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Direct to indirect speech

1. Tenses changing

In changing direct into indirect speech there is tenses changing that need to be done. Except, the
sentence outside the quotation marks is using present tense.

The government said, “We will do our best to help this country to develop.”

Indirect: the government said that they would do their best to help this country to develop.

She said, “I was ill.”

She said that she had been ill.

She said. “I am ill.”

She said that she was ill

Dimie said, “I am going to meet her”

Dimie said that he was going to meet her.

Look at this table!

Exception: the sentence outside the quotation mark is using present tense

She says, “I am sick”

She says that she is sick.

She says, “I was sick.”

She says that she was sick.

2. Time changing
Dimie said, “I am going to meet her tomorrow”
Dimie said that he was going to meet her the next day/the following day
Jerry said, “I went to Bromo yesterday.”
Jerry said that he had gone to Bromo the previous day
Wisnu said, “ I need to see the doctor now.”
Wisnu said that he needed to see the doctor then.
Exception:
Jerry says, “I went to Bromo yesterday.”
Jerry says that he went to Bromo yesterday.

3. Imperative
My father said to me, “Close the door!”
My father ordered me / asked me to close the door

My teacher said to me, “Bring your book!”

My teacher asked me to bring my book

Dimie asked me, “Do you know her?”

Dimie asked me if/whether I knew her.

Kenneth asked Ivan, “Where is your brother?”

Kenneth asked Ivan where his brother was.

My father told me, “Don’t be rude to your sister.”

My father told me not to be rude to my sister.
My father forbade me to be rude to my sister

My mother said to me, “You should find another job.”

My mother advised/suggested me to find another job.
Direct and Indirect Speech Rules
 

Below, we are sharing the rules to make changes from Direct to Indirect speech. The
changes of Direct and Indirect speech depend on some factors like modals, reporting
verb, place, time, tense, pronoun etc. You can check the complete information of
changes in Direct and Indirect speech.

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

Can Could

May Might

Must Had to/ Would have to

Should Should

Might Might

Could Could

Would Would

Ought to Ought to

Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises for Modals:

Look to the Direct and Indirect Speech examples with answers using modals.

1. He said, “I can cook food.”

          He said that he could cook food.

2. They said, “We may go to Canada.”

           They said that they might go to Canada.

3. She said, “I must finish the work on time.”

           She said that she had to finish the work on time.

Modals that remain unchanged are: Should, might, could, would, ought to.

4. Kanika said, “I ought to avoid junk food.”

          Kanika said that she ought to avoid junk food.

Changes as per Reporting Verb

According to the reporting verb, changes are made in the direct sentence or the
sentence in inverted commas.

If the reporting verb is in the past tense, then the direct sentence is changed in its past
tense.
The tense of direct speech remains unchanged when the reporting verb is in the present
or future tense.
If the direct sentence contains the universal truth, then it remains unchanged in the
Indirect Speech.

 
Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises for Reporting Verb

Below, we are providing Direct and Indirect Speech examples using reporting verb
changes.

1. Navin said, “He is young.”

          Navin said that he was young.

2. Isha says, “I am pretty.”

          Isha says that she is pretty.

3. Rohan will say, “I am tall.”

          Rohan will say that he is tall.

4. They said, “The sun rises in the east.”

           They said that the sun rises in the east.

 
Changes as per Tense
 

In the below table, we are sharing how tense changes into Indirect speech.

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

Present simple Past simple

 (Subject +V1+ Object) (Subject +V2 + Object)

Present continuous Past Continuous

 (Subject +is/am/are+V1 +ing+ Object) (Subject +was/were+V1 +ing+ Object)

Present perfect Past perfect

(Subject + has/have+V3+Object) (Subject+had+V3+Object)

Past simple Past perfect

(Subject+V2+Object) (Subject+had+V3+Object)

Past Continuous Past perfect continuous

(Subject +was/were+V1 +ing+ Object) (Subject +had been+V1 +ing+ Object)

Future simple Present Conditional

(Subject+ will/shall+V1+object) (Subject+ would+V1+object)

Future Continuous
Conditional Continuous
(Subject +will/shall+be+V1 +ing+
(Subject +would+be+V1 +ing+ Object)
Object)

 
Direct and Indirect speech exercises for Tense

Check the Direct and Indirect speech examples for tense using the above table. Changes
will always be made according to the given table only.

