MANAV RACHNA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

SECTOR-51, NOIDA
SESSION: 2024-25
SUBJECT: ENGLISH
GRADE: VI

FOCUS: REPORTED SPEECH

NAME: ____________________________ DATE: _____________________

DIRECT SPEECH
Direct speech is when the words are written in exactly the way that the speaker said them. So in
other words they are quoted with no change. The exact words of the speaker are enclosed in
inverted commas or quotation marks. There is always a comma after the reporting verb (said).
The first word of the reported speech begins with a capital letter.
E.g. Rohit said, “Richa is glad to be here.”
The verb introducing the actual words of the speaker is called the ‘Reporting Verb’ or the
‘Introducing verb.’ It indicates who speaks to whom, when and how.
Words like said, told, asked, inquired etc. are usually used as reporting verbs.

INDIRECT SPEECH
In indirect Speech, the actual words of the speaker are changed. The reason for change is that the
actual words have been spoken by the speaker in past, hence narrating it in the present requires a
change of tense. The pronouns used in the sentence are also changed accordingly.
The reporting word like said is not followed by a comma but a suitable connector that.
The reported or indirect speech is not placed within inverted commas. The words and expressions of
time and place also change.
E.g. Rohit said that Richa was glad to be there.

Rules to Convert Direct Speech into Indirect Speech

1. Remove the inverted commas.
2. Remove the comma separating the reporting verb from the direct speech and add that.
3. Identify the tense of the Reporting verb.
4. If the reporting verb is in the Present or Future Tense, the tense of the verb in the Direct
Speech does not change.
5. If the reporting verb is in the Past Tense, the tense of the verb in the Direct Speech changes.
- She says, “I have done my homework.”
- She says that she has done her homework. (NO TENSE CHANGE)
- She said, “I am writing the notes.”
- She said that she was writing the notes. (TENSE CHANGED)
6. Change in Tense
In the sentences with reporting verb in past tense, the verb of the sentence within the inverted
commas, gets changed into their corresponding past equivalents. (for e.g. sentence in simple present
will change to simple past)
 Simple Present to Simple Past
o He said, “He is not well.”
He said that he was not well.
o I said, “I do not like cold drinks.”
I said that I did not like cold drinks.
 Present Continuous to Past Continuous
o He said, “They are celebrating the festival”
He said that they were celebrating the festival.

 Present Perfect to Past Perfect

o Rama said to Hamid, “I have visited your house.”
Rama told Hamid that she had visited his house. (Note the change of pronoun)
 Present Perfect Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous
o He said, “I have been waiting for two hours.”
He said that he had been waiting for two hours.
 Simple Past to Past Perfect
o Kritika said, “I was (be) busy.”
Kritika said that she had been busy.
o Amit said, “I did not attend the workshop.”
Amit said that he had not attended the workshop.
 Past Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous
o I said, “My granny was helping me bake the cake.”
I said that my granny had been helping me bake the cake.
 Past Perfect to Past Perfect (NO CHANGE IN TENSE)
o He said, “They had celebrated the festival”
He said that they had celebrated the festival.

 Past Perfect Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous (NO CHANGE IN TENSE)

o I said, “My granny had been helping me bake the cake.”
I said that my granny had been helping me bake the cake.

EXCEPTIONS
a) The Simple Present Tense stating a ‘universal truth/ proverbs/ habits’ does not change in the
reported speech.
o The teacher said, “The sun rises in the east.”
The teacher said that the sun rises in the east.
b) The Simple Past tense stating a past historical event remains unchanged in the reported speech.
o The teacher said, “India became free in 1947.”
The teacher said that India became free in 1947.
c) The reporting verb ‘said’ is changed to ‘told’ if it is followed by an object (person’s name or a
pronoun).
o Rama said to Hamid, “I have visited your house.”
Rama told Hamid that she had visited his house.
7. Change in Personal Pronouns
 The pronouns of the first person (I, my, me, mine, we, our, us, ours) change into the
person and gender of the subject of the Reporting verb.
o The boy said, “I am going abroad to study.”
The boy said that he was going abroad to study.
 The pronouns of the second person (you, your, yours) change into the person and gender of
the object of the Reporting Verb.
o I said to her, “You can borrow the books from the library.”
I told her that she could borrow the books from the library.
 The pronoun ‘you’ may also be changed to ‘I’ when the person being talked to is not named
in the direct statement.
o He said, “You have not rehearsed your dialogues properly.”
He said that I had not rehearsed my dialogues properly.
 The pronouns of the third person do not change.
o I said to him, “She is looking gorgeous.”
I told him that she was looking gorgeous.
8. Change in Words and Expressions of Time and Place
Words and expressions showing nearness in time and place in the Direct Speech are changed into
words or expressions showing distance.
Teacher said, “You must submit the work by tomorrow.”
Teacher said that we had to submit the work by the next day.

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

Now/just Then
Tomorrow The next day/ the following day
Last night The previous night/ the night before
Later After
Today/tonight That day/ that night
Yesterday The previous day/ the day before
Thus So
Ago Before
Must Had to
Can/may Could/might

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
 In indirect speech, the question sentences are expressed in assertive form instead of
interrogative form.
 Question mark is not used in the indirect speech of interrogative sentence.
  The reporting verb say is changed into words like ‘ask/enquire’ etc.
 All the tense, pronouns and time and place expressions rules remain the same.
 In a direct ‘yes/no’ question, the reporting verb is changed into ask/enquire and if/whether is
added.
She said, “Can I use the telephone?”
She asked whether she could use the telephone.
 For questions beginning with wh- words: who, what, where, when and why etc., the subject
is placed before the verb.
 ‘If or whether’ is NOT used in these cases.
What did you do yesterday?” she asked.
She asked what I had done the previous day.
Remember NOT to use the conjunction THAT to introduce a question in the indirect speech.