Cl

ass-
9

Di
rectandI
ndi
rectspeech

A)Wor
dsspokenbysomeonecanbepr
esent
edi
ntwoway
s:

Whenwequot etheact
ualwordsofthespeaker
,iti
scal
l
eddi
rect
speechordi
rectnar
rat
ion.Exampl
e:-

Hesai
d,“
Ihav
epassedt
heexami
nat
ion.
”

Whent hosewordsarereport
edbysomeoneelseinhi
sorherown
words,iti
scal
ledindi
rectspeechori
ndi
rectnar
rat
ionorr
eport
ed
speech.Example:
-

Hesai
dthathehadpassedt
heexami
nat
ion.

B)Thefol
lowingpoi
ntsneedt
obenot
edaboutt
hedi
rectand
i
ndir
ectspeech:
-

1)Thedi
rectspeechi
sal way
senclosedwit
hini
nver
ted
commas.Acommai susedtoseparat
ethedi
rectspeech
fr
om t
hereporti
ngverb.

2)Intheindir
ectspeech,
noinver
tedcommasar eusedandno
commai susedtoseparat
etherepor
tedspeechfr
om the
report
ingverb.

3)Aconj
unct
ion,
ifnecessar
y,i
susedaf
tert
her
epor
ti
ngv
erb.

4)Whendi
rectspeechi
schangedint
oindi
rectspeech,t
he
fol
l
owi
ngarechangedaccordi
ngtocert
ainrul
esdiscussed
bel
ow:
-

a)Tenses
 b)Per
sonal
pronouns

c)Wor
dsdenot
ingnear
nessoft
ime

Rul
esf
orconv
ersi
onofdi
rectspeechi
ntoi
ndi
rectspeech:
-

a)Rul
esf
ort
heChangeofTenses:
Tense Di
rectspeech I
ndi
rectspeech

simpl
epresentchanges Hesai
d,“
Iam unwel
l
.” Hesai
dthathewas
tosi
mplepast unwel
l
.

presentcont
inuous Hesaid,“
Iam pl
ayi
ng Hesai
dthathewas
changestopast f
ootball
.” pl
ayi
ngfoot
ball
.
conti
nuous

presentper
fect Hesaid,“
Ihav
epl
ayed Hesai
dt hathehad
changestopastper
fect f
ootball
.” pl
ayedfootbal
l.

presentperfect Hesaid,“Ihavebeen Hesaidthathehad

conti
nuouschangest o pl ayi
ngfootbal
lsi
nce beenplayi
ngfoot
ball
pastperfectconti
nuous chil
dhood.” si
ncechil
dhood.

si
mplepastchangest
o Hesaid,“
Ipl
ayed Hesaidthathehad
pastper
fect f
ootball
yest
erday
.” pl
ayedfootbal
lthe
pr
eviousday.

pastconti
nuous Hesaid,“
Iwasplayi
ng Hesaidthathehad
changestopastper
fect f
ootball
yest
erday.
” beenplayi
ngfoot
ball
conti
nuous thepr
ev i
ousday.

pastper
fect
-nochange Hesaid,“
Ihadplayed Hesaidthathehad
f
ootball
yest
erday.
” pl
ayedfootbal
lthe
pr
eviousday.
pastper
fectcont
inuous Hesaid,“Ihadbeen Hesaidthathehad
-nochange playi
ngfootbal
lsi
nce beenplayi
ngfoot
ball
chil
dhood.” si
ncechil
dhood.

Ot
herv
erbf
orms
Di
rectspeech I
ndi
rectspeech

Wi
l
lchangest
owoul
d Hesai
d,“
Iwi
llwor
k.” Hesai
dthathewoul
d
wor
k.

Canchangest
ocoul
d Shesai
d,“
Icansi
ng.
” Shesai
dthatshecoul
d
si
ng.

Maychangest
omi
ght Hesaid,
“MayIhel
p Heaskedi
fhemi
ght
you?
” hel
pme.

