Narrations

Introduction to Narrations
• David said, "I'm baking a chocolate cake for you."

• Reported speech

• David said that he was baking a chocolate cake for me.

If we consider these two sentences, we might notice that both of them convey the same message but there is
difference if we look closely.

• In the first sentence I am conveying the activities of David in his own words without changing it. This is
called direct speech.

• In the second sentence, I am using my own words to convey the activities of the speaker to the
audience. In this way, we can say indirect speech.

"Narration" is the way of reporting someone's words. It can be expressed in two ways:
(a) Direct speech
(b) Indirect speech

In both types of narration, we use two types of speeches:

i. Reporting speech tells who is speaking
ii. Reported speech tells the actual message or words spoken
Example:
• D-speech: She said, "I am happy".
Reporting speech = She said | Reported speech = I am happy

• ID-speech: She said that she was happy.

Reporting speech = She said | Reported speech = that she was happy

Changes from Direct to Indirect Speech

The following things are changed in the reported speech while changing from direct to indirect form:

• Tense change

• Pronoun change

• Adverb change

Condition for Tense Change

i. Reported speech changes its tense when:

• Reporting verbs are past like said, told, asked, inquired etc.

ii. Reported speech does not change its tense when:

• Reporting verb is present like says, tells, asks, etc.

• Reporting verb is future like will say.

iii. Exception: Even if reporting verb is past, tense does not change only in case of:

• Universal truth

o He said, "The sun rises in the East".

o He said that the sun rises in the East.

• Still true situation

o She said, "I live in Lahore"

o She said that she lives in Lahore.

• Fixed facts / Scientific facts

Pronoun Change Formula

Use the following SON formula for changing pronouns

S O N
When 1 person subject in
st
When 2 person subject in
nd
When 3 person subject in
rd

reported speech reported speech reported speech

Change according to subject (s) in Change according to object (o) in No change (n)
reporting speech reporting speech

Changes in Reported Speech According to All Tenses

Direct Speech Indirect Speech
Present Simple Past Simple
She always wears a coat. He said (that) she wore a coat.
Present Continuous Past Continuous
I'm looking for my keys. She said (that) she was looking for her keys.
Present Perfect Past Perfect
She has written three letters for her friend. He said (that) she had written three letters for her
friend.
Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
I have been waiting for my mother since this morning. The boy said (that) he had been waiting for his mother
since that morning.
Past Simple Past Perfect
My friend gave me a bar of chocolate. He said (that) his friend had given him a bar of
chocolate.
Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
Marlow was leaving Belgium. Jenny said (that) Marlow had been leaving Belgium.
WILL WOULD
I will finish my report in two days. He said (that) he would finish his report in two days.
CAN COULD
I can speak English. She said (that) she could speak English.
MAY MIGHT
I may invite them to dinner. She said (that) she might invite them to the dinner.
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 Direct Speech Indirect Speech
MUST HAD TO
I must go to the bank and get some money. She said (that) she had to go to the bank and get some
money.
HAVE TO HAD TO
I have to submit this assignment by 3 pm tomorrow. She said (that) she had to submit this assignment by 3
pm tomorrow.

Time and Place in Reported Speech

DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
"The children are playing He said that the children
Now Then
outside now." were playing outside then.
I've got a piano lesson She said that she had got
Today That day
today. a piano lesson that day.
He told us to put the box
Here There "Put the box here."
there.
"I shall be very busy this She said she would be
This That
week." very busy that week.
She said that she would
The following day/ the next "I will leave for New York
Tomorrow leave for New York the
day/the day after tomorrow."
next day.
She said that she had an
The following week/the "I have an appointment
Next week appointment the following
next week/the week after next week."
week.
They said their English
The previous day/The day "Our English teacher
Yesterday teacher had quizzed them
before quizzed us yesterday."
the day before.
They told us that he had
The previous week/The "We had an awful
Last week had an awful earthquake
week before earthquake last week."
the week before.
"The letter came a few He said the letter had
Ago Previously/Before
days ago." come a few days before.
He said that he was going
"I'm going for a beer with
Tonight That night for a beer with Karl that
Karl tonight."
night.

