Direct and Indirect Speech For Class IX/X CBSE/ICSE Boards

What is Direct & Indirect Speech?

Direct Speech: the message of the speaker is conveyed or reported in his own actual words without any change.

Indirect Speech: the message of the speaker is conveyed or reported in our own words.

Example on Process of Conversion from Direct to Indirect Speech

a) Direct: Radha said, “I am very busy now.”

b) Indirect: Radha said that she was very busy then.

1. All inverted commas or quotation marks are omitted and the sentence ends with a full stop.
2. Conjunction ‘that’ is added before the indirect statement.
3. The pronoun ‘I’ is changed to ‘she’. (The Pronoun is changed in Person)
4. The verb ‘am’ is changed to ‘was’. (Present Tense is changed to Past)
5. The adverb ‘now’ is changed to ‘then’.

What is Direct & Indirect Speech?
Direct speech – reporting the message of the speaker in the exact words as spoken by him.

Direct speech example: Maya said ‘I am busy now’.

Indirect speech: reporting the message of the speaker in our own words

Indirect speech example: Maya said that she was busy then.

Let us understand the direct and indirect rules with examples and for all tenses so that you can apply them correctly, without making any mistakes in the exams.

Direct And Indirect Speech Rules
Rules for converting Direct into Indirect speech

To change a sentence of direct speech into indirect speech there are various factors that are considered, such as reporting verbs, modals, time, place, pronouns, tenses, etc. We will discuss each of these factors one by one.

Rule 1 – Direct To Indirect Speech Conversion – Reporting Verb
When the reporting verb of direct speech is in past tense then all the present tenses are changed to the corresponding past tense in indirect speech.
Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: She said, ‘I am happy’.

Indirect: She said (that) she was happy.

In indirect speech, tenses do not change if the words used within the quotes (‘’) talk of a habitual action or universal truth.
Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: He said, ‘We cannot live without air’.

Indirect: He said that we cannot live without air.

The tenses of direct speech do not change if the reporting verb is in the future tense or present tense.
Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: She says/will say, ‘I am going’

Rule 2 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech conversion – Present Tense

Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect.

Direct to indirect speech example:

• Direct: “I have been to Boston”, she told me.
• Indirect: She told me that she had been to Boston.

Present Continuous Changes to Past Continuous

Direct to indirect speech example:

• Direct: “I am playing the guitar”, she explained.
• Indirect: She explained that she was playing the guitar.

Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect

Direct to indirect speech example:

• Direct: He said, “She has finished her homework“.
• Indirect: He said that she had finished her homework.

Simple Present Changes to Simple Past

Direct to indirect speech example:

• Direct: “I am unwell”, she said.
• Indirect: She said that she was unwell.

Rule 3 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech conversion – Past Tense & Future Tense

Simple Past Changes to Past Perfect

Direct to indirect speech example:

• Direct: She said, “Irvin arrived on Sunday.”
• Indirect: She said that Irvin had arrived on Sunday.

Past Continuous Changes to Past Perfect Continuous

Direct to indirect speech example

• Direct: “We were playing basketball”, they told me.
• Indirect: They told me that they had been playing basketball.

See the Practice sets Of Direct $ Indirect Speech

Future Changes to Present Conditional

Direct to indirect speech example

• Direct: She said, “I will be in Scotland tomorrow.”
• Indirect: She said that she would be in Scotland the next day.

Future Continuous Changes to Conditional Continuous

Direct to indirect speech example

• Direct: He said, “I’ll be disposing of the old computer next Tuesday.”
• Indirect: He said that he would be disposing of the old computer the following Tuesday.

To ace the verbal ability section, it is important to have a clear conceptual knowledge of Direct and Indirect Speech, their usage and applications in English language. Therefore, candidates can go through the video on Direct and Indirect Speech rules in English Language, given below for better understanding-

For the preparation of the English language section in a better way, it is important that you go through the following topics thoroughly.

Rule 4 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Interrogative Sentences
No conjunction is used, if a sentence in direct speech begins with a question (what/where/when) as the “question-word” itself acts as a joining clause.
Direct to indirect speech example

• Direct: “Where do you live?” asked the boy.
• Indirect: The boy enquired where I lived.

If a direct speech sentence begins with an auxiliary verb/helping verb, the joining clause should be if or whether.
Direct to indirect speech example

• Direct: She said, ‘Will you come for the party’?
• Indirect: She asked whether we would come for the party.

