Direct Indirect Speech (Narration)

Narration means the act of reporting the words of a speaker.
When we tell or report what someone has said, we call it Narration.

There are two main types:

1. Direct Narration (Direct Speech) – The speaker’s exact words are quoted, placed inside quotation marks.
   • Example- Ram said, “I am reading a book.”
2. Indirect Narration (Indirect/Reported Speech) – Reporting the meaning of what was said, without using the speaker’s exact words. The speaker’s words are reported without quotation marks, and some changes in pronouns, tenses, and time/place .
   • Example: – Ram said that he was reading a book

Some Useful Changes

Changes in Tense ( If reporting verb in past)

Personal Pronouns

He said to me, “You have never told me about her.”             (Reported Speech)

He – Subject of Reporting

said –    Reporting Verb

me – Object of R.V

Direct Speech

Direct Speech

1. The actual word of a speaker are put within Inverted Commas(“ “)
2. The first word of the Reported speech begins with Capital Letter.
3. A Comma (,) is placed after the Reported Verb to separate it from the Reported Speech.

Indirect Speech

1. The reported word are not placed within Inverted Commas.
2. No Comma is used after the Reporting Verb.

Rule 1

 Pronouns are changed according to SON ( Subject ,    Object,     No change )

#1^st Person pronoun of Reported speech changes according to the subject of reporting verb.

        Direct- She says, “I am in eight class.”

        Indirect – She says that she is in eight class.

        Direct –    You say, “I am a clever girl.”

        Indirect –   You say that you are a clever girl.

#2^nd Person pronouns of reported speech changes according to the object of reporting verb.

          Direct –    She says to me, “You have done your homework.”                                 

          Indirect –            She tells me that I have done my homework.

          Direct   –           He says to her, “You have done your homework.”

           Indirect –          He tells her that she has done her homework.

#3^rd Person of reported speech never change.

           Direct   – She says, “He does not work hard.”

           Indirect – She says that he does not work hard.

           Direct         – Everybody says, “They have spoken the truth.”

           Indirect      – _Everybody says that they have spoken the truth.

Rule 2

If the Reporting Verb is in Present or in Future Tense, the Tense of the verb in the Direct Speech is not changed.

Direct     –     Rohan says, “Father is not at home.”

Indirect –       Rohan says that father is not at home.

Direct   –           The teacher will have said to the class, “Work is worship.” Indirect – The teacher will have told the class that work is worship.

Direct    – The stranger says, “I am hungry.”

Indirect – The stranger says that he is hungry.

(IF REPORTING VEERB IS IN PAST)

Rule 1

Present Indefinite (Simple Present) changes into Past Indefinite (Simple Past).

Direct   –   I said to him, “Rama writes a letter.”

Indirect – I told him that Rama wrote a letter.

Direct –    She said, “I am busy.”

Indirect – She said that she was busy.

Rule 2

The Present Continuous becomes Past Continuous.

Direct – Shyam said, “I am reading a letter.”

Indirect – Shyam said that he was reading a letter.

Direct – He said, “ My father is writing letters.”

Indirect – He said that his father was writing letters.

Rule 3

The Present Perfect becomes Past Perfect:

Direct    –   They said, “We have dome our duty.”

Indirect – They said that they had done their duty.

Direct   –     She said to me, “I have seen the zoo twice.”

Indirect –      She told me that she had seen the zoo twice.

Rule 4

The Present Perfect Continuous becomes Past Perfect Continuous..

Direct :             Radhika said, “Shilpa has been playing since morning.”

Indirect :          Radhika said that Shilpa had been playing since morning.

Rule 5

The Simple Past is offen, but not always, changed to the Past Perfect.

Rule 6

The Past Continuous is changed into the Past Perfect Continuous.

Direct :              Reena said, “Neena was reading a story.”

Indirect:            Reena said that Neena had been reading a story.

Rule 7

Note – Past Perfect Tense and Past Perfect Continuous Tense remain same.

Special Rules

# If the reporting verbs is in the past tense and the reported speech is in the future tense, then it is changed in indirect speech as follows.

