NARRATION (DIRECT & INDIRECT SPEECH) – DETAILED NOTES
❖ What is Narration?
Narration refers to the way we report what someone has said.
There are two types:
1. Direct Speech
2. Indirect (Reported) Speech
❖ Direct Speech- In Direct Speech, the exact words of the speaker are quoted.
Structure: Reporting verb + “comma” + “quoted speech”
Example:
● He said, “I am tired.”
● She said, “I will help you.”
Features:
● Quotation marks (“ ”)
● First-person viewpoint
● No change in tense, pronoun, or time
❖ Indirect (Reported) Speech
In Indirect Speech, the speaker’s words are reported without quotation marks, and with grammatical
changes. It is used to convey statements made by someone else in the past, without using their exact words.
Structure: Reporting verb + conjunction + reported clause
Example:
● He said that he was tired.
● She said that she would help me.
❖ Steps to Change Direct → Indirect Speech
5 Rules:-
1. Add a reporting verb clause- ( or the reporting speech )
Eg- Nisha said that she loved chocolate
Here, Nisha Said- Reporting speech ( here said- is the reporting verb )
That- conjunction ( optional )
She loved chocolate- indirect or reported speech.
Most common reporting verbs are- say , tell and ask
Other eg- admitted, claimed, informed, warned
SAY VS TELL-
- Say is used when you may not want to specify who the message was being conveyed to
Eg- Amara says, “ I am going to the movies”.
Amara says that she was going to the movies.
- Say is used to convey general information, facts, or universal opinions without a specific
addressee
Eg- “ Dogs are loyal animals”, Shlok said
Shlok said that Dogs are loyal animals
- Tell is a transitive verb so we need an object to receive the action- tell + object
Eg- “Give me your book,” she said
She told me to give her my book
- Tell is also used when reporting instructions,commands or requests
Eg- “Be quiet,” -> The teacher told us to be quiet.
2. Change of Pronouns (Golden Rule)
Pronouns change according to:
● Speaker
● Listener
● Person spoken about
Rule:
● First person → according to subject of reporting verb (speaker)
The first person pronoun ( I, WE, ME ) may change to third person ( He, She, They, Him, Her )
Eg- “I am tired”, she said. -> She said that she was tired
Eg- “ Kritika helped me”, she said-> She said that Kritika helped her.
● Second person → according to object of reporting verb (listener)-(if no listener, understand from
context)
The second person pronoun (you) may change to third person.
Eg- “You are invited”, he said -> He said that She was invited
● Third person → usually no change
3. Change of Time & Place Words
Example:
● She said, “I will go tomorrow.”
→ She said that she would go the next day.
● “She is coming to my house tonight.”
→ He said that she was coming to his house that night.
4. Change of Tense (Backshifting Rule)
Step-1 : Decide whether we need to change the tense of the reported speech.
Step-2 : what does it change to.
- What is the reporting verb
- If the reporting verb is in present tense- the verb of the reported speech need not change.
He says, “The sun rises in the east.”
→ He says that the sun rises in the east.
- If the reporting verb is in future tense- the verb of the reported speech need not change.
Adi will say, ”Reena is brilliant at her work”
→ Adi will say that Reena is brilliant at her work.
- If the reporting verb is in past tense- the verb of the reported speech changes.
She said, “I have finished the project.”
→ She said that she had finished the project.
* Past perfect and past perfect continuous remains unchanged .
Examples:
● He said, “I am busy.”
→ He said that he was busy.
● She said, “I have finished my work.”
→ She said that she had finished her work.
● He said, “ We saw a beautiful rainbow.”
→ He said that they had seen a beautiful rainbow”
5. Change the modals and Auxiliary Verbs
a. Can change to could.
- “I can swim across the river”.-> She said that she could swim across the river.
b. Shall changes to Should.
c. May(possibility) changes to might.
- “We may arrive late”. -> They mentioned that they might arrive late.
d. May ( permission) changes to could.
-”May I borrow your pen?”. -> She asked if she could borrow my pen.
e. Must (Obligation) changes to ‘had to”
-”I must finish the report by tomorrow”. -> He said that he had to finish the report by the following day.
f. Must ( speculation ) remains unchanged.
-”she must be tired” -> he said that she must be tired.
EXCEPTIONS AND Other important rules-
1. Do not shift tenses if information is on going or a universal truth.
- Paul said, “My job is boring.”
Paul said that his job is boring./ Paul said that his job was boring ( change in meaning)
2. If the situation changes or has finished- you have to go to the past tense.
-Eli said,” We are just finishing dinner and stepping out of the restaurant.”
Eli said that they were finishing dinner and were stepping out of the restaurant.
Interrogative Sentences (Questions)- Reporting Question-
🔹 Remove question mark
🔹 Use if / whether (yes–no questions)
🔹 Use wh-word as conjunction (wh-questions)
🔹 Reporting verb becomes asked / inquired
Examples: He said, “Are you ready?”
→ He asked if I was ready.
She said, “Where are you going?”
→ She asked where I was going.
He said, “ How did they solve the problem?”
→ He enquired about how they had solved the problem.
* Do and did words in a question are not included in the reported speech.
Imperative Sentences (Commands, Requests, Advice)
🔹 Reporting verbs:
● ordered, commanded (commands)
● requested, begged (requests)
● advised, warned (advice)
🔹 Structure: Verb + object + infinitive
Examples:
● He said, “Open the door.”
→ He ordered me to open the door.
● She said, “Please help me.”
→ She requested me to help 4
● her.
● The teacher said, “Do not waste time.”
→ The teacher advised us not to waste time.
Exclamatory Sentences
🔹 Remove exclamation
🔹 Use that
🔹 Reporting verb changes to:
● exclaimed with joy
● exclaimed with sorrow
● exclaimed with surprise
Examples:
● He said, “What a beautiful day!”
→ He exclaimed with joy that it was a beautiful day.
● She said, “Alas! I am ruined.”
→ She exclaimed with sorrow that she was ruined.
Special Cases
🔹 Suggestion
“Let us” → suggested that
Example:
● He said, “Let us go for a walk.”
→ He suggested that they should go for a walk.
🔹 Advice
● “You should…” → advised
Example:
● She said, “You should study hard.”
→ She advised him to study hard.