DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH   There are two ways of reporting the speech of a person. They are: 1)     Direct speech: When the actual words spoken by the speaker are given within the inverted commas, the form of speech is called Direct Speech. Ex:       1) Usha says, “I am going to school.”             2) I said to her, “I am coming in a minute.”             3) He said, “ I am a soldier.”   In above sentences of the Direct Speech there are two clear divisions.   The portion which is before the inverted commas (“ ”) relates to the speaker and the verb (says or said) introducing the speaker is called Reporting Verb.   The speech placed within the inverted commas is called the Reported Speech. It begins with a capital letter. It is separated from the Reporting Verb by a comma.   2) Indirect speech or Reported Speech: When the substance of what the speaker is said is given without quoting the next words, the form of speech is called the Indirect/Reported speech.      Ex:   1) Usha says that she is going to school. 2) I told her that I was coming in a minute. 3) He said that he was a soldier. In the above sentences, Usha says, I told her, He said are direct clauses.  The word “that” is a subordinating conjunction. The remaining part of the sentence is called reported clause.  Journalists write in reported speech, not in directed speech.
There are two types of rules in converting a sentence from Direct to Indirect Speech. They are: General Rules and Specific Rules: 1.     General Rules: A) Change of Tense: DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH PRESENT SIMPLE (do/does- V1) PAST SIMPLE (did- V2) PRESENT CONTINUOUS (am/is/are+V4) PAST CONTINUOUS (was/were+V4) PRESENT PERFECT (has/have+V3) PAST PERFECT (had+V3) PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS (has/have been+V4) PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (had been+V4) PAST SIMPLE (did- V2) PAST PERFECT (had+V3) PAST CONTINUOUS (was/were+V4) PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (had been+V4) PAST PERFECT (had+V3) No Change PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (had been+V4) No Change FUTURE SIMPLE (will+V1) CONDITIONAL (would) Modals: Shall- should; Can - could;  may-  might;  must- must/had to;  has/have to- had to                 Could, might, would, should - Generally, No Change   Exceptional Rule 1: If the Reporting verb is in Present Tense or Future Tense, the tense of the verb in the Reported Speech is not changed. DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH He says, “It is raining.” He says that it is raining. The teacher will say “The boy was clever.” The teacher will say that the boy was clever. Mother will say, “Breakfast is ready.” Mother will say that breakfast is ready. Rani has said, "She has a computer."         Rani has said that she has a computer.     Exceptional Rule 2: If the Reporting speech expresses a universal truth or a habitual fact, the tense of the verb in the Direct Speech must not be changed even if the Reporting verb is in the Past Tense. DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH Teacher said to students, “Delhi is the capital of India.” Teacher told the students that Delhi is the capital of India. He said, “Honesty is the best policy.” He said that honesty is the best policy. The teacher said, “The Earth moves round the Sun.” The teacher said that the Earth moves round the Sun. My mother said, “The Sun rises in the East.” My teacher said that the Sun rises in the East.   B) Change of person: Rules for the change of personal pronouns:                            S O N -           1, 2, 3 rule   1st person (I, We)                   - changes as per SUBJECT 2nd person (You)                    - changes as per OBJECT 3rd person (He, She, It, They) -                        No Change   English Pronouns Person Singular/ plural Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns Possessive Adjectives Possessive Pronouns Reflexive Pronouns 1st person  singular I Me My Mine Myself Plural We Us Our Ours Ourselves 2nd person Singular and Plural You You Your Yours Yourself / Yourselves 3rd person Singular He Him His His Himself She Her Her Hers Herself Plural It It Its - Itself They Them Their Theirs Themselves   Pronouns in Reported Speech have to be chosen carefully. We have to note that who said what? Who is reporting to whom? and Who the people mentioned? and then use the pronouns accordingly (SON rule).   RULE 1: Pronouns of the 1st Person (I, We) in DS changes to Subject of the Reporting Verbs in the IDS. DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH Raju said to Rani, “I am reading a book.” Raju told Rani that he was reading a book. Rani said to Raju, “I am reading a book.” Rani told Raju that she was reading a book. Children said to teacher, “We play cricket.” Children told teacher that they played cricket. Teacher said to children, “We play cricket.” Teacher told children that he/she played cricket. Preethi said to Praveen, ‘I want to become a doctor.” Preethi told Praveen that she wanted to become a doctor. Praveen said to Preethi, ‘I want to become a doctor.” Praveen told Preethi that he wanted to become a doctor.   