REPORTED SPEECH - Direct Speech and Indirect Speech

 REPORTED SPEECH

Direct Speech and Indirect Speech

Direct Speech and Indirect Speech

Speech means something that we speak. Whatever we speak is called our speech. We use our own speech or someone's to report the idea. We want to report the speech of one person to inform anther person what he wants to convey.

One's saying can be reported in two ways-

directly or indirectly.

If the speech (words) of the speaker has been reported exactly as it has been heard, no change has been made in any part of the report, it is called Direct Speech or Direct Narration.

Example:-

Rehena said," I shall not go to school tomorrow."

Here the speaker has reported to someone exactly what the speaker, Rehena, has said. The  reporter does change any words of the speaker. So it is in Direct Speech or Direct Narration.

LET'S START OUR DISCUSSION WHEN THE REPORTED SPEECH IS  AN ASSERTIVE SENTENCE

Two Parts of the Sentence in Direct Speech

Each Sentence in Direct Speech has two parts

a) Reporting Clause

b) Reported Clause

a) Reported Clause is that part which is kept outside the quotation marks i.e. inverted commas. It has a subject and a verb. The verb of a Reporting Clause is called Reporting Verb. The Reporting Clause aims at reporting something.

She said," We are going to arrange a picnic party."

Here the part She said is the Reporting Clause and the verb said is called Reporting Verb.

b) The part within the quotation marks (inverted commas) is called Reported Clause. Here we find the actual words spoken by the speaker whose speech is reported. This part is also called the Reported Speech.

In the example given above, the part " We are going to arrange a picnic party. " is the Reported Clause.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SENTENCE IN DIRECT SPEECH

i) The Reporting Clause is followed by a comma (,).

Rehan said to me, "................."

ii) The Reported Clause is placed within inverted commas. ( ".... Reported Clause..... ")

iii)The first word of the Reported Clause begins with a capital letter.

* PARTS OF A SENTENCE IN INDIRECT SPEECH

* i) The Reporting clause is not followed by a comma but by a conjunction ( that)

* ii) The Reported Speech is not placed within the inverted commas.

* iii) The pronouns, some adverbs, tense of the Reported Verbs have to be changed to report the words to remove any kind of confusion in the mind of listener (listeners).

* 

 Rules of Changing Direct Speech into Indirect Speech

1) Say or tell is used as the Reporting Verb in the Indirect Speech

(He says=> He says or He tells

He says to me=> He tells me)

2) The comma at the end of the Reporting Clause is removed and generally conjunction that is used to introduce the Reporting Clause.

3) The inverted commas ("........") used on the both ends of the Reported Speech are removed.

4) The pronouns I and we are changed according to the person and number of the subject and the pronoun you is changed according to the person and number of the listener.

5) If the Reporting Verb  is in the past tense, then the tense of the Reported Clause has to be changed.

CHANGE OF PRONOUNS

(i) CHANGE OF PRONOUN 'I'

a) The pronoun I is changed according to the person and number of the speaker.

i) If the speaker is the first person singular, the pronoun I remained unchanged in the Indirect Speech.

Direct :- I say to Harish," I shall not go to market."

Indirect :- I say to Harish that I shall not go to market.

ii)  If the subject is the 2nd person, then I changes to you

Direct :- You say, "I have received an important message."

Indirect:- You say that you have received an important message.

iii) If the subject is third person singular, the pronoun I changes to he or she.

Direct :- Rajiv says," I can swim fast."

Indirect :- Rajiv says that he can swim fast.

Direct :- Neha says," I shall meet the leader as soon as possible."

Indirect:- Neha says that she will meet the leader as soon as possible."

CHANGE OF PRONOUN *WE IN INDIRECT SPEECH

The pronoun we changes in the Indirect Speech depending on the person of the speaker.

i) If the speaker is first person, the pronoun we remains unchanged in the Indirect Narration.

Direct:- We say," We are preparing for the examination."

Indirect:- We say that we are preparing for the examination.

Direct :- I say," We should respect the elders."

