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    NARRATION/DIRECT-INDIRECT SPEECH    

Rules

Worksheets

Beginner (1)

Elementary (2) (PECE)

Pre-intermediate (3) (JSC)

Intermediate (4) (SSC)

Upper-intermediate (5( (HSC)

Advanced (6)(University)

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                   DIRECT AND INDIRECT NARRATION

 

1. Rahim says, "Anil will come". Rahim says that Anil will come.

In the first sentence, Ram's speech is quoted in the actual words used by him, but in the second sentence Ram's speech is reported in the form of a narrative.

 

When a speech is quoted in the actual words used by the speaker, it is called the Direct speech or narration. But when the speech is reported in the form of a narrative, giving the substance or meaning of the words used by speaker, without quoting his actual words, it is called the Indirect speech or narration.

The speech which is quoted in actual words ("Anil will come") is called the Reported speech and the verb (says ) that introduces the speech is called the Reporting verb.

Study the following sentences :

Reporting verb           Reported speech

He    said,                       I am ill. " - Direct speech

He    said                         that  he was ill.-Indirect speech

Rahim says,                     "I want the book."- Direct speech

     Rahim, says                   that he wants the book.-Indirect speech
General Rules

2. Assertive Sentences : (a) The conjunction that is generally used before the reported speech of the form of a statement.

(b) If the reporting verb is in the present or future tense, the tense of the verb in the reported speech is not changed at all.

Direct        Ram says, "I shall go."

Indirect     Ram says that he will go.

Direct        He has said, "I went."

Indirect     lie has said that he went.

 (c) If the reporting verb is in the past tense, change the verb in the reported speech into the corresponding past form:

Direct         He said, "I am ill."

Indirect      He said that he was ill.

Direct       He said to me, "I shall go, but you will stay.

Indirect     He told me that he would go, but I should stay.

NOW: (i) The following points on punctuation marks should be carefully noted:

  1. The actual words quoted in the direct speech are put within inverted commas(")     

  2. No inverted commas should be used in the indirect speech.

  3. The reported speech in the direct narration begins with a capital letter and it is preceded by a comma.

  4. In the indirect speech, no comma should be used after the reporting verb.

  1. To express simple futurity, we use shall in the first person and will in the second and third persons. So in the last two examples, I shall in the Direct becomes he would in the Indirect. For the same reason, in the last example, you will in the Direct becomes I should in the Indirect.

  2. Some are of opinion that when the reporting verb is in the past tense, "All the past tenses of the direct form either remain in the past tense or are changed into the past perfect tense. The past perfect tense is used chiefly when we wish to lay stress on the completion of the action." The first alternative certainly violates the rules of the sequence of tenses: Still, it cannot often be helped. For example, take the following passage:

He said to me, "I went home in January, There I met my sister after a long time. She was a widow and was very eager to see me. My mother, too, wished me to see her."

Now, if we are to change the past tenses of the Direct form into the past perfect in. the Indirect, the rendering would stand thus:

He told me that he had gone home in January. There he had met his sister after a long time. She had been a widow and had been very eager to see him.

I Its mother, too, had wished him to see her.

Now, so many past perfect tenses in a single passage is certainly bad English. If instead we retain the simple past indefinite of the original in the Indirect form from the second sentence, the rendering will be good English. Hence, the rule stated above. In the case of a short sentence, however, the past may be, and should ordinarily be, changed into the past perfect because that does not create any difficulty.

  1. If the Direct speech states a universal truth or a habitual fact, the tense of the verb in the reported speech is not changed.

Direct        He said, "Honesty is the best policy."

Indirect     He said that honesty is the best policy.

Direct        He said, "God is good."

Indirect     He said that God is good.

Direct        He said, "I take bath in the Ganges every morning.”

Indirect     He said that he takes bath in the Ganges every morning.

  1. The Indirect speech should correspond in the persons of pronouns and verbs to the persons of the individuals in the Direct speech.

Direct       I said to him, " You are wrong."

Indirect    I told him that he was wrong.

Direct      He said to me, "I shall go, but you will stay."

Indirect    He told me that he would go, but I should stay.

NOTE: (i) Boys often make a confusion in changing the persons of the reported speech. It may help them to remember that the first person (I, we, us, etc.) of the Direct speech is changed into the person of the speaker, and the second person ( you, your, etc.) of' the Direct speech is changed into the person of the man to whom the speech is addressed. Note the examples given above.

"Said to him," "said to me," etc. before "that" are not good English; write "told him," "told me," etc.

Note: When there is uncertainty as to the particular person to whom the pronoun in the Indirect speech refers, the name of the person should be placed in brackets.

Direct       He said to Ram, " You are wrong."

Indirect    He told Ram that he (Ram Ram ) was wrong.

Direct       Hari said to Jatin, " You will pass."

Indirect      Hari told Jatin that he (Jatin) would pass.