Rules of Narration
There are some major rules to change speeches from direct to indirect. We need to consider the tense,
pronoun, and words that describe time, place, distance, types of sentences, etc.

1. Pronoun
In indirect speech, the pronoun changes according to the speaker whether s/he is referring himself/herself or a
third person.

Examples:
• Direct: George said, "I cannot be with you."
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 • Indirect: George said that he could not be with me.

• Direct: I said, "Leave me."

• Indirect: I ordered myself to leave me alone. (Note: in this sentence the speaker is the same, so there is
no change in the indirect speech.)

• Direct: They said, "We will be partying tonight."

• Indirect: They said that they would be partying that night.

• Direct: I told George, "You should stay."

• Indirect: I told George that he should stay.

• Direct: She asked, "How are you doing today?"

• Indirect: She asked me how I was doing that day.

• Direct: Robert said, "Can you pull me up?"

• Indirect: Robert asked if I could pull him up.

2. Types of Sentences

(a) Reporting Interrogative Sentences

Interrogation means question. There are two types of questions.

i. Confirmative Questions (Yes/No Questions)

• Start with helping verbs (H.V)

• Answers in yes/no

• If there is a yes-no (confirmative) question in the direct speech, then the reported speech will start with
whether/if and the reported clause form will be (subject + verb).

• For converting confirmative (yes-no) questions, the reporting verb will change to 'asked' followed by
'whether/if', so the format of reporting will be (asked + whether/if).

• Also, the reported speech will change to the format (subject + verb).

Examples:

• Direct: Peter said, "Are you from Australia?"

• Indirect: Peter asked if I was from Australia.

• Direct: Tom asked, "Do you want to sit here?"

• Indirect: Tom asked whether I wanted to sit there.

Note: Use "if" instead of "whether" because of spelling mistake risks.

ii. Interrogative Questions (Wh- Questions)

• Start with 'wh' words

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 • Answers in detail

• In indirect speech questions starting with who, whom, when, how, where and what, would be the
subject or the object of the reported clause.

• For converting 'wh' questions, the reporting verb will change to asked/inquired, and the reported
speech will change to the format ('wh word' + noun/pronoun).

Examples:

• Direct: Brad said, "Who will come with me?"

• Indirect: Brad asked who would go with him.

• Direct: Tina said, "What will be the charges?"

• Indirect: Tina inquired what the charges would be.

• Direct: I said to the man, "Where is the hotel?"

• Indirect: I asked the man where the hotel was.

(b) Reporting Statement Sentences

In a statement speech, we will use 'that' before the reported statement and the reporting verb will be 'told'
(followed by an object) or said (will not be followed by an object).

Examples:
• Direct: Edward said, "I like the book."

• Indirect: Edward said that he liked the book.

• Direct: Alice said, "I want you to sing."

• Indirect: Alice told me to sing.

Declarative sentences containing complement instead of action:

• DS → He said, "I am happy."

• ID → He said that he was happy.

• DS → She said, "I was told to come over here."

• ID → She said that he had been told to come over there.

• DS → She said, "She was hired."

• ID → She said that she had been hired.

Change:
DS → ID
am/is → was
are → were
was/were → had been

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(c) Reporting Imperative Sentences
We will use 'to' as a joining clause before the reported command or request, and the reported verb will be
changed according to the moods of the sentence (e.g., ordered, requested, urged, advised, forbade or begged)
past.

Examples:
• Direct: The man said, "Please bring me a chair."

• Indirect: The man requested to bring him a chair.

• Direct: The officer said, "Fall back!"

• Indirect: The officer ordered to fall back.

• Direct: Mother said, "Listen to your elders."

• Indirect: Mother advised me to listen to my elders.

• Direct: Mr. Murphy said, "Do not go near the house."

• Indirect: Mr. Murphy forbade going near the house.

