The art of narration is the art of reporting the words of a speaker, and this can be done in two ways. You may quote his actual words. It is called Direct Speech. You may report his words without quoting his actual words. This is called Indirect or Reported Speech. Download a free PDF of Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps and Rules to Change Narration, which is the most important part of English grammar, Narration refers to the method of reporting a speaker’s words, and reporting can be done in two ways: direct and indirect reporting.
Change the form of narration, (i) Shivam said, “We are moving into a new house,” which plays a vital role in securing marks in all examinations. Direct speech, the speaker’s original words, and direct sentence structure are more appealing to readers and are easily remembered. Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps and Rules to Change The narration was designed by an expert English teacher.
Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps&Rules to Change Narration
Narration is the art of reporting the words of a speaker and this can be done in two ways of reporting the words of a speaker.
Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
Direct Speech
Read the following sentences:
Direct and Indirect speech examples
i) Ram will say, “I saw my teacher in the park.”
(ii) I said to her, “Do you want my help ?”
(iii) He said, “What a great misery !”
Question: How can we report someone’s words?
Answer: We can report someone’s words in two ways, Direct Speech and Reported (indirect) speech. The teacher said,” Two and two make four”.( Direct Speech), The teacher said that two and two make four. (Indirect Speech).
Main Points of Direct Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps&Rules to Change Narration
- Reporting of exact words of the speaker.
- Inverted commas to enclose the exact words of the speaker.
- Ram said,” I have to work hard”.
- Ram’s words are enclosed in inverted commas.
- Ram said, the verb used is called Reported Verb.
- ” I have to work hard”, words inside inverted commas are called Reported Speech.
- Direct speech, the speaker’s original words, and direct sentence structure are more appealing to readers and are easily remembered.
- Helps to understand the insights of character.
- References are easily made to make the writing more appealing with the help of quoted texts.
- Direct speech attracts the reader.
Indirect Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps&Rules to Change Narration
- Reported or indirect speech is generally telling about the past.
- We change the tense of direct words spoken.
- Reporting verbs are: say, tell, ask.
- “That” is used to introduce the reported words.
- No inverted commas are used.
- The reported tense is not changed when the reported verb is in the simple present or future.
- It helps in summarising the speakers’ words.
- It helps in writing fiction as it uses fewer punctuation marks.
- needn’t worry about inverted commas.
- unable to know the real words of the speakers.
- Indirect speech distances the speaker’s words from the reader’s perception.
Change the form of narration
Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps&Rules to Change Narration
Direct and Indirect speech examples
Direct Speech: Ram will say, “I saw my teacher in the park.”
Indirect Speech: Ram will say that he saw his teacher in the park.
Direct Speech: I said to her, “Do you want my help ?”
Indirect Speech: I asked her if she wanted my help.
Direct Speech: He said, “What a great misery !”
Indirect Speech: He exclaimed with sorrow that it was great misery.
We have discussed direct and indirect speeches in brief. Let us now discuss direct and indirect speeches in detail. You should learn narration step-by-step to excel in grammar.
Direct and Indirect Speech in details
Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps&Rules to Change Narration
Before discussing the different rules of change of narration, let us now discuss some major points of Direct Speech:
- There are two parts of Direct Speech: 1. Reporting Verb(RV), 2. Reporting Speech. (RS)
- The words outside inverted commas, “…” are called Reported Verb, means. the verb
The main rules to convert Direct Speech to Indirect Speech.
Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps&Rules to Change Narration
Five main things need to be changed while changing narration or Direct speech to Indirect speech.
- The verb of Reported Speech is changed according to Reporting Verb.
- Inverted commas are removed in Indirect Speech
- Pronouns are always changed according to the rule SON WHERE ‘S’ STANDS FOR SUBJECT, ‘O’ STANDS FOR OBJECT, AND ‘N’STANDS FOR NO CHANGE.
- S= 1, O= 2, N= 3, WHERE 1 is First-person pronouns( I and We), 2 is used for second person pronoun(You) and change accord to the object the of Reported Verb and 3 is used for Third Person Pronoun( He, She, They, Seeta)
- Always change the adverbs of Direct Speech.
Rules of change of Pronouns in Direct and Indirect Speech
| Nominative | Possessive | Objective | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|
| I ( First Person Pronoun) | my | me | myself |
| We ( First Person Pronoun) | our | us | ourselves |
| You ( Second Person Pronoun) | yours you | you/yours | yourself |
| He ( Third Person Pronoun) | his | him | himself |
| She ( Third Person Pronoun) | her | her | herself |
| They ( Third Person Pronoun) | their | them | themselves |
Example:
Direct Speech: Ram said to me, ” I will go to Delhi tomorrow.”
