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1. 1Narration
Rahim said ,"I am well."
Reporting verb
Reported speech
Tense change:
Direct narration Indirect narration
Present indefinite Past indefinite
Present continuous Past continuous
Present perfect past perfect
Present perfect continuous past perfect continuous
Past indefinite Past perfect
Past continuous Past perfect continuous
Past perfect Past perfect
Past perfect continuous Past perfectcontinuous
Future tense Future in the past
Notes:
*** only when the reporting verb is in past tense then the change come in indirect narration,
but if reporting verb is in present & future tense then no change in indirect narration. (Tense
change).***
For example: He said, ‘‘I go to school”.
Everychangeinpasttense

2. 2Indirect: He said that he went to school.
But
He says,‘‘I go to school”.
Indirect: He says that he goes to school. (no tense change)
Few changes in indirect narration:
1. Can, shall,will,may → could,should,would,might
Ex: Rabbi said,‘‘I can finish the work”.
- Rabbi said that he could finish the work.
She said,‘‘It may rain today”.
- She said that it might rain that day.
2. Wish → wished
Ex: The girl said,‘‘I wish to go”.
- The girl said that she wished to go.
3. Must → had to
Ex: Mim said,‘‘I must read the book”.
- Mim said that she had to read the book.
Person change:
 Reportedspeech 1stperson(I) → accordingto the ‘subject’ ofreportingverb.
Ex: He said to me,‘‘I have done my duty”.
- He said to me that he had done his duty.
But no changesfor‘We’ -
Ex: The teacher said,‘‘We are mortal”.
- The teacher said that weare mortal.

3. 3 Reportedspeech 2ndperson → accordingto the ‘object’ of reportingverb.
Ex: He said to me,‘‘You have done yourduty”.
- He said to me that I had done my duty.
 Reportedspeech3rdperson → no changes.
Ex: I said to you,‘‘He has done his duty”.
- I said to youthat he had done his duty.
He said to me,‘‘Thank you.”
-He thanked me.
He said,‘‘Thanks my friends.”
-He thanked his friends.
Interrogative sentence:
1. Reporting verb‘saidto’ changed into → asked
2. No ‘that’
3. If reportedspeech starts with ‘Wh’ questions(what,who,how, whom,whose,when,
whereetc) + subject:
He said to me,‘‘Where do youlive?”
-He asked me where I lived.
The teacher said to the boys,‘‘Why are youmaking a noise?”
-The teacher asked the boyswhy they were making a noise.
4. If reportedspeech isn’tstart with ‘Wh’ questionsthenuse → if/whether+subject.
He said to his sister,‘‘Will you go to school?”
-He asked his sister if she would go to school.
Labiba said to Tasfia,‘‘Do youlike to read the novel”
-Labiba asked Tasfia if she liked to read novel.

4. 4Imperative sentence:
1. No tensechangeforreportingspeech.
2. Affirmativesentence → to
Negativesentence → not to
Ex: Afffir:She said to him,‘‘Please open the door”.
-She requested him to open the door.
Neg: Father said to his son,‘‘Don’t tell a lie”
-Father advised his son not to tell a lie.
3. Reportingverb‘saidto’ changed into → requested/ ordered/ commanded/advised/
told+subject+ to.
He said to me,‘‘Please give me a glass of water”.
-He requested me to give him a glass of water.
The captain said to the soidiers,‘‘Fire on”.
-The captain commanded the soldiers to fire in.
Thefather saidto hisson,‘‘Don’tquarrel”.
-Thefather forbadehissonto quarrel.
4. Friends → Addressingthemasfriends+comma(,)
Sir(any person) → Addressing………..assir
Sir(teacher) → requestedtheteacher respectfully/ withrespect+to
Sir (in passage) → repliedrespectively
Ex:
He said to them,‘‘ Friends, come here.”
-Addressing them as friends, he requested them to come here.
He said to his teacher,‘‘Sir, lend me the book please.”
- He requested the teacher respectfully to lend him the book.
Use of ‘Let’
5. Let us (proposed)→ should
Let (told) → might that
Ex:
He said to me,‘‘Let us go home.”
-He proposed to me that we should go home.
He said to me,‘‘Let me do the work.”
-He told me that he might do the work.