RULE 2: Pronouns of the 2nd Person (You) in DS changes to Object of the Reporting Verbs in the IDS. DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH He said to me, “You are a brilliant boy.” He told me that I was a brilliant boy. I said to him, “You are a brilliant boy.” I told him that he was a brilliant boy. He said to you, “You are right.” He told you that you were right. She said to me, “You are right.” She told me that I was right.   RULE 3: Pronouns of the 3rd person (He, She, It, They) in DS remain unchanged in IDS. DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH I said, “He is doing well.” I said that he was doing well. He said to her, “She has a nice home.” He told her that she had a nice home. Madhu said to her sister, “It is busy now.” Madhu told her sister that it was busy now. Rajesh said to Ravi, “They are my friends.” Rajesh told Ravi that they were my friends. c)     Change of other parts of speech: RULE :words expressing nearness are changed into words expressing distance or remoteness. DIRECT SPEECH               Changes as INDIRECT SPEECH This/these That/those here there hence thence now then ago before just then thus so Today, tonight that day, that night tomorrow the next day/ the day after yesterday the previous day/ the day before The day before yesterday Two days before The day after tomorrow Two days later next day/week/month/year the following day/week/month/year last night/week/month/year the previous night/week/month/year
2. Specific Rules: RULES FOR CHANGING DIRECT SPEECH INTO INDIRECT SPEECH: Rules for changing Direct Speech into Indirect Speech:   RULE 1: CONVERSION OF ASSERTIVE SENTENCES Ø  If the Reporting verb is in Past Tense, the tense of the verb in the Reported Speech is changed. Ø  The Reporting Verb said to is changed into told. But if there is no noun or pronoun coming after said is not changed. Ø  Remove the comma and the inverted commas and connect the Reported Speech to the Principal Clause by the conjunction that. Ø  Change the person of the pronoun in Reported Speech as explained in the Rules above. Ø  All Nouns and pronouns in the vocative case in the reported speech are turned into the personal object of the Reporting Verb. Ø  Do not use any preposition like to after tell. Turn the Nouns and Pronouns in the vocative case into personal objects.   a) Present Simple becomes Past Simple DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH She said “Mini writes a letter.” She said that Mini wrote a letter. Padma said, “Rani comes” Padma said that Rani came. Advik said, “I am very busy now.” Advik said that he was very busy then. Grandma said to me, “You are a good boy.” Grandma said to me that I was a good boy. Suraj said to Raja, “we are best friends.” Suraj said to Raja that they were best friends. I said, “I often go to park.” I said that I often went to park. Ankur said, “I like to play video games.” Ankur said that he liked to play video games. Virat said, “I play cricket.” Virat said that he played cricket. Jyothi said, “I get up early in the morning." Jyothi said that she got up early in the morning.           b) Present Continuous becomes Past Continuous DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH Githa said, “Ravi is teaching English.’’ Githa said that Ravi was teaching English. He said, “The child is doing the work.” He said that the child was doing the work. The nurse said to me, “The doctor is calling you.” The nurse said to me that the doctor was calling me. My friends said, “The boys are playing football.” My friend said that the boys were playing football. The old man said, “I am catching fish.” The old man said that he was catching fish. The birdwatcher said, “The birds are flying.” The birdwatcher said that the birds were flying. I said to mother, “I am not going to school.” I told mother that I was not going to school. Bindu said, “Mother, I am going”. Bindu told her mother that she was going.           