Reported Speech Notes

2023-2024

What is Direct & Indirect Speech?

Direct speech – reporting the message of the speaker in the exact words as
spoken by him.

Ex: Maya said ‘I am busy now’.

Indirect speech: reporting the message of the speaker in our own words

Ex: Maya said that she was busy then.

Direct And Indirect Speech Rules

The general rules of direct speech are:

● Each new character's speech starts on a new line.

● Speech is opened with speech marks.
● Each line of speech starts with a capital.
● The line of speech ends with a comma, exclamation mark or question
mark.
● A reporting clause is used at the end (said Jane, shouted Paul, replied
Mum).
● A full stop goes after the reporting clause.

Rule 1 – Direct To Indirect Speech Conversion – Reporting Verb

a. When the reporting verb of direct speech is in past tense then all the
present tenses are changed to the corresponding past tense in indirect
speech.

Direct: She said, ‘I am happy’.

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Indirect: She said (that) she was happy.

b. 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.

c. 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.

Rule 2 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech conversion – Present Tense

● Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect.

Direct: “I have been to Boston”, she told me.

Indirect: She told me that she had been to Boston.

● Present Continuous Changes to Past Continuous

Direct: “I am playing the guitar”, she explained.

Indirect: She explained that she was playing the guitar.

● Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect

Direct: He said, “She has finished her homework“.

Indirect: He said that she had finished her homework.

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● Simple Present Changes to Simple Past

Direct: “I am unwell”, she said.

Indirect: She said that she was unwell.

Rule 3 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech conversion – Past Tense & Future
Tense
● Simple Past Changes to Past Perfect

Direct: She said, “Irvin arrived on Sunday.”

Indirect: She said that Irvin had arrived on Sunday.

● Past Continuous Changes to Past Perfect Continuous

Direct: “We were playing basketball”, they told me.

Indirect: They told me that they had been playing basketball.

● Future Changes to Present Conditional

Direct: She said, “I will be in Scotland tomorrow.”

Indirect: She said that she would be in Scotland the next day.

● Future Continuous Changes to Conditional Continuous

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.
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Rule 4 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Interrogative Sentences

● No conjunction is used, if a sentence in direct speech begins with a question
(what/where/when) as the “question-word” itself acts as a joining clause.

Direct: “Where do you live?” asked the boy.

Indirect: The boy enquired where I lived.

● If a direct speech sentence begins with an auxiliary verb/helping verb, the

joining clause should be if or whether.

Direct: She said, ‘Will you come for the party’?

Indirect: She asked whether we would come for the party.

● Reporting verbs such as ‘said/ said to’ changes to enquired, asked, or

demanded.

Direct: He said to me, ‘What are you wearing’?

Indirect: He asked me what I was wearing.

Rule 5 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Changes in Modals

While changing direct speech to indirect speech, the modals used in the
sentences change like:

1. Can becomes could

2. May becomes might
3. Must becomes had to /would have to

Check the examples:

● Direct : She said, ‘She can dance’.

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● 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.

Rule 6 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Pronoun

a. The first person in direct speech changes as per the subject of the speech.

Direct: He said, “I am in class Twelfth.”

Indirect: He says that he was in class Twelfth.

b. The second person of direct speech changes as per the object of reporting
speech.

Direct: She says to them, “You have done your work.”

Indirect: She tells them that they have done their work.

c. The third person of direct speech doesn’t change.

Direct: He says, “She dances well.”

Indirect: He says that she dances well.

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Rule 7 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Request, Command,

Wish, Exclamation
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.

1. 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.

Rule 8 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Punctuations

a. In direct speech, the words actually spoken should be in (‘’) quotes and
always begin with a capital letter.

Example: She said, “I am the best.”

b. Full stop, comma, exclamation or question mark, are placed inside the
closing inverted commas.

Example: They asked, “Can we sing with you?”

c. 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!”

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Rules of converting Indirect Speech into Direct Speech

The following rules should be followed while converting an indirect speech to
direct speech:

1. Use the reporting verb such as (say, said to) in its correct tense.
2. Put a comma before the statement and the first letter of the statement
should be in capital letter.
3. Insert question mark, quotation marks, exclamation mark and full stop,
based on the mood of the sentence.
4. Remove the conjunctions like (that, to, if or whether) wherever necessary.
5. Where the reporting verb is in past tense in indirect, change it to present
tense in the direct speech.
6. Change the past perfect tense either into present perfect tense or past
tense, as necessary.

Check the examples:

● 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.”

DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

Present simple past simple
I'm a teacher. He said he was a teacher
present continuous past continuous
I'm having lunch with my parents. He said he was having
lunch with his parents.
present perfect simple past perfect simple
I've been to France three times. He said he had been to
France three times.
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Present perfect continuous I've past perfect continuous

been working very hard. He said he had been
working very hard.
past simple past perfect
I bought a new car. He said he had bought a
new car.
past continuous past perfect continuous
It was raining earlier. He said it had been raining
earlier.
past perfect past perfect
The play had started when I arrived. NO CHANGE POSSIBLE
past perfect continuous past perfect continuous
I'd already been living in London for five NO CHANGE POSSIBLE
years.

OTHER VERB FORMS

will would
I'll come and see you soon. He said he would come and see me soon.
can could
I can swim under water for two He said he could swim underwater for two
minutes. minutes.
must had to
All tickets must be bought in He said that all tickets had to be bought in
advance. advance.
shall should
What shall we do about it? He asked what we should do about it.
may might
May I smoke? He asked if he might smoke.

Imperatives
positive imperative tell + infinitive
Shut up! He told me to shut up.
negative imperative tell + not + infinitive
Don't do that again! He told me not to do it again.
imperatives as requests ask + infinitive
Please give me some money. He asked me to give him some money.
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Time and place references: Time and place references often have to change:
● Now- then
● today-that day
● Here-there
● This-that
● this week-that week
● tomorrow-the following day/ the
next day /the day after
● next week-the following week /the
next week/ the week after
● yesterday-the previous day/ the
day before
● last week-the previous week/ the
week before
● ago-previously before
● tonight-that night
● last Saturday-the previous
Saturday/ the Saturday before
● next Saturday-the following
Saturday