RULES FOR CHANGING DIRECT NARRATION INTO INDIRECT SPEECH

CHANGE OF TENSES AND VERBS:

(a) If the verb of the repor ng tense is in the present or future, the tense the verb in the reported
speech is not changed.
1. He says, “I work hard day and night.”
He says that he works hard day and night.
2. He will say, “I do not let down my friends.”
He will say that he does not let down his friends.
3. She says, “I am true to my word.”
She says that she is true to her word.
4. He will say, “I live from hand to mouth.”
He will say that he lives from hand to mouth.
5. He says, “I solve the sums.”
He says that he solves the sums.
6. she says, “I have to wash the clothes.”
She says that she has to wash the clothes.
7. He will say, “I can speak English.”
He will say that he can speak English.
8. The boy says, “I need your help.”
The boy says that he needs our help.
9. Ahmed says, “I do not waste my me.”
Ahmed says that he does not waste his me.
10. I say to him, “I am your well-wisher.”
I say to him that I am his well-wisher.
11. Nasima says, “I like flowers.”
Nasima says that she likes flowers.
12. He says, “I received your message.”
He says that he received my message.
13. Hassan says, “I cannot deceive you.”
Hassan says that he cannot deceive her.
14. Javed will say, “I am wai ng for you.”
Javed will say that he is wai ng for them.
(b) If the verb of the repor ng speech in in the past tense the verbs of the reported speech are
changed into past tense.
Present indefinite Past indefinite
Present con nuous Past con nuous
Present perfect Past perfect
Present perfect con nuous Past perfect con nuous
Past Indefinite Past perfect
Past con nuous Past perfect con nuous
Is, am, are Was, were
Will / shall Would / should
May / can Might / could
 1. She said, “I am fond of reading.”
She said that she was fond of reading.
2. He said, “I read a book.”
He said that he read a book.
3. The boy said, “We are going to Murree.”
The boy said that they were going to Murree.
4. The servant said, “I have prepared tea.”
The servant said that he had prepared tea.
5. Ahmed said to me, “I have been wai ng for you since morning.”
Ahmed said to me that he had been wai ng for me since morning.
6. I said to him, “I helped you brother.”
I told him that I had helped his brother.
7. She said to her mother, “I shall con nue my educa on.”
She told her mother that she would con nue her educa on.
8. The teacher said to the student, “You may sit down.”
The teacher told the student that he might sit down.
9. He said, “I can solve the sum.”
He said that he could solve the sum.
10. He said, “I come home in the evening.”
He said that he came home in the evening.
11. She said, “I never waste my me.”
She said that she never wasted her me.
12. The servant said, “I have polished your shoes.”
The servant said that he had polished my shoes.
13. He said, “It has been raining since morning.”
He said that it had been raining since morning.
14. You said to me, “I am going to Lahore.”
You told me that you were going to Lahore.
15. The captain said, “We can win the match.”
The captain said that they could win the match.
16. He said to her, “I shall marry you.”
He told her that he would marry her.
17. The boy said, “I am sorry for was ng my me.”
The boy said that he was sorry for was ng his me.
18. He said, “I have done my duty.”
He said that he had done his duty.
19. He said, “Aslam, you did not complete your work.”
He told Aslam that he had not completed his work.
(c) If the reported speech expresses a universal truth, a habitual fact or a statement s ll relevant, its
tense will not change.

CHANG OF PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

(a) All the 1st person pronouns of eh reported speech will be changed according to the subject of
the repor ng speech.
 (b) All the second person pronouns of the reported speech will be changed according to the object
of the repor ng speech. If there is no object in the repor ng speech, the second persons will be
changed into 1st and 3rd persons.
(c) Generally, the pronouns of third person in the direct speech remain unchanged in the indirect
speech.
(d) When the pronoun ‘we’ in the direct speech stands for the mankind or includes the person
spoken to, it remains unchanged in the indirect speech.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

When we change direct ques ons beginning with when, why, where, when, how, into the
following changes are necessary:

