Direct And Indirect Speech
What is Direct &
Indirect Speech?
Direct
speech – Reporting
the message of the speaker in the exact words as spoken by him.
Direct
speech example:
Mahesh said ‘I am busy now’.
Indirect
speech: reporting the
message of the speaker in our own words
Indirect
speech example: Mahesh
said that she was busy then.
What is reporting clause and
reported clause?
1. Reporting
Clause:
·
The reporting clause is the part of
the sentence that attributes the spoken words to the speaker. It typically
includes a reporting verb (e.g., "said," "asked,"
"shouted," etc.).
Example:
"She said, 'I am going to the store.'"
In
this, "She said" is the reporting clause, indicating who is
speaking.
2. Reported clause
·
The reported clause is the portion of
the sentence that reports or conveys the words spoken by the original speaker
Example:
a) "She said that she was going to the
store."
In
this "that she was going to the store" is the reported clause, as it
indirectly conveys the words spoken by the original speaker.
b) She said,
"I am happy."
In this "I am happy." is the
reported clause
Rules for converting Direct
into Indirect speech
To
change a sentence of direct speech into indirect speech there are various
factors that are considered, such as reporting verbs, modals, time, place,
pronouns, tenses, etc.
We will discuss each of these factors one by
one.
1. Change in Tense of
Reported clause
Rule
1 – When the reporting verb of direct speech is in past tense then all the
present tenses are changed to the corresponding past tense in indirect
speech.
Direct:
She said, ‘I am happy’.
Indirect:
She said (that) she was happy.
Rule
2 -If the reporting verb is in the future tense or present
tense, Then tenses of direct speech do not change
Direct:
She says, ‘I am going’
Indirect:
She says that she is going.
Rule
3 - In indirect speech, tenses do not change if the words used
within the quotes (‘’ ”) talk of a habitual action or universal truth.
Direct:
He said, ‘We cannot live without air’.
Indirect:
He said that we cannot live without air.
Rule
4. Tenses are changed as
- Simple
Present Changes to Simple Past
- Present
Continuous Changes to Past Continuous
- Present
Perfect Changes to Past Perfect.
- Simple
Past Changes to Past Perfect
- Past Continuous
Changes to Past Perfect Continuous
- Shall/will
to would
- Can
becomes could
- May
becomes might
- Must
becomes had to /would have to
·
There
are modals that do not change – Could, Would, Should, Might,
Ought to
2. Change of Time or place
In
direct speeches, the words that express nearness in time or place are changed
to words that express distance in indirect speech. Such as:
- Now
becomes
then
- Here
becomes there
- Ago
becomes
before
- Thus
becomes so
- Today
becomes that day
- Tomorrow
becomes the next day
- This
becomes
that
- Yesterday
becomes the day before
- These
become those
- Come
becomes
go
- Hence
becomes thence
- Next
week or month becomes following week/month
3. Change in Pronoun
·
The first
person changes as per the subject of the reporting speech.
·
The second
person changes as per the object of reporting
speech.
·
The third
person of direct speech doesn’t change.
4. Change in Punctuation
mark
When changing from direct to indirect speech, there are specific punctuation
rules to follow:
- Quotation
Marks:
- In
direct speech, the speaker's exact words are enclosed in quotation marks.
- In
indirect speech, quotation marks are not used because the reported speech
is no longer the exact words of the speaker.
- Commas
and Periods:
- In
direct speech, commas and periods are placed inside the closing quotation
mark.
- In
indirect speech, commas and periods are placed outside the reported
speech, after the reporting verb or before the conjunction
"that."
- Question
Marks and Exclamation Points:
- In
direct speech, question marks and exclamation points are placed inside
the closing quotation mark if they are part of the quoted speech.
- In
indirect speech, question marks and exclamation points are not used.
Direct: He said, “I am going to the store.”
Indirect: He said that he was going to the
store.
Direct: She asked if I was coming with them.
Indirect: "She asked, 'Are you coming with
us?'"
Converting from direct to
indirect speech - interrogative Sentence
·
Change
the order of the words to form a statement.
·
Change
‘said to’ to asked.
·
Remove
comma and inverted comma
·
If
the reported question begins with an auxiliary verb (e.g., is, can, will), use
the same auxiliary verb in the reported clause.
·
If
the reported question contains question words (who, what, when, where, why,
how), retain the question word in the reported clause.
·
If
the reported question does not contain a question word, use "if" or
"whether" in the reported clause.
Direct
Speech: "She
asked, 'Are you coming with us?'"
Indirect
Speech:
·
She
asked if I was coming with them.
- She asked whether I was coming
with them.
Direct Speech to Indirect
Speech Conversion – Request, Command, Wish, Exclamation
- Indirect
Speech is supported by some verbs like requested, ordered, suggested and
advised. Forbid-forbade is used for negative sentences.
- Therefore, the
imperative mood in the direct speech changes into the Infinitive in
indirect speech.
Direct: She said to her ‘Please
complete it’.
Indirect: She requested her to
complete it.
Direct: Hamid said to Ramid, ‘Sit
down’.
Indirect: Hamid ordered Ramid to
sit down.
Direct Speech to Indirect
Speech Conversion – Exclamatory sentence
In Exclamatory
sentences that express grief, sorrows, happiness, applaud, Interjections
are removed and the sentence is changed to an assertive
sentence.
Direct:
She said, ‘Alas! I am undone’.
Indirect:
She exclaimed sadly that she was broke.
Check more Examples:
Direct: He said, ‘His girlfriend came
yesterday.’
Indirect: He said that his girlfriend had come
the day before.
Direct: He says/will say, ‘My girlfriend came
yesterday.’
Indirect: He says/will say that his
girlfriend had come the day before.
Direct: “Where do you live?” asked the
boy.
Indirect: The boy enquired where I
lived.
Direct: She said, ‘Will you come for the
party’?
Indirect: She asked whether we
would come for the party.
Direct: He said to me, ‘What are
you wearing’?
Indirect: He asked me what I was
wearing.
Direct: She said to her, “Are you coming to
the prom night?”
Indirect: The girl said that she was happy with
her result.
Direct: The girl said. “I am happy with my
result.”
Direct : She said, ‘She can dance’.
Indirect: She said that she could dance.
Direct: She said, ‘I may buy a
dress’.
Indirect: She said that she might buy
a dress.
Direct: Rama said, ‘I must complete
the assignment’.
Indirect: Rama said that he had to complete
the assignment.
Direct: She said, ‘I should clean the house’
Indirect: She said that she should clean the
house.