Indirect I say that we should respect the elders.

ii) When the speaker is second person, we changes to you in the Indirect Speech.

Direct :- You say," We are going to arrange a party."

Indirect :- We say that we are going to arrange a party.

iii) When the speaker is 3rd person, we changes to they.

Direct :- The boys say," We have won a good prize."

Indirect :- The boys say that they have won a good prize.

CHANGING OF THE PRONOUN YOU

At the time of changing the pronoun you in the Indirect Speech, we have to notice the person of the listener.

i) If the listener is 1st person (singular) you changes to I (if it is subject) or me (if it is object)

Direct :- Harish says to me," You will get a prize."

Indirect :- Harish says to me that I shall get a prize.

Direct The leader says to me," The chairman will help you."

Indirect :- The leader tells me that the chairman will help me.

ii) If the listener is 1st person (plural)  , the pronoun you changes to we ( if it is subject)  or us(if it is object).

Direct :- The teacher says to us," You will be rewarded."

Indirect :- The teacher tells us that we shall be rewarded.

Direct :- The Principal said to us, "I shall help you."

Indirect :- The Principal says to us that he will help us.

iii) If the listener is 2nd person, the pronoun you remains unchanged in the Indirect Narration.

Direct :- The captain says to you," You can solve the problem easily."

Indirect :- The captain says to you that you can solve the problem easily.

v) If the listener is 3rd person (singular) , the pronoun you changes to he or she ( subject) and him or her(object)

Examples

Direct :- The teacher says to Ramesh," You have to work hard to progress in life."

Indirect- The teacher tells Ramesh that he has to work hard to progress in life.

Direct:- The teacher says to Bidisha," You have to seek another job."

Indirect :- The teacher tells Bidisha that she has to seek another job.

Direct :- The leader says to Naresh," I shall give you a copy of the book."

Indirect :- The leader tells Naresh that he will give him a copy of the book.

Direct :- Nilotpal says to Shikha," I shall help you."

Nilotpal says to Shikha that he will help her.

 THE CHANGE OF TENSE OF THE REPORTED VERB

When the Reporting Verb is in the present tense or in the future tense, the tense of Reported Verb remains unchanged. But when the Reporting Verb is in past tense, we have to change the tense of the Reported Verb in the following ways

i) Direct :- Present Indefinite Tense

Indirect:- Past Indefinite Tense.

Examples:-

Direct:- Rihan says," I see a bird flying over the tree."

Indirect :- Rihan said that he saw a bird flying over the tree.

Exceptions

a) The tense of the Reported Verb  does not change if the Reported Clause expresses a Universal Truth.

Direct :- The teacher said," The earth moves round the sun."

Indirect :- The teacher said that the earth moves round the sun.

b) If the Reported Clause expresses a Habitual Action we can change the tense of the Reported Verb to Past Indefinite or keep it unchanged. If we use Present Indefinite Tense in the Indirect Speech, it will be a present habit. If we change the tense of the verb to Past Indefinite Tense, it will denote a past habit.

Examples:-

Direct:- Rajib said," My grandfather gets up early in the morning."

Indirect Rajib said that his grandfather gets up early in the morning.(present habit)

 or

Rajib said that his grandfather got up early in the morning.(past habit)

ii) Direct:- Present Continuous Tense

Indirect:- Past Continuous Tense

Example

Direct :- Vijay said," I am doing my homework."

Indirect :- Vijay said that he was doing his homework.

iii) Direct :- Present Perfect Tense

Indirect :- Past Perfect Tense.

Examples

Direct :-Disha said," I have done my work."

Indirect :- Disha said that she had done her work.

iv) Direct:- Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Indirect :- Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Examples

Direct :- The teacher said," I have been working in a secondary school for fifteen years."

Indirect:- The teacher said that he had been working in a secondary school for fifteen years.

v) Direct :- Past Indefinite Tense

Indirect:- Past Perfect Tense

Example

Direct:- Nayan said," I bought a very good book in the book fair."

