Direct-Indirect speech

Meaning :
When a conversation between two persons is
presented to the third person, it is called Indirect
or Reported speech.

Changes that take place during the conversion :

1. Change in pronoun
2. Change in verb
3. Change in Tense
4. Change in words suggesting time and place

(1) Change in Pronoun :

I

me

DIRECT speech
my
mine

We

us

our

ours

ourselves

You
You

you
you

your
your

yours
yours

yourself
yourselves

He
She
It

him
her
it

his
her
its

his
hers
its

himself
herself
itself

They

them

their

theirs

themselves

myself

INDIRECT speech
Change as per
SPEAKERs gender
& form
Change as per
LISTENERs
gender & form
NO
change(s)

(2) Change in Verb :

Direct

Indirect

Direct

Indirect

is/am

was

did

had + p.p.

are

were

can

could

have/has

had

may

might

do/does

did

shall/will

would

come

come

come (at listeners

go

(at speakers place)

place/ any other place)

* could, would, should, might, must, had

NO change(s)

(3) Change in Tense :

Tense in Direct speech
Simple Present

Tense in Indirect speech

Simple Past

go/goes
play/plays

went
played

Simple Past

Past Perfect

went
played

had gone
had played

Present Continuous

Past Continuous

is/am/are going
is/am/are playing

was/were going
was/were playing

Present Perfect

Past Perfect

have/has gone
have/has played

had gone
had played

(4) Change in words indicating Time/Place :

Direct

Indirect

Direct

Indirect

this

that

so far

till that time

these

those

yesterday

the previous day/

the day before

here

there

last night/week/
month/year

the previous night/

week/month/year

now/just now

Then

tomorrow

The next day/

the following day

ago

before

next week/month/
year

the following week/

month/year

thus

so

Type of Sentence in Direct Speech

1. Assertive / Declarative

Verb form in Indirect Speech

told (when Receiver is there)
said (when No receiver is there)

2. Interrogative (Wh-word, to be form)

Reply
3. Exclamatory
4. Imperative

asked
replied replied positively/replied negatively
exclaimed with (feeling)
requested/ordered (according to the tone)

5. Optative

wished/prayed

(1) Assertive / Declarative sentences :

told (when Receiver is there)
said (when No receiver is there)
informed (while giving information)
replied to (while replying)
DS : My uncle said to me, I shall give you five hundred rupees
tomorrow.
IDS : My uncle told me that he would give me five hundred rupees the
next day.

Now solve these

1. I said, Pratik, you always find excuses to me.
2. The teacher said to me, I am really satisfied with your
answer.
3. My friend said to me, My grandmother has gone to
temple.
4. The next train to Mumbai will leave at 10 pm., the
inquiry clerk said to the passenger.

(2) Interrogative sentences :

Wh - question

Non-Wh question

asked...Wh-word

asked if (or whether)

DS : Teacher said to the students,

Who wants to have chocolate?

DS : Teacher said to the students,

Do you want to have chocolate?

IDS : The teacher asked the

students who wanted to have
chocolate.

IDS : The teacher asked the

students if they wanted to have
chocolate.

Now solve these

(Hint : First convert the question into assertive sentence.)

1.
2.
3.
4.

Roshan : Is your dad ill, Mamta?

Hiral said to Sujata, Did you apply for this job?
Where have you put my file, Ramu?, I asked.
Mom : How did you manage to finish this work so soon,
Nidhi?

(3) Imperative sentences :

Tone of the
sentence

Reporting verb

Tone of the
sentence

Reporting verb

request

requested

instruction

instructed

order

ordered

warning

warned

dutiful order

commanded

threat

threatened

advice

advised

demand

asked

suggestion

suggested

not clear

asked

Remove please, kindly.

Use to, if the sentence is positive.
Use not to, if the sentence is negative.

DS : Kush said to his sister, Please help me in my work.

IDS : Kush requested his sister to help him in his work.

DS : The boss said to peon, Fetch me a good file from a nearby

stationery store.
IDS : The boss ordered peon to fetch him a good file from a nearby
stationery store.
DS : Zoo-keeper said to kids, Dont go near tigers cage.
IDS : Zoo-keeper warned kids not to go near tigers cage.

Now solve these

1. Boss : Rajesh, talk to Mr. Sinha today only.
2. Father said to son, Dont jump from here or you will
fall down.
3. Hurry up, Mrs. Kapoor said to her maid, dont
waste time.
4. Please do me a favour., said the beggar to the
passerbys.

Let sentences :
Asking for Permission

Making Suggestion

requested

suggested to /proposed to
thatshould

DS : Ketan said to his mother,

Let me play.

DS : Mr. Pandya said to me, Lets

go for a movie.

IDS : Ketan requested his

mother to let him play.

IDS : Mr. pandya suggested to me

that we should go for a movie.

Now solve these

1. Kamini : Varun, Let me finish my homework.
2. My sister said to me, Lets have ice-cream.
3. Dont let them make noise in the class, said the principal
to the newly appointed teacher.