(i) The repor ng verb said is changed into asked or enquired or some other verb having similar
sense.
(ii) Conjunc on “that” is not used.
(iii) The interroga ve form of the verb changes to the affirma ve form and the ques on mark (?)
is omi ed in indirect speech: as _____

EXERCISE

1. He said, “When will examina on commence?”

He asked when examina on would commence.
2. He said, “Where does she live?”
He asked where she lived.
3. He said to me, “Why is she so sad?”
He asked me why she was so sad.
4. I said to him, “How did you solve the sum?”
I asked him how he had solved the sum.
5. I said to him, “Where are you going now?”
I asked him where he was going then.
6. The stranger said to him, “Why are you misleading me?”
The stranger asked him why he was misleading him.
7. He said to me, “When will you visit me?”
He asked me when I would visit him.
8. The officer said to the candidate, “What is your qualifica on?”
The officer asked the candidate what his qualifica on was.
9. I said to him, “How far is Lahore form Islamabad?”
I asked him how far Lahore was from Islamabad.
10. The doctor said to the pa ent, “How do you feel now?”
The doctor inquired the pa ent how he felt then.
11. The poet said to the li le girl, “How many brothers and sisters are you?”
The poet asked the li le girl how many brothers and sisters they were.
12. The teacher said, “Zain, what is your aim in life?”
The teacher asked Zain what his aim was in life.
13. I said to him, “Why do you insult others?”
I asked him why he insulted others.
 14. I said to him, “Why did you open the door?”
I asked him why he opened the door.

When we change ques ons beginning with auxiliary verb into indirect speech, if or whether is used to
join the repor ng verb and the reported speech: as____

EXERCISE

1. He said, “Is he at home?”

He asked if he was at home.
2. He said to me, “Will you help me?”
He asked me if I would help him.
3. The policeman said to me, “Did you get your driving license?”
The policeman asked me whether I had got my driving license.
4. He said to the teacher, “May I go home, sir?”
He asked the teacher respec ully if he might go home.
5. He said to me, “Are you going to Murree now?”
He asked me if I was going to Murree then.
6. Ali said, “Ahmed, do you recite the Holy Qu’an in the morning.?”
Ali asked Ahmed if he recited the Holy Quran in the morning.
7. He said to the servant, “Did you prepare tea?”
He asked the servant if he prepared tea.
8. She said, “Will you take the examina on this year?”
She inquired whether he would take the examina on that year.
9. He said to Waheed, “Can you solve this sum?”
He asked Waheed if he could solve that sum.
10. I said to him, “have you completed your work?”
I asked him whether he had completed his work.
11. Zaid said to his friend, “Are you sa sfied with your job?”
Zaid inquired his friend if he was sa sfied with his job.
12. The boy said to the teacher, “May I sit down, sir”
The boy respec ully asked the teacher if he might sit down.
13. He said, “Does he help you?”
He asked if he helped her.
14. The old man said to the boy, “Can you show me the way to the mosque?”
The old man asked the boy if he could show him the way to the mosque.

IMPERATIVE SENTENCES (COMMAND, REQUEST AND ADVICE)

In indirect speech command and requests are introduced with an infini ve and the repor ng
verb is replaced with order, advise, tell, beg, ask, forbid, request, urge, warn, command, etc. according to
the sense of the sentence; as______

EXERCISE

1. I said to the peon, “Give me a glass of water.”

I ordered the peon to give me a glass of water.
 2. The mother said, “My son, speak the truth.”
The mother advised her son to speak the truth.
3. The father said to Aslam, “Do not walk bare-footed.”
The father forbade Aslam to walk bare-footed.
4. He said, “Get your shirt Zain.”
He told Zain to get his shirt.
5. I said, “Please give me your book, Aslam.”
I requested Aslam to give me his book.
6. He said, “You had be er hurry, Mohsin.”
He advised Mohsin to hurry up.
7. “Get your statement recorded,” said the judge.
The judge commanded him to get his statement recorded.
8. The old man said to the boy, “Respect your elders.”
The old man advised the boy to respect his elders.
9. The father said, “My son, do not waste your me.”
Father advised his son not to waste his me.
10. She said to the servant, “clean the room at once.”
She ordered the servant to clean the room at once.
11. “Never abuse others”, he said to his son.
He forbade his son to abuse others.
12. He said to me, “Please help me in this ma er.”
He requested me to help him in that ma er.
13. “Work hard day and night”, said the teacher to the students. “If you want to succeed.”
The teacher advised the students to work hard day and night if they wanted to succeed.
14. The teacher said to him, “Do not be proud of your discourteous behavior.”
The teacher advised him not to be proud of his discourteous behavior.
15. I said to him, “Run at once, if you want to catch the train.”
I advised him to walk three miles daily if he wanted to catch the train.
16. The doctor said, “Walk three miles daily if you want to enjoy good health.”
The doctor advised him to walk three miles daily if he wanted to enjoy good health.

