Direct to Indirect Speech
- Lucy says, "I go to school regularly".
- Lucy says that she goes to school regularly.
In the first sentence, the speech of Lucy is quoted in the exact words of the speaker. The speech quoted in the exact words of the speaker is called Direct Speech or Direct Narration. Direct speech is written within inverted commas.
In the second sentence, the speech is reported in a narrative form without quoting the exact words of the speaker. The speech reported in narrative form without quoting the exact words of the speaker is called Indirect Speech or Indirect Narration. Indirect speech is not written within inverted commas.
There are two types of narration:
- Direct Narration or Direct speech
- Indirect Narration or Indirect Speech
Consider the following four things of direct speech:
Lucy says, "I go to school regularly." Changes Changes Changes 1 & 2 1st Person (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours) 2nd Person (You, you, your, yours) 3rd Person (He, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, theirs) Example in Sentence Direct: Esha said to Bob, "Your father will go to my office." Direct: They said to us, "He will meet you." 4. Change of Tense 4(a): When & How To Change Tense When the reporting verb is in the past tense, the verb in the reported speech changes into corresponding past. There are three things to consider: (i) Present tense form of verb changes into corresponding past: (ii) Past tense form of verb changes into corresponding past perfect [had + past participle] form. (iii) Modal verbs have corresponding past tense. They are described in the table below. 4(b): Tense Is Not Changed Tense of the verb of the reported speech does not change in the following three cases: (i) If the reporting verb is in the present or future tense, the tense in the reported speech is not changed. (ii) If the Direct Speech describes a universal truth, constant fact, habitual fact, geographical fact & quotations, the verb in the reported speech remains unchanged: (iii) If the Reported speech has two or more verbs occurring at the same time, the past tense of the verbs is not changed.We use indirect speech when we report what someone said without quoting the exact words of the speaker. So, we need to make some changes so that the meaning remains the same. Here are some rules which will help you change narration easily.
We may need to change five things when we convert direct speech into indirect. All the changes may not be needed every time, but it is better to learn them at a time. The changes are:
Change 1. Inverted commas are removed and two parts are joined by a conjunction/ linking word.
Change 2. Reporting verbs may be changed according to the type of sentence. Every type of sentence becomes assertive in the direct speech.
Type of Sentence Reporting Verb Conjunction/ Connector Assertive say/ tell that Interrogative ask if / wh-word Imperative tell/ order/ request/ command to Imperative propose/ suggest that + subject + should Imperative tell that + subject + might/ might be allowed to Optative wish/ pray that + subject + might Exclamatory exclaim/ cry out in joy/ cry out in sorrow/ cry out with surprise that Type of Sentence Reporting Verb Conjunction/ Connector Assertive say/ tell that Direct: Mother said, "I am happy."
Indirect: Mother said that she was happy.
Type of Sentence Reporting Verb Conjunction/ Connector Interrogative ask if / wh-word Direct: Mother said to me, "Where is the pen"?
Indirect: Mother asked me where the pen was.
Type of Sentence Reporting Verb Conjunction/ Connector Imperative tell/ order/ request/ command to Imperative propose/ suggest that + subject + should Imperative tell that + subject + might/ might be allowed to Direct:
Indirect:
Type of Sentence Reporting Verb Conjunction/ Connector Optative wish/ pray that + subject + might Direct:
Indirect:
Type of Sentence Reporting Verb Conjunction/ Connector Exclamatory exclaim/ cry out in joy/ cry out in sorrow/ cry out with surprise that Direct: Mother said, "How nice the bird is!"
Indirect: Mother exclaimed that the bird was very nice.
3. Change of Pronouns
Change 3: If the reported speech has personal pronouns in the third person, we do not need to change them. But if the pronouns are in the second or third persons, we need to change them in the following way:
Pronouns in Reported Speech Changed According to speaker/ subject of the reporting verb listener/ object of the reporting verb Third person does not change.
Indirect: Esha told Bob that his father would go to her office.Direct: Sagar says to you, "You did not help me.”
Indirect: Sagar tells you that you did not help him.
Indirect: They told us that he would meet us.”The change of tense depends on two things: (i) the tense of the reporting verb and (ii) the aspect of the reported speech. We need to change the tense when the reporting verb is in the past tense. We do not change tense when reporting verb is in the present or future tense, or when the reported speech contains unchangeable tenses.