(4) Exclamatory sentences :

Exclamatory word

Tone of the sentence

Reporting verb

Wow!

praise

exclaimed with praise to

Alas!

sadness

exclaimed with sorrow to

joy, happiness

exclaimed with joy to

anger

exclaimed with anger to

hatred

exclaimed with disgust to

surprise

exclaimed with surprise to

pity, sympathy

exclaimed with pity/sympathy to

fear

exclaimed with fear to

Hurrah!

Ah! or Oh!

What a..! or How!

: Use very

DS : Roma said to Rakhi, What a beautiful dress you have got!

(Roma said to Rakhi, You have got a very beautiful dress.)
IDS : Roma exclaimed with praise to Rakhi that she (Rakhi) had
got a very beautiful dress.
DS : A said to B, Wow! You look gorgeous!
IDS : A exclaimed with praise to B that she (B) looked gorgeous.

Now solve these

1. Teacher said to Purvi, How poor your performance was!
2. Mr. Patel said to his assistant, What a stupid person you
are!
3. Ah, its the same sari I wanted to buy!, said Rupali to her
friend.
4. Madhu said, How dirty this place is.

(5) Optative sentences :

for Complimenting

for Consolation

wished
May. : wished that

prayed

DS : Teacher said to the students,

Good morning.

DS : Father: May his soul rest in

peace.

IDS : The teacher wished the

students good morning.

IDS : The father prayed that his

soul might rest in peace.

Now solve these

1. I said to him, have a good day.
2. Be happy, said grandpa to Juhi.
3. Prakash said to me, All the best for your exams.

Indirect speech of
Dialogue/Conversation

 After Question sentence, if there is an Assertive sentence, use replied

as a verb.
If the reply is (+ve), write : replied positively to that..
If the reply is (-ve), write : replied negatively to that
Ex-1 : Nirav said to Bhavika, Are you reading now?
Yes.
Ans : Nirav asked Bhavika if she was reading then. Bhavika replied
positively to Nirav that she was.
Ex-2 : Prakash said, Have you seen my new bag
No, said I.
Ans : Prakash asked me if I had seen his new bag. I replied negatively to
Prakash that I had not.

 If the reply includes one or more words (instead of a sentence), form

the answer as a sentence.
Ex-1 : When did you return from Mumbai?, said Amit.
Yesterday, said Hiral.
Ans : Amit asked Hiral when she had returned from Mumbai. Hiral
replied to Amit that she had returned the previous day.
If there are 2 questions in the direct speech, use and again asked to
connect the both.
Ex-1 : The teacher asked Pranav, Are you ready to write? Do you have
any problem?
Ans : The teacher asked Pranav if he was ready to write and again asked
if he (Pranav) had any problem.

 If the reply includes more than 1 sentence, and if the second sentence
is Assertive, use and added that...
Ex-1 : The mother said to her son, Give me your progress card. I want
to see it.
Ans : The mother asked (or ordered) her son to give her his progress
card and added that she wanted to see it.
If question is answered second time, use again replied.
If the sentence contains Sir or Madam, remove them and write :
replied with respect.
If the sentence contains word Dear, remove it and write : told
lovingly.
If the sentence contains word sorry, remove it and write :
apologized.

 If the sentence contains words like O.K. or Well, remove them and
write : agreed with.
If the speaker says something addressing the listener, wrote :
addressedas.
Ex : Mehmood said to the clerk, Brother.
Ans : Mehmood addressed the clerk as a brother.
Remove extra words, if any (e.g., but, and etc.)
Sometimes, the following verbs are used in Reported speech
depending upon the purpose of the sentence. :
informed, agreed, repeated, begged, reassured, claimed, greeted, shouted,
complained, further told, told with surprise, told curiously, told with shock/surprise,
told cheerfully/excitedly

Are you ready to give a test tomorrow, students?, said the English
teacher to the pupils.
No, sir. We havent prepared enough.
What! What have you been doing all this time? Do you think your
preparation will be over at the time of final exam next month?
Well, sir. We shall be ready for tomorrow, but be kind to us in setting
our question paper, Sir.

The English teacher asked the pupils if they were ready to give a test the
next day.
The students replied negatively with respect that they were not and
added that they hadnt prepared enough.

The teacher exclaimed/asked with surprise what they had been doing all
that time. He again asked them if they thought their preparation would
be over at the time of final exam the next month.
The pupils replied with respect that they would be ready for the next day
and requested the teacher to be kind to them in setting their question
paper.

Now solve this

How would it be if I take you to a hotel for dinner today, dear
children?, said Mr. Ashutosh.
How wonderful! But, why papa?
Didnt your mama tell you? Go and ask her.

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary:, said Namrata.

Congratulations, dear papa and mama.

Mr. Ashutosh asked the children with love how it would be if he took
them to a hotel for dinner that day.
Children exclaimed with joy that it would be wonderful. They asked
him why.
Mr. Ashutosh asked with surprise if their mama hadnt told them. He
told them to go and ask her.
Namrata told/informed them that that day was their 15th wedding
anniversary.
Children congratulated both of them with love.