Indirect Speech: Ram told me that he would go to Delhi the next day.
- Reported said is changed into told.
- Replace inverted commas with ‘that’
- ‘I’is first person pronoun and will be changed to “he” according to the subject of the reported verb.
- Change of verb ‘will go into ‘would go’ as the reported verb is V2
- “Tomorrow’s changed into the ‘next day.
DIRECT & INDIRECT SPEECH Rules: Change of Verbs or Tenses
Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps&Rules to Change Narration
Rule 1.
Present Indefinite Tense to Past Indefinite Tense
Direct Speech: He said, ” I play football.”
Indirect Speech: He said that he played football.
Rule 2.
Present continuous Tense TO Past Continuous Tense
He said, ” I am speaking English”
He said that he was speaking English.
Rule 3.
Present Perfect Tense TO Past Perfect Tense
She said, ” I have finished my homework.”
She said that she had finished her homework.
Rule 4.
Present Perfect Continuous Tense TO Past Perfect Continuous Tense
The girl said, ” I have been writing this letter for two hours.”
The girl told that she had been writing that letter for the last two hours
Rule 5.
Past Indefinite Tense TO Past Patect Tense
“I posted the letter”, said the boy.
The boy told that he had posted the letter.
Rule 6.
Past Continuous Tense TO Past Perfect Continuous Tense
I said, “I was doing my work.”
I said that I had been doing my work.
Rule 7.
Will/shall TO Would/should
Seema said, ” I will go home now.”
Seema told that she would go home then.
Rule 8.
May TO MIght
Example:
Direct Speech: The teacher said, ” It may rain today.”
Indirect Speech: The teacher said that it might rain that day.
Rule 9.
Can TO Could
Example:
Direct Speech: The beggar said, ” Can you help me?”
Indirect Speech: The beggar asked if he could help him.
Exceptions in charge of direct and indirect speech.
If the Reported verb is either of the following: First Form of Verb or Will/shall+V1 then the Reported Speech Verb does not change.
Direct and Indirect speech examples
Direct Speech: She says, ” I go to school.”
Indirect Speech: She tells that she goes to school.
Direct Speech: Sita says, ” I shall come to see the picture.”
Indirect Speech: Sita says that she will come to see the picture.
Direct Speech: He says, “The train will be late.”
Indirect Speech: He says that the train will be late.
2. If Reported Speech is Universal truth or habit then the Tense of the Reported Speech does not change.
Direct and Indirect speech examples
Direct Speech: He said, “God is great”.
Indirect Speech: He said that God is great.
Direct Speech: The teacher said, ” The sun rises in the East.”
Indirect Speech: The teacher told that the sun rises in the East.
Direct Speech: The boy said, “Two and two make four.”
Indirect Speech: The boy told that two and two make four.
3. If reporting speech has Past Historical facts then, there is no change in the Tense. The tense of the Reported Speech does not change.
Direct and Indirect speech examples
Direct Speech: The History teacher said, “Asoka left forever after the conquest of Kalinga”.
Indirect Speech: The History teacher told that Asoka left war forever after the conquest of Kalinga.
4. If Reporting speech has acts thatthat are happening simultaneously, the Tense of the Reported Speech does not change.
Direct and Indirect speech examples
Direct Speech: He said, “My wife sits with me when I write articles.”
Indirect Speech: He told that his wife sits with him when he writes articles.
5. If Reporting speech has something imaginary then the Tense of the Reported Speech does not change.
Direct and Indirect speech examples
Direct Speech: Ram said, “If I were rich, I would help him.”
Indirect Speech: Ram told that if he were rich he would help him.
6. If Reporting speech contains to-infinitive and would, could, should, must, might, ought to then the Tense of the Reported Speech does not change.
Direct and Indirect speech examples
Direct Speech: He said to me, “You should obey your elders.”
Indirect Speech: He told me that I should obey my parents.
