Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct and indirect speech are essential tools in English grammar for reporting or conveying what someone said, either by quoting their exact words or by paraphrasing. Here is a comprehensive, detailed explanation with rules, examples, and exercises to ensure clarity for learners and educators.

What is Direct Speech?

Direct speech repeats the exact words spoken by a speaker. These words are always enclosed within quotation marks.

• Example: “I am going to the market,” Rohan said.
• The statement uses quotation marks and the original tense, pronouns, and word order.

What is Indirect Speech (Reported Speech)?

Indirect speech conveys the meaning of the original statement but paraphrases it, changing some grammatical features such as tense, pronouns, time, and place words. Quotation marks are not used.

• Example: Rohan said that he was going to the market.
• The sentence omits quotation marks and modifies the original words according to context.

Rules for Conversion: Direct to Indirect Speech

1. Verb Tense Shift
   • Present Simple → Past Simple
   • Present Continuous → Past Continuous
   • Present Perfect → Past Perfect
   • Exceptions: Universal truths and when the reporting verb is in present/future tense, the tense may remain unchanged.
2. Pronoun Change
   • Pronouns change according to the subject and object of the reporting verb.
   • I → he/she; my → his/her; you → I/he/she (as context demands)
3. Time and Place Word Change
   • now → then
   • today → that day
   • here → there
   • tomorrow → the next day
   • yesterday → the day before
4. Quotation Marks
   • Direct speech uses them; indirect speech does not.
5. Reporting Verbs
   • Common: said, told, asked, exclaimed, requested, ordered etc.
   • Change verb as needed for questions, commands or exclamations.
6. Modals
   • can → could
   • may → might
   • must → had to/would have to
   • Modals could, would, should, ought to, might generally do not change.

Conversion Examples

Pronoun and Time/Place Words Changes

Special Cases: Questions

• For questions, the reporting verb changes to ask, inquire, or want to know.
• Structure becomes statement-like (subject precedes verb) and punctuation changes.
• Direct: He asked, “Where do you live?”
• Indirect: He asked where I lived.

Special Cases: Requests, Commands, Exclamations

• Requests: Use verbs like requested, begged, advised.
• Commands: Use verbs like ordered, told, directed.
• Exclamation: Change interjections to adverbs showing feelings, such as exclaimed sadly, exclaimed joyfully.

Requests:

• Direct: She said to her, “Please remove it.”
• Indirect: She requested her to remove it.

Commands:

• Direct: Hari said to Ram, “Sit down.”
• Indirect: Hari ordered Ram to sit down.

Exclamations:

• Direct: She said, “Alas! I am undone.”
• Indirect: She exclaimed sadly that she was undone.

Punctuation in Direct Speech

• All punctuation marks — comma, period, exclamation, or question mark — are placed inside the quotation marks.
• The quotation sentence starts with a capital letter.

Exercises for Practice

Change these direct sentences to indirect:

1. She said, “I am going out.”
   • She said that she was going out.
2. The teacher said to Shelly, “Why are you laughing?”
   • The teacher asked Shelly why she was laughing.
3. Rahul told me, “When are you leaving?”
   • Rahul asked me when I was leaving.

Change these indirect sentences to direct:

1. They said that they had been there at the party.
   • They said, “We were there in the party.”
2. He said that he would do the work.
   • He said, “I will do the work.”
3. Mr Richav requested me to wait there till he returned.
   • Mr Richav said, “Please wait here till I return.”

Rules for changing tense in reported speech

When the reporting verb (“said,” “told,” etc.) is in the past tense, the verb in the reported clause usually moves one tense back (“backshifting”).

Tense Change Chart

Examples of direct vs indirect speech with reporting verbs

1. Statements (Reporting Verb: said, told)

• Direct: He said, “I am tired.”
• Indirect: He said that he was tired.
• Direct: She said to me, “I love chocolate.”
• Indirect: She told me that she loved chocolate.

2. Questions (Reporting Verb: asked, inquired, wanted to know)

• Direct: The teacher asked, “Do you understand the lesson?”
• Indirect: The teacher asked if I understood the lesson.
• Direct: He said to her, “Where are you going?”
• Indirect: He asked her where she was going.

3. Requests (Reporting Verb: requested, begged, urged)

• Direct: She said to him, “Please open the window.”
• Indirect: She requested him to open the window.
• Direct: He said to me, “Please wait here.”
• Indirect: He requested me to wait there.

4. Commands and Orders (Reporting Verb: ordered, told, instructed)

• Direct: The officer said, “Stand up.”
• Indirect: The officer ordered to stand up.
• Direct: The mother said to the child, “Clean your room.”
• Indirect: The mother told the child to clean his room.

5. Suggestions (Reporting Verb: suggested)

• Direct: She said, “Let’s go for a walk.”
• Indirect: She suggested that we should go for a walk.

6. Exclamations (Reporting Verb: exclaimed, exclaimed with joy/sorrow/surprise)

• Direct: He said, “Wow! What a beautiful view!”
• Indirect: He exclaimed that it was a beautiful view.
• Direct: She said, “Alas! I failed the exam.”
• Indirect: She exclaimed with sorrow that she had failed the exam

Reporting Verbs and Their Common Usage

How to convert questions into indirect speech

To convert questions from direct to indirect speech, follow these detailed rules and examples:

General Steps

1. Remove quotation marks and the comma from direct speech.
2. Change the reporting verb to a suitable verb (commonly “asked,” “inquired,” or “wanted to know”).
3. Use a conjunction (“if” or “whether” for yes/no questions; use the question word for WH-questions).
4. Change the sentence structure from interrogative to statement (subject before verb).
5. Change pronouns, tenses, and time/place words as needed.
6. Do not use a question mark in indirect speech.

Types of Questions

1. Yes/No Questions

• Use “if” or “whether” as the connecting word.
• Example:
  • Direct: He said, “Are you coming?”
  • Indirect: He asked if I was coming.

2. WH-Questions (what, where, why, how, when, etc.)

• Keep the question word as the connector.
• Example:
  • Direct: She said, “Where are you going?”
  • Indirect: She asked where I was going.

Key Conversion Rules

• Do not use “that” to introduce the reported question.
• The sentence becomes assertive (a statement), not interrogative.
• Change the tense and pronouns as required by the context.
• Use a reporting verb appropriate for a question (usually “asked” or “inquired”).

Examples

Yes/No Question

• Direct: He said to me, “Do you like mangoes?”
• Indirect: He asked me if I liked mangoes.

WH-Question

• Direct: The teacher said, “Why are you late?”
• Indirect: The teacher asked why I was late.

With Modals

• Direct: She said, “Can you help me?”
• Indirect: She asked if I could help her.