Verb in Direct Speech Verb in Indirect Speech Present Form Past Form He said, "I go." He said that he went. He said, "I am going." He said that he was going. He said, "I have gone." He said that he had gone. He said, "I have been going." He said that he had been going. Verb in Direct Speech Verb in Indirect Speech Past Form Had + Past Participle Form She said, "I went." She said that she had gone. She said, "I was going." She said that she had been going. She said, "I had gone." She said that she had gone. She said, "I had been going." She said that she had been going. Modal in Direct Speech Modal in Indirect Speech I said, "I shall go." I said that I should go. Esha said, "I shall go." Esha said that she would go. Esha said, "Paul will come." Esha said that Paul would come. Esha said, "I can go." Esha said that she could go. Esha said, "I may go." Esha said that she might go. Verb in Direct Speech Verb in Indirect Speech Ricky says, "I go." Ricky says that she goes. Ricky will say, "I go." Ricky will say that she goes. Direct Narration Indirect Narration The teacher said, "The earth moves round the sun." The teacher said that the earth moves round the sun. Keats said, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." Keats said that a thing of beauty is a joy forever. Direct Speech Indirect Speech The teacher said, Mr. Ant worked hard while Mr. Grasshopper slept." The teacher said that Mr. Ant worked hard while Mr. Grasshopper slept. He said, "The children sang, danced, and played." He said that the children sang, danced, and played.
Useful Notes
- The present form of verbs is called present tense.
- The past form of verbs is called past tense.
- The am/ is/ are + -ing form of verbs is called present continuous tense.
- The was/ were + -ing form of verbs is called past continuous tense.
- The have/ has + past participle form of verbs is called present perfect tense.
- The had + past participle form of verbs is called past perfect tense.
5. Change of Adverbs & Demonstratives
Some adverbs and determiners that express nearness are often changed into the words expressing remoteness:
| Words in direct speech | Words in indirect speech |
| Here | there |
| This | that |
| Ago | before |
| These | those |
| Hence | thence |
| Hither | thither |
| Thus | so/ in that way |
| Today | that day/ the same day |
| Tomorrow | the next day/ the following day |
| Yesterday | the previous day/ the day before |
| Last night | the previous night/ the night before |
Imperative Sentence
Rules of Changing Direct Speech to Indirect of Imperative Sentences
Rule 1. Reporting verb is changed to tell, request, order, command, or forbid according to the sense of the speech.
Rule 2. Reporting verb and Reported speech are joined by Infinitive 'to'.
Examples
When the reporting verb has an object:
Direct: He said to me, "Do it now".
Indirect: He told me to do it then.
Direct: Father said to me, "Never go there".
Indirect: Father ordered me never to go there.
Direct: The teacher said to us “Do not tell a lie".
Indirect: The teacher forbade us to tell a lie.
or, The teacher advised us not to tell a lie.
Direct: The man said to me, "Please help me”.
Indirect: The man requested me to help him.
When the reporting verb is without object:
Direct: They said, "Come again.”
Indirect: They told (asked) me (someone) to go again.
When there are vocatives:
Direct: The captain said, "Soldiers, march on".
Indirect: The captain commanded the soldiers to march on.
Direct: The leader said, "Friends, listen to me".
Indirect: Addressing them as friends, the leader requested them to listen to him.
Direct: The student said to the headmaster, "Excuse me, Sir".
Indirect: The student begged the headmaster to excuse him.
When there is ‘let us’ in the direct speech, it indicates proposal or suggestion:
Direct: He said, "Let us do it".
Indirect: He proposed or suggested that they should do it.
Direct: He said to me, “Let us go there".
Indirect: He proposed to me that we should go there.
Note: Reporting verb is changed into propose or suggest. Should is used for 'let'
When there is 'let me/him/her’ etc. it does not indicate proposal:
Direct: He said, "Let him do it".
Indirect: He said that he might (or might be allowed to) do it.
Direct: The boy said to me, "Let me read now".
Indirect: The boy told me that he might read then (or might be allowed to read then).
Note: Reporting verb is changed according to sense, 'let' is changed into might / might be allowed to
When ‘let' indicates request or order:
Direct: He said to me, "Please let me go there".
Indirect: He requested me that he might be allowed to go there.
or, He requested me to let him go there.
Direct: The teacher said to the boy, "Let your friend do it".
Indirect: The teacher ordered the boy to let his friend do it.
Direct: He said, "Let me have some milk".
Indirect: He wished that he might have some milk.
Sentence
Reporting Verb
Linking Word
Verb + Object
tell
to
Let us
propose
that----should
Let me/ him/ her/ them
tell
that----might
Direct: He said to me, "Do it now".
Indirect: He told me to do it then.
Direct: Father said to me, "Never go there".
Indirect: Father ordered me never to go there.
Direct: The teacher said to us “Do not tell a lie".