Shall    –                       Should                         Will      –                 Would                    Shall be       –          Should be

Will be –                        Would be                     shall have –            Should have             Will have    –       Would have

Shall have been –            Should have been          Will have been –     Would have been

# If the reporting verb is in past tense and the reported speech express a habitual action, universal truth, principle, or proverb, then there is no change of tense in indirect speech.

# If the reporting verb is in the past tense and the reported speech contains could, should, would, or might after the subject the these words remain unchanged in indirect speech.

Exercise (Assertive Sentence)

Change the following sentence from Direct to Indirect:

In  7^th sentence, “I shall finish my work as early as I can” expresses intention (a promise about the future), not obligation.

Interrogative Sentences (Direct- Indirect)

Rule 1: “Said” changes to “asked” or “enquired”

Example:

Direct:              He said to me, “Are you happy?”

Indirect:            He asked me if I was happy.

Rule 2: Yes/No questions → use “if” or “whether”

Example:

Direct:              “Is it raining?”

Indirect:            She asked if it was raining.

Rule 3: Question form becomes statement form (Subject + Verb)

Direct:              “Are you coming?”

Direct:              He asked if I was coming.

Rule 4: Remove the question mark ?

He asked where I was going.

Rule 5: Wh-questions keep the same wh-word

If the question begins with:

• What, when, where, why, who, whom, whose, which Then do not use if/whether.
  Use the same wh-word as conjunction.

Direct:              “Where do you live?”

Indirect:            He asked where I lived.

Rule 6: Do/Does removed, verb changes

Direct:              “Do you like music?”

Indirect:            He asked if I liked music.

Direct:              “Does he play cricket?”
Indirect:                 She asked if he played cricket.

Rule 7: Did removed, verb becomes past perfect

Direct:              “Did you meet him yesterday?”

Indirect:            He asked if I had met him the previous day.

Rule 8: Have/Has/Had questions

Direct:              “Have you finished your homework?”

Indirect:            He asked if I had finished my homework.

Rule 9: Do not use “to” after asked/enquired

Incorrect: asked to me

Correct: asked me

IMPERATIVE SENTENCES

Rule 1:

In imperative sentences, order, command, request, or advice are expressed.
Therefore, the reporting verb “said to” is changed into:

• ordered / commanded (for orders or commands)
• advised (for advice or suggestion)
• requested (for requests)
• warned (for warning)
• forbade (for prohibition)

Rule 2: In reported speech, the verb is always used with ‘to’ before the verb.
The tense of the verb does not change here.

When reported speech is negative, the negative word ‘not’ is placed before the verb.
If the reporting verb is forbade, then do not / not is not used, because “forbade” itself means prohibition.

For other reporting verbs like ordered, advised, requested, if the sentence is negative, ‘not’ is used in the reported speech.

• Direct Speech → I said to him, “Do not abuse anybody.”
  I.S. → I forbade him to abuse anybody.
                 Or: I advised him not to abuse anybody.
• Direct Speech→ The teacher said to the boys, “Do not make a noise.”
  Indirect Speech→ The teacher ordered the boys not to make a noise.
• Direct Speech→ I said to my servant, “Do not sit in this room.”
  Indirect Speech → I ordered my servant not to sit in that room.
• Direct Speech → My mother said to me, “Do not tell a lie.”
  Indirect Speech → My mother advised me not to tell a lie.
• Direct Speech → She said to me, “Do not go farther.”
  Indirect Speech → She warned me not to go farther.
• Direct Speech→ The gardener said to the boy, “Do not pluck the flowers.”
  Indirect Speech → The gardener forbade the boy to pluck the flowers.

Rule 3: 

If “Let” expresses a proposal, then the reporting verb “said to” is changed into proposed or suggested.
After let, “should” is used.

Examples:

1. Direct Speech: She said to me, “Let us go to see the exhibition.” उसने मुझसे कहा, “चलो प्रदर्शनी देखने चलें।”
   Indirect Speech: She proposed to me that we should go to see the exhibition.
   Or: She proposed to me to go to see the exhibition.
2. Direct Speech: He said to them, “Let us cast our votes sincerely.” उसने उनसे कहा, “आओ हम ईमानदारी से अपने वोट डालें।”
   Indirect Speech: He suggested to them that they should cast their votes sincerely.