(iii) Sometimes the introductory portion is left out and the speech only is given. To turn such speeches into the Indirect form, the sentence should begin as He told Ram, or I told her, or something like this. Thus,

Direct        I cannot do it.

Indirect    He told me (or, I told him, or you told me) that he (or, I or you) could not do it.

 

 

3. Interrogative Sentences:

 In converting such sentences,

(a) change the reporting verb into ask or enquire ; (b) then add whether or if, if the question admits of one of the two answer: yes or no-, but do not add whether or if, if the question V introduced by an interrogative pronoun, or adjective, o; adverb (viz. who, which, what, why, when, where, how, etc.) (c) and change the interrogative form into a statement.

The conjunction "that" is never used in such cases.

(a      Direct         He said to me, "Are you ill?"

Indirect      He asked (or enquired of) me if (or whether) I was ill.

Direct          My father said to him, "Is not poverty a curse?”

      Indirect       My father asked (or enquired of ) him whether or if poverty is not a curse.

Direct          You said to Ram, "Will you help me?”

Indirect       You asked Ram if he would help you.

Direct          You said to me, "Do you hear me?"

Indirect       You asked me if I heard you.

(b)   Direct         He said to me, "What are you doing?"

Indirect       He asked me what I was doing.

Direct           He said to me, " When will you go home”

Indirect        He enquired of me when I would go home.

Direct           You said to me, " Why have you failed ?"

Indirect        You asked me why I had failed.

NOTE: (i) No question mark (?) is used in indirect speech.

(ii)) If the introducing verb itself is interrogative, the reported speech is followed by a question mark : Did she tell you why she went there?

4.  Imperative sentences: In converting such sentences, change the verb into the Infinitive form, and the reporting verb into some such words as 'tell', 'request', 'command', 'beg', ,entreat', as the sense of the speech may require.

Direct       He said to me, "Do not go there."

Indirect     He told or advised or ordered me not to go there,

Direct        I said to him, "Please explain the passage."

Indirect     I requested him to explain the passage.

Direct        The general said to the soldiers, "March on."

Indirect     The general ordered the soldiers to march on.

Direct        I said to him, "Excuse me, sir."

Indirect     I begged him to excuse me.

NOTE: (a Tell may often be used to express 'request, 'order', 'command', etc. It is, therefore, often safer for students to use tell in the Indirect form when they may be in doubt about the proper word to introduce the reported speech.

(b) Vocatives may be omitted, as in the last example, or may be dealt with as below:     

Direct        He said, "Ram, go there."

Indirect     He told Ram to go there.

Direct        He said, "Friends, lend me your cars."

Indirect    Addressing them as friends, he requested them to lend him their ears.

Direct        He shouted, "Stop you, villain."

Indirect    He shouted to the villain to stop. Or, He ordered the villain to stop. Or, Calling the man a villain, he ordered him to stop.

(c)) in the Indirect form, such expressions as please, sir in the Direct are left out, or they are rendered by such expressions as kindly, politely, etc.

Even when the introductory verb is in the past tense, would, should, might, could and must do not normally change.

Direct        She said, "I would help him if I could.

Indirect      She said that she would help him if she could.

Direct        He said to me, "You must leave the place."

Induct        He told me that I must leave the place."

Direct        The man said, "Could I speak to Mr. Ray?"

Indirect     The man asked if he could speak to Mr. Ray.

Direct        He said to the children, "You mustn't play with fire."

Indirect     He told the children that they mustn't play with fire.

5. (a) When Let in the Direct speech expresses a proposal or suggestion, we may use should for let, and change the reporting verb into propose or suggest.

Direct        He said to me, ".Let us go home."

Indirect     He proposed or suggested to me that we should go home.

Direct        I said to him, "Let us have some music."

Indirect    I proposed or suggested to him that we should have some music.

(b) But when Let does not express a proposal, it should be changed into might or might be allowed, or into some other form according to the sense.

Direct        He said, "Let him do whatever he likes."

Indirect   He said that he (a third person) might (or might be allowed to ) do whatever he liked.

Direct        He said," Let me come in."

Indirect     He requested that he might be allowed to come in.

  1. Optative Sentences : In Optative sentences, the reporting verb is changed into wish or pray, and the optative form is changed into a statement.

Direct          He said to me, "May you be happy."

Indirect        He wished or prayed that I might be happy.

Direct          He said to you, "May God bless you."

Indirect        He prayed that God might bless you.

  1. Exclamatory Sentences : If the direct form is an exclamation, the reporting verb is changed to some such verb as 'exclaim'. 'cry out, 'pray, `wish', and the exclamation is turned into a statement. But new words and phrases have often to be introduced to express the full meaning.

Direct          He said, "Alas! I am undone."

Indirect        He cried out in sorrow that he was undone.

Direct          "Bravo! well done!" they cried.