1. Heena said, “I walk.”

          Heena said that she walked.

2. Deepak said, “I am having tea.”

          Deepak said that he was having tea.

3. Ayesha said, “Honey has left for school.”

          Ayesha said that Honey had left for school.

4. Vidisha said, “Ananya took pasta.”

          Vidisha said that Ananya had taken pasta.

5.  They told, “We were living in Paris.”

           They told that they had been living in Paris.

6.  Ramesh said, “I will go to Sri Lanka.”

           Ramesh said that he would go to Sri Lanka.

7. Aishwarya Said, “They will be watering plants.”

          Aishwarya said that they would be watering plants.

 
Changes in Place and Time
 

Words are changed in an Indirect Speech to replace nearness from distance. In the table,
we are sharing some words which are changed in Indirect speech.

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

Now Then

Here There

Today That day

Tomorrow The next day

Last week The previous week

This That

Tonight That night

Ago Before

Thus So

Hither Thither

Come Go

Hence Thence

Next Following

 
Changes of Interrogative Sentences
Here, we are sharing certain rules of Direct and Indirect speech for interrogative
sentences conversions.

The reporting verb said/said to is changed in asked, demanded, ordered, enquired as

per the nature of the sentence.
While a sentence starts with reporting verb then at the conversion time if /whether is
used as the joining clause.
In case the sentence starts from “Wh” question word, then no extra conjunction is used.

Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises for Interrogative Sentences

We are applying the above rules in the given exercise below to make changes in Direct
and Indirect speech.

1. Ravi said, “What is Heena doing?”

          Ravi asked me what Heena was doing.

2. Esha said, “Will she come for lunch?”

          Esha asked if she would come for lunch.

3. The boy asked, “Where do you stay?”

          The boy inquired where I stayed

 
Changes of Pronouns
While making the changes from Direct and Indirect speech, one should be having
knowledge of rules of changes in pronouns.

The first person in reported speech changes according to the subject of reporting
speech.
In Reported Speech change of the second person depends on the object of reporting
speech.
The third person remains unchanged.

You can check the table for the changes in pronoun.

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

I He/she

You He/she/they

We They

They They

He He

She She

It It

Us Them

Our Their

His His

Her Her

Its Its
 First, Second, and Third Person Pronouns
 

examples
The table below shows the first, second, and third person pronouns. The
second person pronouns are shaded.
Possessive Possessive
Subjective Objective Case Case
Person
Case Case Possessive Possessive
Determiner Pronouns

First Person I me my mine

Singular

Second Person you you your yours

Singular

Third Person he/she/it him/her/it his/her/its his/hers/its

Singular

First Person we us our ours

Plural

Second Person you you your yours

Plural

Third Person they them their theirs

Plural

 First, second, and third person are ways of describing points of view.

 First person is the I/we perspective.

 Second person is the you perspective.

 Third person is the he/she/it/they perspective.

Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises for Changes in Pronoun

1. Vidya said, “I am a good girl.”

           Vidya said that she was a good girl.

2. I told them, “You have finished your work.”

          I told them that they had finished their work.

3. He said, “She is in Delhi.”

          He said that she was in Delhi.

Differences between says and said

Direct and reported speeches may be expressed using “says,”
for example: “He says, ‘The school will be over at 12:00 in the
afternoon today.’”This is direct speech.
Reported speech: “He says that the school would be over at
12:00 today.”(simple future to present conditional)

It can be used to mention a well-known quotation: “Keats said,

‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever.’”
In direct speeches: “He said, ‘The bus is late again.’”
For reported speech: “He said that the bus was late again.”
(present to past)
Tense changes when using reported speech

Normally, the tense in reported speech is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech:
She said, "I am tired." = She said that she  was tired.

