Rules for changing direct speech into indirect speech
The words of a speaker can be reported in two ways: We
can quote the actual words of the speaker. This is called Direct Speech. We can
use inverted commas With suitable reporting verbs (say, tell, ask, report,
order, advice etc.) to quote the actual words spoken by the speaker.
He said,
"I am at college."
She said,
"I will call you this afternoon."
They said to
me, "Will you meet us tomorrow?"
They said,
"Please, stand up." We often report what somebody said without giving
their exact words.
This is called Indirect Speech. We do not use
quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be the
actual words of the speaker.
He said that he
was at college.
She said that
she would call me that afternoon.
They asked me
if I would meet them the following day.
They requested
me to stand up.
How to change direct speech to indirect speech?
Tense Change:
Simple
present: Simple past
Present
continuous: Past continuous
Present
perfect: Past perfect
Present perfect
continuous: Past perfect continuous
Simple past:
Past perfect
Past
continuous: Past perfect continuous
will: would
shall: should
can: could
may: might
had: had had
must: had to
B. Pronoun Change:
Pronoun changes according to SON formula.
|
First
Person |
Second
Person |
Third
Person |
|
Subject |
Object |
No
change |
• Hence first person (I, We) changes according to the
subject of the reporting verb.
• Second person (You) changes according to the object
of the reporting verb.
• Third person (He, She, It, They) does not change.
Person Chart:
|
Persons |
Subject |
Object |
Possessive |
Reflexive form |
|
|
P1 |
P2 |
||||
|
1st |
I |
me |
my |
mine |
myself |
|
We |
us |
our |
ours |
ourself |
|
|
2nd |
You |
you |
your |
yours |
yourself, yourselves |
|
3rd |
He |
him |
his |
his |
himself |
|
She |
her |
her |
hers |
herself |
|
|
It |
It |
it |
its |
itself |
|
|
They |
them |
their |
theirs |
themselves |
|
Adverbial Change: Change the adverb as shown in the chart.
|
Direct |
Indirect |
|
now/just |
then |
|
today/tonight |
that day/ that night |
|
this |
that |
|
these |
those |
|
here/hence |
there/thence |
|
Jamesorrow |
the following day/ the day after |
|
yesterday |
the previous day/the day before |
|
last.. |
the previous.. |
|
ago |
before |
|
next.. |
the following.. |
|
thus |
so |
Rules to convert direct to indirect speech in different forms of sentences:
(i) Direct to indirect rules for Assertive Sentence:
said to changes into told.
She said,
"I have been smoking too much.
She said that she had been smoking too much.
She said to me,
"I'll spend all the money next month."
She told me that she would spend all the money the
following month.
She said to me,
"I can't come with you."
She told me that she couldn't come with me.
Daya said,
"I arrived yesterday."
Daya said that he had arrived the day before.
(ii)Direct to indirect rules for Imperative Sentence:
• 'said to'
changes into 'told' if it is order/command and 'requested/asked' if it is
request.
• 'said'
changes into 'told' if it is order/command and 'requested/asked' if it is
request by adding your own object.
• ,"......" is omitted and 'to' for
affirmative and 'not to' for negative is used.
• Request
words (kindly, please, will you, would you) will be omitted. • Tense does not
change.
The teacher
said to the students, "Stand up."
The teacher told/ ordered the students to stand up.
He said to me,
"Please, wait for me."
He asked/ requested me to wait for him.
He said to
them, "Don't make a noise."
He told them not to make a noise./He forbade them to
make a noise.
"Don't
smoke cigarette." said the teacher.
The teacher forbade us to smoke cigarettes.
(iii)Direct to indirect rules for Interrogative Sentence:
'said to'
changes into 'asked'.
'said'
changes into 'asked' by adding your own object.
,"..
..... " is omitted and 'if/whether' for yes/no question and 'wh-word' for
wh-question are used.
• Question form changes into statement form.
James said to him, "Are you tired?"
James asked him if/
whether he was tired.
Tom said to me,
"Do you like sugar in your tea?"
Tom asked me if I liked
sugar in my tea.
Max said, "Where are you going for your
holiday, James?"
Max asked James where she was going for her
holiday.
He said to me,
"When will you return from Pokhara?"
He asked me when I
would return back from Pokhara.
(iv) Direct to indirect rules for Optative Sentence:
• 'said to' changes into
'wished/blessed/prayed/cursed'.
• 'said' changes into
'wished/blessed/prayed/cursed'.
•,"......"
is omitted and 'that' is used.
• Full stop is used in
place of an exclamation mark.
John said to his
friend, "May you be victorious!"
John wished his friend that
he might be victorious.
He said, "May God save
us!"
He prayed that God might
save them.
Father said to me,
"May you pass the exam!"
Father blessed me that I
might pass the exam.
He said to me,
"May you die!"
He cursed me that I might
die.
(v) Direct to indirect rules for Exclamatory Sentence:
• 'said to' changes into
'exclaimed with joy/exclaimed with sorrow/exclaimed with surprise/exclaimed
with contempt.
▪ 'said' changes into
'exclaimed with joy/exclaimed with sorrow/exclaimed with surprise/exclaimed
with contempt. is omitted and 'that' is used.
▪ Full stop is used in
place of an exclamation mark.
• Before adjective 'very'
is used and before noun 'great' is used.
He said, "Alas!
My friend has died"
He exclaimed with sorrow
that his friend had died.
They said,
"What a beautiful girl she is!"
They exclaimed with
surprise that she was a very beautiful girl.
James said,
"What a fool I am!"
James exclaimed with
surprise that he was a great fool.
Note: Hurrah! expresses
joy; Alas! expresses sorrow/grief; What!, Oh!, How! express surprise.
Some Specific Rules:
(a) If the reporting verb is in the present /future tense, the verb in the reported speech does not change:
He says, "It's
sunny day today"
He says that it is sunny
day today.
She will say,
"I will teach James tomorrow"
She will say that she will
teach James tomorrow.
Note: The adverbial also do
not change when the reporting verb is in present or future tense.')
(b) If the reported statement expresses habits, truths and scientific facts, the tense in reported speech doesn't change:
She said, "The
Earth revolves around the Sun"
She said that the Earth
revolves around the Sun.
He said, "Water
boils at 100 degrees Celsius."
He said that water
boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
(c) Sentences with 'LET': (i) 'Let us' changes into 'purposed/ suggested that.....should'
He said, "Let us
go to watch a film."
He purposed that they
should go to watch a film.
(ii) 'Let without us' changes into 'ordered/ requested to let.....'
He said, "Let me
go"
He requested to let him go
(iii) 'Let assumption' changes into 'assumed that..... might be'
The teacher said,
"Let ABC be the angle 900."
The teacher assumed that
ABC might be an angle of 90°.
(d) For tag question, we have to use the rule of an interrogative sentence:
He said to me,
"You are a student, aren't you?"
He asked
me whether I was a student.
I said to him,
"She wrote this essay, didn't she?"
I wanted
to know if she had written that essay.
(e) 'Sir/ Madam' will be replaced with 'respectfully' and we have to change the Sent according to their types: e-- aces
James said to the principal,
"Sir, can I get holiday for tomorrow?"
James
asked the principal respectfully if he could get holiday the day after.
(f) For 'kindly' and emphatic 'do, we have to use the rule of imperative sentences as they are request word:
She said to me, "Do
come to the party."
She
requested me to come to the party.