Reporting verbs such as ‘said/ said to’ changes to enquired, asked, or demanded.

Direct to indirect speech example

• Direct: He said to me, ‘What are you wearing’?
• Indirect: He asked me what I was wearing.

Candidates can also check the links given below to understand the concept of word formation in English and to learn the common words in English Language that appear in most of the competitive exams-

• Can becomes could
• May becomes might
• Must becomes had to /would have to
• Check the examples:

• Direct : She said, ‘She can dance’.
• Indirect: She said that she could dance.

• Direct: She said, ‘I may buy a dress’.
• Indirect: She said that she might buy a dress.

• Direct: Rama said, ‘I must complete the assignment’.
• Indirect: Rama said that he had to complete the assignment.

There are modals that do not change – Could, Would, Should, Might, Ought to

• Direct: She said, ‘I should clean the house’
• Indirect: She said that she should clean the house.

Rule 6 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Pronoun

The first person in direct speech changes as per the subject of the speech.
Direct speech to indirect speech examples-

• Direct: He said, “I am in class Twelfth.”
• Indirect: He says that he was in class Twelfth.

Direct speech to indirect speech examples –

• Direct: She says to them, “You have done your work.”
• Indirect: She tells them that they have done their work.

Direct speech to indirect speech examples –

• Direct: He says, “She dances well.”
• Indirect: He says that she dances well.

Rule 7 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Request, Command, Wish, Exclamation

Indirect Speech is supported by some verbs like requested, ordered, suggested and advised. Forbid-forbade is used for negative sentences. Therefore, the imperative mood in the direct speech changes into the Infinitive in indirect speech.

• 
  Direct: She said to her ‘Please complete it’.
• Indirect: She requested her to complete it.

• Direct: Hamid said to Ramid, ‘Sit down’.
• Indirect: Hamid ordered Ramid to sit down.

Aspirants are well aware that English is an important component of the syllabus of various competitive exams and it is important to be clear with the basic concepts. Therefore, given below are a few articles to clarify the confusion between usage of common but confusing words in the English Language.

More such concept-wise, subject-wise differences can be found on the 100 Difference between Articles page linked here.

Rule 8 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Punctuations

In direct speech, the words actually spoken should be in (‘’) quotes and always begin with a capital letter.
Example: She said, “I am the best.”

Full stop, comma, exclamation or question mark, are placed inside the closing inverted commas.
Example: They asked, “Can we sing with you?”

If direct speech comes after the information about who is speaking, a comma is used to introduce the speech, placed before the first inverted comma.
Direct speech example: He shouted, “Shut up!”

Direct speech example: “Thinking back,” he said, “she didn’t expect to win.” (Comma is used to separate the two direct speeches and no capital letter to begin the second sentence).

Rule 9 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Change of Time
In direct speeches, the words that express nearness in time or place are changed to words that express distance in indirect speech. Such as :
Now becomes then
Here becomes there
Ago becomes before
Thus becomes so
Today becomes that day
Tomorrow becomes the next day
This becomes that
Yesterday becomes the day before
These become those
Hither becomes thither
Come becomes go
Hence becomes thence
Next week or month becomes following week/month
Examples:

Direct: He said, ‘His girlfriend came yesterday.’

Indirect: He said that his girlfriend had come the day before.

The time expression does not change if the reporting verb is in the present tense or future tense.
Examples:

Direct: He says/will say, ‘My girlfriend came yesterday.’

Indirect: He says/will say that his girlfriend had come the day before.

Video – Direct & Indirect Speech in English Grammar

Rules of converting Indirect Speech into Direct Speech
The following rules should be followed while converting an indirect speech to direct speech:

Use the reporting verb such as (say, said to) in its correct tense.
Put a comma before the statement and the first letter of the statement should be in capital letter.
Insert question mark, quotation marks, exclamation mark and full stop, based on the mood of the sentence.
Remove the conjunctions like (that, to, if or whether) wherever necessary.
Where the reporting verb is in past tense in indirect, change it to present tense in the direct speech.
Change the past perfect tense either into present perfect tense or past tense, as necessary.
Check the examples:

Indirect: She asked whether she was coming to the prom night.
Direct: She said to her, “Are you coming to the prom night?”
Indirect: The girl said that she was happy with her result.
Direct: The girl said. “I am happy with my result.”

Direct-Indirect Speech – Sample Questions For the English Language
The significance of knowing the rules of direct and indirect speech for the English language section of various competitive exams can only be understood by knowing the type of questions asked in the examination, based on the same.