c)Present Perfect becomes Past Perfect DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH She said “Manju has stood first.” She said that Manju had stood first. He said, “The child has done the work.” He said that the child had done the work. The teacher said to me, “Your friends have gone home.” The teacher said to me that my friends had gone home. The boss said, “The manager has come late to office.” The boss said that the manager had come late to office. I said to mother, “I have done my homework.” I told mother that I had done my homework. I told my boss, “I have submitted the work.” I told my boss that I had submitted the work. The conductor said, “The train has reached late.” The conductor said that the train had reached late. He said to me, “I have done your work”. He told me that he had done my work.           d)Present Perfect Continuous becomes Past Perfect continuous DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH He said “The girl has been working for two hours.” He said that girl had been working for two hours. Kapil said, “The teachers has not been teaching for two hours.” Kapil said that the teacher had not been teaching for two hours. He said, “It have been snowing all night.” He said that it had been snowing all night. Uncle said, “I have been working very hard.” Uncle said that he had been working very hard. My cousin said to me, “I have been helping you a lot.” My cousin said to me that he had been helping me a lot. The neighbour said, “I have been planting vegetables all day.” The neighbour said that he had been planting vegetables all day. Brother said, “Have you been sleeping well?” Brother asked if I had been sleeping well. Rani said to Raju, “I have been suffering from fever for two days.” Rani told Raju that she had been suffering from fever for two days.       e) Past Indefinite becomes Past Perfect DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH She said, “The boy attended the class.” She said that the boy had attended the class. He said, “The train arrived late.” He said that the train had arrived late. Student said, “I missed the bus.” Student said that he had missed the bus. He said to me, “I understood your problem” He told me that he had understood my problem.       f) Past Continuous becomes Past Perfect Continuous DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH Latha said, “The players were practicing.” Latha said that the players had been practicing. They said, “We were waiting for the bus.” They said that they had been waiting for the bus. Padma said to her husband, “I was watching TV”. Padma told her husband that she had been watching TV.           g) Shall, will, can, may are changed into should, would, could, might DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH I said, “I shall do the work.” I said that I should do the work. The teacher said, “Preethi will sing.” The teacher said that Preethi would sing. Mohini told me, “I can’t go to school today”. Mohini told me that she couldn’t go to school day.         RULE 2: CONVERSION OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES The sentences which are introduced by the interrogatives who, which, when, how, why etc.(WH- QUESTIONS) and the finite verb or its auxiliary is, am, are, was, were, do, did, can, may, will, shall, have, has, had etc. (YES/NO- QUESTIONS) are called the interrogative statements. In WH- QUESTIONS Ø  Change the Reporting Verb said or tell into asked, questioned, want to know or inquired. Use ‘ask’ when object of the Reported Verb is given because it is transitive verb and must have an object after it. Ø  In Interrogative sentences, If Who, what or which followed by be form (am, is, are, was, were), verb is placed at the end of the sentence. Ø  No conjunctions (If, whether, that) are used when the question is introduced by an interrogative word such as what, why, when, where, whose, which, whom, how etc. Ø  The interrogative form is changed into statement. Change the question mark to a full stop. In YES/NO- QUESTIONS Ø  Use ‘inquire, wonder or demand’ when the object is given or you do not want to mention it. Ø  Use the word if or whether, if the interrogative sentence begins with a helping verb. (Yes or No questions). Ø  If ‘do’ or ‘does’ is used as auxiliary verb, they are omitted.   a) Wh-Questions DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH I asked him, “Who is the teacher?” I asked him who the teacher was. (was is at the end) She said to me, “What is your name?” She asked me what my name was. (was is at the end) He said, ‘How’s your mother?’ He asked me how my mother was. She asked me, “What are you doing?” She asked me what I was doing. He said to me, “What do you want?” He asked me what I wanted. The teacher said, “Where did you go?” The teacher asked them where they had gone. He said to me, “How did you do this?” He asked me how I had done that. The teacher said to Krishna, “What are you doing?” The teacher asked Krishna what he was doing. She said, “Why don’t you find a job?” She asked him why he didn’t find a job. The teacher asked, “Who was making noise?” The teacher asked who had been making noise. Padma asked her teacher, “Why is the earth moving around the sun?” Padma asked her teacher why the earth is moving around the sun. (universal fact, no change in tense) She asked me, “Which book do you want to read?” She asked me which book I wanted to read. The young lady asked me, “Whom will you