 उसने उनसे सुझाव दिया कि उन्हें ईमानदारी से अपने वोट डालने चाहिए।
या: उसने उन्हें ईमानदारी से वोट डालने का सुझाव दिया।
Or: He proposed to them to cast their votes sincerely.

Rule 4:

If “Let” expresses allowing (permission) or persuasion, then the reporting verb “said to” is changed into ordered, requested, or advised.
Here “let” changes to “to let” in indirect speech.

Examples:

1. Direct Speech: Rani said to the teacher, “Let me go home early.” रानी ने अध्यापक से कहा, “मुझे जल्दी घर जाने दें।”
   Indirect Speech: Rani requested the teacher to let her go home early. रानी ने अध्यापक से उसे जल्दी घर जाने देने का अनुरोध किया।
2. Direct Speech: The principal said to the peon, “Let the boys go away.” प्रिंसिपल ने चपरासी से कहा, “लड़कों को जाने दो।”
   Indirect Speech: The principal ordered the peon to let the boys go away. प्रिंसिपल ने चपरासी को लड़कों को जाने देने का आदेश दिया।

    Rule 5:

If “Let” expresses a condition or supposition (assumption), then the reporting verb “said to” is changed into told.
Here “let” changes to “might”, and sometimes “that” is used.

Example:

1. Direct Speech.: She said to me, “Let him work ever so hard, he cannot win a scholarship.”

            उसने मुझसे कहा, “वह चाहे कितना भी मेहनत कर ले, वह छात्रवृत्ति नहीं जीत सकता।”

      2. Indirect Speech.: She told me that he might work ever so hard, he could not win a scholarship.

           उसने मुझसे कहा कि वह चाहे कितना भी मेहनत कर ले, वह छात्रवृत्ति नहीं जीत सकता था।

EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES

Rule 1

In exclamatory sentences, the reporting verb “said” is changed according to the feeling expressed:

Sorrow → exclaimed with sorrow

(Ah! Alas!)

Joy → exclaimed with joy

(Aha! Ha! Hurrah!)

Regret → exclaimed with regret

(Sorry!)

Surprise → exclaimed with surprise

(Oh! What! How!)

Contempt → exclaimed with contempt

(Pooh! Pshaw!)

Praise / Applause → applauded, saying

(Bravo! Hear!)

Rule 2

Remove what and how and use very or great instead.

Examples:

1. Direct: The team said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”

          Indirect: The team exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.

2. Direct: She said, “Alas! I have lost all my ornaments.”

          Indirect: She exclaimed with sorrow that she had lost all her ornaments.

3. Direct:  She said to her servant, “How silly and careless you are!”

           Indirect: She exclaimed that her servant was very silly and careless.

4. Direct: He said to me, “What a pity you did not attend my marriage!”

          Indirect: He exclaimed that it was a great pity that I had not attended his marriage.

> Note:

Use very before adjective and great before noun

Exercise

OPTATIVE SENTENCES

Rule 1

In optative sentences (expressing wish), change the reporting verb “said to” into “wished”.

Examples:

1. Direct:  He said to me, “May you live long!”

          Indirect: He wished that I might live long.

2. Direct:   I said, “Good morning, my friend!”

          Indirect:   I wished my friend good morning.

3. Direct:     I said to Mr. Silvano, “Happy Christmas!”

          Indirect: I wished Mr. Silvano a happy Christmas.

Rule 2 (Prayer)

When a wish is in the form of a prayer, change “said to” into “prayed”.

Example:

Direct:  The hermit said, “May God bless you!”

Indirect: The hermit prayed that God might bless him.

Rule 3 (Farewell)

For bidding farewell, change “said to” into “bade”.

Example:

Direct:    He said, “Goodbye, my countrymen!”

Indirect: He bade his countrymen goodbye.

Rule 4 (Curse)

For curses, change “said to” into “cursed”.

Example:

Direct:   I said, “May my enemy go to hell!”

Indirect:  I cursed that my enemy might go to hell.

Exercise