Phrase in direct speech Equivalent in reported speech

Simple present Simple past

"I always drink coffee", she said She said that she always drank coffee.

Present continuous Past continuous

"I am reading a book", he explained. He explained that he was reading a book

Simple past Past perfect

"Bill arrived on Saturday", he said. He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday.

Present perfect Past perfect

"I have been to Spain", he told me. He told me that he had been to Spain.
Phrase in direct speech Equivalent in reported speech

Past perfect Past perfect

"I had just turned out the light," he explained. He explained that he had just turned out the
light.

Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

They complained, "We have been waiting for They complained that they had been waiting for
hours". hours.

Past continuous Past perfect continuous

"We were living in Paris", they told me. They told me that they had been living in Paris.

Future Present conditional

"I will be in Geneva on Monday", he said. He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday.

Future continuous Conditional continuous

 Phrase in direct speech Equivalent in reported speech

She said, "I'll be using the car next Friday". She said that she would be using the car next
Friday.

You do not need to change the tense if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the original
statement was about something that is still true, e.g.

 He says he has missed the train but he'll catch the next one.

 We explained that it is very difficult to find our house.

These modal verbs do not change in reported speech: might, could, would, should, ought to:

 We explained, "It could be difficult to find our house." = We explained that it could be difficult
to find our house.
 She said, "I might bring a friend to the party." = She said that she might bring a friend to the
party.
 Direct Speech [ repeating the words spoken]
Direct speech repeats, or quotes, the exact words spoken. When we use direct speech in writing,
we place the words spoken between quotation marks (" ") and there is no change in these words.
We may be reporting something that's being said NOW (for example a telephone conversation),
or telling someone later about a previous conversation.

Examples

 She says, "What time will you be home?"

 She said, "What time will you be home?" and I said, "I don't know! "
 "There's a fly in my soup!" screamed Simone.
 John said, "There's an elephant outside the window."

Indirect speech[ reporting the words spoken]

Reported or indirect speech is usually used to talk about the past, so we normally change the
tense of the words spoken. We use reporting verbs like 'say', 'tell', 'ask', and we may use the word
'that' to introduce the reported words. Inverted commas are not used.

She said, "I saw him." (direct speech) = She said that she had seen him. (indirect speech)

"That" may be omitted:

She told him that she was happy. = She told him she was happy.

"Say" and "tell"

Use 'say' when there is no indirect object:
He said that he was tired.

Always use 'tell' when you say who was being spoken to (i.e. with an indirect object):
He told me that he was tired.

"Talk" and "speak"

Use these verbs to describe the action of communicating:
He talked to us.
She was speaking on the telephone.

Use these verbs with 'about' to refer to what was said:

He talked (to us) about his parents.
Direct & Indirect Speech
When using indirect or reported speech, the form changes. Usually indirect speech is
introduced by the verb said, as in I said, Bill said, or they said. Using the verb say in
this tense, indicates that something was said in the past. In these cases, the main verb
in the reported sentence is put in the past. If the main verb is already in a past tense,
then the tense changes to another past tense; it can almost be seen as moving even
further into the past.

Verb tense changes also characterize other situations using indirect speech. Note the
changes shown in the chart and see the table below for examples. With indirect speech,
the use of that is optional.
Direct Speech → Indirect Speech

simple present simple past

→
He said, "I  go  to school every day." He said (that) he  went  to school ever

simple past past perfect

→
He said, "I  went  to school every day." He said (that) he  had gone  to school

present perfect past perfect

→
He said, "I  have gone  to school every day." He said (that) he  had gone  to school

present progressive past progressive

→
He said, "I  am going  to school every day." He said (that) he  was going  to school

past progressive perfect progressive

→
He said, "I  was going  to school every day." He said (that) he  had been going  to s

future (will) would + verb name

→
He said, "I  will go  to school every day." He said (that) he  would go  to school

present progressive
→
He said (that) he  is going  to school ev
future (going to)
He said, "I  am going  to school every day."
past progressive
He said (that) he  was going  to school

auxiliary + verb name simple past

He said, "Do you go  to school every day?" → He asked me  if I went  to school every
He said,  "Where do you go  to school?" He asked me  where I went  to school.

imperative → infinitive
 He said, "Go  to school every day." He said  to go  to school every day.