Indirect :- Nayan said that he had bought a very good book in the book fair.

vi) Direct:- Past Continuos Tense

Indirect:- Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Direct:- Himashree said," I was watching a tele-film."

Indirect:- Himashree said that she had been watching a tele-film.

vii) Direct :- Shall, will

Indirect Should, would

Example

Direct :- Tinamani said "I shall welcome the guests."

Indirect :- Tinamani said that she would welcome the guests.

viii) Direct:- can

Indirect:- could

Example

Direct :-Bhuyasi said," I can walk fast."

Indirect :- Bhuyasi said that she could walk fast.

ix) Direct:- may

Indirect:-might

Example

Direct:- The old man said," The principal may not allow us to enter the office room."

Indirect:- The old man said that the principal might not allow them to enter the office room.

CHANGE IN TIME AND PLACE EXPRESSION WHEN THE REPORTING VERB IS IN THE PAST TENSE

now becomes then

today becomes that day

tonight becomes that night

tomorrow becomes the next day

next week becomes the following week

ago becomes before

yesterday becomes the previous day

last night becomes the previous night

last year becomes the previous year

here becomes there

this becomes that

these becomes those

hence becomes thence

thus becomes so

come becomes go

Examples

Direct Parbin said," I am reading an interesting story now."

Indirect Parbin said that she was reading an interesting story then.

Direct :- The teacher said to the student, "I shall teach you a new lesson today."

Indirect:- The teacher told the students that he would teach them a new lesson that day.

Direct The Principal said ," We will get a good news tonight."

Indirect The Principal said that they would get a good news that night.

Direct :- The secretary said," I met the Chairman yesterday."

Indirect :- The secretary said that he had met the chairman the previous day / the day before

Direct The lady said, "My son left for Europe last week."

Indirect The lady said that her son had left for Europe the previous week.

Direct :- Nishita said," I completed the course a year ago."

Indirect :- Nishita said that she had completed the course a year before.

Direct:- Hirak said to his friends," I shall give you a tea party tomorrow."

Indirect :- Hirak told his friends that he would give them a tea party the next day .

Direct:- The Headmaster said," The Inspector will visit our school next week.

Indirect :- The Headmaster said that the Inspector would visit their school the following week.

Direct :- The organiser said," The meeting will be held here."

Indirect :- The organiser said that the meeting would be held there.

 CONVERSION OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE TO INDIRECT NARRATION

 

In converting an Interrogative Sentence to Indirect Narration We have to follow the following rules

i) The Reporting Verb is changed into ask or enquire want to know, wonder etc.

ii) If or whether added after the Reporting Clause if the question is Yes No Answer type question. But if Wh Question , the question which  is introduced by an Interrogative Pronoun or Adjective or Adverb (who, what, which,when, where, why, how etc.) if or whether is not added. The Interrogative Pronoun or Adjective or Adverb is retained .

iii) The interrogative form is changed into Assertive form. The auxiliary verb which is used before the subject in the Direct Speech is placed after the subject in Indirect Speech.The note of interrogation (?) is changed to full stop(.). But here conjunction that is not added .

iv) Other general rules are observed.

Some Examples of Yes No Question

i) Direct:- The old man said to Mahim," Do you know the address of the institution?"

Indirect:- The old man asked Mahim if/whether he knew the address of the institution.

ii)  Direct:-The teacher says to the students," Can you solve the problem?"

Indirect:- The teacher asks (enquires of)  the students if/ whether they can solve the problem.

iii) Direct:-Father said to me ," Did you meet the principal"

Indirect:- Father asked me if I had met the principal.

iv) Direct:-Neha said to Disha," Have you done your homework?"

Indirect:- Neha asked Disha if she had done her homework?

v) Direct:-Taniya said to Shilpa," Are you happy?"

Indirect :-Taniya asked Shilpa if she was happy.

Note

A) In case of Yes/ No Question, if and whether is used in the Indirect Speech with almost in the same meaning.

But when a choice has to be made or there is an alternative possibility, whether is preferred and it is generally followed by or.