5. 5Optative sentence:
1. ‘saidto’ changedinto → wished/prayed+that+subject
Ex: She said to me,‘‘May Allah bless you.”
- She wished that Allah might bless me.
Father said to me,‘‘May you pass the exam.”
-Father prayed that I might pass the exam.
Exclamatory sentence:
1. If it’s a matter ofjoythen → exclaimedwithjoy+ that+ subject
If it’s matter ofsorrowthen→ exclaimedwithsorrow+that+ subject
Ex:
The students said,‘‘Hurrah! We have wonthe game.”
The students exclaimed with joy that they had won the game.
The man said,‘‘Alas! I am undone.”
The man exclaimed withsorrow that he was undone.
But when its not supposed to joy neither sorrow then just → exclaimed.
Ex: ‘‘How funny you are!” said the Mayor.
- The Mayor exclaimed that he was very funny.
2. Reportedspeechwith‘how/what’ → very/ great/ much
Ex:
She said,‘‘What a beautiful bird it is!”
-She exclaimed with joy that it was a very beautiful bird.

6. 6Passage narration
1. Morethan onespeech at once:
Assertive sentence:
‘‘Jim, darling, don’t look at me this way.” ‘‘ I had my hair cut off and sold it, because I couldn’t
have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. I just had to do it,”said Della.
→ Della requested her darling, Jim not to lookat her that way and added that she had had
her hair cut off and had sold it because she couldn’t have lived through Christmas without
giving him a present and further added that she just had to do it.
‘‘Said/ told.”→ ‘‘added. → further added/ said”
Interrogative sentence:
Asked→ also asked→ furtherasked.
Father said to me,‘‘ Yourprogress is very slow. Youare always seen witha group of friends.
Youare idling away time with them. Can’t you be more serious? Remember, if you fail in the
coming examination, I willstop paying your tuition fees.”
→Father told me that my progress was very slow. He added that I was always seen witha
group of friends. He further said that I was idling away time withthem. He asked me if I
couldn’t be more serious. He told me to remember if I failed in the coming examination he
would stop paying my tuition fees.
2. Yes → repliedinthe affirmative
Yes+speech→ repliedinthe affirmativeandsaidthat
Ex: I said,‘‘Yes”.
-I replied in the affirmative.
‘‘Yes, I willgo,” said Luna.
-Luna replied in the affirmative and said that she wouldgo.
3. No → repliedinthe negative.
No+speech→ repliedinthe negativeandsaidthat
Setu said,‘‘No”.
-Setu replied in the negative.
‘‘No, Ihave changed my decision,”said Nitu.
-Nitu replied in the negative and said that she had changed her decision.

7. 74. Friends→ addressingthemas friends
Sir→ respectfully
Please→ requested
Ex:
He said,‘‘Are you hungry, friends?”
-Addressing them as friends he asked if they were hungry.
The students said to the headmaster, ‘‘We want to go on an excursion, sir.”
-The students told the headmaster respectfully that they wanted to go on an excursion.
He said to him, ‘‘Please, come in”.
He requested him to comein.
5. Allah/ byAllah/ byGod → swearingbyAllah/God.
‘‘By Allah”, he replied,‘‘I will do it.”
-Swearing by Allah he replied that he would do it.
6. Goodbye → bade
Goodmorning/ good evening/goodnight→ wished
He said,‘‘Good byemy friends.”
-He bade his friends good bye.
I said to him,‘‘Good evening.”
-I wished him good evening.
‘‘Good morning,” said the man. ‘‘Good morning. How can I help you?” said the woman.
→ The man wished the woman good morning. In reply, the woman also wished him good
morning and asked how she couldhelp him.
7. If there isno speaker& listener→ the speaker/ the listener.
Ex:
‘‘How are you?”
‘‘I am fine”
→ The speaker asked the listener how he was.
The listener replied that he was fine.

8. 88. replied/ asked/ cried/ answered → replied/ asked/ cried/answered.
Ex:
He replied to me,‘‘I will go”
He replied to me that he would go.
© Abdullah-Al-Mahmud
Dept.of InformationScience &LibraryManagement,
Universityof Rajshahi.
☺ 01755484957