Shal
lchangest
oshoul
d Hesai
d,“
Whatshal
lI Heaskedwhathe
do?
” shoul
ddo.

Mustchangest
ohadt
o Hesai
d,“
Imustwor
k.” Hesai
dthathehadt
o
wor
k.

Note:I
fcould,
would,
should,might
,oughtto,
must n’
t,i
susedi
n
di
rectspeech,
itr
emainsunchangedini
ndir
ectspeech.

Rul
esf
ort
hechangeofpr
onounsi
nindi
rectspeech:

Ini
ndi
rectspeech,youneedt
obecar
eful
wit
hper sonal
pronouns.
Theyneedtobechangedaccordi
ngt
othesi
tuat
ion.Youneedto
knowthecontext.
Di
rectSpeech I
ndirec Exampl
es
t
Speech Di
rectSpeech I
ndi
rectSpeech

I(Fi
rstper
soni
s He/ Hesai
d,“
Ili
kemusi
c.” Hesai
dthathel
i
kedmusi
c.
changedaccordi
ng She Shesai
d,“
Ili
kemusi
c.” Shesai
dthatshel
i
ked
tothepronounofthe
repor
ti
ngv er
b.) musi
c.

We They Tom andHar

rysai
d, Tom andHar
rysai
dthatt
hey
“
Wel
i
kemusi
c.” l
ikedmusi
c.

You(
Second I
, she, Johnsai
dtome,“Can Johnaskedmei
fIcoul
d
personischanged he, youpl aygui
tar
?” pl
ayguit
ar.
accordingt
ot he
“object
”ofthe
we, Johnsai dtoher,
“Can Johnaskedheri
fshecoul
d
reporti
ngverb.) they youpl aygui
tar
?” pl
ayguit
ar.

Johnsai
dtous,“Can Johnaskedusi
fwecoul
d
youpl
aygui
tar
?” pl
ayguit
ar.

They They Shesai

d,“
Theyhav
e Shesai
dt hatt
heyhad
i
nvi
tedus.
” i
nvi
tedthem.

She She Hesai

d,“
Shewor
ksi
n Hesai
dthatshewor
kedi
n
anof
fi
ce.
” anof
fi
ce.

He He Theysaid,“
Heis Theysaidthathewas
sel
ectedforthe sel
ectedforthematch.
match.”

I
t I
t Theysaid,
“Iti
s Theysai
dthati
twasr
aini
ng.
rai
ning.
”

Our Thei
r Hesaid,
“Ourteam Hesaidt
hatthei
rteam had
wonthematch.” wonthematch.
 Not
e:-Thi
rdper
sonpronounindir
ectspeech(
i.
e..
he,
she,
it,
they
)
i
snotchangedi
nindi
rectspeech.

Rul
esf
orchangeofTi
meandPl
acei
nRepor
tedSpeech:
DIRECT I
NDIRECT DI
RECTSPEECH I
NDI
RECTSPEECH
SPEECH SPEECH

Now Then Hesaid,

“Thechi
l
dren Hesai dt
hatthe
ar
eplayi
ngnow.” chil
drenwereplay
ing
then.

Today Thatday Shesaid,

“Ihavegota Shesai
dthatshehad
pi
anolessontoday.
” gotapianolessonthat
day.

Her
e Ther
e Hesaidtous,
“Putt
he Hetoldust
oputt
he
boxhere.
” boxther
e.

Thi
s That Shesai
d,“
Iwil
lbev
ery Shesaidthatshe
busyt
hisweek.
” wouldbev er
ybusy
thatweek.

t
omor
row Thefol
lowi
ng Shesai
d,“
Iwill
leav
e Shesai
dthatshe
day/t
henext forNewYork woul
dleaveforNew
day/t
hedayaft
er tomorr
ow.” Yor
kthenextday.”

Nextweek Thefol
lowi
ng Hesaid,“
Ihavean Hesai dthathehadan
week/Theweek appoi
ntmentnext appointmentthe
aft
er week.
” fol
lowingweek.