Given below are samples of direct and indirect speech questions asked in the English language section of various government examinations:

Q.1. Find out the correct indirect speech for the given sentence.

She said,’ I have baked a cake’

She said that she baked a cake
She said that she had baked a cake.
She said that I baked a cake.
She said that she had bake a cake.
Answer (2) She said that she had baked a cake.

Q.2. Choose the correct sentence.

Aviral said, ‘What a beautiful rainbow it is’.

Aviral exclaimed wonderfully that the scenery was very beautiful.
Aviral said with wonder that the scenery was very beautiful.
Aviral exclaimed with wonder that the scenery is very beautiful.
Aviral exclaimed with wonder that the scenery was very beautiful.
Answer (4) Aviral exclaimed with wonder that the scenery was very beautiful.

Q.3. The correct indirect speech for ‘This world’, she said, ‘is full of sorrow. Wish that I were dead’. is?

She observed that the world is full of sorrow. She wished to be dead.
She said that the world was full of sorrow. She wished to be dead.
She observed that the world was full of sorrow. She wished to be dead.
She observed that the world was full of sorrow. She wished to die.
Answer (1) She observed that the world is full of sorrow. She wished to be dead

Q.4. The policeman said, ‘Where are the weapons?’

The policeman inquired where was the weapons.
The policeman enquired where are the weapons.
The policeman enquired where were the weapons.
The policeman questioned where were the weapon.
Answer (3) The policeman enquired where were the weapons.

Q.5. The man said, ‘Ah! I am ruined.’

The man cried that he was in ruined.
The man exclaimed in grief that he was ruin.
The man said that Ah, he is ruined.
The man exclaimed with sorrow that he was ruined.
Answer (4) The man exclaimed with sorrow that he was ruined.

To prepare well for the English section, it is essential to practise and revise regularly for conceptual clarity. Hence, go through the exercise on Direct and Indirect Speech Questions and Answers in the given link.

For more variety and scope of direct and indirect speech questions asked in the English section of various competitive exams, go through Previous Year Question Papers PDF with Solutions.

Candidates can also check the variations and scope of questions asked in the competitive exams on the other relevant topics of English language below:

The rules for the change of pronouns, tenses, etc. are followed.

Direct: Ramu said, “I saw a lion in the forest.”
Indirect: Ramu said that he had seen a lion in the forest.
Direct: Satish said to me, “I am very happy here.”
Indirect: Satish told me that he was very happy there.
Direct: He said, “I can do this work.”
Indirect: He said that he could do that work.
Direct: Renu said to me, “I was washing the clothes.”
Indirect: Renu told me that she had been washing the clothes.
Direct: She said, “I am not well.”
Indirect: She said that she was not well.
Direct: He said to Sita, “I have passed the test.”
Indirect: He told Sita that he had passed the test.
Direct: I said to my friend, “He has been working very hard.”
Indirect: I told my friend that he had been working very hard.
Direct: My friend said to me, “I shall go to Delhi tomorrow.”
Indirect: My friend told me that he would go to Delhi the next day.
Direct: I said, “I agree to what he said.”
Indirect: I said that I agreed to what he had said.
Direct: The student said to the teacher, “I am sorry that I am late.”
Indirect: The student told the teacher that he was sorry that he was late.

7. Rules for the Change of Interrogative (Questions) sentences:

The reporting verb “say’ is changed into ask, inquire,

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.

If the interrogative sentence has a wh-word (who, when, where, how, why, etc) the wh-word is repeated in the sentence. It serves as conjunction.

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 auxiliaries do, does, did in a positive question in the reported speech are dropped.

The conjunction is not used after the reporting clause.

Direct: I said to him, “Where are you going?”
Indirect: I asked him where he was going.
Direct: He said to me, “Will you go there?”
Indirect: He asked me if I would go there.
Direct: My friend said to Deepak, “Have you ever been to Agra?”
Indirect: My friend asked Deepak if he had ever been to Agra.
Direct: I said to him, “Did you enjoy the movie?”
Indirect: I asked him if he had enjoyed the movie.
Direct: I said to her, “Do you know him?”
Indirect: I asked her if she knew him.
Direct: He said to me, “Will you listen to me?”
Indirect: He asked me if I would listen to him.
Direct: I said to him, “When will you go there?”
Indirect: I asked him when he would go there.
Direct: He said to me, “How is your father?”
Indirect: He asked me how my father was.
Direct: I said to him, “Are you happy?”
Indirect: I asked him if he was happy.
Direct: He said to her, “Do you like apples?”
Indirect: He asked her if she liked apples.

