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Direct and Indirect Rules For Tenses

The document provides information about direct and indirect speech. It defines direct and indirect speech and gives examples. It then outlines the key rules for changing direct speech to indirect speech, including changing the verb tense and pronouns according to certain guidelines. The rules address changing simple sentences as well as interrogative sentences.

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Deepak Rai
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
7K views

Direct and Indirect Rules For Tenses

The document provides information about direct and indirect speech. It defines direct and indirect speech and gives examples. It then outlines the key rules for changing direct speech to indirect speech, including changing the verb tense and pronouns according to certain guidelines. The rules address changing simple sentences as well as interrogative sentences.

Uploaded by

Deepak Rai
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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STAR EDUCATION ACADEMY

Save Your Future With Perfection (Murad Pur) Sialkot Contact # 0331-6696060

Direct-Indirect Speech
Statement of a speaker or reporter is known as "Speech or Narration". We can report any
Speech to another person in two ways:

(i) Report speaker's Speech to another person in the same words. It is known as Direct
Speech or Direct Narration. In Direct Narration, the Speech is kept in Inverted Commas "I
...".

(ii) Report speaker's Speech to another person in our own words without changing the
meaning of the Speech. It is known as Indirect Speech or Indirect Narration.

Terminology of Direct-Indirect Speech


To understand the terminology of Direct-Indirect Speech, let us look at one example.

Direct Speech Nadeem said to Nimra, "I have broken my toys."

Indirect Speech Nadeem told Nimra that he had broken his toys.

Reporter Speaker is known as Reporter. Here Nadeem is Reporter.

Reporting Verb used by Reporter is Reporting Verb. Here 'said' is Reporting


Verb Verb.

Reported Speaker's Speech which remains between Inverted Commas "..." is


Speech known as Reported Speech. Here "I have broken my toys." is
Reported Speech. It is always started with Capital Letter.

Verb of Verb used in Reported Speech is known as Verb of Reported


Reported Speech. In the example it is 'broken'.
Speech
Type-1: Direct-Indirect Speech -
Simple Sentences
Example

Direct Speech Nadeem said to Nimra, "I have broken my toys."


Indirect Speech Nadeem told Nimra that he had broken his toys.

From the above example, broadly it comes to knowledge that for changing Direct Speech to
Indirect Speech, we are to
(i) Use a word to join both the parts like 'that' is used here;
(ii) Remove Inverted Commas;
(iii) Change the Pronoun; and
(iv) Change the tense of Reported Speech.

Rule No. 1

First of all see the Reporting Verb. If it is 'say, says, will say or said', in Indirect Speech also
it will remain same 'say, says, will say or said'.

If 'to' is added with the Reporting Verb then in Indirect Speech it will be changed as per
below rule:

(i) Say to - Tell (ii) Says to - Tells


(iii) Will say to - Will tell (iv) Said to - Told

When 'to' is added with the Reporting Verb, Object will always be there and in Indirect
Speech after 'Tell or Told', Object must come.

Rule No. 2

See the Tense of Reported Verb. If Tense of Reported Verb is Past Tense then in Indirect
Speech Tense of Reported Speech is changed to Past Tense as per Rule given below:

Reported Speech Tense in Reported Speech Tense in Indirect


Direct Speech Speech
Simple Present Simple Past

Present Indefinite Past Indefinite

Present Continuous Past Continuous

Present Perfect Past Perfect

Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

Past Indefinite Past Perfect

Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect No change of Tense

Past Perfect Continuous No change of Tense

Will/Shall in Future Tense Would/Should (Should with Pronoun 'I' &


'We' only)

Can Could

May Might

Could/Should/Would/Might No Change

Rule No. 3
When Reporting Verb is of Past Tense, then the following words of Reported Speech are
changed as per below:

Direct Speech Indirect Speech


Ago Before
Hence Thence

Here There

Hither Thither

Last night The previous night

Last week The previous week

Next week The following week

Now Then

The day before yesterday The day before the previous day

The last fortnight The previous fortnight.