Direct :-Mother said to me," Do you want to go to Guwahati by bus or by car?"

Indirect :-Mother asked me whether I wanted to go to Guwahati by bus or by car.

Direct :-The lady said to the guests," Will you take tea or coffee?"

Indirect :-The lady asked the guests whether they would take tea or coffee.

B) Whether or not and if

Direct :-The Station Master said to the soldier, " Do you want to lock you luggage or not?"

Indirect :-The Station Master asked the soldier whether he wanted to lock his luggage or not.

          Or

 The Station Master asked the soldier whether or not he wanted to lock the luggage.

C) If the Yes / No Question contains an if clause, whether is preferred to if to avoid the use of two ifs.

Direct :-The teacher said to the students," If you get time, will you solve all the problems?"

Indirect :-The teacher asked the students whether they would solve all the problems if they got  time.

D) An Interrogative Sentence beginning with shall takes the form would in the past tense.

Direct :- I said to Seeta," Shall we reach school in time?"

Indiect :-I asked Seeta if we would reach school in time.

Direct :-"Shall I ever see them again?" said the old man.

Indirect :- The old man asked if he would ever see them again.

 

But should is used when it implies a matter of duty.

Direct :-The boy said to the Office Assistant," Shall I meet the  Director now?"

Indirect:- The boy asked the Office Assistant if he should meet the Director then.

Direct :- The postman said to the postmaster," Shall we send the parcel to the Head Office?"

Indirect:- The postman asked the postmaster if they should send the parcel to the Head Office.

E) Questions beginning with Will you/Would you/ Can you/Could you

If the question is an ordinary question, conversion is made in this way-

Direct:- Priya said to her friends," Will you come to school tomorrow?"

Indirect:- Priya asked her friends if they would go to school the next day.

If it expresses a request

Direct:-Priya said to Neha," Will you lend me this book for a week?"

Indirect:- Priya requested Neha to lend her that book for a week.

F)It is to be remembered that nouns or pronouns in the vocative case are treated as objects of their verbs in Indirect Speech.

Direct:- Satyam said," Will you attend  the party, Mohan?"

Indirect:- Satyam asked Mohan if he would attend the party.

WH-QUESTIONS

Direct :- Jitashree said to Pubali," What are you doing now?"

Indirect:- Jitashree asked Pubali what she was doing then.

Direct The teacher says to the students," When will you submit the assignment?"

Indirect:- The teacher asks the students when they will submit the assignment.

Direct:- The said to her daughter," When did you meet the principal of your college?"

Indirect:- The lady asked her daughter when she had met the principal of her college.

Direct:- The stranger said to the boys," Where is the post office?"

Indirect :- The stranger asked the boys where the post office was.

Direct :- The shop keeper said to Prajnan," Which book do you want to buy?"

Indirect :-The shop keeper asked Prajnan which book he wanted to buy.

Direct :-The old man says to me," Where does your father live now?"

Indirect:- The old man asks me where my father lives now

Direct :- The lady said to Risav," Who are you?"

Indirect :- The lady asked Risav who he was.

QUESTION TAGS

In the conversion of Question Tags the main force lies in the first statement, not in the Tag Questions

It is to be remembered that a sentence with a question tag is not a real  question. Rather we can call it a tentative statement and the speaker is not sure whether the statement is absolutely true or not. So he adds a question tag to ask the listener for some assurance. Depending on the context and the tone in which the speaker utters the words we can use verbs like think, hope, believe etc. 

Examples

Direct Pranjal said, " Papon is a good singer, isn't he? "

Indirect Pranjal said that he thought Papon was a good singer. 

Direct I said to Varun, " You have done your homework, haven't you?"

Indirect:- I told Varun that I thought he had done his homework. 

In the conversion of a Question tag into Indirect Speech we may write in the following manner also

Direct:- The teacher said to Vikash," Your brother can swim in the river, can't he?"

Indirect :- The teacher asked Vikash if his brother could swim in the river and assumed that he could.

Direct :- Ranendra said to his friend," You have bought a new car, haven't you?"