8. Changing Commands and Requests into 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 sentences, the auxiliary ‘do’ is dropped and ‘to’ is placed after ‘not’:
Direct: She said to me, “Open the window.”
Indirect: She ordered me to open the window.
Direct: The captain said to the soldiers, “Attack the enemy.”
Indirect: The captain commanded the soldiers to attack the enemy.
Direct: I said to him, “Leave this place at once.”
Indirect: I told him to leave that place at once.
Direct: The teacher said to the students, “Listen to me attentively.”
Indirect: The teacher asked the students to listen to him attentively.
Direct: The Principal said to the peon, “Ring the bell.”
Indirect: The Principal ordered the peon to ring the bell.
Direct: The master said to the servant, “Fetch me a glass of water.”
Indirect: The master ordered the servant to fetch him a glass of water.
Direct: I said to him, “Please bring me a glass of water.”
Indirect: I requested him to bring me a glass of water.
Direct: I said to my friend, “Please lend me your book.”
Indirect: I requested my friend to lend me his book.

9. Sentences with ‘Let’.

‘Let’ is used in various meanings.
(i) ‘Let’ is used to make a proposal.

First change the reporting verb into ‘proposed’ or ‘suggested’.
Use ‘should’ instead of ‘let’.
Example:
Direct: He said to me, “Let us go home.”
Indirect: He suggested to me that we should go home.
(ii) ‘Let’ is used as ‘to allow’.

In Indirect Speech, we change the reporting verb to ‘requested’ or ‘ordered’.
We start Reported Speech with ‘to’.
Direct: Ram said to Mohan, “Let him do it.”
Indirect: Ram ordered Mohan to let him do that.
Or
Ram told Mohan that he might be allowed to do that.

10. Sentences with Question Tags
    (i) In the indirect speech the question-tag is usually left.
    (ii) In indirect speech these words are removed and the word ‘respectfully’ is used in the reporting clause.
    Direct: Mahesh said, “Sir, may I go home?”
    Indirect: Mahesh respectfully asked his sir if he might go home.
11. Sentences with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’
    Direct : He said, “Can you dance?” And I said, “No.”
    Indirect: He asked me if I could dance and I replied that I couldn’t.
    Direct : My mother said, “Will you come home on time?” And I said, “Yes.”
    Indirect: My mother asked me if I would come home on time and I replied that I would.

Note : ‘Yes’ of ‘No’ hides a complete sentence. Therefore, change yes/no into a short answer.

Direct : She said to me, “You didn’t break the window, did you?”
Indirect: She asked me if/whether I had broken the window.
Direct : He said to Geeta, “You are going to the station, aren’t you?”
Indirect: He asked Geeta if/ whether she was going to the station.

12. Sentences with ‘have to’ or ‘had to’
    (i) Change ‘have to’ according to the rules.
    (ii) But change ‘had to’ into ‘had had to’ in the indirect speech.
    Direct : Hari said, “I have to work a lot.”
    Indirect: Hari said that he had to work a lot.
    Direct : Hari said, “I had to work a lot.”
    Indirect: Hari said that he had had to work a lot.
13. Sentences with ‘Sir’, ‘Madam’ or ‘Your Honour’ etc.

Generally such words are used to show respect to the person concerned.
You can master in English Grammar of various classes by our articles like Tenses, Clauses, Prepositions, Story writing, Unseen Passage, Notice Writing etc.

14. Exclamations and Wishes
    Sometimes Exclamatory sentences contain exclamations like Hurrah!, Alas!, Oh!, Heavens!, Bravo, etc. Such exclamatory words are removed in the indirect speech and we use ‘exclaimed with sorrow’, exclaimed with joy, exclaimed with surprise, etc. instead of ‘said’.
    Examples:

Direct : Rohan said, “Hurrah! We won the match.”
Indirect: Rohan exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
Direct : Reema said, “Alas! Karina’s mother is suffering from cancer.”
Indirect: Reema exclaimed with sorrow that Karina’s mother was suffering from cancer.
Direct : The captain said to Kapil, “Bravo! You scored 89 runs.”
Indirect: The captain exclaimed with praise that he (Kapil) had scored 89 runs.
(a) Look at these sentences.