These Those

This That

Thus So

Today That day

Tomorrow The next day

Tonight That night

Yesterday The previous day

Rule No. 4

If Tense of Reporting Verb is either Present Tense or Future Tense, we do not make change
in the Tense of Reported Speech.
Rule No. 5

If any Universal Truth, Proverb, Habitual Act, Historical Fact, Unchanged Facts, or
Imaginary Condition comes in Reported Speech, then Tense of Reported Speech does not
change even if Reported Verb is of Past Tense.

Rule No. 6

In all simple tenses, Comma (,) and Inverted Commas ("...") are removed and word 'That' is
used to join both the parts.

Rule No. 7
For changing to Indirect Speech, Pronouns of Reported Speech are changed as per "S O N =
1 2 3" Rule.

S = Subject 1 = First Person


O = Object 2 = Second Person
N = No Change 3 = Third Person

If Person of Pronoun of Rule Change the Person of Pronoun as per


Reported Speech is___ Reporting Verb's___
First Person S Subject
Second Person O Object
Third Person N No Change

Person
Reflexive Case
Ist Person I My Me Myself

Ist Person We Our Us Ourselves

2nd Person You Your You Yourself


3rd Person He His Him Himself

3rd Person She Her Her Herself

3rd Person They Their Them Themselves

Examples of Simple Sentences


1. She says to Aleena, "I will teach you and Nadeem."
1. She tells Aleena that she will teach her and Nadeem.

2. Nadeem said to Rabia, "I will give my toys to you."


2. Nadeem told Rabia that he would give his toys to her.

3. They said to me, "We have given our share to you"


3. They told me that they had given their share to me.

4. We will say to Heena, "You have brought her paintings to show us and your Mom."
4. We will tell Heena that she has brought her paintings to show us and her Mom.

5. She said to Nadeem, "I am in love and I want you to protect me.
5. She told Nadeem that she was in love and she wanted him to protect her.

6. He said, "You did not give me his address."


6. He said that he had not given him his address. (Object is not there. Assumed it of 3rd
Person)
6. He said that I had not given him his address.(Object is not there. Assumed it of Ist
Person)

*** If Reporting Verb does not have 'Object', then for changing 2nd Person of Reporting
Speech,
we can assume any Person and make sentence accordingly. See example no 6.

For changing Person, please note that if Person is plural, it will be changed to plural and if
person is possessive, it will be changed to possessive pronouns.
Helping Verbs of Reported Speech in Indirect Speech get changed as per changed Pronoun.

Examples of Simple Sentences


Direct Nadeem said to his father, "I love you."

Indirect Nadeem told his father that he loved him

Direct Aleena said to Nadeem, "I am reading your newspaper."

Indirect Aleena told Nadeem that she was reading his newspaper.

Direct Easha says, "I am well"

Indirect Easha tells that she is well.

Direct She will say to her husband, "Ali did not treat her wife fairly."

Indirect She will tell her husband that Ali had not treated her wife fairly.

Direct She Said, "I know your family very well. I know your grandfather
also."

Indirect She said that she knew his family very well. She knew his grandfather
also.

Direct Teacher said to students, "The sun sets in the west."

Indirect Teacher told students that the sun sets in the west.

Direct Izza said to Nadeem, "Honesty is the best policy."

Indirect Izza told Nadeem that Honesty is the best policy.

Direct Nadeem said to Hamza, "You have been playing cricket since
morning."

Indirect Nadeem told Hamza that he had been playing cricket since morning.

Direct Fizza said to Nadeem, "You have helped me yesterday."


Indirect Fizza told Nadeem that he had helped her the previous day.

Direct Mr.Bilal said to me, "You will get your promotion letter tomorrow."

Indirect Mr.Bilal told me that I would get my promotion letter the next day.

Direct He said, "Mr Obama is the President of the USA."

Indirect He said that Mr Obama is the President of the USA. (Unchanged fact,
hence Tense is not changed)

Type-2 Direct-Indirect Speech -


Interrogative Sentences
For the purpose of Direct-Indirect Speech, Interrogative Sentences are divided into two
types –

(1) Simple Interrogative Sentences (Other than W-family Sentences).