Related Articles on English Grammar:
- 12 Tenses in English Grammar: The Beginning of the English Learning Language
- English Grammar: Active and Passive Voices with Examples of 12 Tenses
- Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps & Rules to Change Narration
- Modal Auxiliaries for all Classes: PDF
- Articles in English: The Beginning of Learning English Grammar PDF
Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps&Rules to Change Narration
The time in Direct Speech is changed in Indirect Speech as given below:
- Here: there
- Now: then
- This: that
- These: those
- Today: that datonight
- to night: that night
- Yesterday: the previous day
- Last night: the previous night
- Last week: the previous week
- Tomorrow: the next day
- Next week: the following week
- Ago: before
- Thus: so
- Hence: thence
- Hither: thither
Direct and Indirect Speech
Steps& Rules to Change Narration of different types of sentences
Now, let us discuss the change of narration of sentences of different types, such as assertive sentences, interrogative sentences, exclamatory sentences, and imperative sentences, in detail to succeed in understanding direct and indirect speech.
General steps to follow to begin the change of narration
Follow the steps while changing the narration of sentences in English:
Example: Monika said to me, “I have read a new novel yesterday”.
Steps to change the narration of the above sentence:
Read the sentence and identify the parts of speech:
Monika said to me(Reported Verb); “I have read a new noyesterdaydais R.S.
Step 1. Reported Verb is V2( said), therefore, Reported Speech will be changed as per rule.
Step 2. Change ‘said’ to ‘told’ and remove inverted commas “I have read a new novel yesterday ”
Step 3. The sentence is assertive so, use ‘that’
Step 4. Check the pronouns and follow the rule of SON=123 as discussed above. In the sentence, “I he is First Person pronoun nd will be changed accor ng to ‘Subject’ of R.V.
Step 5. Change the verb of Reported Speech as per the rule of changing verbs, in this sentence, “have read” will be changed to “had read”.
Step 6. age nge”yesterday” into “the previous day”
Therefore, change the narration of the sentence.
Direct Speech: Monika said to me, “I have read a new novel yesterday”.
Indirect Speech: Monika told me that she had read a novel the previous day.
Note the following abbreviations:
V1: First formof verb.
V2: 2nd formthe of verb.
V3: 3rd form of verb.
R.V.: Reported Verb
R.S.: Reported Speech
S: Subject
O: Object
N: No change
1: First person pronoun; I, We.
2: Second person pronoun; You.
3: Third person pronoun; Ram, She, He, They, etc.
Type 1 Assertive Sentences: Direct and Indirect Speech
Steps&Rules for Change in Narration
Let us discuss some rules for changing the narration of assertive sentences.
Example:
Shivam said, “We are moving into a new house”.
Shivam said to me, “We are moving into a new house”.
Rule 1
- If there is no object after Reporting Verb there it should not be changed. Shivam said that they were coming to a new house.
- If there is some object after Reporting Verb then, change say: tell; says: tells; said: told.
- Check the context and decide to change said to and it can be replaced by replied, informed, stated, added, remarked, asserted, assured, pleaded, reminded, reported or compla,ined etc.
Rule 2
- I assertive sentences the put conjunction ‘that’ in place of “ ”.
- Change the pronouns of the Reported Speech as discussed above.
Direct and Indirect speech examples
Examples of Assertive Sentences Changed into Indirect form
Direct: His uncle said, “Two and two make four.”
Indirect: His uncle said that Two and two make four.
Direct: I said to Ram, “I have finished my work.”
Indirect: I told Ram that I had finished my work.
Direct: He said, “I shall go tomorrow.”
Indirect: He said that he sh ld go the next day.
Type 2 Interrogative Sentences: Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps & Rules to Change Narration
Change of narration of Interrogative Sentences
Steps to follow to change the narration of interrogative sentences:
Step 1. Check the sentence, is itinterrogativetive sentence?
Step 2. Change sai to and said are changed into asked.
Step 3. Questions starting with helping verbs is/am/are/was/has/had are replaced with ‘if’ or ‘whether’
Step 4. I,n Wh questions conjunction is not used.
Step 5. Sign of interrogation(?) is changed into full-stop(.).
Helping Verb’s Sentence
Direct: I asked him, “Are you happy ?”
Indirect: I asked him if he was happy.
Wh. Sentence
Direct: I said to her, “How is your father ?”
Indirect: I asked her how her father was.
Rule 1.
- An interrogative sentence means asking a question. Change Reported Verb said/said to = asked.
- Some time, Said to is changed into enquired or demanded
Rule 2.
- the If question is formed with the help of helping verbs such as is/are/am, was/were, has/have, do/does, will/w,ould etc. then “ R.S__” are to be replaced by if or whether
- If the question is formed with the help of “wh”words starting with “Wh” such as who, whose, what, whom, ,when etc. Wh. family questions are replaced with “_with __” no conjunction.
