Being an English Language learner, its mandatory for you to study and understand reported speech rules to learn completely direct and indirect speech. Complete rules of Direct & Indirect Speech with examples for tenses, with pronouns, modals assertive,imperative,optative,exclamatory and question sentences.
Direct and Indirect speech become an easy to go with when you know all of its necessary rules to change direct into indirect speech. Find here complete rules of direct and indirect speech. You can also Download direct and indirect speech rules in pdf chart.
Identify Reporting Verb and Reported Speech
Before you move further, you must know the parts of direct speech. A direct speech sentence consist of two parts. The part that is inside the quotation marks, is called reported speech. The other one that is out of quoted marks, is called reporting speech. Hence, direct speech sentence has two parts; reporting verb and reported verb. Look at the examples below and separate reporting speech and reported speech
| Direct Speech Sentence | Reporting Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|---|
| He said, " I am looking for reported speech definition" | He said, | I am looking for reported speech definition" |
| She said, "I teach direct and indirect speech" | She said, | "I teach direct and indirect speech" |
| "Alex says, "I am happy to see you" | Alex says, | "I am happy to see you" |
| Mark said, "I will write a letter to the manager" | Mark said, | "I will write a letter to the manager" |
Direct and Indirect Speech Punctuation Rules
Following punctuation rules in reported speech are applied
- Inverted comma are excluded
- Question mark is converted into full stop
- Exclamation mark is silenced
- Comma, in some cases, is used
Study the examples below
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech | Punctuation omitted |
|---|---|---|
| Alex said, " I am quite good here" | Alex said that he was quite good there | Quotation marks |
| Mark said, "How old your puppy is? | Mark asked how old my puppy was | Question mark |
| Alex said, "Hurrah! such a cool day | Alex exclaimed with joy that it was a cold day | Sign of Exclamation |
| Alex said, " I, who am the winner, shall appear tomorrow | Alex said, he, who was the winner, would appear the next day | Comma retained |
Use of Conjunction “that”
Conjunction “that” is placed between reported and reporting speech, however, in question sentences, it is replaced with ‘asked,inquired, etc,
Study the examples below
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| Alex said, "It is quite good to make reported speech pdf assignment" | Alex said that it was quite good to make reported speech pdf assignment |
| Alex said, "Is it easy to make reported speech chart"? | Alex asked if it was easy to make reported speech chart |
| Mark said, "What is main point to remember in narration? | Marx asked what was main point to remember in narration. |
| Alex said to me, " Are you ready for reported speech exercise'? | Alex asked me whether I was ready for reported speech exercise |
Rules for Changing Pronouns in Indirect Speech
Change of pronoun in indirect speech is done with following basic rules.
Rule No: 1
First Person
If the reporting speech has first person pronoun, it will be changed as per the pronoun the pronoun of reported speech, if it is third person pronoun. But if first person pronoun is used both in reporting speech and reported speech, No pronoun is changed here.
Study the examples below
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| She said, " I am quite fine here" | She said that she was quite fine there |
| He said, " I write everyday" | He said that he wrote everyday |
| They said, " We have made good progress" | They said that had made good progress |
| She said, " My job is writing a letter" | She said that her job was writing a letter |
| They said, " we have good friends" | They said that they had good friends |
| I said, " I am making practice of reported speech" | I said that I was making practice of reported speech |
| We said, " We are learning English" | We said that we were learning English |
Rule No: 2
Second Person:
If the reported speech has second person (you, yours,etc), it is changed as per the object of reporting speech.
Study the examples below
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| He said to her, " You are an intelligent girl" | He said to her that she was an intelligent girl |
| She said to him, " You are not real" | She said to him that he was not real |
| He said to me," You are a clever guy" | He said to me that I was a clever guy |
| She said to Alex, " You are cool guy" | She said to Alex that he was a cool guy |
Rule No: 3
Third Person
Third Person in reported speech is not changed in indirect speech
Study the examples below
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| He said, "They prefer singing" | He said that they preferred singing |
| They said, "It is hard to bear cold" | They said that it was hard to bear cold |
| Alex said, "He likes chocolate" | Alex said that he liked chocolate |
| They said, "She is waiting for Alex" | They said that she was waiting for Alex |
Indirect Speech Rules for All Tenses
Read below the complete rules how to make indirect speech of present tense, past tense and future tense.
| Tense Change Rules | Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple into Past Simple Tense | Alex said, "I always wait for Mark here | Alex said that he always waited for Mark there. |
| Present Continuous into Past Continuous | Alex said, "I am waiting for Mark" | Alex said that he was waiting for Mark |
| Present Perfect into Past Perfect | Alex said, "I have completed my essay" | Alex said that he had completed his essay. |
| Present Perfect Continuous into Past Perfect Continuous | Alex said, "I have been waiting for Mark" | Alex said that he had been waiting for Mark. |
| Simple past into Past Perfect Tense | Alex said,"Mark received a letter" | Alex said that Mark had received a letter. |
| Past Perfect into Past Perfect Tense | Alex said, "I had listened to your questions" | Alex said that had listened to my questions. |
| Future simple tense (will into would)' | Alex said,"I will teach you reported speech" | Alex said that he would teach me reported speech. |
| Future Continuous (will be into would be) | Alex said, "I will be teaching you reported speech" | Alex said that he would be teaching me reported speech. |
| Future Perfect Tense (Will have into would have) | Alex said, "I will have written a letter" | Alex said that he would have written a letter. |
Rules for Change in Time and Adverb in Indirect Speech
There are some rules for changing the words showing time and place in direct speech into indirect speech. Study below the table showing the words of time and adverb, how they are changed in indirect speech.