Indirect :- Ranendra asked his friend if he had bought a new car and assumed that he had.

Direct :-Manisha says to mother, " You don't like fish, do you?"

Indirect:- Manisha asks mother if she likes fish and assumes that she doesn't.

CONVERSION OF IMPERATIVE SENTENCE

* FROM DIRECT TO INDIRECT SPEECH::*

Rules of Change

i) Reporting Verb becomes order/ command, request, request, tell, ask, beg, entreat etc according to the sense of the speech.

The teacher said to Rajesh=> The teacher advised Rajesh

The officer said to the Assistant=> The officer ordered the Assistant

Note :-  The verbs Tell and ask may often be used to express request, command, order etc. So it is safer for students to use 'tell' in the Indirect Narration when any doubt arises to introduce the indirect speech.

ii) The imperative mood has to be changed into the infinitive mood. Therefore, to is used before the main verb to make it infinitive.

iii) Negative Imperative is expressed by adding not before the infinitive in the Indirect Speech. We can use   Reporting verbs like forbid, prohibit etc without using not.

iv) The expression like sir, please in the Direct Speech are left out and are replaced by request or ask to be kind enough , ask kindly ask politely etc.

EXAMPLES

Direct:- Neha said to me," Please, give me a glass of water.'

Indirect :- Neha requested me to give her a glass of water.

Direct The officer said to the servant," Fetch me a cup of tea."

Indirect :- The officer ordered the servant to fetch him a cup of tea.

Direct:- The students said to the teacher," Please explain the poem again, sir."

Indirect- The students requested the teacher to explain the poem once again.

Direct :- The Colonel said to the soldiers," March on."

Indirect :- The colonel ordered the soldiers to march on.

Direct :- Srinivas said to his friend," Please, excuse me"

Indirect:- Srinivas begged his friend to excuse him.

       Or

Srinivas told his friend politely to excuse him.

Direct:- Grandfather said to us," Don't go near the river."

Indirect Grandfather told/ advised/ordered us not to go near the river.

      Or

Grandfather forbade us to go near the river.

Direct Motber said to me," Don't walk in the sun.'

Direct Mother advised me not to walk in the sun.

        Or

Mother forbade me to run in the sun.

Direct The man said to the boys ," Come regularly to this playground"

Indirect:- The man told the boys to come regularly to that playground.

Direct* The bus conductor said to Valli," Donot forget to bring the bus fare."

Indirect The bus conductor told (reminded) Valli not to forget to bring the bus fare.

IMPERATIVES WITH VOCATIVES

Vocatives used in the Direct Speech may or may not be left out in the Indirect Speech.

Direct:- The techer said," Ramesh, come to school regularly."

Indirect:- The teacher told Ramesh to come to school regularly.

Direct The poet said, "Friends, accompany me for the night"

Indirect:- Addressing them as friends, the poet requsted them to accompany him for the night.

IMPERATIVE SENTENCE WITH LET

a) When Let in the Direct Speech expresses a proposal or suggestion, we have to change the Reporting Verb into propose or suggest and we have to use should for let

Direct :- Mahim said to me, "Let us leave this place as soon as possible. "

Indirect:- Mahim proposed (suggested) to me that we should leave that place as soon as possible. 

Direct :- Snigdha said to Bedanta, " Let us arrange a picninc party."

Indirect :- Snigdha proposed (suggested) to Bedanta that they should arrange a picnic party. 

b) When let does not express a proposal, but it is used to mean to allow or to permit we have to use might or might be allowed

Direct :- The lady said to the principal, "Let my son go home. "

Indirect:- The lady requested the principal that her son might be allowed to go home. 

Direct :- The worker said to the officer, "Let me speak the truth. "

Indirect The worker requested the officer that he might be allowed to speak the truth.

Questions Expressing Command, Request

Some questions are asked not to seek information, but to give advice, suggestion, commands etc. Such sentences begin with Why, Will you Would you Could you .... etc. We can convert them into Indirect Speech in the following ways

Direct :- The teacher said to the students," Will you keep quiet?"