Rule 3.
- In such sentences question form(?) of the sentence is removed and full-stop(.) is used to end the sentence. Indirect: I asked him if he was happy.
- the Put helping verb after the subject. Indirect: I asked him if he was happy.
Rule 4.
- Pronouns and verbs are al ys changed according to the set rule of Narration as discussed above.
Direct and Indirect Speech: Steps&Rules to Change Narration
Type 3 Imperative Sentences: Direct and Indirect Speech
Imperative sentences are the most important parta of change of narration. They lly related to advice, request, nd order in the direct speech.
- Conjunctions ‘that’, and ‘if/whether’ are not used while changing indirect speech.
- ‘To’ is used in place of inverted commas and then Reported Verb is connected to Reported Speech.
- Said/ said to is changed according to the mood of the sentence.
- Said/ said to is changed into advised to, ordered to, requested to.
Type 4 Imperative Sentences Beginning with ‘Let’
Sometime, imperative sentences start with “Let” and in such condition, “said to” is changed to in “advised”, “proposed”, “ordered”, and “requested” in Reported Speech.
Direct and Indirect speech examples
Direct: He said to friends, “Let us go”.
Indirect: He suggested his friends that they should go.
Direct:The teacher said, ” Let him go”.
Indirect: The teacher ordered to let him go.
Direct:The students said, ” Let us play together.”
Indirect:The students proposed that they should play together.
Type 5 Exclamatory Sentences: Direct and Indirect Speech
Sentences expressing joy, sorrow, surprise, praise, and hatred come under exclamatory sentences of direct and indirect speech. The following steps and rules apply to such sentences while changing direct into indirect sentences.
Steps and Rules of Changing narration of Exclamatory sentences
Step 1. exclamatory sentence will be changed into assertive sentence.
Step 2. Exclamatory sign(!) will be changed into full stop(.).
Step 3. said/said to is changed into exclaimed with sorrow, joy, surprise, and praise.
Rule of Change of interjection in exclamatory sentences
Alas!-Sorrow
Hurrah!-joy
Damn!- swear
Bravo!- applaud/encourage
Hello!- greet
Pooh pooh!- contempt
Direct and Indirect speech examples
Direct: The old man said, “Alas! my only son is dead”.
Indirect: The old man exclaimed with sorrow that his son was dead.
Direct: “What a ghastly accident!” the passer-by said.
Indirect: The passer-by exclaimed with sorrow that the accident was ghostly.
Direct: “Bravo! Well done!”, he said.
Indirect: He exclaimed with praise that he had done well.
Explanation: If the sentence is exclamatory, we generally use the reporting verbs like exclaimed, admired, cried based on the sentence.
Direct Speech: He said, “What a great misery !”
Indirect Speech: He exclaimed that it was a very great misery.
Direct Speech: He said, ” Alas! I have lost my eye.”
Indirect Speech: He exclaimed with sorrow that he had lost his eye.
Direct Speech: Mahesh said,” How foolishly I have acted!”
Indirect Speech: Mahesh confessed that he had acted very foolishly.
Study the following examples while turning from Direct into Indirect Speech: Carefully note the changes made while changing narration.
Direct and Indirect Speech Examples to analyse your understanding of direct and indirect speech.
Direct: The King said, ” It gave me a great pleasure to here this morning.”
Indirect: The King said that it gave him great pleasure to be there that morning.
Direct: She said, “I shall fly to London as soon as possible.”
Indirect: She said that she should fly London as soon as possible.
Direct: He said to us, ” I do not wish to see any one of you ; go away.”
Indirect: He told me that he did not wish to see any one of them and ordered them to go away.”
Direct: The teacher says to us, “If you don’t work hard, you will fail.”
Indirect: The teacher says to us that if they work hard they will fail.
Direct: The priest said, ” We are all sinners.”
Indirect: The Priest said that we are all sinners.
Direct: The History teacher said, ” Akbar won the respect of all people by his justice.”
Indirect: The History teacher said that Akbar won the respect of all people by his justice.
Direct: Ram said, ” Let us wait for the trophy.”
Indirect: Ram proposed that they should wait for the trophy.
Direct: “Saint Stephen strike for us! exclaimed the King,”do the false yeoman give way.”