EXCLAMATORY AND OPTATIVE SENTENCES:

When sentences showing joy, sorrow, wish or surprise are changed into
indirect speech, the repor ng verb ‘said’ is replaced by exclaimed, applauded, wished, prayed, cursed or
some other verb in the indirect speech and exclama on mark disappears; as_____

1. They said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”

They exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
2. She said, “Alas! I am undone.”
She exclaimed with sorrow that she was undone.
3. Alia said, “How cunning you are!”
Aalia exclaimed that she was very clever.
4. He said, “How dreadful a dream!”
He exclaimed that it was very dreadful dream.
5. The commander said, “Bravo! You have done well.”
 The commander applauded them saying that they had done well.
6. I said, “May you get be er soon!”
I prayed that he might get be er soon.
7. He said to me, “Good luck!”
He wished me good luck.
8. I said to him, “Happy Eid.”
I wished him a happy Eid.
9. He said, “curse this heavy rain!”
He cursed the heavy rain.
10. “Hurrah! I have won the first prize.” Said the boy.
The boy exclaimed with joy that he had won the first prize.
11. He said to his son, “How lucky you are to stand first in the class!”
He exclaimed joyfully to his son that he was very lucky to stand first in the class.
12. He said, “How stupid you are!”
He exclaimed with wonder that they were very stupid.
13. The captain said, “Alas! We have lost the game.”
The captain exclaimed with sorrow that they had lost the game.
14. The boy said, “How long the train is, mother!”
The boy exclaimed wonderfully to his mother that the train was very long.
15. She said, “Alas! I have lost my purse.”
She exclaimed with sorrow that she had lost the purse.
16. The tourist said, “What a lovely scene of nature.”
The tourist exclaimed with wonder that it was a lovely scene of nature.
17. The child said, “How interes ng the story is!”
The child exclaimed with surprise that the story was very interes ng.
18. He said, “Alas! I have wasted my me.”
He exclaimed with sorrow that he had wasted his me.
19. “What a great fellow you are!” said he to the stranger.
He exclaimed with praise to the stranger that he was a great fellow.
20.

CHANGE OF SUGGESTIONS AND PROPOSALS INTO INDIRECT SPEECH

Let’s usually expressed a sugges on and proposal. In repor ng sugges on

and proposal, the indirect speech is introduced by suggest or propose:

1. He said, “Let’s go out for a walk”

He suggested going out for a walk. Or He suggested that they should go out for a walk.
2. I said to my friends, “Let’s plant the saplings.”
I proposed to my friends that we should plant the saplings.
3. He said, “Let’s not oppose him if he speaks the truth.”
He suggested not to oppose him if he spoke the truth.
He suggested that they should not oppose him if he spoke the truth.

CHANGE OF DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES:

 The works showing nearness in me and place are changed into words
showing distance; as_____

Now Then Yesterday The previous day

Here There Last night The previous night
It/this That Tomorrow The next day
These Those Thus So
Today That day Ago Before
The next day The following day

EXAMPLES

1. He said, “I am going to study now.”

He said that he was going to study then.
2. Yousaf said, “I shall be here again tomorrow.”
Yousaf said that he would be there again the next day.
3. She said, “I placed my books here yesterday.”
She said that she had placed her books there the previous day.
4. He said, “I am busy today.”
He said that he was busy that day.
5. The boy said, “My father died a year ago.”
The boy said that his father had died a year before.