RULES TO CONVERT DIRECT SPEECH INTO INDIRECT

1. COURSE CODE : ENG(101)
INSTRUCTOR: MA’AM KHADIJA
TOPIC : DIRECT AND INDIRECT NARRATION

2. • Direct Speech/quoted speech:
Saying exactly what
someone has said is called direct
speech . Here what a person says
appears within quotation
marks(“……….”) and should be word
for word
Example: she said ,” Today’s lesson is
on presentations.”

3. • Indirect speech does not use quotations
marks to enclose what the person said
and it does not have to be word for word
• Example : He said that he was going to
the cinemas

4. • Reporting speech is not enclosed in
quotation marks.
• Reported speech is enclosed in quotation
marks.
For example :
He said , “ I am ill”
In the above example he said is reporting
speech while I am ill is a reported speech

5. •Rule No 1:
The pronouns of the reported speech will
change as following
• 1st person pronoun will change according
to the subject of the reporting speech
• 2nd person pronoun will change
according to the object of reporting
speech
• 3rd person pronoun will never change

6. • If there is present or future tense in
reporting speech the verb in the
reported speech may be in present,
past or in future
Example: He says , “I will finish my
work”
He says that he will finish his work

7. • If there is any universal truth in
reported speech than there will be no
effect of on tense of reporting speech
• Examples :
He said , “Sun rises in the East”.
 He said that Sun rises in the East.

8. • If there is past tense in reporting
speech the verb of the reporting
speech will change as follows
Present indefinite will convert into
past indefinite
oExample : Muneeb said, “I want to go
home”
oMuneeb said that he wanted to go
home

9. Present continuous will convert into
past continuous tense
oEXAMPLE :
oTony said , “ I am doing my work”
o Tony said that he was doing his
work.

10. Present perfect will convert into past
perfect
oExample :
Eva said , “I have bought a new
bag”
Eva said that she had bought a
new
bag.

11. Past simple will convert into past
perfect
oExample :
Dad said “ I mowed the garden “
Dad said that I had mowed the
garden

12. The will shall form of the future tense
of reported speech will convert into
would
oEXAMPLE :
oShe said “I will never leave you”
oShe said that I would never leave you

13. • Can will convert into could
• EXAMPLE:
Billy said , “I can swim 500 meters”
Billy said that I could swim 500
meters

14. • May will convert into might
• EXAMPLE:
She said , “it may be too expensive”
she said that it might be too
expensive .

15. • Must will convert into had to
• EXAMPLE :
He said , “Every one must arrive on
time”
He said that every one had to arrive
on time.

16. • The adverb of nearness should be
put into those of distance
DIREC
T
SPEE
CH
INDIREC
T
SPEECH
NOW THEN
HERE THERE
THIS THAT
THESE THOSE

17. DIRECT
SPEECH
INDIRECT
SPEECH
THUS SO
TO DAY THAT DAY
TONIGHT THAT NIGHT
YESTERDAY THE DAY BEFORE
TOMMOROW THE NEXT DAY
LAST WEEK THE WEEK
BEFORE
NEXT WEEK THE WEEK AFTER

18. • Well ,all right , no , yes , and hello are
removed
• EXAMPLE :
He said to me , “ well you may go
now”
He said to me that I might go than .

19. • Good morning , good day , fare well , and good noon
etc.. are replaced with greetings
EXAMPLE :
She said , “Good morning Miss Naghma”
She greeted Miss Naghma with “good morning”
Some times they remain as it is .

20. • DEFINITION :
The sentences which tells about
right , wrong , positive , negative ,
possible and impossible are called
assertive sentences
EXAMPLE :
Two and two makes four.
He will not tell a lie .

21. • These sentences usually starts with the subject and
ends at full stop (.)
• The pronouns will be changed as described before
• The verb will be changed as described before
• The adverbs and other words will be changed as
described

22. • If the reported speech is partially placed before the
reporting speech in direct narration, it will be in correct
order (reporting + reported ) in indirect narration
• EXAMPLE : “Now it is my turn ,” said to them , “to sit here
behind this chair”
He said to them that it was then his turn to sit
there behind that chair

23. • Told can be used instead of said but “ to ” will
not be used

24. • DEFINITION :
The sentences which represent
order , advice , request or suggestion is
called imperative sentences
These sentences don’t have subject

25. • The pronouns will change according to rules explained
above
• The forms of verb will change according to the rules
described above
• The adverb and other specific words will change as
explained earlier

26. • EXAMPPLES :
• The manager said to the peon , “ get out
of my office”
• Reporting verb along with “ to” will changed
into ordered , requested , advised , forbade
, urged or suggested according to the
reported speech .
• The manager ordered the peon to get out of
my office.

27. • He said to my father , “ please forgive me this time”
He requested my father to forgive him that time .
• She said to her brother , “work very hard from today.”
She advised her brother to work very hard from that day
.

28. • Mother said to me , “ never tell a lie”
Mother forbad me not to tell a lie
• He said to me , “ knock at this door “
He asked me to knock at that door .
• He said to his teacher , “ Sir, kindly excuse me now”
He requested his teacher respectfully to excuse
him then

29. • She said to us , “ keep quite over here”
She directed us to keep quite over there.
• I said to them , “ go on doing your duty”
I urged them to go on doing their duty.
• He said to me , “ try your luck again”
He encouraged me to try my luck again.

30. • If “never” or “ do not” come in reporting speech
forbade will be used
• “To” will surely be added after suggested
• The tense of the reporting verb will not be
changed but “ to” will be added instead of that.

31. • DEFINITION:
The sentences in which some question
is asked are called interrogative
sentences.
• These sentences usually starts with
some question word or verb
• These sentences end at ( ? )

32. • Pronouns , verbs and specific words will be changed
according to above described rules .
• The question mark will be replaced by full stop .
• “Said” to is replaced by “asked to”
• The interrogative sentence structure will be replaced but
assertive sentence structure

33. • If reported speech begins with verb than “ if” is used
instead of “that”
• EXAMPLE :
• He said to me , “ Are you going to school now”
He asked me if I was going school than.

34. • If reported speech stars with any question word like
when , who , why there is no need to use if or that
• EXAMPLES:
I said to him, “what do you eat yesterday “
I asked him what he had eaten the previous
day .

35. • DEFINITION:
The sentence which represent
happiness, sadness , excitedness ,
wonderness is called exclamatory
sentences
• EXAMPLE: Alas! He has died
How beautiful this painting is !

36. • Pronoun , verb , adverb , specific words will change
according to given rules as described above
• If the interjection is in start of the reported speech it will
be removed along with the exclamation mark but
according to the meaning “said” reporting speech will
change into following:

37. • Exclaimed with joy
• Exclaimed with sorrow
• Exclaimed with wonder
OR
• Exclaimed joyfully
• Exclaimed sorrowfully
• Exclaimed with great wonder

38. • How or what like question words will change into very
great or very and sentence structure will be assertive
• EXAMPLE :
We said , “ How old this woman is!”
we said with surprise that that woman is very
old

39. • DEFINITION :
The sentences in which there is prayer or wish
are called optative sentences .
• Example:
May he reach quite safe and sound!
would that I were in Micah today!

40. • The sentences usually starts with the may or would that
and ends with exclamation mark
• May of reported speech will convert into “prayed”
• Would that will be changed into wished
• The indirect narration will be in assertive form
• Pronoun , verb and other specific words will change as
explained above

41. • All the rules that are explained above will be
reversed to change the narration from indirect
to direct