Indirect: The King prayed that Saint Stephen might strike for them and asked if the false yeoman gave away.
Direct: The visitor said,” Can you tell me the way to the nearest inn?” “Yes”, said the peasant, “do you want one in which you can spend the night?””No”, replied the visitor. ” I only want a meal”.
Indirect: The visitor asked the peasant if he could tell him the way to the nearest inn. The peasant replied that he could, asked if the visitor wanted one in which he could spend the night. The visitor answered that he did not wish to stay there, but only wanted a meal.
Direct: The policeman asked,” Where do you live?”
Indirect: The Policeman enquired where I lived.
Direct: The teacher sad, ” Will you listen to me?”
Indirect: The teacher asked if they would listen to him.
Direct: Maneet said to Riya, ” Go awy.”
Indirect: Maneet ordered Riya to go away.
Direct: Prince shouted, ” Let me go>”
Indirect: The prince shouted to them to let him go.
Direct: Simran said, ” How clever I am!”
Indirect: Simran exclaimed that she was very clever.
Change the Narration: Exercises from HBSE Class 12 English Question Papers
HBSE CLASS 12 ENGLISH(CORE) 2020
55 Direct and Indirect speech examples from prevous boards’ papers
- i) Ram will say, “I saw my teacher in the park.”
(ii) I said to her, “Do you want my help ?”
(iii) He said, “What a great misery !” - The teacher said, “Mahatma Gandhi believed in non-violence.”
(ii) He says, “The train will be late.”
(iii) I said, “I have been ill since Monday.” - the teacher said to the boy, “Shut the door.”
(ii) His uncle said, “Two and two make four.”
(iii) I said, “I have finished my work.” - (i) He said, “I shall go there.”
(ii) She said, “Kamla do you like this book ?”
(iii) The priest said, “Truth wins in the long race.”
HBSE CLASS 12 ENGLISH(CORE) 2019
Direct and Indirect speech examples
i) “I have read a new novel by R. K. Narayan”, said Monika.
(ii) “Do you wish to open an account ?” the the manager asked the customer.
(iii) “Bravo! Well done!”, he said.
i) The girl said, “I shall do it.”
(ii) “Where does the Principal live ?” a parent asked the peon.
(iii) “I posted the letter,” said the boy.
i) “Lie down, Mohan”, the father said to his son.
(ii) “What shall I tell him, Mummy ?” the child asked.
(iii) He said, “I do Yogasanas daily.”
(i) “Go out and play for some time,” said the mother to her son.
(ii) “What a ghastly accident!” the passer-by said.
(iii) The teacher said, “Oil floats on water.”
HBSE CLASS 12 ENGLISH(CORE) 2018
Direct and Indirect speech examples
i) He said, “I like the book.”
(ii) I said, “I agree to what he said.”
(iii) I asked him, “Are you happy ?”
i) Mohan said, “I am an early riser.”
(ii) He said to Meena, “I have passed the test.”
(iii) She said to me, “Do you know her ?”
i) Monika said, “God is omnipresent.”
(ii) I said to her, “How is your father ?”
(iii) I said to him, “Leave this place at once.”
HBSE CLASS 12 ENGLISH(CORE) 2017
Direct and Indirect speech examples
I) Monika said, “God is omnipresent.”
(ii) I said to her, “How is your father ?”
(iii) I said to him, “Leave this place at once.”
I)Mother said, “Tea is ready.”
(ii) She said to the brother, “Do you like chocolate ?”
(iii) He said, “Open the door.”
i) He said, “I have won a lottery today”.
(ii) The teacher said, “Don’t make a noise boys”.
(iii) The old man said to the boy, “May God bless you”.
i)He said to me “May you win a scholarship!”
(ii) The Principal said to the peon, “Bring this file to me”.
(iii) Her husband cried, “How stupid you are!”
i)Shivam said, “We are moving into a new house”.
(ii) He said, “Let us go out for a walk”.
(ii) The old man said, “Alas! my only son is dead”.
HBSE CLASS 12 ENGLISH(CORE) 2021
Direct and Indirect speech examples
i) He said, “God is great”.
ii) The teacher said, “Are you feeling well today?”
iii) Sita says, ” I shall come to see the picture.”
i) He said to me, “Your card has expired”.
ii) My mother said to me, ” Don’t touch the wire.”
iii) You said, ” You are my friend.”
i) The teacher said to the boys, “You will get good marks this time.”
Readlearnexcel Message on Direct and Indirect Speech
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