Yest
erday Theprev
ious Sam said,
“Wefini
shed Sam sai dthatt
heyhad
day/t
heday ourexaminat
ion fi
nishedt hei
r
bef
ore yest
erday.
” exami nati
ontheday
before.
Lastweek Theprevi
ous Hesaid,“
Thehorse Hetol
dthatt
hehorse
week/theweek di
edlastweek.
” haddi
edtheprev
ious
bef
ore week.

Ago Bef
ore Fathersai
dtome,
“The Fat
hertoldmethatt
he
l
ettercameafewdays l
ett
erhadcomeaf ew
ago.” day
sbef ore.

Toni
ght Thatni
ght Janesai
d,“
Iam goi
ng Janesai
dthatshewas
forapar
tyt
oni
ght.” goingf
orapartyt
hat
ni
ght.

Except
ions:
-

Ther
ewi
l
lbenochangei
nver
btensesi
nrepor
tedspeechi
f:
-
1)Iftherepor
tedspeechexpressesauni
ver
saltr
uth,ascienti
fi
c
mat hemati
calorgeogr
aphicalf
actorahabi
tual
fact,
itstensesremai
n
unchanged.Forexample:

Di
rect
-Thet
eachersai
d,“
Thepl
anet
srev
olv
ear
oundt
hesun.
”

I
ndi
rect
-Thet
eachersai
dthatt
hepl
anet
srev
olv
ear
oundt
hesun.

2)I
ftherepor
ti
ngorint
roductor
yverbisinpresentorf
utur
etense,
tenses
i
nthereport
edspeechremainunchanged.Forexample:

Di
rect
-Hesay
s,“
Iwi
l
lcome.
”

I
ndi
rect
-Hesay
sthathewi
l
lcome.

Repor
tedQuest
ions
Whenyouarechangi
ngaquesti
onfrom di
rectspeechintoi
ndir
ectspeech,
youf
oll
owthesamekindsofrul
esasforstatements.Theonlydif
fer
enceis
t
hatyouneedtouseadif
fer
entwordtoint
roducether epor
tedspeechand
t
hewordorderoft
hequesti
onbecomesl
i
kethatofastat
ement
.Youend
t
hesent
encewithaful
lst
opandnotaquest
ionmark.

Tor
epor
taquest
ion,
weusev
erbsuchas:
enqui
red,
wonder
,askedet
c….

Weusei forwhet
herasaconjunct
ionifi
tisayes-noquesti
onorther
ei sa
choi
ce.Suchquesti
onsbegi
nwithis,ar
e,do,di
d,has,have,wi
ll
,canetc..
.

Noconjunct
ioni
susedift
hesent
encebegi
nswithaquest
ionwor
dli
ke
who,whose,whi
ch,what,
when,wher
e,why,howetc…

Exampl
es;

Di
rect
-Thet
eachersai
dtoAngel
a,“
Howdi
dyouguesst
hecor
rectanswer
?”

Indi
rect
-Thet
eacheraskedAngel
ahowshehadguessedt
hecor
rect
answer.

Di
rect
-Shesai
dtome,
“Wher
edi
dhest
ay?
”

I
ndi
rect
-Sheaskedmewher
ehehadst
ayed.

Di
rect
-Thet
eachersai
dtome,
“Di
dyour
ecei
vemye-
mai
l
?”

I
ndi
rect
-Thet
eacheraskedmei
fIhadr
ecei
vedhi
se-
mai
l
.

Conv
ersi
onofcommands,
Request
s,Adv
ise
Ther
epor
ti
ngv
erbi
schangedi
ntoor
derorr
equest

Ordercanbeexpressedbywor
dsl
i
kecommanded,
order
ed,
demanded,
warned,t
hreat
ened,shout
edet
c

Requestcanbeexpr
essedbywor
dsl
i
kebegged,
asked,
request
ed,
desi
red
et
c.

Adv
isecanbeexpr
essedbyt
hewor
dsl
i
keur
ged,
adv
isedet
c.

