Topics to be Discussed
• Introduction
• Conversion from Direct to Indirect Speech
Rules for the change of tenses
Rules for the change of pronouns
Other changes
• Conversion of Assertive sentences from Direct to Indirect Speech
• Conversion of Interrogative sentences from Direct to Indirect Speech
• Conversion of Imperative sentences from Direct to Indirect Speech
• Conversion of Exclamatory sentences from Direct to Indirect Speech
The words spoken by a person can be reported
in two ways — Direct and Indirect
When we quote the exact words spoken by a person, within
inverted commas without any change, we call it Direct Speech.
• Sohan said to Mohan, “I am going to school.”
The act of reporting the words of the speaker by making necessary
changes to it is called Indirect Speech
• Sohan told to Mohan that he was going to school.
Remember the following points about Direct Speech :-
• The actual words of the speaker are put within inverted commas.
• Reported speech is separated from the reporting verb by a comma.
• The first word of the reported speech begins with a capital letter.
Remember the following points about Indirect Speech :-
• No inverted commas are used.
• The comma separating the Reporting verb from the reported
speech is removed.
• The Reported speech is introduced by some conjunctions ; that, if,
whether, what, why etc.
• The tense of the reporting verb is never changed.
• The reporting verb changes according to sense
Conversion from Direct to Indirect Speech
Rules for the change of Tenses :-
Rule 1 :- If the Reporting verb is in the Present or Future Tense,
the Tense of the Verb in the Reported Speech is not changed.
Direct Indirect
He says, “Mohan kills a snake.” He says that Mohan kills a snake.
He will say, “Shashi was never late.” He will say that Shashi was
never late.
Rule 2 :- If Reporting verb is in the Past Tense, the Tense of the Verb
in the Reported Speech is changed into the corresponding past tense.
Note :- The future tense of the reported speech is changed in a
comparatively simple way. ‘Will’ is changed into ‘would’ and ‘shall’ is
changed into ‘should’ or ‘would’.
Exception to the above rules :-
If the Reported Speech expresses universal truth or habitual fact, the
word in it does not change according to the tense of the Reporting Verb.
Direct Indirect
I said, “ Two and two makes four.” I said that two and two makes four.
She said, “Anju is a talkative girl.” She said that Anju is a talkative girl.
Rules for the change of Pronouns :-
Rule 1 :- Pronouns of the First Person in the Reported Speech are
changed into the Person of the Subject of the Reporting Verb.
Direct Indirect
I said, “I am writing a letter.” I said that I was writing a letter.
You said, “I am writing a letter.” You said that you were writing a letter.
He said, “I am writing a letter.” He said that he was writing a letter.
Rule 2 :- Pronouns of the Second Person in the Reported Speech
are changed into the Person of the Object of the Reporting Verb,
i.e., the noun or pronoun coming after the Reporting Verb.
Direct Indirect
I said to you, “You are honest.” I told you that you were honest.
I said to him, “You are honest.” I told him that he was honest.
He said to me, “You are honest.” He told me that I was honest.
Rule 3 :- Pronouns of the Third Person in the Reported Speech
remain unchanged.
Direct Indirect
I said to him, “He is a fool.” I told him that he was a fool.
You said to me, “He is a fool.” You told me that he was a fool.
He said to you, “He is a fool.” He told you that he was a fool.
Other changes :-
Conversion of Assertive sentences from
D Direct to Indirect Speech
• The reporting verb ‘said’ is changed into ‘told’ or ‘replied’ or
‘remarked’ or ‘informed’.
• If the reporting verb is not followed by an object, it is not changed.
• Inverted commas are removed and the conjunction ‘that’ is used to
connect the reporting clause with the reported speech
Direct Indirect
She said, “I shall read now.” She said that she would read then.
The boys said, “We must work hard.” The boys said that they must
work hard.
He said to me, “I saw Mohan yesterday.” He told me that he had seen
M Mohan the previous day.
Conversion of Interrogative sentences from
D Direct to Indirect Speech
• The reporting verb “said’ or ‘told’ is changed into ‘asked’ or ‘inquired’.
• If the question is introduced by an interrogative word (who, when,
where, how, why, etc) no conjunction is used. The reported speech
will begin with one of these words.
• If the interrogative sentence is a yes-no answer type sentence (with
auxiliary verbs am, are, was, were, do, did, have, shall, etc), then ‘if
or ‘whether’ is used as a conjunction.
• The interrogative sentence is changed into a statement by placing
the subject before the verb and the full stop is put at the end of the
sentence.
• The auxiliaries do, does, did in a positive question in the reported
speech are dropped.
• The conjunction ‘that’ is not used after the reporting clause
Direct Indirect
He said to me, “Where are you going?” He asked me where I was going.
He said to her, “Where do you live?” He asked her where she lived.
I said to her, “Do you know how to sing?” I asked her if she knew how
t to sing.
Conversion of Imperative sentences from
D Direct to Indirect Speech
• In imperative sentences having commands, the reporting verb is
changed into command, order, tell, allow, request, etc.
• The imperative mood is changed into the infinitive mood by
putting ‘to’, before the verb. In case of negative imperative, the
auxiliary ‘do’ is dropped and ‘to’ is placed after ‘not’.
• No conjunction is to be used to introduce the reported speech.
Direct Indirect
He said to me, “Do it.” He asked me to do it.
I said to my servant, “Fetch me a I ordered my servant to fetch me a
glass of water.” glass of water.
He said to me, “Please take your book.” He requested me to take my book.
Conversion of Exclamatory sentences from
D Direct to Indirect Speech
• Change the reporting verb ‘said’ into exclaimed, wished, prayed,
applauded etc.
• In Indirect sentences, we use exclamatory sentences as
statements.
• Indirect speech begins with ‘that’ and full stop (•) is used instead
of the exclamation mark (!)
Direct Indirect
He said to me, “Good morning! How He wished me good morning and
do you do? asked how I did.
I said, “How sad he is!” I exclaimed that he was very sad.
He said, “Alas! How foolish I have been!” He confessed with regret that he h
h had been very foolish.
Chapter Completed !!
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