Indirect       They applauded him, for (or saying that) he had done well,

Direct          He said, "By Jove! What a good news!"

Indirect       He swore by Jove that it was a very good news.

N.B. It should be carefully noted that what, how, and who are sometimes used in exclamation to denote excess or absence, instead of introducing an interrogation. In such cases they should be replaced by great, greatly, very, very much or none in the indirect :‑

 Direct         He said to me, "How happy you are!"

Indirect       He told me that I was very happy.

Direct          He said, " What was my joy to see the thing!"

Indirect       He said that his joy to see the thing was very great.

Direct          I said, "Who knew that this should happen!"

Indirect       I said that none knew that that would happen.

NOTE: In indirect speech, the sentence ends with a fullstop(.) and not an exclamation mark(!).

8. Words indicating time and place: (a ) Adjectives, Adverbs and Verbs in the Direct speech, expressing nearness, are often changed into similar words expressing remoteness:

Now   becomes     then     Hither    becomes   thither

Here                        there       Thus                         (in) that way, so

This                         that           Today                  that day, the same day

Ago              before     Tomorrow           the next day, the

These               those                                   following day

Hence              thence     Yesterday            the previous day, the day before

Come               go           Last night            the previous (night )

                     Last week/month      the week before/the previous week, etc.

                     Next week/month       the week after/the following week, etc.

Direct        He said, "I know this boy."

Indirect      He said that he knew that boy.

Direct        “I said to him, "You will get it today or tomorrow",

Indirect      I told him that he would get it that day or the next day.

Direct        He said to me, "Come here."

Indirect      He told me to go there.

(b) But if now, here, this, etc. refer to things present before the speaker at the time he is reporting, no change is necessary.

Direct        She said, "I knew this boy."

Indirect      She said that she knew this boy.

Direct        I said, "We can never be happy here."

Indirect      I said that we can never be happy here (=in this world).

NOTE: Students often change "it" into "that" in the indirect. But that is wrong; "it" remains unchanged.

9. Questions and Answer: "Yes" and "No"—In changing answers into the Indirect form, sentences are to be given completely by supplying the words understood,

Direct       "What is your name?" "Ramesh."

Indirect   I asked him what his name was. He replied that his name was Ramesh.

Direct      I said to him, "How long will you stay?" Ile replied, "For five days."

Indirect   I asked him how long he would stay. lie replied that he would stay for five days.

Direct      “Yes, Sir, I shall go.”

Indirect    He promised that he would go.

  1. The combination of different kinds of reported sentences requires careful treatment. Let us take the passage:

  (a) He said to me, "Who are you? What do you want'! Go, away."

      The reported sentences, taken separately, are changed thus:

(i) He asked me who I was.

(ii) He asked me what I wanted.

(iii) He told me to go away.

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Rules
Beginner (1)
Elementary (2) (PECE)
Pre-intermediate (3) (JSC)
Intermediate (4) (SSC)
Upper-intermediate (5( (HSC)

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        Rules of changing speech passage

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1.    Rule – .By reading the passage carefully, the Speaker, Listener, Tense, Number, Gender & Person and mood of the sentence are to be identified. 
2.    Rule – If the Reporting Verb is after the Direct Speech, in Indirect Speech it is set at the beginning of the Sentence. Example- 
Direct : “Please tell me clearly what you mean to say.” said the noble man. 
Indirect : The noble man requested to tell him clearly what he meant to say.
Direct : “It will be decided after a discussion,” said the teacher. 
Indirect : The teacher said that it would be decided after a discussion. 
Direct : “Why did you not go to school yesterday?” said the mother to the girl. 
Direct : "Take this money and go to the market." "Your brother is coming today," said father. 
Indirect : Father ordered me to take that money and go to the market. He added that my brother was coming that day.
3.    Rule . If the Reporting Verb is in the middle of the Sentences, in Indirect Speech it is set beginning of the first Sentence and both sentences are joined by and. 
Direct: “Thank you,” said the teacher, “You’re really brilliant.” 
Indirect: The teacher thanked him and said that he was really brilliant.
Direct :“Where is the problem?” said the teacher, “Let us try again.” 
Indirect: The teacher asked where the problem was and proposed that they should try again. 
Direct: “I’m watching the boys swimming in the pond,” he said, “How happy they are!” 
Indirect: He said that he was watching the boys swimming in the pond and exclaimed with joy that they were very happy. 
Direct : "You look a little bit like my mother," Jerry said to the authoress, "Especially in the dark by the fire."
Indirect : Jerry told the authoress that she looked a little bit like his mother especially in the dark by the fire.
4.    Rule – In absence of ‘Subject & Listener’ in the Reporting Speech, ‘The speaker’ for Subject & ‘the person spoken to / the listener’ for object of Reporting Verb are written. 
Direct: “I shall meet you tomorrow. “
Indirect: The speaker said to the person spoken to that he would meet him the next day. 
Direct : “Are you coming to my house tomorrow?” “Yes, I will come tomorrow evening.” 
Indirect: The speaker asked the listener if he was going to his house the next day. The listener replied in the affirmative and said that he would come the next evening.
Direct: “Don’t go there.”
Indirect: The speaker told the person spoken to not to go there.