Direct : My mother said, “May God bless you!”
Indirect: My mother prayed to God for my well being.
Direct : She said, “May God save the country!”
Indirect: She prayed to God to save the country.
Direct : They said to the king, “Long live!”
Indirect: They blessed the king for his long life.
(b) Look at these sentences.

Direct : Mohan said, “What a pity!”
Indirect: Mohan exclaimed that it was a great pity.
Direct : I said, “How stupid he is!”
Indirect: I exclaimed that it was a very stupid of him.
Direct : “What a terrible sight it is!” said the traveller.
Indirect: The traveller exclaimed that it was a very terrible sight.
All the sentences in inverted commas are exclamatory sentences.
(i) Use ‘exclaimed’ in place of ‘said’ in the reporting verb in the indirect speech.
(ii) In Indirect sentences, we use exclamatory sentences as statements.
(iii) Indirect speech begins with that and full stop (•) is used instead of the exclamation mark (!).

Exercise (Solved)

Change the following sentences into Indirect Speech:

(i) He said, “I will do it now.”
Answer: He said that he would do it then.

(ii) He says, “Honesty is the best policy.”
Answer: He says that honesty is the best policy.

(iii) Ramesh says, “I have written a letter.”
Answer: Ramesh says that he has written a letter.

(iv) She said, “Mahesh will be reading a book.”
Answer: She said that Mahesh would be reading a book.

(v) She said, “Where is your father?”
Answer: She inquired where his father was.

(vi) He said to me, “Please take your book.”
Answer: He requested me to take my book.

(vii) The Principal said to the peon, “Let this boy go out.”
Answer: The Principal ordered the peon to let that boy go out.

(viii) He said to me, “May you live long!”
Answer: He prayed that I might live long.

(ix) She said, “Goodbye friends!”
Answer: She bade goodbye to her friends.

(ix) The student said, “Alas! I wasted my time last year.”
Answer: The student regretted that he had wasted his time the previous year.

Exercise (Unsolved)

Change the following sentences into Indirect Speech:

The captain said, “Bravo! well done, my boys.”
He said to her, “Why do you read this book?”
He said to her, “Does your cow not kick?”
He said to his brother, “Shailesh has broken my glass.”
Our teacher said, “The earth revolves around the sun.”
He said to me, “Why have you come here?”
Usha said, “Father, you are very kind to me.”
The teacher said to the boys, “Do not make a noise.”
He said to his friend, “May you prosper in business!”
The officer said to the peon, “Let the visitor come into my office.”

Tip 1: Conversion Rules as per the Reporting Verb
When the reporting or principal verb is in the Past Tense, all Present tenses of the direct are changed into the corresponding Past Tenses.

a) Direct: He said, “I am unwell.”

b) Indirect: He said (that) he was unwell.

If the reporting verb is in the Present or Future Tense, the tenses of the Direct Speech do not change.

a) Direct: He says/will say, “I am unwell.”

b) Indirect: He says/will say he is unwell.

The Tense in Indirect Speech is NOT CHANGED if the words within the quotation marks talk of a universal truth or habitual action.

a) Direct: They said, “We cannot live without water.”

b) Indirect: They said that we cannot live without water.

Tip 2: Conversion Rules of Present Tense in Direct Speech
Simple Present Changes to Simple Past

a) Direct: “I am happy”, she said.

b) Indirect: She said that she was happy.

Present Continuous Changes to Past Continuous

a) Direct: “I am reading a book”, he explained.

b) Indirect: He explained that he was reading a book.

Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect

a) Direct: She said, “He has finished his food“.

b) Indirect: She said that he had finished his food.

Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect

a) Direct: “I have been to Gujarat”, he told me.

b) Indirect: He told me that he had been to Gujarat.

Tip 3: Conversion Rules of Past & Future Tense
Simple Past Changes to Past Perfect

a) Direct: He said, “Ira arrived on Monday.”

b) Indirect: He said that Ira had arrived on Monday.

Past Continuous Changes to Past Perfect Continuous

a) Direct: “We were living in Goa”, they told me.

b) Indirect: They told me that they had been living in Goa.

Future Changes to Present Conditional

a) Direct: He said, “I will be in Kolkata tomorrow.”

b) Indirect: He said that he would be in Kolkata the next day.

Future Continuous Changes to Conditional Continuous

a) Direct: She said, “I’ll be using the car next Friday.”

b) Indirect: She said that she would be using the car next Friday.