(2) W-family Interrogative

(1) Simple Interrogative Sentences


The basic rules of changing Direct Speech to Indirect Speech described for simple sentences
applies for all types of Sentences. There are certain changes in rules for each type of
sentences.

Rule No. 1
In all Interrogative sentences if Reporting Verb is 'say/say to, says/says to, will say/will say to
or said/said to',

in Indirect Speech also it will be changed to 'ask, asks, will ask or asked'.

Rule No. 2
In all Simple Interrogative sentences, Comma (,) and Inverted Commas ("...") are removed
and
word 'If' or 'Whether' is used to join both the parts.

Rule No. 3
For converting Direct Speech to Indirect Speech of all Interrogative Sentences,
the interrogative form of the sentence is changed to Assertive form and
Question Mark (?) is replaced with Full Stop (.).

Rule No. 4
At the time of converting Direct Speech to Indirect Speech of all Interrogative Sentences
'Yes/No' Short Answer is also added with the Interrogative Sentences,

answer is briefly described in place of simple 'Yes/No'.


If answer is 'No', brief answer will be in Negative form and
if it is 'Yes', the brief answer will be in Assertive /Affirmative form.

Examples of Simple Interrogative Sentences


Direct She says, "Am I looking gorgeous?"

Indirect She asks whether she is looking gorgeous.

Direct He said, "Am I not looking handsome?"

Indirect He asked whether he was not looking handsome.

Direct Zain said to Aftab, "Will you come early today from office?"

Indirect Zain asked Aftab whether he would come early that day from office.

Direct Nadeem said to Sadaf, "Can you solve this puzzle?" "No", she said.

Indirect Nadeem asked Sadaf if she could solve that puzzle. She said, She couldn't
or She replied in negative.

Direct Alisha said to Aleena, "Do you know everything about him?" She said,
"Yes".
Indirect Alisha asked Aleena whether she knew everything about him. She said,
she did or She replied in affirmative.

Direct Nadeem said to me, "Have you read the book on Quaid- e- Azam?"

Indirect Nadeem asked me whether I had read the book on Quaid-e-Azam.

Direct She said to Laiba, "Did I not telephone you in the morning?"

Indirect She asked Laiba whether she had not telephoned her in the morning.

Direct GM said to me, "Is it fine if you are transferred to Lahore?"

Indirect GM asked me whether it was fine if I was transferred to Lahore.

Direct He said to Heena, "Are you serious about our marriage?"

Indirect He asked Heena if she was serious about their marriage.

Direct You said to Amina, "Do you have trust in God?"

Indirect You asked Amina whether she had trust in God.

(2) W-Family Interrogative Sentences


Rule No.1

In W-Family Interrogative sentences, Comma (,) and Inverted Commas ("...") are removed
and

no word is used to join both the parts. The word of W-Family does the work to join both the
parts.

***Besides this rule, all the rules described earlier are applicable to W-Family Interrogative
Sentences also.
Examples of W-Family Interrogative Sentences
Direct Sadaf said to Aleena, "What do you want?"

Indirect Sadaf asked Aleena what she wanted.

Direct Boss said to his PA, "Why are you sad today?"

Indirect Boss asked his PA why she was sad that day.

Direct Interviewer said to the candidate, "What are your qualifications?"

Indirect Interviewer asked the candidate what were his qualifications.

Direct The judge said to Ameera, "Why did you beat your servant?"

Indirect The judge asked Ameera why she had beaten her servant.

Direct The teacher said to the Monitor, "Who was not obeying your orders?"

Indirect The teacher asked the Monitor who had not obeyed his orders.

Direct Shahzad said to me, "Why do you compare yourself with the
youngsters?"

Indirect Shahzad asked me why I compared myself with the youngsters.

Direct Rabia said to Easha, "When are you visiting Lahore?"

Indirect Rabia asked Easha when she was visiting Lahore.

Direct The leader said to public, "What are your expectations from us?"