5.    Rule – If several sentences are in the Inverted commas (“ – ”) – In Assertive Sentence, reporting verb is changed into added / further added / again said / also said etc. 
Direct : “Here are the tickets. They will cost one thousand taka,” said the ticket officer. 
Indirect : The ticket officer told that there were the tickets and said that they would cost one thousand taka.
Direct : Hasan said, "I will meet him. I will explain everything to him. I hope he will help us after that."
Indirect : Hasan said that he would meet him and explain everything to him. Then he hoped that he would help them after that.

6.    Rule – If several sentences are in the Inverted commas (“ – ”) In Interrogative Sentence, reporting verb is changed into again asked / also asked / further asked etc. 
Direct: The maid said, “Why do you beg? Can’t you work?” 
Indirect : The maid asked him why he begged and also asked him if he could not work. 
Direct: He said to me, ‘ Who are you? What do you want?’
Indirect: He asked me who I was and what I wanted.

7.    Rule – If several sentences are in the Inverted commas (“ – ”) In Imperative Sentence, reporting verb is changed into again advised / also requested / further ordered according to sense of the sentence. In Indirect Speech, two same sentences are joined by and. 
Direct : Nayem said to me, “I have left my pen at home. Can you give me one?” 
Indirect: Nayem told me that he had left her pen at home and asked if I could give him one. 

8.    Rule- In Direct speech if a speaker uses interrogative and assertive sentence together, ‘and’ is used to join the sentences or then is used at the beginning of the second sentence
Direct: The teacher said to Urmi, “ Why are you talking in the class? You should behave yourself.”
Indirect: The teacher asked Urmi why she was talking in the class and said that she should behave herself.
Direct: “I do not know the way. Do you?” he asked her.
Inderect: He said that he did not know the way and asked her whether she did. 
Direct : Mother said to me, "You should maintain your routine properly," "Don't you think it is good for your study?"
Indirect : Mother said to me that I should maintain my routine properly and asked me if I didn't think it was good for my study.

9.    Rule- To change a dialogue into indirect , we should assume the indicated portion and write accordingly in indirect speech.
Direct : "What is your name?"
: Rubaba."
Indirect : I asked her what her name was. She replied that her name was Rubaba.
,Direct    : I said to him, "How long will you stay?" He replied, "for five days."
Indirect : I asked him how long he would stay. He replied that he would stay for five days.


10.    Rule – . ‘Replied in the affirmative’ are written instead of ‘Yes’. Replied that +sub+ verb can also be used.
Direct :“Did people use stamps in those days?” asked Rafiq. “Yes!” answered Mr. Jamil. 
Indirect: Rafiq asked Mr. Jamil if people had used stamps in those days. Mr. Jamil replied in the affirmative. 
Direct    : He said to me, "Are you ill ‘ . I replied, " Yes."
Indirect : He asked me if I was ill. I replied in the affirmative/that I was I was.
11.    Rule –  If any statement is after ‘Yes’, ‘replied in the affirmative and said that’ are written. 
Direct :“Have you killed the rats?” said the Mayor. “Yes, I have killed,” said the piper. 
Indirect: The Mayor asked the piper if he had killed the rats. The piper replied in the affirmative and said that he had killed. 
Direct : He said to me, “Can you tell me the way to the nearest bank?” I said, “Yes, I can tell.” 
Indirect: He asked me if I could tell him the way to the nearest bank. I replied in the affirmative and said that I could tell.
Direct : He said to me, "Do you like games and sports?" I said, "Yes, I play football and cricket."
Indirect : He asked me if I liked games and sports. I replied that I did and added that I played football and cricket.
12.    Rule – ‘Replied in the negative’ are written instead of ‘No’. Replied that +sub+ verb(negative form) can also be used.
Direct: She said to me, “Do you like music? I said, “No.” 
Indirect : She asked me if I liked music. I replied in the negative. 
Direct    : He said to me, "Do you know Rajib?" I said, "No."
Indirect : He asked me if I knew Rajib. I replied that I did not.
13.    Rule – If any statement is after ‘No’, ‘replied in the negative and said that’ are written. 
Direct : “Aren’t you wasting your time?” I said. “No, I don’t think so,” he said. 
Indirect : I asked him if he wasn’t wasting his time. He replied in the negative and said that he didn’t think so. 
Direct : He said to me, “Would you accompany me, please?” “No, I am sorry,” replied I. 
Indirect: He asked me if I would accompany him. I replied in the negative and said that I was sorry.
Direct : Zaman said to Rajib," Have you completed the homework?" Rajib said, "No, I am ill."
Indirect : Zaman asked Rajib if he (R) had completed his homework. Rajib replied that he (R) had not because he was ill.