(d) Reporting Exclamatory Sentences

To change direct exclamatory speeches to the indirect one we need to replace the exclamation (hurrah, wow,
alas, oh, etc.) with joining clause 'that' and the exclamatory wh-words (what, how) will be replaced by 'very'
before the adjective in the reported clause.

Examples:
• Direct: Clare said, "Hurrah! Barcelona won the match!"

• Indirect: Clare exclaimed with joy that Barcelona had won the match.

• Direct: I said, "Alas! My pet died."

• Indirect: I exclaimed with grief that my pet had died.

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3. Tense Change
Usually, the present changes to past tense while we change direct speech to indirect speech.

(a) Simple Present Tense to Simple Past Tense

Examples:
• Direct: She said, "I work in the New York Times."

• Indirect: She said that she worked in the New York Times.

• Direct: Jim said, "Bill loves to drink Wine."

• Indirect: Jim said that Bill loved to drink Wine.

Exceptions:

If the content is still true or happening then we do not need to change the tense in the reported speech. Like:

• Direct: She said, "I live in Paris."

• Indirect: She said that she lives in Paris.

(b) Present Continuous to Past Continuous Tense

Examples:
• Direct: Mother said, "Bob is taking a nap."

• Indirect: Mother said that Bob was taking a nap.

• Direct: He asked, "Are they writing the paper?"

• Indirect: He asked if they were writing the paper.

(c) Present Perfect to Past Perfect Tense

Examples:
• Direct: Nicolas said, "I have made a donut."

• Indirect: Nicolas said that he had made a donut.

• Direct: The teacher said, "The dates have been decided."

• Indirect: The teacher announced that the dates had been decided.

(d) Present Perfect Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Examples:
• Direct: Mr. Parson asked, "How long have you been working here?"

• Indirect: Parson asked me how long I had been working there?

• Direct: The boy said, "I have been waiting for my mother since morning."
 • Indirect: The boy said that he had been waiting for his mother since morning.

(e) Simple Past to Past Perfect Tense

Examples:

• Direct: Robert Langdon said, "My mother gave me the Mickey watch."

• Indirect: Robert Langdon said that his mother had given the Mickey watch to him.

• Direct: The teacher said, "Shakespeare's playing company built Globe Theatre in 1599."

• Indirect: The teacher said that Shakespeare's playing company had built the Globe Theatre in 1599.

(f) Past Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Examples:
• Direct: Jenny said, "Marlow was leaving Belgium."

• Indirect: Jenny told me that Marlow had been leaving Belgium.

• Direct: Maria said, "I was dialing your number, and you called."

• Indirect: Maria said that she had been dialing my number and I had called

Note: If two sentences are combined with a conjunction and both sentences have different tenses, then we
need to change the tenses of both sentences according to the rule.

(f) Past Perfect Tense does not change in Indirect Tense

Examples:
• Direct: Alex said, "I had stopped to visit you"

• Indirect: Alex said that he had stopped to visit me.

• Direct: She said, "Greece had tried to uphold their economy."

• Indirect: She said that Greece had tried to uphold their economy.

(f) Simple Future Tense to Present Conditional

Examples:
• Direct: Smith said, "My parents will be there at 9:00 a.m.”

• Indirect: Smith said that his parents would be there at 9:00 a.m.

• Direct: John said, "I will be doing my CELTA next year.”

• Indirect: John said that he would be doing his CELTA next year

• Direct: Barbara asked, "Will you be my partner in the coming Summer Ball?"

• Indirect: Barbara asked if I would be her partner in the coming Summer Ball.

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4. Modal Verbs
(a) Modal Verbs like shall, will, can, may, must, have to change in Reported Speech

Examples:
• Direct: John said, "I will be there”

• Indirect: John promised that he would be there

• Direct: Barbara said, “I shall practice more.”

• Indirect: Barbara said that she would practice more.

• Direct: Joseph said, “Shall I buy a car”

• Indirect: Joseph asked if he should buy a car. (Note: ‘shall’ becomes should if it implies question
otherwise it becomes ‘would’)

• Direct: She said, “I can help you with your homework.”

• Indirect: She said that she could help me with my homework.