Thev
erboft
hedi
rectspeechi
schangedi
ntoani
nfi
nit
ive.I
fthedi
rect
speechcont
ainst
hewor
dsl
i
kedonot
,thewor
dnoti
spl
acedbef
oret
het
o-
i
nfini
ti
ve.

Exampl
e:-

Dir
ect-Theteachersaid,“
Keepqui
et,
chi
l
dren.Donotdi
stur
bmewhi
l
eIam
checki
ngy ournotebooks.
”

I
ndir
ect-Thet
eachercommandedthechil
drentokeepqui
etandnott
o
di
stur
bherwhileshewaschecki
ngthei
rnotebooks.

Dir
ect–Isai
dtomyf
ri
end,
“Pl
easehel
pmet
oar
ranget
hesebooksont
he
shel
f.
”

Indi
rect
-Ir
equest
edmyf
ri
endt
ohel
pmet
oar
ranget
hosebooksont
he
shel
f.

Di
rect-Thesai
ntsai
dtot
heaudi
ence,
“Hav
eadeepr
espectf
orev
eryl
i
ving
cr
eature.
”

I
ndir
ect
-Thesai
ntadv
isedt
heaudi
encet
ohav
eadeepr
espectf
orev
ery
l
i
vingcr
eatur
e.

Conv
ersi
onofExcl
amat
ionsandWi
shes
Incaseofexclamatorysentences,t
hereport
ingver
bischangedto
excl
aimed,applauded,cri
ed,regret
ted,
cursedetctoexpr
essjoy,
sor
row,
fear
,anger
…t hatproperl
yconv ey
sthetoneoftheexcl
amation.

I
ncaseofwi
shes,t
her
epor
ti
ngv
erbi
schangedt
owi
shed,
pray
ed,
longed
f
or,
year
nedetc.

Whenwishesorexcl
amatorysentencesar
econver
tedintoi
ndir
ectspeech,
t
heyar
ewr it
tenasasser
ti
vesentenceswit
houtanyexclamat
ionmark.

Theconj
unct
iont
hati
susedt
oint
roducet
her
epor
tedspeech.

Exampl
es;
Di
rect
-Mr
s.Ghoshsai
d,“
Howcut
ethebabyl
ooksi
nthi
sdr
ess!
”

I
ndi
rect
-Mr
s.Ghoshexcl
aimedt
hatt
hebabyl
ookedv
erycut
eint
hatdr
ess.

Di
rect
-“Hur
ray
!Mysonhaswont
heschol
arshi
p,”sai
dMr
.Jai
n

I
ndi
rect
-Mr
.Jai
nexcl
aimedj
oyf
ull
ythathi
ssonhadwont
heschol
arshi
p.

Di
rect
-Shesai
dtoherf
ri
end,
“Goodmor
ning.Howar
eyou?
”

I
ndi
rect
-Shewi
shedherf
ri
endgoodmor
ningandaskedherhowshewas.

Di
rect
-Shesai
d,“
MayGodbeony
oursi
de.
”

I
ndi
rect
-Shepr
ayedt
hatGodmi
ghtbeonmysi
de.

Useof‘
Let
’
‘
Let
’isusedt
oexpr
essr
equest
,suggest
ionorcommand.

Di
rect
-Hesai
d,“
Letmego.
”

I
ndi
rect
-Her
equest
edt
olethi
m go.

Di
rect
-Thepol
i
cei
nspect
orsai
d,“
Letnoonel
eav
ethi
sroom.
”

I
ndi
rect
-Thepol
i
cei
nspect
oror
der
edt
hatnooneshoul
dleav
ethatr
oom.

Di
rect
-Isai
dtoPr
iya,
“Letusspendt
hisev
eni
nghav
ingagameoft
enni
s.”

I
ndir
ect
-IproposedtoPr
iyat
hatweshouldspendthatev
eni
nghav
inga
gameoftenni
s.(her
eyoucanal
souse‘suggested’
)