14.    Rule- If yes/no is used to emphasize the statement, we can use promised or denied as reporting verb.
Direct: He said, "Yes, sir, I shall go."
Indirect : He promised that he would go.
Direct: She said, "No, sir, I have not seen it."
Indirect : She denied that she had seen it.
Or, She denied having seen it.
15.    Rule – Instead of ‘Sir’, respectfully/politely is written. 
Direct: The man said to the manager, “May I come in, sir?” 
Indirect: The man respectfully asked the manager if he might go in. 
Direct : The boy said, “Yes sir, I think so.” 
Indirect : The boy respectfully replied in the affirmative and said that he thought so. 
Direct : Kamal said, "Sir, I am sorry."
Indirect : Kamal respectfully said that he was sorry.
Direct : She said, "Sir, I will be attentive from now."
Indirect : She respectfully said that she would be attentive from then.
Direct : Rajib said, "Sir, are you busy now?"
Indirect : Rajib respectfully asked if he was busy then.
Direct : He said to me, "Sir, I will be late today."
Indirect : He respectfully said to me that he would be late that day.

16.    Rule- If the addressing is true, the name of the person/thing is written as object of the reporting verb. Name used in vocative case is added with Reporting verb.
Direct : The teacher said, "Rajib, why are you making a noise?"
Indirect : The teacher asked Rajib why he (R) was making a noise.
Direct : "Let him come with us, mother," I said. 
Indirect : I asked my mother to let him come with us.
Direct: Mother said, “Sumya, do not quarrel.” 
Indirect: Mother ordered Sumya not to quarrel. 

17.    Rule – 13. ‘Addressing as’ is written beginning of the sentence instead of Sir/ friend/ sister/ brother/ mum etc. if they really don’t have any relation. 
Direct : The student said, “Sir, I have a problem to solve it.” 
Indirect : Addressing as sir, the student said that he had a problem to solve it. 
Direct: “Are you hungry, my friends?” said the leader. 
Indirect : Addressing as his friends, the leader asked if they were hungry. 
Direct : Amir said, “Brethren, Listen to my word.” 
Indirect: Addressing as brethren, Amir request to listen to his word. 
Direct : “I was ill, mum,” the girl replied. 
Indirect : Addressing her mother as mum, the girl replied that she had been ill.
Direct : "Are you hungry, friends?" said the shrewd (t)v) king.
Indirect : Addressing them as friends, the shrewd king asked if they were hungry.
Direct : Rashed said to the man, "Sir, are you looking for someone?"
Indirect : Addressing the man as sir, Rashed asked him (m) if he (m) was looking for someone.

18.    If the sentence start with shall I/ we and indicates offer, the sentence is transformed into indirect using the rules of imperative sentence.
Direct : "Shall I bring you some tea?" he said to me.
Indirect : He offered to bring me some tea.
Direct : He said to me, "Shall I bat on top order?"
Indirect : He offered to bat on top order.
Direct : We said, "Shall we contribute some amount for the affected people?"
Indirect : We offered to contribute some amount for the affected people.    •
Direct : I said, "Shall I join the party?"
Indirect : I offered to join the party.
Direct : He said, "Shall I meet him tomorrow?"
Indirect : He offered to meet him the next day.
19.    Rule – In stead of ‘Thank you’, ‘Subject + thanked + Object of Reporting Verb are written. 
Direct: He said to me, “Thank you.” 
Indirect: He thanked me. 
Direct : The teacher said to me, “Thank you.” 
Indirect : The teacher thanked me. 
Direct : Mrs. Kalam said, “Thank you, Mr. Haque. 
Indirect: Mrs. Kalam thanked Mr. Haque. 
20.    Rule – 12. Instead of Good morning/ good afternoon/ good evening/ Happy new year etc. Subject + wished + object + good morning/ good afternoon/ good evening/happy new year etc. 
Direct: I said to him, “Good morning.” 
Indirect: I wished him good morning. 
Direct : The teacher said to us, “Good afternoon to all of you.” 
Indirect: The teacher wished good afternoon to all of us. 
Direct: Father said to them, “Good evening to all of you.” 
Indirect : Father wished them good evening to all of them. 
Direct : I said to you, “Good night.” 
Indirect : I wished you good night. 
Direct : She said to me, “Happy new year.” 
Indirect : She wished me happy new year.

21.    Rule –  In stead of ‘Good bye’/Good night, ‘Subject + bade + object + good bye’ /Good night are written. 
Direct: The leader said, “Good bye my, friends.” 
Indirect: The leader bade his friends good bye. 
Direct: Father said to the boy, Good night’
Indirect: Father bade the boy good night.