Indirect The teacher ordered the students to keep quiet.

Direct Grandfather said to mother," Why don't you see a good doctor?"

Indirect:- Grand father advised mother to see a good doctor.

Direct :- The Train Ticket Examiner said to us," Could you show me your tickets ?"

Indirect- The Train Ticket Examiner asked us to show him my ticket.

Direct:- Nilotpal said to the guests," Would you join me in the dinner?"

Indirect :- Nilotpal invited the guests to the dinner.

CONVERSION OF EXCLAMATORY SENTENCE

a) The Reporting Verb 'say' is changed to exclaim, cry out, regret, admit, confess applaud etc.

b) In most cases the conjunction that is used after the Reporting Clause (or to introduce the Reported Clause)

c) The Reported Speech is written in form of an Assertive Sentence and the note of exclamation (!) is replaced by full stop(.)

d) The interjection is omitted and its sense is conveyed by the means of an adverb or adverb phrase, such as, with joy, with delight, with sorrow, with regret, with contempt etc.

e) If the Exclamatory Sentence begins with words like What or How,we have to omit them in the Indirect Speech and their sense is carried by using the words like very, great, big etc.

f) In case of saying good morning, good evening we have to write, " wish good morning","wish good evening". In case of saying *goodbye or farewel or good night we have to write bade goodbye, bade farewel, bade goodnight etc

EXAMPLES

Direct :- The boys said," Hurrah! We have won the competition."

Indirect The boys exclaimed with joy that they had won the game.

Direct The stranger said," Alas! I have lost everything."

Indirect The stranger exclaimed with sorrow that he had lost everything.

Direct :- The lady said," What a long snake it is!"

Indirect The lady exclaimed with wonder/ surprise that it was a very long snake.

Direct :-Neha said," Goodbye friends!"

Indirect : Neha bade goodbye to her friends.

         Or

Neha bade her friends goodbye.

Direct :- The general said," Farewell, my comrades!"

Indirect:- The general bade farewell to his comrades.

Direct:- Pritam said to me," Good morning! How are you?"

Indirect:- Pritam wished me good morning and asked how I was.

Direct:- Harish said, "How beautiful the flower is!"

Indirect :- Harish exclaimed that the flower was very beautiful.

Direct:- The captain said," Bravo! Well done,my boys."

Indirect:- The captain applauded his boys saing that they had done well.

Direct :- Deepa said," What a fool I am!"

Indirect :- Deepa exclaimed with regret that he was a great fool.

Direct Subhra said," Ah! what a beautiful scene it is!"

Indirect Subhra cried out with surprise that it was a very  beautiful building.

CONVERSION OF OPTATIVE SENTENCE

i) The Reporting Verb is changed to *wish, curse, pray etc according to the sense that the sentence carry

ii)The optative form is changed into Assertive form.

iii)The Reported Clause is introduced with the conjunction that

iv)Tense of the Reported Verb is changed according to the rules.

v) Pronouns are changed according to the rules already mentioned.

vi)Vocatives are changed into the objects of their verbs.

vii) Other general rules are observed.

Examples

i) Direct :-The old man said to his grandson," May you prosper in your life!"

Indirect The old man wished that his grandson might prodper in life.

Direct:- "God save our leaders!" said the people of the state.

Indirect The people of the state prayed that God might save their leaders.

Direct The saint said," May God pardon the sinners!"

Indirect:- The saint prayed that God might pardon the sinners.

Direct The lady said to me ," May your grand father's soul rest in peace!"

Indirect :- The lady prayed  that my grand father's might rest in peace.

Direct:- The young man said," If I were a king!"

Indirect :- The young man wished that he had been a prince.

Direct :- He said to me," May you live long."

Indirect :- He prayed that I might live long.

Direct :- Mother said," May God bless you with long life, my son!"

Indirect Mother prayed that God might bless her son with long life.

Direct The lady said," May you succeed in your life!"

Indirect The lady wished that he might succeed in his life.