486. Study the following sentences :---
1). Mohan said, " I am working hard for the examination."
2). Mohan said that he was working hard for the examination.
*) In the first sentence, the actual words of the speaker are quoted. This is called
Direct Speech.
*) In the second sentence, we give the substance of what the speaker said or without
quoting his exact words. This is called Indirect ( Reported ) Speech.
Rules for changing Direct Speech into Indirect
487. When changing the Direct into Indirect certain grammatical changes have to be made.
The following rules will make the whole thing clear :---
RULE 1. If the Reporting Verb is a Past Tense, the tense of the Verb in the Reported
Speech must be changed to the Past Tense. To work out this rule in detail, the
following special rules must be observed :---
(1) The Present tense ( in the Reported Speech ) must be changed to corresponding
Past form. In other words, we should change :--
*) Reporting Verb *) Reported Speech
Direct. : He said " Tom shall come " ......Present.
Indirect. : He said that Tom should come. .......Past.
Direct. : He said, " Bush will come." .....Present.
Indirect. : He said that Bush would come. .....Past.
Direct. : He said, " Sofia may come. " .....Present.
Indirect. : He said that Sofia might come. .....Past.
Direct. : He said, " Kareena can come. " .....Present.
Indirect. : He said that Kareena could come. .....Past.
Direct. : He said, " John comes." .....Simple Present.
Indirect. : He said that John came. ......Simple Past
Direct. : He said, " Jack is coming." .....Present Contin.
Indirect. : He said that Jack was coming. .....Past Contin.
Direct. : He said, " Jerry has come." .....Pres. Perfect.
Indirect. : He said that Jerry had come. .....Past Perfect.
Direct. : He said, " Sweety has been coming." .....Pres. Per. Con.
Indirect. : He said that Sweety had been coming. .....Past. Per. Con.
(2) The Simple past Tense ( in the Reported Speech ) is often, but not always, changed
to the Past Perfect ; as,
Direct. : Ali said, " I drank water after the meal."
Indirect. : Ali said that he drank water after the meal. (past )
Direct. : He said, " Ali was playing hockey."
Indirect. : He said that Ali had been playing hockey.
(3) The Past Continuous tense ( in the Reported Speech ) must be changed to the Past
Perfect Continuous ; as,
Direct. : He said, " Sita was dancing."
Indirect. : He said that Sita had been dancing.
Direct. : He said, " Ali was playing hockey."
Indirect. : He said that Ali had been playing hockey.
NOTE :-- Exception to Rule 1. If the Reported Speech relates to some universal or
habitual fact, the Simple Present tense in the Reported Speech remains
unchanged ; as,
Direct. : He said, " Man is mortal."
Indirect. : He said that man is mortal.
Direct. : He proved, " The earth is round. "
Indirect. : He proved that the earth is round.
Direct. : Sita said, " Virtue is its own reward."
Indirect. : Sita said that virtue is its own reward.
RULE 2. If the reporting Verb is a Present or Future tense, the tense of the verb in the
Reported Speech is not changed at all.
Direct. : The servant says, " Tea is ready."
Indirect. : The servant says that tea is ready.
Direct. : The teacher will say, " The boy was dull."
Indirect. : The teacher will say that the boy was dull.
RULE 3. ( Change in Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives ). Pronouns and Possessive
Adjectives, of the First and Second Persons in Direct Speech, are changed
into the Third Person in Direct Speech.
I, you (singular ), my, your become he, she, his, her.
We, you (plural), our, your become they, their.
Direct. : Rama said, " I am ill."
Indirect. : Rama said that he was ill.
Direct. : He said, " My pen is lost."
Indirect. : He said that his pen was lost.
Direct. : Ali said to the beggar. " I know you."
Indirect. : Ali told the beggar that he knew him.
Direct. : Rama said to the girl, " I know you and your aunt."
Indirect. : Rama told the girl that he knew her and her aunt.
Direct. : I said to the boys, " You should do your duty."
Indirect. : I told the boys that they should do their duty.
NOTE 1.--- If the person addressed reports the speech, the Second Person is changed
to First
Direct. : He said to me, " You are stupid."
Indirect. : He told me that I was stupid.