The situation changes if instead of the common said another part of the very to

say is used. In that case the verb tenses usually remain the same. Some examples
of this situation are given below.

Direct Speech → Indirect Speech

simple present + simple present simple present + simple present

→
He says, "I go  to school every day." He says (that) he goes to school every day.

present perfect + simple present present perfect + simple present

→
He has said, "I go to school every day." He has said (that) he goes to school every day.

past progressive + simple past

→
He was saying (that) he went to school every da
past progressive + simple past
He was saying, "I went to school every day."
past progressive + past perfect
He was saying (that) he had gone  to school ever

future + simple present future + simple present

→
He will say, "I go to school every day." He will say (that) he goes to school every day.

Another situation is the one in which modal constructions are used. If the verb said is
used, then the form of the modal, or another modal that has a past meaning is used.
 Direct Speech → Indirect Speech

can could
→
He said, "I can go to school every day." He said (that) he could go to s

may might
→
He said, "I may go to school every day." He said (that) he might go to s

might
He said, "I might go to school every day."

must had to
→
He said, "I must go to school every day." He said (that) he had to go to

have to
He said, "I have to go to school every day."

should should
→
He said, "I should go to school every day." He said (that) he should go to

ought to ought to
→
He said, "I ought to go to school every day." He said (that) he ought to go t

While not all of the possibilities have been listed here, there are enough to provide
examples of the main rules governing the use of indirect or reported speech. For other
situations, try to extrapolate from the examples here, or better still, refer to a good
grammar text or reference book.

Some other verbs that can be used to introduce direct speech are: ask, report, tell,
announce, suggest, and inquire. They are not used interchangeably; check a grammar
or usage book for further information.
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/they-say-reported-speech-is-
easy/3280282.html#:~:text=They%20Say%20Reported%20Speech%20Is
%20Easy&text=We%20often%20need%20to%20tell,two%20ways%20to
%20do%20this.&text=In%20the%20sentence%2C%20%22She%20said,is
%20the%20reported%20speech%20clause. (for more detailed
explanation)

Rules for reporting speech

To get this kind of sentence right, there are four things you should keep in
mind:

The first rule is to choose a reporting verb and tense.

When did the speech happen? With current, repeated or recent events, the
reporting verb is in the present tense. "He says he is hungry, so let's go to
lunch." A habitual or repeated statement is in the present tense: "Everyone
says the water is safe to drink." For reporting less immediate speech, choose
the past tense. The reporting verb is often said, but it can also be told, or other
verbs like ordered, stated, or reported, depending on the situation. When
reporting questions, you can use verbs like asked or requested.

The second rule is to change the perspective, or point of view.

That means I becomes he, she, or they.

"Mary said 'I ate the pie."' becomes

"She said that she ate the pie."

"The boys said, 'We are coming tomorrow'" becomes

"They said they are coming tomorrow."

Next, choose whether to include "that or "if."

You can say, "He says he is at home" or "He says that he is at home." That is

a conjunction here, linking the two parts of the sentence. It is optional.
Another conjunction, if, is required when reporting on a question: "He asked
me if I knew how to play tennis."
The fourth rule is to "backshift" the tense.

This is the trickiest part of reported speech. When the reporting verb is in the
past tense, the verb in the reported clause is in the past tense, too. The
verb aspect, showing whether the action is completed, matches. Here are
some examples:

"I am buying my ticket." (present continuous)

-> He said he was buying his ticket. (past continuous)

Ashley: "I have fixed my bicycle." (present perfect)

-> She said she had fixed her bicycle. (past perfect)