Indirect: The teacher forbade us to tell a lie.
or, The teacher advised us not to tell a lie.
Direct: The man said to me, "Please help me”.
Indirect: The man requested me to help him.
When the reporting verb is without object:
Direct: They said, "Come again.”
Indirect: They told (asked) me (someone) to go again.
When there are vocatives:
Direct: The captain said, "Soldiers, march on".
Indirect: The captain commanded the soldiers to march on.
Direct: The leader said, "Friends, listen to me".
Indirect: Addressing them as friends, the leader requested them to listen to him.
Direct: The student said to the headmaster, "Excuse me, Sir".
Indirect: The student begged the headmaster to excuse him.
When there is ‘let us’ in the direct speech, it indicates proposal or suggestion:
Direct: He said, "Let us do it".
Indirect: He proposed or suggested that they should do it.
Direct: He said to me, “Let us go there".
Indirect: He proposed to me that we should go there.
Note: Reporting verb is changed into propose or suggest. Should is used for 'let'
When there is 'let me/him/her’ etc. it does not indicate proposal:
Direct: He said, "Let him do it".
Indirect: He said that he might (or might be allowed to) do it.
Direct: The boy said to me, "Let me read now".
Indirect: The boy told me that he might read then (or might be allowed to read then).
Note: Reporting verb is changed according to sense, 'let' is changed into might / might be allowed to
When ‘let' indicates request or order:
Direct: He said to me, "Please let me go there".
Indirect: He requested me that he might be allowed to go there.
or, He requested me to let him go there.
Direct: The teacher said to the boy, "Let your friend do it".
Indirect: The teacher ordered the boy to let his friend do it.
Direct: He said, "Let me have some milk".
Indirect: He wished that he might have some milk.
| Sentence | Reporting Verb | Linking Word |
| Verb + Object | tell | to |
| Let us | propose | that----should |
| Let me/ him/ her/ them | tell | that----might |
Interrogative Sentence
Objective: By the end of the lesson you will have learnt changing the reported speech of question into indirect speech.
General Rules
Objective: By the end of the lesson you will have learnt changing the reported speech of question into indirect speech.
General Rules
(a) Reporting verb is changed into ask or enquire of.
(c) The auxiliary verb in the reported speech is used after the subject.
(b) If or whether is used as a linking word.
(d)
If the sentence begins with who, which, what, how, when, where, why, etc., these are not changed and if or whether is not used.
Note: The indirect speech becomes a statement, and no question mark is used.
Examples
Direct: Nadim said to Nadia, "Are you reading now?”
Indirect: Nadim asked Nadia if she was reading then.
Direct: The boy said to Hafiz, “Will you help me?”
Indirect: The boy asked Hafiz whether he would help him.
Direct: The man said to Shaila, “What is your name?”
Indirect: The man asked Shaila what her name was.
Direct: Karim said to Asif, “When will you return to me?”
Indirect: Karim asked Asif when he (A) would return to him (K).
Direct: The man said to his brother, "Can you do it alone?"
Indirect: The man asked his brother if he could do it alone.
Direct: The lady said to her husband, “How did you manage it?"
Indirect: The lady asked her husband how he had managed it.
Direct: He said to me, "Do you know me?"
Indirect: He asked me if I knew him.
Direct: He said to me, "Do you not go there?"
Indirect: He asked me if I did not go there.
Direct: He said to me, "Why did you go there?"
Indirect: He asked me why I had gone there.
Direct: He said to Nadia, "Why did you not go there?"
Indirect: He asked me why I had not gone there.
Direct: He said to me, "What makes you laugh?"
Indirect: He said to me what made me laugh.
Direct: He said to her, "Who are you? What do you want?"
Indirect: He asked her who she was and what she wanted.
Indirect: Nadim asked Nadia if she was reading then.
Indirect: The boy asked Hafiz whether he would help him.
Indirect: The man asked Shaila what her name was.
Indirect: Karim asked Asif when he (A) would return to him (K).
Indirect: The man asked his brother if he could do it alone.
Indirect: The lady asked her husband how he had managed it.
Indirect: He asked me if I knew him.
Indirect: He asked me if I did not go there.
Indirect: He asked me why I had gone there.
Indirect: He asked me why I had not gone there.
Indirect: He said to me what made me laugh.
Indirect: He asked her who she was and what she wanted.
Rules at Glance:
Objective: By the end of the lesson you will have learnt changing the reported speech of question into indirect speech.
| Sentence | Reporting Verb | Linking Word |
| Yes/No Question | ask | if/whether |
| Wh-question | ask | Wh-word |