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What is Direct & Indirect Speech?
Direct speech – reporting the message of the
speaker in the exact words as spoken by him.
Direct speech example: Maya said ‘I am busy now’.
Indirect speech:
reporting the message of the speaker in our own words
Indirect speech example:
Maya said that she was busy then.
Direct to indirect speech example:
Direct: She said, ‘I am happy’.
Indirect: She said (that) she was happy.
In indirect speech, tenses do not change if the
words used within the quotes (‘’) talk of a habitual
action or universal truth.
Direct: He said, ‘We cannot live without air’.
Indirect: He said that we cannot live without air.
The tenses of direct speech do not change if the
reporting verb is in the future tense or present tense.
Direct: She says/will say, ‘I am going’
Indirect: She says/will say she is going.
Direct: “I have been to Boston”, she told me.
Indirect: She told me that she had been to Boston.
Direct: “I am playing the guitar”, she explained.
Indirect: She explained that she was playing the guitar.
Direct: He said, “She has finished her homework“.
Indirect: He said that she had finished her homework.
Simple Present Changes to Simple Past
Direct: “I am unwell”, she said.
Indirect: She said that she was unwell.
Direct: She said, “Irvin arrived on Sunday.”
Indirect: She said that Irvin had arrived on Sunday.
Direct to indirect speech example
Direct: “We were playing basketball”, they told me.
Indirect: They told me that they had been playing basketball.
Direct: She said, “I will be in Scotland tomorrow.”
Indirect: She said that she would be in Scotland the next day.
Direct: He said, “I’ll be disposing of the old computer
next Tuesday.”
Indirect: He said that he would be disposing of the old
computer the following Tuesday.
Direct: “Where do you live?” asked the boy.
Indirect: The boy enquired where I lived.
Direct: She said, ‘Will you come for the party’?
Indirect: She asked whether we would come for the party.
Direct: He said to me, ‘What are you wearing’?
Indirect: He asked me what I was wearing.
While changing direct speech to indirect speech,
the modals used in the sentences change like:
Can becomes could
Check the examples:
Direct : She said, ‘She can dance’.
Indirect: She said that she could dance.
Direct: She said, ‘I may buy a dress’.
Indirect: She said that she might buy a dress.
Direct: Rama said, ‘I must complete the assignment’.
Indirect: Rama said that he had to complete the assignment.
There are modals that do not change –
Could, Would, Should, Might, Ought to
Direct: She said, ‘I should clean the house’
Indirect: She said that she should clean the house.
Direct speech to indirect speech examples-
Direct: He said, “I am in class Twelfth.”
Indirect: He says that he was in class Twelfth.
The second person of direct speech changes as
per the object of reporting speech.
Direct speech to indirect speech examples –
Direct: She says to them, “You have done your work.”
Indirect: She tells them that they have done their work.
The third person of direct speech doesn’t change.
Direct: He says, “She dances well.”
Indirect: He says that she dances well.
Direct: She said to her ‘Please complete it’.
Indirect: She requested her to complete it.
Direct: Hamid said to Ramid, ‘Sit down’.
Indirect: Hamid ordered Ramid to sit down.
In Exclamatory sentences that express grief,
sorrow, happiness, applaud, Interjections are
removed and the sentence is changed to an
assertive sentence.
Direct: She said, ‘Alas! I am undone’.
Indirect: She exclaimed sadly that she was broke.
Example: She said, “I am the best.”
Full stop, comma, exclamation or question mark,
are placed inside the closing inverted commas.
Example: They asked, “Can we sing with you?”
If direct speech comes after the information
about who is speaking, a comma is used to
introduce the speech, placed before the first inverted comma.
Direct speech example: He shouted, “Shut up!”
Direct speech example: “Thinking back,” he said,
“she didn’t expect to win.” (Comma is used to separate
the two direct speeches and no capital letter to begin
the second sentence).
Examples:
Direct: He said, ‘His girlfriend came yesterday.’
Indirect: He said that his girlfriend had come the day before.
The time expression does not change
if the reporting verb is in the present tense or future tense.
Direct: He says/will say, ‘My girlfriend came yesterday.’
Indirect: He says/will say that his girlfriend had come
the day before.
The following rules should be followed while
converting an indirect speech to direct speech:
Use the reporting verb such as (say, said to) in its correct
tense.
Put a comma before the statement and the first letter
of the statement should be in capital letter.
Insert question mark, quotation marks, exclamation mark
and full stop, based on the mood of the sentence.
Remove the conjunctions like (that, to, if or whether)
wherever necessary.
Where the reporting verb is in past tense in indirect,
change it to present tense in the direct speech.
Change the past perfect tense either into present perfect
tense or past tense, as necessary.
Indirect: She asked whether she was coming to the prom night.
Direct: She said to her, “Are you coming to the prom night?”
Indirect: The girl said that she was happy with her result.
Direct: The girl said. “I am happy with my result.”
Q.1. Find out the correct indirect speech for the given sentence.
She said,’ I have baked a cake’
She said that she baked a cake
She said that she had baked a cake.
She said that I baked a cake.
She said that she had bake a cake.
Answer (2) She said that she had baked a cake.
Q.2. Choose the correct sentence.
Aviral said, ‘What a beautiful rainbow it is’.
Aviral exclaimed wonderfully that the scenery was very beautil.
Aviral said with wonder that the scenery was very beautiful.
Aviral exclaimed with wonder that the scenery is very beautiful.
Aviral exclaimed with wonder that the scenery was very beautiful.
Answer (4) Aviral exclaimed with wonder that the scenery
was very beautiful.
Q.3. The correct indirect speech for ‘This world’, she said,
‘is full of sorrow. Wish that I were dead’. is?
She observed that the world is full of sorrow. She wished to
be dead.
She said that the world was full of sorrow. She wished to
She observed that the world was full of sorrow.
She wished to be dead.
She wished to die.
Answer (1) She observed that the world is full of sorrow.
She wished to be dead
Q.4. The policeman said, ‘Where are the weapons?’
The policeman inquired where was the weapons.
The policeman inquired where are the weapons.
The policeman inquired where were the weapons.
The policeman questioned where were the weapon.
Answer (3) The policeman inquired where were the weapons.
Q.5. The man said, ‘Ah! I am ruined.’
The man cried that he was in ruined.
The man exclaimed in grief that he was ruin.
The man said that Ah, he is ruined.
The man exclaimed with sorrow that he was ruined.
Answer (4) The man exclaimed with sorrow that he was ruined.
3-Middle School Education
4--High schools Education.
6-UK Education System
7-Egyptian Education System.
8-Classroom Language Journal.
9-Creating a storytelling Classroom.
10- Twenty Testing mistakes to avoid.
11-Referencing
12-Blogs and Ning
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