22.    If why is written as an reply o f a question, in indirect speech speaker+ wanted to know the reason is used.
Direct: "When will you come?"
"At 9 am. Why, mother?" said the son.
Indirect: Mother asked her son when he would come. The son replied that he would come at 9 am and wanted to know the reason (for such question).
Direct : Shetu said to Tanha, "I will not go for the study tour." "Why? We will have lots of fun." 
Indirect : Shetu said to Tanha that he (s) would not go for the study tour. Tanha wanted to know the reason and said that they would have lots of fun.
Direct : Mother said to Lifa, "Are you going with me?" "No, mother." "Why?". "I am feeling unwell."
Indirect : Mother asked Lifa if she was going with her. Addressing her as mother, Lifa replied in
the negative. Mother wanted to know the reason. Lifa replied that she was feeling unwell,

23.    Rule-well/you see/you know is left out in the indirect speech
Direct: The teacher said to him, “Well Rony, I shall reward you.”
Indirect: The teacher said to Rony that he would reward him.

24.    Rule - Oh I see/Look is replaced by expressing surprise and drawing attention to 
Direct: Shahid said to Imran, “Oh I see. He is the Director of the company.”
Indirect: Expressing surprise, Shahid told Imran that he was the Director of the company.
Direct: He said, “Look, I have bought a new red car.”
Indirect: Drawing attention, he said that he had bought a new red car.

25.    Rule -In assertive sentence/imperative sentence if yes/no/alright/ok  is used, we replace them by using agreed/disagreed/decline.
Direct: The manager said, “Finish the work as soon as possible.”
The employee said, “ Alright sir. You will get the work done within a few days.”
Indirect: The manager ordered to finish the work as soon as possible. The employee agreed and respectfully added that he would get the work done within a few days.
Direct: “ I am sent to school for playing with friends, father.” Jack said.
“No, you are sent to school to read and write.”
Indirect: Jack told his father that he was sent to school for playing with friends. Father disagreed and added that he was sent to learn to read and write. 
26.    Rule - If two parts of the imperative sentence is added with ‘or’ , second part of the sentence is replaced by and added if+ subject+ did not do so. Subject + would/could/might+ verb  is used.
Direct: “Read attentively or you will fail, “ said the teacher.
Indirect: The teacher advised to read attentively and added if he did not do so he would fail.
Direct: He said to me, “ Have patience or you will not be able to catch fish.
Indirect: He advised me to have patience and added that if I did not so I would not be able to catch fish.
27.    Rule – In stead of ‘Part of a Sentence or Phrase’, complete sentence is written according to the sense of the Speaker. 
Direct: The teacher said, “How are you?” “Well,” said the girl. 
Indirect: The teacher asked the girl how she was. The girl replied that she was well. 
Direct: Apu said to me, “What are you doing?” I said, “Eating rice.” 
Indirect: Apu asked me what I was doing. I replied that I was eating rice. 

28.    Rule – In stead of ‘By Allah/ by God/ by Lord/ by Jove/ by my life, Swearing by Allah/ by God/ by Lord/ by Jove/ by my life etc are written in the Indirect Speech. 
Direct: “By Allah,” he replied, “I will not leave this place.” 
Indirect: Swearing by Allah, he replied that he would not leave that place.
Direct : "By Allah, believe me, I did not know him," said Amrin.
Indirect : Swearing by Allah, Amrin requested to believe her and said that she had not known
him.
Direct : Imran said, "By your life, I will study regularly from now, mom."
Indirect : Swearing by her life, Imran said to his mother that he would study regularly from
then.
Direct : "By God", the boy said, "I will not let him go."
Indirect : Swearing by God the boy said that he would not let him go.
Direct : Aashiqa said, "By my life, I am ready to do every possible thing to educate them."
Indirect : Swearing by her life, .Ashiqa said that she was ready to do every possible thing to
educate them.

29.    Rule –The portion written outside of the inverted comma usually remained unchanged. But ‘Present participle phrase’ are written beginning of the Sentence in Indirect Speech. 
Direct:“Are you brothers?” asked the mistress of the house, turning to the boys. 
Indirect: Turning to the boys, the mistress of the house asked if they were brothers. 
Direct : Walking towards the door, he said to me, "Wait here for sometime."
Indirect : Walking towards the door, he ordered me to wait there for sometime.
Direct : Admitting the truth, the man said, "I was really unaware of the fact."
Indirect : Admitting the truth, the man said that he had been really unaware of the fact.
Direct : Giving a round of applause, we said, "Happy Birthday to you."
Indirect : Giving a round of applause, we wished her happy birthday.
Direct : In order to get back her lost daughter, she said, "I will give an amount of two lac taka
who will find out my daughter."
Indirect : In order to get back her lost daughter, she said that she would give an amount of two
lac taka who would find out her daughter.

