Direct: He said, "l have been studying since morning." Indirect: He said that he had been studying since morning. E. Simple Past changes to Past Perfect Direct: He said, "l ate an apple." Indirect: He said that he had eaten an apple.
  3. Direct: She said, "l visited Paris last year." Indirect: She said that she had visited Paris the previous year. E. Past Continuous changes to Past Perfect Continuous Direct: She said, "l was playing football." Indirect: She said that she had been playing football. Direct: He said, "They were watching TV." Indirect: He said that they had been watching TV. E Past Perfect remains Past Perfect (No Change) Direct: He said, "l had seen that movie." Indirect: He said that he had seen that movie. Direct: She said, "l had completed my project." Indirect: She said that she had completed her project. G. Past Perfect Continuous remains Past Perfect Continuous (NO Change) Direct: She said, "l had been working hard." Indirect: She said that she had been working hard. Direct: He said, "We had been living in London for five years."
  4. Indirect: He said that they had been living in London for five years. H. Future (Will) changes to Would Direct: He said, "l will go to school." Indirect: He said that he would go to school. Direct: She said, "l will help you." Indirect: She said that she would help me. l. Future Continuous (Will be) changes to Would be Direct: She said, "l will be waiting for you." Indirect: She said that she would be waiting for me. Direct: He said, "We will be visiting our grandparents." Indirect: He said that they would be visiting their grandparents. J . Future Perfect (Will have) changes to Would have Direct: He said, "l will have completed my work." Indirect: He said that he would have completed his work. Direct: She said, "They will have reached home by now." Indirect: She said that they would have reached home by then.
  5. Exceptions: No Tense Change in These Cases 1. If the reporting verb is in the present or future tense, the tense does not change. Direct: She says, "l like coffee." Indirect: She says that she likes coffee. 2. If the sentence expresses a general fact or universal truth, the tense remains the same. Direct: He said, "The sun rises in the east." Indirect: He said that the sun rises in the east. 3. If the sentence is already in Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous, the tense does not change. Direct: She said, "l had finished my work." Indirect: She said that she had finished her work. 4. Change Time and Place Words Now —+ Then Today —+ That day Tomorrow The next day Yesterday —+ The previous day Last night The previous night Last week/month —+ The following week/month
  6. This -+ That Here There 5. Change Reporting Verbs According to Sentence Type Types of Sentences and Their Changes in Indirect Speech 1 . Statements (Assertive Sentences) Reporting Verb: "said" changes to "told" (if object is present) or "said that" Tense Change: Present —o Past (unless it's a fact or universal truth) Example: Direct: He said, "l like playing football." Indirect: He said that he liked playing football. 2. Interrogative Sentences (Questions) Reporting Verb: "said" changes to "asked" No Question Form in Indirect Speech For Yes/No Questions —Y Use "if' or "whether" Direct: She said, "Do you like chocolate?" Indirect: She asked if I liked chocolate. For WH-Questions -+ Keep the WH-word and change sentence structure Direct: He said, "Where do you live?" Indirect: He asked where I lived.
  7. 3. Imperative Sentences (Orders, Requests, Advice, Commands, Warnings, Prohibitions) Reporting Verbs: ordered, requested, advised, urged, commanded, warned, forbade Use "ton before the verb Example (Order): Direct: The teacher said, "Complete your homework." Indirect: The teacher ordered me to complete my homework. Example (Request): Direct: She said, "Please help me." Indirect: She requested me to help her. Example (Negative Command): Direct: He said, "Do not touch the wire." Indirect: He warned me not to touch the wire. 4. Exclamatory Sentences (Strong Feelings and Emotions) Reporting Verbs: exclaimed with joy, exclaimed with sorrow, exclaimed with surprise, exclaimed with wonder, exclaimed with regret, exclaimed with anger Remove Exclamation Marks (!) and Change Word Order Examples Of Different Exclamatory Sentences: Happiness (Joy) Direct: He said, "Hurrah! We have won the match!" Indirect: He exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
  8. 2. Sadness (Sorrow) Direct: She said, "Alas! My pet has died. Indirect: She exclaimed with sorrow that her pet had died. 3. Surprise Direct: He said, "Wow! What a beautiful sunset!" Indirect: He exclaimed with surprise that it was a very beautiful sunset. 4. Regret Direct: She said, "Oh no! I missed the last train." Indirect: She exclaimed with regret that she had missed the last train. 5. Appreciation Direct: They said, "Bravo! You have performed well!" Indirect: They exclaimed with appreciation that I had performed well. 6. Anqer or Displeasure Direct: He said, "What a horrible experience it was!" Indirect: He exclaimed with displeasure that it had been a horrible experience. 7. Wonder
  9. Direct: She said, "How beautiful this place is!" Indirect: She exclaimed with wonder that the place was very beautiful. 5. Optative Sentences (Wishes & Prayers) Reporting Verbs: wished, prayed, blessed, cursed Example (Blessing): Direct: He said, "May you live long!" Indirect: He wished that I might live long. Example (Curse): Direct: She said, "May you suffer for your mistakes!" Indirect: She cursed that I might suffer for my mistakes. Example (Prayer): Direct: They said, "May God bless us all!" Indirect: They prayed that God might bless them all. 6. Facts and Universal Truths For facts and universal truths, the tense does not change because the truth remains the same. Examples: Fact (Science): Direct: The teacher said, "Water boils at 1000C." Indirect: The teacher said that water boils at 1000C.
  10. Universal Truth (Nature): Direct: He said, "The sun rises in the east." Indirect: He said that the sun rises in the east. Mathematical Fact: Direct: The teacher said, "Two plus two equals four." Indirect: The teacher said that two plus two equals four. Direct: The guide said, "The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan." Indirect: The guide said that the Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan. 7. Converting Indirect to Direct Speech When changing from Indirect Speech to Direct Speech, follow these steps: v' Add Quotation Marks ") around the spoken words. Change the Reporting Verb to "said" (or appropriate verb). Change Pronouns back to their original form. v' Change Tenses back to their original form. Restore Time & Place Words (then -+ now, the next day tomorrow). Restore Exclamations, Commands, and Questions to Their Original Format. Examples: Example 1 (Statement): Indirect: She said that she was happy. Direct: She said, "l am happy."
  11. Example 2 (Question): Indirect: He asked me if I liked ice cream. Direct: He asked me, "DO you like ice cream?" Example 3 (Command): Indirect: The teacher ordered me to sit down. Direct: The teacher said, "Sit down." Example 4 (Exclamation): Indirect: He exclaimed with joy that they had won the match. Direct: He said, "Hurrah! We have won the match!" Important Points to Remember If the Reporting Verb is in Present or Future Tense, NO Change in Tense Example: He says, "l am busy." He says that he is busy. v' Universal Truths and Facts Do Not Change Example: She said, "The sun rises in the east." —i She said that the sun rises in the east. For Questions, Change Word Order to Statement Form in Indirect Speech Example: He asked, "Where are you going?" —Y He asked where I was going. For Requests and Commands, Use "to" and "not to" Example: She said, "Please help me." She requested me to help her.
  12. Key Points for Exams: v' Always remove quotation marks in indirect speech. v' Pay attention to tense changes (except for facts and universal truths). v' Change pronouns correctly. v' Use appropriate reporting verbs based on sentence type. Change words like "Hurrah, Alas, Oh no, Wow" into their proper meanings.

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