Direct speech Vs. Indirect speech (step by step)

Direct speech Vs. Indirect speech

step by step

Reported Speech - Statement - Rules

Whatever may be the tense of the Reporting Sentence, if the Reported Sentence tells a universal fact, no change is made in the tense of the Reported Sentence.

Example No. 1:
Direct Speech:
The mother is saying to the child, “The third day of the week is Tuesday.”.
Step 1: The Reported Sentence is: “The third ... .... Tuesday.”
Step 2: It is a Statement and a universal fact.
Step 3: So, the conjunction word is -- “that”.
Step 4: ‘is saying to’ changes into ‘is telling’.
Step 5: No change of pronoun.
Step 6: It is a universal fact. So, no change of tense is necessary.
Step 7: No change of extension.

Now, the Indirect Speech is:
The mother is telling the child that the third day of the week is Tuesday.

Example No. 2:
Direct Speech:
The History teacher says, “Megellan was the first navigator to come around the world.”.
Step 1: The Reported Sentence is: “Megellan ... .... world.”
Step 2: It is a statement.
Step 3: The conjunction word is -- “that”.
Step 4: ‘Says’ does not change. Use it as it is.
Step 5: There are no pronoun to get changed.
Step 6: No change of tense is made.
Step 7: No extensive word to get changed.

Now, the Indirect Speech is:
The History teacher says that Megellan was the first navigator to come around the world.

The following models have been answered for you:

1. The teacher has said to the pupils, “Sea-water is different from the river water.”.
The teacher has told the pupils that sea-water is different from river water.

2. David answered, “The Mines are under the ground”.
David answered that the Mines are under the ground.

3. John said to his brother, “The U.N.O. is a world organisation”.
John told his brother that the U.N.O. is a world organisaiton.

4. The Science teacher told the class, “Ice floats on water.”.
The Science teacher told the class that ice floats on water. 

Here, we do not consider the changes under all the rules separately. We will consider them under two divisions.
You know the two types of Interrogative Sentences:

·         Inverted questions requiring ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers -- 1st type.

·         Questions that begin with interrogative words -- 2nd type

At first we shall deal with the First type:

Take an Example No. 1:

Direct Speech: The boy said to the fruit-seller, “Are all these mangoes sweet?”
Step 1: Identify the Reported Sentence.
Step 2: Know what kind of sentence the Reported Sentence is.
Step 3: Look for the correct Conjunction.
(The Conjunction of the First type is “If or Whether”)
Step 4: Change of ‘said to’ -- Since it is an interrogative sentence ‘said to ’ changes into ‘asked’.
Step 5: Look for the change of pronouns.
Step 6: Look for the change of tenses.
The Reported Sentence is in past tense. The Reported Sentences is in present tense. So, the Reported Sentence should be changed into past tense, corresponding to the tense, of the Reporting Sentence.
The verb is ‘are’ -- Its past tense is ‘were’.
Step 7: Look for the change of extension words.
‘These’ changes into ‘those’.

The Indirect Speech is:
The boy asked the fruit-seller if all those mangoes were sweet. 

Example No 2:

Direct Speech : The grandfather said to his grandsons, “Did you not like my story yesterday?”
Step 1: The Reported Sentence is: “Did you ... day?”
Step 2: It is an Interrogative Sentences. It is of the First type.
Step 3: So its conjunction word is: If or Whether.
Step 4: So ‘said to’ changes into ‘asked’.
Step 5: Look for the pronouns.
(i) The first one is: ‘You’ (subject)
‘You’ -- refers to grandsons. They are in the third person plural number.
So the third person of ‘You’ (subject, plural)
It is -- ‘they’. ‘You’ changes into ‘they’.
‘You’ -- grandsons.
‘You’ -- they.
(ii) The next on is ‘My’.
‘My’ -- refers to ‘the grandfather’ -- in the third person.
So, take the third person of ‘My’ - -It is ‘His’.
‘My’ changes into ‘His’.
Step 6: Look for the change of tenses.
Step 7: Extensive word ‘Yesterday’ changes into ‘the day before’. Now, the Indirect Speech is-

The grandfather asked his grandsons if they had not liked his story the day before. 

Direct speech Vs. Indirect speech (Assertive sentences)

Direct speech Vs. Indirect speech

Assertive sentences:

Statement (or) Assertive Sentence
Rules :

·         Remove the quotation marks in the statement

·         Use the conjunction ‘that’

·         Change the reporting verb ‘say to’ into ‘tell’

·         Change the reporting verb ‘said to’ into ‘told’

Note :

·         He said that (correct)

·         He told me that (correct)

·         He told that (Incorrect)

When the reporting verb is in the present or future tense there is no change in the tense of the reported clause:

Direct Speech	Simi says, “I like kids”.
Indirect Speech	Simi says that she likes kids.

When the reporting verb is in the past tense the verb of the reported clause is changed into the corresponding past tense:

Direct Speech	Ramsy said, “I have a habit of reading before I go to bed”.
Indirect Speech	Ramsy said that she had a habit of reading before she went to bed.
Direct Speech	Gagan said, “I have written a novel”.
Indirect Speech	Gagan said that he had written a novel.

Present Progressive used as a future form becomes would be + present participle, not Past Progressive:

Direct Speech	She said, “I am seeing the dentist next week”.
Indirect Speech	She said that she would be seeing the dentist the following week.

 Simple Past / past Progressive in adverb clauses of time do not usually change into the corresponding past tense:

Direct Speech	She said, “When I lived / was living in a village I faced a lot of hardships”.
Indirect Speech	She said that when she lived / was living in a village she faced a lot of hardships. (Don’t use had lived / had been living)

Unreal past tense (subjunctive mood) after wish / it is time remains unchanged:

Direct Speech	She said, “I wish I were an angel.”
Indirect Speech	She said that she wished she were an angel. (Don’t use had been)

Would rather / would sooner / had better remains unchanged:

Direct Speech	He said, “I would rather starve than beg.”
Indirect Speech	He said that he would rather starve than beg.

Verbs used in clauses expressing improbable or impossible condition remain unchanged:

Direct Speech	He said, “If won the election I would become a minister.”
Indirect Speech	He said that if he won the election he would become a minister.

When the direct speech expresses universal truth (fundamental truths of science) saying / proverbs / habitual action, the tense does not change:

Direct Speech	He said, “Habit is a second nature.”
Indirect Speech	He said that habit is a second nature.

A noun / pronoun in the vocative case is made the object of a reporting verb should be left out:

Likewise a comment clause (parenthesis) is left out

you see, as you know, to tell you frankly etc.

Words of expressions used just to introduce a sentence are left out:

Well, very well, now, so etc.

Likewise a comment clause (parenthesis) is left out

The teacher asked the children to listen to him. (now left out)

A statement employing all the techniques:

Well, very well, now, so etc.

Likewise a comment clause (parenthesis) is left out

Sentence with the same concept should be joined with ‘and’ but when there is a contract use ‘but’

Direct Speech	My neighbour said, “My guests arrived last evening. They are staying with us today. They will be leaving early tomorrow morning.”
Indirect Speech	My neighbour told me that her guests had arrived the previous evening and they were staying with them that day but they would be leaving early the following morning.