• Direct: He said, “You must finish the report by Friday.”

• Indirect: He said that I had to finish the report by Friday.

• Direct: She said, “I have to finish my work in time.”

• Indirect: She said that she had to finish her work in time.

• Direct: The boy said, "May I come in?”

• Indirect: The boy asked if he could come in (Note: ‘may’ becomes could if it implies permission
otherwise it becomes ‘might’)

• Direct: "I may not call you", said Bobby.

• Indirect: Bobby said that she might not call me.

(a) Modal Verbs like could, should, need to, might, used to, do not change in the Reported
Speech

Examples:
• Direct: She said, "I would not be the victim.”

• Indirect: She said that she would not be the victim.

• Direct: David said, “You need to repair the car.”

• Indirect: David said that I need to repair the car

• Mary said, “I used to love dancing.”

• Mary said that she used to love dancing.

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5. Adverbs and demonstratives:
Indirect speech differs from the direct speech's time and place. When someone is conveying the message to
the listener, the speaker might not be on the same day or place. So the demonstrative (this, that etc.) and the
adverb of time and place (here, there, today, now, etc.) change. We can look into the following chart for the
usage changes.

Direct Indirect
Now Then/at that moment
Today That day
Tomorrow The next day
Yesterday The day before
Come Go
Bring Take
This That

Examples:
• Direct: I said, "Simon read Wordsworth yesterday."

• Indirect: I said that Simon read Wordsworth the day before.

• Direct: Mother said, "Come home now."

• Indirect: Mother ordered me to go home at that moment.

• Direct: "Bring the money with you." Said Jessie.

• Indirect: Jessie demanded to take the money with me.

• Direct: The lovers said, "We will meet there tomorrow."

• Indirect: The lovers promised to meet there the next day.

Narration
The way we talk or narrate any story is called narration. There are mainly two ways a speaker reports words to
narrate anything.

What are the types of narration?

The two ways to report the words of a speaker are known as Direct Speech and Indirect Speech. But what
exactly are they? And how do we use them in narration?

I. What is Direct Speech?

A direct speech is a sentence in which the exact words of the speaker are written and indicated as inverted
commas (also known as quotation marks). To write and indicate direct speech, we use quotations (“ ”). That’s
why it is sometimes called quoted speech. An important thing to remember is that the words inside the
quotation marks should be the exact words of the speaker or the person in concern.

For example:
• “DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE NARRATION RULES?” ASKED NISHAT.

• MAHI SAID, “BRING ME A FRUIT BASKET WHEN YOU COME BACK HOME.”

• “WHAT’S THAT?” ASKED JUNAYED.

II. What is Indirect Speech?

When the message of what someone said is communicated without actually writing the statement out in
whole, it is known as indirect speech. It is also known as a reported speech. Indirect Speech refers to
conveying the message of the speaker only. It doesn’t have to be the exact words. Here, the focus is on the
message. Indirect Speech is not written with quotations (“ ”) and we convey the message of the speaker in our
own words without changing its meaning.

Besides, when we change speech, the tense of the sentence usually changes. The speaker (who actually said
it) said the words in the past, and we conveyed our message, keeping the timeline in our minds. Thus, the verbs
used in indirect speech are mostly in past forms.
For example:
• RAHIM SAID TO KARIM THAT HE WAS GOING TO THE CINEMA.
(DIRECT SPEECH: RAHIM SAID TO KARIM, “I’M GOING TO THE CINEMA.”)

• MY FATHER SAID THAT HE WAS GOING TO BUY A NEW CAR.

(DIRECT SPEECH: MY FATHER SAID, "I'M GOING TO BUY A NEW CAR.")

• JUNAYED ASKED WHAT THAT WAS.

(DIRECT SPEECH: "WHAT'S THAT?" ASKED JUNAYED)

We will learn more about these conversions from Direct to Indirect speech in the latter part of the
conversation.
Basic Narration Rules

Rules For Direct Speech

Following are the basic rules that are needed to be followed while using Direct Speech while communicating:

• EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER'S SPEECH BEGINS WITH A NEW SENTENCE.