30.    Rule –If question mark (?) is ending of Assertive sentence, ‘Being surprised’ are written beginning of Indirect Speech and followed the rules of ‘Interrogative sentence’. 
Direct: Luna said to me, “You have remembered how she looked all these years?” 
Indirect: Being surprised, Luna asked me if I had remembered how she had looked all those years.
Direct : My brother said to me, "You know him?"
Indirect : Being surprised, my brother asked me if I knew him.    •
Direct : Johnny said to Iddris, "Bangladesh lost the match?"
Indirect : Being surprised, Johnny asked Iddris if Bangladesh lost the match.
Direct : She said to her brother, "You failed in the exam? I frequently told you to study more
and more."
Indirect : Being surprised, she asked her brother if he failed in the exam. She again said that
she had frequently told him to study more and more.
Direct : I said to Rashed, "He is outside the country? But I saw him last night."
Indirect : Being surprised, I asked Rashed if he was outside the country and added that I had
seen him the previous night.

31.    Rule - If the second sentence of the reported speech expresses the reason of the first sentence, we can use since/as/because as linker
Direct: “ I will not attend the meeting . I am ill,” he said
Indirect: He said that  he would not attend the meeting as he was ill.
Direct : Raiyan said "I failed in the examination. I did not work hard."
Indirect : Raiyan said that he had failed in the examination since he did not work hard.
Direct : The man said, "The thief was not seen. There was dark all around."
Indirect : The man said that the thief had not seen since there had been dark all around,
Direct : The batsman said, "I played bad. The pitch is too slow to bat."
Indirect : The batsman said that he had played bad as the pitch was too slow to bat.
Direct : The workers said, We will go for a strike. We are not getting our salaries timely." Indirect : The workers said that they would go for a strike as they were not getting their salaries timely. Direct : Father said to me, "I could not withdraw the money. I have lost my ATM card." Indirect : Father said to me that he could not withdraw the money since he had lost his ATM card.

32.    Rule-You ought to /should/had better/if I were you will be left out and advised will be used instead
Direct: You had better hurry, Jony,” she said.
Indirect: She advised Jony to hurry.
Direct: “ If I were you, I would wait,” I said to him.
Indirect: I advised him to  wait.
Direct : I said to her, "You had better watch the way you talk to me in the future."
Indirect : I advised her to watch the way she talk to me in the future.
Direct : "They had better be here before we start dinner," she said.
Indirect : She advised to be there before they start dinner.
Direct : He said to me, "You ought to tell her everything."
Indirect : He advised me to tell her everything.
Direct : Rashed said to. Ibrahim, "If I were you, I would not do this."
Indirect : Rashed advised Ibrahim not to do that.
33.    Rule - Sorry/ I am sorry is replaced by apologized 
Direct: “Sorry , sir, I will not be late again,” said the student.
Indirect: The student apologized and said that he would not be late again.
Direct : The boy said, "Sorry. It was my mistake."    .
Indirect : The boy apologized and said that it had been his mistake.
Direct : The stranger said, "I am sorry. I don't know anyone here."
Indirect : The stranger apologized and said that he didn't know anyone there. Direct : He said to his father, "Sorry. I will not do it again."
Indirect : He apologized to his father and said that he would not do it again. Direct : The girl said, "I am sorry. I behaved with you wrongly."
Indirect : The girl apologized and said that she had behaved with him wrongly. 

34.    Rule : Sorry to disturb you/excuse me is replaced by seeking an excuse in indirect speech
Direct: The man said, “ Excuse me, how can I find this address?”
Indirect: Seeking an excuse, the man asked how he could find that address.
Direct: The girl said to the man, “ Sorry to disturb you, are you Mr. Max?”
Indirect: Seeking an excuse  the girl asked the man if he was Mr.Max.
Direct : "Sony to disturb, would you tell me the way to the nearest college?" said the man. 
Indirect : Seeking an excuse, the man asked if he would tell him the way to the nearest college. 
Direct : Kamal said to his teacher, "Excuse me, sir. I did not understand the math you solved now."
Indirect : Seeking an excuse, Kamal respectfully said to his teacher that he (k) had not understood the math he (t) solved then.

35.    Rule – If Pronoun is beginning and Noun is ending of the Sentence, The noun used as subject is replaced by pronoun. 
Direct : “My sons, listen to me.” “We are listening.” “I am going to die,” said the old man. 
Indirect : The old man told his sons to listen to him. His sons replied that they are listening. The old man said that he was going to die.
Direct: Imran said to her, “ How was your exam?” Lifa Said, “Very good”
Indirect: Imran asked Lifa how her exam had been. Lifa replied that her exam was very good.
Direct : Selim said to him, "I am ready to go." Mr. Anwar said, "Grab a car. We are already late."
Indirect : Selim said to Mr. Anwar that he (S) was ready to go. Mr Anwar told Selim to grab a car and added that they were already late.
Direct : The maid said to him, "Why do you beg?" The old man replied, "I am too old to work." 
Indirect : The maid asked the old man why he (OM) begged. The old man replied that he (OM) was too old to work.