marry if I shall die?” The young lady asked me whom I would marry if she should die. The teacher asked her “Why were you absent yesterday?” The teacher asked her why she had been absent the previous day.     b) YES/NO- Questions DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH Shyam said to me, “Do you take any exercise?” Shyam asked me if I took any exercise. He asked me, “Do you know Hindi?” He asked me if I knew Hindi. (do is omitted) I said to him, “Was she a teacher?” I asked him if she was a teacher. He said to me, “Can you help me?” He asked me if I could help him. He said to her, “Do you like grapes?” He asked her whether she liked grapes. Anil said to an old woman, “Are you fine?” Anil asked an old woman if she was fine. She said, “Have you disclosed the secret?” She asked me if she/he had disclosed the secret. The conductor said to the passengers, “Did you take a ticket?” The conductor asked the passengers if they had taken a ticket. Rajesh said to me, “Are you listening to me?” He asked me if I was listening to him. Rani asked Raju, “Is that your cat?” Rani asked Raju if that was his cat. He said, “Have you got a computer? He wanted to know whether I had a computer. “Did they finish the project?” he wondered. He wondered if they had finished the project. He asked, "Do you want tea or coffee?" He asked whether I wanted tea or coffee. Rani asked the teacher, “may I enter the class?” Rani asked the teacher if/whether she might enter the class         RULE 3: CONVERSION OF IMPERATIVE SENTENCES Ø  The Reporting Verb said or told is changed into order, command, request, advise, beg according to the sense. Ø  Change the imperative mood to infinitive mood by placing to before the verb. Ø  In case of imperative sentences beginning with let use the Reporting Verb proposed, or suggested followed by that and should. Ø  Mind the rules for change of Pronouns. Ø  No conjunction is used. Ø  In Imperative sentences, the word ‘said’ is replaced with asked, requested, ordered, suggested, enquired followed by ‘to’.   DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH The policeman said, “Hands up!” The policeman ordered the thief to put up his hands. He said to his servant, “Post the letter at once”. He ordered his servant to post the letter at once. The headmaster said to the students, “Work hard as the examinations are near”. The headmaster advised the students to work hard as the examinations were near. Urmila said to me, “Please lend me your book”. Urmila requested me to lend her my book. I said to Ramesh, “Give up smoking”. I advised Ramesh to give up smoking. The servant said to the master, “Pardon me, Sir”. The servant begged his master to pardon him. I said to her, “Let’s go to school”. I suggested her that we should go to school. The police said to thief, “Stop here” The police ordered the thief to stop there. The teacher said to the students, “Open you book” The teacher ordered the students to open their book.   RULE 4: CONVERSION OF EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES Ø  Change it into assertive sentence and replace the sign of exclamation by full stop. Ø  Change the Reporting Verb into exclaim, wish or pray or some other verb having similar meaning and express the meaning of the speaker in your own words. Ø  Observe the rules for the change of the person of Pronouns and the Tense of the verb. Ø  Use the conjunction that to introduce Reporting Verb. Ø  Omit the words showing exclamation such as, Hurrah!, Alas!, Oh!, Bravo! Etc.   DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH She said, “What a beautiful flower”. She exclaimed that it was a beautiful flower. The boy said, “How difficult is the paper is”. The boy exclaimed that the paper was very difficult. They said, “Hurrah! We have won the match”. They cheered with joy that they had won the match. The old man said, “Alas! I am undone”. The old man exclaimed with sorrow that he was undone. The captain said, “Bravo! You have done well”. The captain applauded him saying that he had done well. He said, “how foolish of me!” He said that it was very foolish of him.   RULE 5: CONVERSION OF OPTATIVE SENTENCES DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH He said to the boy, “May god bless you.” He prayed that God might bless the boy. The girl said, “Had I the wings of a dove.” The girl wished that she had the wings of a dove. RULE 6: CONVERSION OF VOCATIVE SENTENCES DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH Teacher said, “Robin, stand up.” Teacher asked Robin to stand up. The Bishop said to the convict, “Always remember, my son, that the poor body is the temple of the living God.” The Bishop addressed the convict as his son and advised him to always remember that the poor body is the temple of the living God. RULE 7: CONVERSION OF QUESTION TAGS DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH He said to me, “You went to Kolkata, didn’t you?” He asked me whether I had gone to Kolkata and assumed that I had. I said to him, “Tina didn’t tell a lie, did she?” I asked him if Tina had told a lie and assumed that she had not.