• SPEECH MARKS OR QUOTATION MARKS ARE USED TO START A SPEECH.

• EACH LINE OF A SPEECH BEGINS WITH A CAPITAL LETTER.

• THE SENTENCE IS PUNCTUATED WITH A COMMA, EXCLAMATION MARK, OR QUESTION MARK AT THE
END.

• A REPORTING CLAUSE IS USED AT THE END (SAID JOHN, SHOUTED SADIA, REPLIED KARIM).

• AFTER THE REPORTING CLAUSE, THERE SHOULD BE A FULL STOP.

• IF THE DIRECT SPEECH IN THE PHRASE IS SEPARATED BY INFORMATION ABOUT WHO IS SPEAKING,
USE A COMMA TO END THE FIRST PART OF SPEECH AND A FULL STOP OR ANOTHER COMMA BEFORE
THE SECOND PART (BEFORE THE INVERTED COMMAS),

• FOR EXAMPLE:
"IT'S NICE," SHE MURMURED, "BUT I CAN'T EVEN AFFORD IT RIGHT NOW."
OR
"I AGREE!" EXCLAIMED KATE. "ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO!"

Rules For Indirect Speech

There are not many rules to write an indirect speech; however, some things need to be noted while writing an
Indirect Speech. These are:

• Present Indefinite is converted to Past Indefinite tense.

For example:

o Direct Speech: He said, "Paul takes a walk every day."

o Indirect Speech: He said that Paul took a walk every day.

• Present Continuous to Past Continuous tense.

For example:

o Direct Speech: He said, "Paul is taking a walk every day."

o Indirect Speech: He said that Paul was taking a walk every day.

• Present Perfect to Past Perfect tense.

For example:

o Direct Speech: He said, "Paul has taken a walk every day."

o Indirect Speech: He said that Paul had taken a walk every day.

• Present Perfect Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous tense.

For example:

o Direct Speech: He said, "Paul has been taking a walk since 6 AM."

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 o Indirect Speech: He said that Paul had been taking a walk since 6 AM.

• Past Indefinite or Past Perfect tense.

For example:

o Direct Speech: He said, "Paul took a walk."

o Indirect Speech: He said that Paul had taken a walk.

• Past Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous tense.

For example:

o Direct Speech: He said, "Paul was taking a walk."

o Indirect Speech: He said that Paul had been taking a walk.

• There's no change in Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous tense.

Example:

o Direct Speech: He said, "Paul had taken a walk."

o Indirect Speech: He said that Paul had taken a walk.

o Direct Speech: She said, “I had been studying for hours.”

o Indirect Speech: She said that she had been studying for hours

• No further changes are required for future tense except that shall/will should be changed to would.
Example:

o Direct Speech: He said, "Paul will take a walk."

o Indirect Speech: He said that Paul would take a walk.

o Direct Speech: Barbara said, “I shall practice more.”

o Indirect Speech: Barbara said that she would practice more.

• There will be no quotation marks, speech marks, or inverted commas.

• Sentences should be changed when converting direct speech to indirect speech.

How To Convert Direct Speech to Indirect Speech

A sentence must be changed when converting direct speech to indirect speech. Such as:

• The tenses of verbs are commonly switched back (mostly to the past)

• The order of the words often requires change

• Pronouns should usually be adjusted

• Words expressing location and time must be changed

Changes in Pronouns
1. First-person pronouns in indirect speech are changed according to the subject of the direct
speech.
2. Second-person pronouns in indirect speech are always changed according to the object of the direct
speech.
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 3. Third-person pronouns in indirect speech are not changed.

Changes in Verbs
If the direct speech is in the present or future tense, the verb in the indirect speech does not need to be
changed. This verb can be in any tense, such as the present, past, or future. However, the changes regarding
the pronouns will still be applied.

For example:
• Direct Speech: She says, "I am sick."
Indirect Speech: She says that she is sick.

• Direct Speech: He says, "Jack sang a song."

Indirect Speech: He says that Jack sang a song.