NOTE 2.--- Sometimes the Pronoun he in Indirect Speech stands for several different
persons. In such cases we should either insert in brackets the names of the
persons referred to, after the Pronouns, or use Nouns instead of Pronouns,
where possible.
Direct. : He said, " I approve of your partnership with him."
Indirect. : He said that he approved of his partnership with him.
[ OR ]
He said that he approved of his ( Mohan's ) partnership with him ( Sohan ).
RULE 4. In the Reported Speech, the words expressing nearness are changed into words
expressing distance.
Indirect. : The teacher said that he was busy then.
Direct. : He said, " It may rain tomorrow."
Indirect. : He said that it might rain the next day.
Direct. : He said, " Last night I met a fool."
Indirect. : He said that he had met a fool the previous night.
Direct. : He said, " I met this man two days ago. "
Indirect. : He said that he had met that man two days before.
NOTE ----- Bear in mind that if this, here, now, etc., refer to things present before the
person during the delivery of the speech, no change is required in the
Reported Speech.
Direct. : Afzal said, " This is the pen I like. "
Indirect. : Afzal said that this ( the pen in his hand ) was the pen he liked.
Direct. : The leader said, " I will fight now or never."
Indirect. : The leader said that he would fight now or never.
Direct. : Ashok said, " Here is the stick we have been looking for. "
Indirect. : Ashok said ( pointing to the stick in hand ) that here was the stick they had
been looking for.
1. Statements
488. Statements in the Indirect Speech are generally introduced by the Conjunction that.
Direct. : You said to me, " I do not think I can oblige you again in this way."
Indirect. : You told me that you did not think you could oblige me again in that
way.
Direct. : He said, " The rain that fell last night prevented me from coming to this place.
Indirect. : He said that the rain that had fallen the previous night had prevented him
from going to that place.
Direct. : He said to me, " I have never seen such a lazy boy as you are."
Indirect. : He told me that he had never seen such a lazy boy as I was.
Direct. : The teacher said to the girl, " I know you and your mother."
Indirect. : The teacher told the girl that he knew her and her mother.
Direct. : I said to her, " All your faults will be pardoned if you confess them."
Indirect. : I told her that all her faults would be pardoned if she confessed them.
Direct. : The teacher said to the boys, " I shall prove now that the earth moves
round the sun."
Indirect. : The teacher told the boys that he would prove then that the earth moves
around the sun.
Direct. : He said to me, " You have made a great mistake in your statement."
Indirect. : He told me that I had made a great mistake in my statement.
489. Study carefully the following examples :--
Indirect. : He told me that he could easily beat me in the long jump.
Direct. : He said to me, " I can easily beat you in the long jump."
Indirect. : the teacher told us that we were dull and lazy.
Direct. : The teacher said to us, " You are dull and lazy."
Indirect. : Ali admitted that he had acted foolishly in what he did.
Direct. : " I Have acted foolishly, " said Ali, " in what I did."
2. Questions
490. In reporting a Question in the Indirect Speech---
(1) the introductory Verb is changed to asked, inquired, demanded, etc.
(2) Whether or if is used after such introductory Verb whenever the direct question
admits of one of two answers ( yes or No ).
(3) the Note of Interrogation which is placed after Questions in the direct form is not
placed after questions in the Indirect form.
Direct. : He said to me, " DO you know the way ? "
Indirect. : He inquired of me if I knew the way.
Direct. : The teacher said to me, " What are you doing?"
Indirect. : The teacher asked me what I was doing.
Direct. : Ali said to me, " When will you return ?"
Indirect. : Ali asked me when I would return.
Direct. : He said to me, " Why did you write to me such an insulting letter?"
Indirect. : He demanded of me why I had written such an insulting letter to him.
Direct. : He said to us." Will you listen to such a fool ?"
Indirect. : He asked us whether we would listen to such a fool.
489. Study the following examples :--
Indirect. : He inquired of us whether we were going away that day.
Direct. : He said to us, " Are you going away today?"
Indirect. : He asked me whether I played football.
Direct : He said to me, " Do you play football?"
Indirect. : He demanded of me why I had insulted his brother.
Direct. : He said to me, " Why did you insult my brother ?"