| Direct Speech Word | Indirect Speech Word |
|---|---|
| Today | That day |
| Yesterday | The day before |
| Tomorrow | The next day |
| Now | Then |
| Ago | Before |
| Here | There |
| This | That |
| Next week | The following week |
| Next month | The following month |
| Thus | So |
| Last night | The night before |
| Hither | Thither |
| Hence | Thence |
| Come | Go |
Now study the examples below, how to change the words expressing time and place from direct speech into indirect speech.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| He said, "I am waiting here for you" | He said that he was waiting there for me. |
| She said, "We will come tomorrow" | She said that she would come the next day. |
| They said, "It is hot today" | They said that it was hot that day. |
| I said, "I found a purse yesterday" | I said that I found a purse a day before. |
| Alex said, "It is good time now to see him" | Alex said that it was good time then to see him. |
Change in Modal Verbs
Here are some Indirect speech rules for modal verbs.
Modal verbs are changed in indirect speech like, Can into Could, May into Might, Must into had to. However, some Modals like, Would, could, might, should, ought to, are not changed in indirect speech.
Study the following example below for change in modal verbs in indirect speech
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| Alex said, "I can swim" | Alex said that he could swim. |
| He said, "It may rain today" | He said that it might rain that day. |
| She said, "I must run fast" | She said that she had to run fast. |
| They said, "They would speak English" | They said that they would speak English. |
| He said, "It might cost me more money" | He said that it might cost him more money. |
Indirect speech for Imperative Sentences
Imperative sentences consists of command, request, order, suggestion or advice. Therefore, to change imperative sentences from direct into indirect speech following points should be noted.
1. understand the mood of sentence if it is command, request, advice or suggestion.
2. Use appropriate joining clauses as per the mood of sentence.
3. Follow the other rules of reported speech.
Now study the examples below.
| Direct Speech | Mood of Sentence | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|---|
| Alex said, "please come here" | Request | Alex requested to come there. |
| Mark said to him, "Do not take this exercise easy" | Advice | Mark advised students not to take that exercise easy. |
| Dentist said to Alex, "Stay away from smoking" | Advice/Suggestion | The dentist advised Alex to stay away from Smoking. |
| He said to the guard, "open the door" | Oder | He ordered guard to open the door. |
| He said, "Lets wait for Alex here" | Suggestion | He suggested to wait for Alex there. |
Indirect Speech for Exclamatory Sentences
Exclamatory sentences express the state of grief, wonder or happiness. Following are the point to keep in mind before changing exclamatory sentences from direct speech into indirect speech.
1. Understand the mood of sentences.
2. Use appropriate joining clause for exclamatory sentence.
3. Follow the other rules of direct and indirect speech.
Study the examples below.
| Direct Speech | Mood of Sentence | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|---|
| Alex said, "Hurrah! I have solved reported speech pdf assignment" | Joy | Alex expressed with joy that he had solved reported speech pdf assignment. |
| Alex said, "Alas! I have failed the exam" | Sorrow | Alex expressed with sorrow that he had failed the exam. |
| Alex said, "How cool the weather is!" | Wonder | Alex expressed with wonder that it was the cool weather. |
| She said, "Vow! what a good watch it is" | Wonder | She exclaimed with wonder that it was a good watch. |
Indirect Speech of Interrogative Sentences
Following are the basic rules of direct and indirect speech for interrogative sentences or question sentences.
1. Punctuation marks (comma, inverted comma, question marks ) are removed.
2. Conjunction “that” is omitted.
3. Interrogative form is changed into assertive form of sentence.
4. ‘Said’ is changed into asked or inquired.
5. Use of ‘If’ or ‘Whether’ is made For the interrogative sentences that cant be answered simply in Yes or No.
Now study the examples below
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| He said to me, "Will you be here tomorrow?" | He asked me whether I would be there the next day. |
| Mother said to son, "Do you think to disobey me?" | Mother asked son if he thought to disobey her. |
| Teacher said, "Do you know the exact answer?" | Teacher asked students whether they knew the exact answer. |
| She said to me, "What is the name of great Mughal King?" | She asked me what was the name of great Mughal King. |
| They said, "What is the schedule of examination?" | They asked what was the schedule of examination. |
| He said to me, "Have you been to Turkey?" | He asked me if I had been to Turkey. |
These were the complete rules of reported speech. You may download direct and indirect speech rules in pdf here. In addition to that, this detailed reported speech rules guide will serve you as direct and indirect speech rules chart.
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