36.    Rule - In case of tag question the statement part of the tag question is changed following the rules of interrogative sentence and tag portion is changed using “and assumed that “ and remaining follows the rule of assertive sentence
Sturucture: Speaker+asked+listener+if+subject+verb+……and assumed that + subject+ verb………..
Direct: Della said to Jim, “I’m me without my hair, ain’t i?
Indirect: Della asked Jim if she was her without her hair and assumed that she was.
Direct: The man said, “We love our country, don’t we?”
Indirect: The man asked if we loved our country and assumed that we did.
Direct : He said, "Everybody loves flower, don't they?"
Indirect : He asked if everybody loves flower and assumed that they do.
Direct : I said, "I did not come last night, did I?"
Indirect : I asked if I had not gone the previous night and assumed that I hadn't.
Direct : "They are very serious, aren't they?" Aashiqa said.
Irfdirect : Aashiqa asked if they were very serious and assumed that they were.

Important Note:  Some are of opinion that when the Reporting Verb is in the past tense, "All past tenses of the direct form either remain in the past tense, or are changed into the past perfect tense. The past perfect tense is used chiefly when we wish to lay stress on the completion of the action." This certainly violates the rules of the sequence of tense; still, it cannot often be helped.
For example, let us take the following passage:
Direct: He said to me, "I went home in January. There I met my sister after a long time. She was a widow and was very eager to see me. My mother to wished me to see her."
Indirect: He said to me that he had gone home in January. There he had met his sister after a long time. She had been a widow and had been very eager to see him. His mother, too had wished him to see her.
Now, so many past perfect tenses in a single passage are certainly bad English. If instead, we retain the simple past indefinite of the original in the indirect form, the rendering will be good English. Hence, the rule stated above. In the case of short sentence, however, the past may be and shall be changed into the past perfect, because that does not create any difficulty.

Rules of changing Passage Narration (Indirect to Direct)

The conversion of Indirect to Direct Speech generally presents no special difficulties.

 

Follow all the rules which we learned for changing the Direct to Indirect Speech in reverse for changing Indirect to Direct Speech.

 

Narration change from Indirect to direct speech follows the reverse rules of changing the narration from Direct to Indirect speech.  So, if you attentively learn the rules of narration change from Direct to Indirect, it would be easy to change narration from Indirect to Direct speech.

 

Rule 1

 

To convert indirect speech to direct speech, we have to add punctuation marks at proper places. 

 

Reported clause of the sentence should be put inside a quotation mark. A comma also have to be added. e.g.

 

Indirect: Ratan said that he was drinking tea.

 

Direct: Ratan said, “I am drinking tea.”

 

Rule 2

 

In case of changing narration from indirect to direct speech, conjunction such as that, if, whether, should be omitted. e.g.

 

Indirect: Mohit asked if I was okay. 

 

Direct: Mohit  said, “Are you okay?”

 

Here the conjunction ‘if’ is omitted. 

 

Rule 3

 

While changing indirect to direct speech, the tense of the sentence changes. The tense of the reported clause is restored to the tense in which the original speaker has spoken the words. e.g.

 

Indirect: Priyanka  said that she liked reading books.

 

Direct: Priyanka said, “I like reading books.”

 

Rule 4

 

 In this case, the sentence does not always ends with full stop. While changing indirect to direct speech, the ending punctuation mark depends on the type of sentence. It can be an exclamatory mark in case of exclamatory sentence or a question mark in case of interrogative sentence. e.g.

 

Indirect: Bipasha asked Rakesh what he was doing. 

 

Direct: Bipasha said to Rakesh, “What are you doing?”

 

Indirect: She exclaimed with horror that the sight was very horrible.

 

Direct: She said, “What a horrible sight!”

 

Rule 5

 

Pronouns, time, place also changes accordingly from indirect to direct. e.g.

 

Indirect: Father told me to go home then.

 

Direct: Father said, “Go home now.”

 

Here ‘then’ changes to ‘now’.

 

Indirect: Rupa said that she read poetry.

 

Direct: Rupa said, “I read poetry.”

 

 ‘She’ pronoun is replaced by ‘I’.

 

​

 

Examples:

 

• Indirect: Clinton asked John to go with him.

• Direct: Clinton said to John, “Come with me."

 

• Indirect: The stranger asked Alice where he lived.

• Direct: The stranger said to Alice, ‘where do you live?’

 

• Indirect: An old mouse asked who would bell the cat.

• Direct: An old mouse said, “Who will bell the cat?"

 

• Indirect: Ram said to his mother that he would be late that night.

• Direct: Ram said to his mother, “I will be late today night

 

 

 

Follow all the rules which we learned for changing the Direct to Indirect Speech in reverse for changing Indirect to Direct Speech.

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