3. Commands and Requests
492. In reporting a Command or Request in the Indirect Speech :--
(1) The introductory Verb is changed into request, beg, implore, entreat, order,
command, advise, threaten, etc.
(2) The Verb in the Reported Speech is put in the Infinitive.
Direct. : He said to me, " Give me your pencil."
Indirect. : He asked me to give him my pencil.
Direct. : He said to the students, " Do not make a noise."
Indirect. : He forbade the students to make a noise.
Direct. : I said to the teacher, " Please explain this question to me. "
Indirect. : I requested the teacher to explain that question to me.
Direct. : He said to the servant, " Leave my house at once."
Indirect. : He ordered his servant to leave his house at once.
Direct. : The teacher said to the students, " Work hard and be regular in your studies."
Indirect. : The teacher advised the students to work hard and be regular in their studies.
Direct. : The beggar said to the gentleman, " Help me to get some suitable employment."
Indirect. : The beggar entreated the gentleman to help him to get some suitable
employment.
Direct. : The rebel said to the king, " Pardon my fault, Sir."
Indirect. : The rebel begged the King to pardon his fault.
Direct. : " Shoot the prisoner, " said the tyrant.
Indirect. : The tyrant commanded them to shoot the prisoner.
493. When ' let ' in the Direct Speech expressess a proposal or suggestion, we may use
should and change the Reporting Verb into propose or suggest.
Direct. : She said to us, " Let us have some music."
Indirect. : She proposed ( or suggested ) to us that we should have some music.
But when ' let ' does not express a proposal it should be changed into might or might be
allowed, or into some other Verb according to the sense.
Direct. : He said, " Let me have some tea."
Indirect. : He wished that he might have some tea.
Direct. : Ali said to his friends, " Let me do my work, please."
Indirect. : Ali requested his friends that he might be allowed to do his work.
494. Study the following examples :---
Indirect. : The captain commanded his men to stand at ease.
Direct : The captain said to his men, " Stand at ease."
Indirect. : He proposed to us that we should return home.
Direct : He said to us, " Let us return home."
Indirect. : He ordered his servant to do as he was told.
Direct : He said to his servant, " Do as you are told."
Indirect. : He requested him to wait there till he returned.
Direct. : He said to him, " Please wait here till I return."
4.Exclamations and Wishes
495. In reporting a Wish or an Exclamation in the Indirect Speech :---
(1) The introductory Verb is changed into wish, bless, pray, cry, exclaim, declare, etc.,
with such phrases as with regret, with delight or joy, with sorrow, where necessary.
(2) The Interjections and Exclamations such as oh, well, hurrah, alas, bravo, curse it,
are omitted and their sense is expressed by means of phrases.
Direct. : " What a terrible storm it is ! " he said
Indirect. : He exclaimed that it was a terrible storm.
Direct. : She said, " Alas! how foolish I have been ! "
Indirect. : She confessed with regret that she had been very foolish.
Direct. : He said, " Good-bye, friends."
Indirect. : He bade good-bye to his friends.
Direct. : She said, " O, for a glass of cold water !"
Indirect. : She cried out for a glass of cold water.
Direct. : He said, " God save the king !"
Indirect. : He prayed that God might save the king.
Direct. : He said, " How I wish they would come !"
Indirect. : He exclaimed that he wishes they would come.
Direct. : They said, " Hurrah ! we have won the match."
Indirect. : They exclaimed with delight that they had won the match.
Direct. : He said, " farewell, my countrymen."
Indirect. : He bade farewell to all his countrymen.
Direct. : He said, " May God bless her with a long life and prosperity !"
Indirect. : He prayed that God might bless her with a long life and prosperity.
Direct. : He said, " Bravo ! You have done well."
Indirect. : He applauded him saying that he had done well.
496. Study the following examples :---
Indirect. : He prayed that God might bless me.
Direct. : He said to me, " May God bless you !"
Indirect. : He exclaimed with sorrow that he was undone.
Direct. : He said, " Alas! I am undone !"
Indirect. : He exclaimed with delight that his friend had passed.
Direct. : He said, " Hurrah ! my friend has passed."
Indirect. : He confessed with regret that he perished by the people he had made.
Direct. : He said, " Alas ! I perish by the people I made."