Tip 4: Changes in Modals
CAN changes into COULD

a) Direct: He said, “I can swim.”

b) Indirect: He said that he could swim.

MAY changes into MIGHT

a) Direct: He said, “I may buy a house.”

b) Indirect: He said that he might buy a house.

MUST changes into HAD TO/WOULD HAVE TO

a) Direct: He said, “I must work hard.”

b) Indirect: He said that he had to work hard.

Modals that DO NOT Change: Would, Could, Might, Should, Ought to.

a) Direct: He said, “I should face the challenge.”

b) Indirect: He said that he should face the challenge.

Tip 5: Conversion of Interrogative
Reporting Verb like ‘said/ said to’ changes to asked, enquired or demanded

a) Direct: He said to me, “What are you doing?”

b) Indirect: He asked me what I was doing.

If sentence begins with auxiliary verb, the joining clause should be if or whether.

a) Direct: He said, “Will you come for the meeting?”

b) Indirect: He asked them whether they would come for the meeting.

If sentence begins with ‘wh’ questions then no conjunction is used as the “question-word” itself act as joining clause.

a) Direct: “Where do you live?” asked the girl.

b) Indirect: The girl enquired where I lived.

Tip 6: Command, Request, Exclamation, Wish
Commands and Requests

Indirect Speech is introduced by some verbs like ordered, requested, advised and suggested. Forbid(s)/ forbade is used for the negative sentences. The imperative mood is changed into the Infinitive.

a) Direct: Rafique said to Ahmed, “Go away.”

b) Indirect: Rafique ordered Ahmed to go away.

c) Direct: He said to her, “Please wait.”

d) Indirect: He requested her to wait.

Exclamations and Wishes

Indirect Speech is introduced by some words like grief, sorrow, happiness, applaud. Exclamatory sentence changes into assertive sentence and Interjections are removed.

a) Direct: He said, “Alas! I am undone.”

b) Indirect: He exclaimed sadly that he was broke.

Tip 7: Change of Pronouns
The first person of the reported speech changes according to the subject of reporting speech.

a) Direct: She said, “I am in ninth class.”

b) Indirect: She says that she was in ninth class.

The second person of reported speech changes according to the object of reporting speech.

a) Direct: He says to them, “You have completed your job.”

b) Indirect: He tells them that they have completed their job.

The third person of the reported speech doesn’t change.

a) Direct: He says, “She is in tenth class.”

b) Indirect: He says that she is in tenth class.

Tip 8: Change of Place and Time
Words expressing nearness in time or place in Direct Speech are generally changed into words expressing distance in Indirect Speech.

Now — then

Here — there

Ago — before

Thus — so

Today — that day

Tomorrow — the next day

This — that

Yesterday — the day before

These — those

Hither– thither

Come — go

Hence — thence

Next week/month — following week/month

a) Direct: She said, “My father came yesterday.”

b) Indirect: She said that her father had come the day before.

c) Direct: She says/will say, “My father came yesterday.”

Indirect: She says/will say that her father had come yesterday. (Here the reporting verb ‘says’ is in the present tense OR ‘will say’ is in future tense; hence the time expression ‘yesterday’ won’t change.)

Tip 9: Punctuation
The words that are actually spoken should be enclosed in quotes and begin with a capital letter

Example: He said, “You are right.”

Comma, full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark must be present at the end of reported sentences and are placed inside the closing inverted comma or commas.

Example: He asked, “Can I come with you?”

If direct speech comes after the information about who is speaking, comma is used to introduce the piece of speech, placed before the first inverted comma.

Example: She shouted, “Stop talking!”

Example: “Thinking back,” she said, “he didn’t expect to win.” (Comma is used to separate the two reported speech and no capital letter to begin the second sentence).

Tip 10: Conversion of Indirect to Direct Speech

1. Use the reporting verb, “say” or “said to” in its correct tense.
2. Remove the conjunctions “that, to, if or whether etc” wherever necessary.
3. Insert quotation marks, question mark, exclamation and full stop, as per the mood of the sentence.
4. Put a comma before the statement.
5. Write the first word of the statement with capital letter.
6. Change the past tense into present tense wherever the reporting verb is in the past tense.
7. Convert the past perfect either into past tense or present perfect as found necessary.

Example

a) Indirect: He asked whether he is coming.

b) Direct: He said to him, “Are you coming?”

Peactice set for class x/xii Boards