Exercise: Convert the following sentences from Direct Speech to Indirect Speech: 1.      Ram said, “I do my work.”            2.      They said, “We are going now.” 3.      Sara said, ” I have done my work.”           4.      Rohit said, “I have been doing my work.”              5.      Ram said, “I did my work”            6.      They said, ”We have done our work”       7.      They said, “We have been doing our work.”         8.      Ram Said, ” I had been doing my work.” 9.      Sara said, “I will do my work.”     10.   They said, “We will be going out.”            11.   They said, “We will have done this work.”             12.   Ram said, “I will have been doing this work”        Answers: 1.      Ram said that he did his work. 2.      They said that they were going then. 3.      Sara said that she had done her work. 4.      Rohit said that he had been doing his work. 5.      Ram said that he had done his work. 6.      They said that they had done their work. 7.      They said that they had been doing their work. 8.      Ram said that he had been doing his work. 9.      Sara said that she would do her work. 10.   They said that they would be going out. 11.   They said that they would have done that work. 12.   Ram said that he would have been doing that work. Convert the following sentences from Direct Speech to Indirect Speech. 1. Shiva said to the employees, "My name is Shiva. I am your new manager." 2. Prasanna said to Sujita, "I am trying to solve your problem." 3. The Principal said to the teachers, "I can solve your problems." 4. The army officer said to the soldiers, "You are here to fight for your country. 5. The editor said to the reporters "You must not misuse your freedom." 6. The Scientist said to his students, "I will study your research papers." 7. The bank manager said to the customers, "We gave you a new account number." 8. The police officer said to the policemen, "I have been maintaining your records." 9. "I will not tolerate indiscipline," said the principal. 10. "I may not join politics," said the film star. 11. "Where do you work?" Ram said to Shyam. 12. "Whom did you meet yesterday?" I said to my friend. 13. "Why are you not attending the classes"? said the parents to their son. 14. "Where is my car?" said the customer to the valet. 15. "How many books can I borrow?" said the member to the librarian 16. "How much water do you supply to us?" said the residents to the water supplier 17. "How often do you go to temple?" said mother to her son. 18. "How long should I use medicines?" said the patient to the doctor. 19. "How long do you want me to support you?" said father to his sons 20. "Since when have you been working here?" said the detective to the clerk. 21. "Do you know French?" said the interviewer to the travel agent. 22 "Are you able to understand my handwriting?" said the teacher to the students. 23. "Leave your footwear outside," said the watchman to the devotees. 24. "Look at me." said the ophthalmologist to the patient. 25. "Don't jump to conclusions, verify the facts," said the CM to the journalists. 26. "Do your duty sincerely. Don't bother about un-worthy criticism," said the counselor to the employees. 27. "I am an optimist. What about you? Do you think positively?" Ram said to Shyam. 28. "I have already told you about my inability. Why do you waste your time in requesting me? Don't be too formal, please," I said to my friend. 29. "Can I use the telephone?" said the visitor. 30. "There is no point blaming others. You mind your business. Am l clear?" I said to my friends. 31. "Have you attempted all the questions?" said the teacher to the students 32. "Were there any complications during the surgery?" said the cardiologist to his juniors. 33. "Wow! What a beautiful farm house! I would like to spend my weekends here. Is anyone interested?" said the businessman. 34. "Oh No! What a boring speech!" said the students. 35. "No, I will not sponsor anyone," said the officer. 36. "Really? I just can't believe it." Said the film star. 37. "Good morning. I haven't seen you since morning. How are you?" said my colleague to me. 38. "Yes, I have passed, "said the student, "but in second class. 39. "Come on! It is impossible to convince everyone," said the counsellor. 40. "Has the businessman filed income tax returns?" said the chartered accountant 41. "Don't disturb me," said father to children. 42. "Is the food tasty?" said the chef. 43. Does my son listen to you?" said the mother to the teacher. 44. "Did you receive my letter?" said Ram to Sita. 45. “Am I causing any inconvenience to you?" said the chief guest to the other guests