Indirect The leader asked public what were their expectations from them.
Direct The bus conductor said, "Whose bag is this?

Indirect The bus conductor asked whose bag that was.

Direct Fahad said to Usman, "How will you repay the money?"

Indirect Fahad asked Usman how he would repay the money.

Direct Vajeeha said to Amber, "Why don't you stop here?"

Indirect Vajeeha asked Amber why she did not stop there.

Direct Nimra said to Hassan, "What is your name?"

Indirect Nimra asked Hassan what his name was.

Direct Teacher said to Subhan, "Which is your book?"

Indirect Teacher asked Subhan which his book was.

Direct Ayesha said to Ahmad, "Who are you?"

Indirect Ayesha asked Ahmad who he was.

Direct Manager said to clerk, "Why did you come late?"

Indirect Manager asked clerk why he had come late.

Direct Momin said to Jawad, "Why are you crying?"

Indirect Momin asked Jawad why he was crying.

Direct I said to her, "When did you see my father?"


Indirect I asked her when she had seen my father.

Direct Visitor said to a shopkeeper, "Where is the Police station?"

Indirect Visitor asked a shopkeeper where the Police Station is.

Direct He said to her, "Where were you born?"

Indirect He asked her where she was born.

Direct Anwar said to his son, "What have you decided to do now?"

Indirect Anwar asked his son what he had decided to do then.

Type-3 Direct-Indirect Speech -


Imperative Sentences
Rule No. 1
Imperative sentences have different types of emotions - Order, Command, Request,
Suggestion and Advise.

For changing Direct Speech to Indirect Speech, please see the Reporting Verb and
according to the emotion of Reporting Verb, 'Said To' is replaced with words like
Requested, Advised, Ordered, Commanded, Suggested, Warned etc.

Please and Kindly words and use of word 'Do' to emphasise something in Reported Speech

are not kept in Indirect Speech

as the Reporting Verb's replaced word "Request/Requests/Requested" already contains the


same emotion.

Sometimes Tag Question is added with Imperative Sentence. It is also not kept in Indirect
Speech.

Rule No. 2
In Imperative sentences, Comma (,) and Inverted Commas ("...") are removed and word
'To' is used to join both the parts.

In negative sentences, 'Do Not' is removed and

'Not To' is used in making Indirect Speech of Imperative Sentences.

***Besides these two rules, all the rules described earlier are applicable to Imperative
Sentences also.

Examples of Imperative Sentences


Direct The teacher said to Uzair, "Stand up on the bench."

Indirect The teacher ordered Uzair to stand up on the bench.

Direct She said to her friend, "Do not tell a lie."

Indirect She advised her friend not to tell a lie.

Direct Seema said to her husband, "Do not tell a lie.

Indirect Seema warned her husband not to tell a lie.

Direct She said to Sohaib, "Please give me a glass of water."

Indirect She requested Sohaib to give her a glass of water.

Direct Vajeeha said to Aleena, "Have a glass of milk."

Indirect Vajeeha asked Aleena to have a glass of milk.

Direct The gardener said to children, "Don't pluck the flowers again."

Indirect The gardener warned children not to pluck the flowers again.

Direct Neelam said to her boss, "Please grant me leave for three days."
Indirect Neelam requested her boss to grant her leave for three days.

Direct Captain said, "follow me".

Indirect Captain ordered to follow him.

Direct Doctor said to a patient, "Change your life style and eating habits".

Indirect Doctor suggested a patient to change his life style and eating habits.

Direct The Principal said to students, "Don't make a noise."

Indirect The Principal instructed students not to make a noise.

Direct My neighbour said to me, "Don't park your car in front of my house."

Indirect My neighbour forbade me not to park my car in from of his house.

Direct Naeem Bhai said to me, "Doyou have a cup of tea please".

Indirect Naeem Bhai requested me to have a cup of tea.

Direct We said to Mrs. Rahat, "Do tell about your sickness to your family
members please."

Indirect We requested Mrs. Rahat to tell about her sickness to her family
members.

Direct She said to me, "Switch off the fan, will you?

Indirect She asked me to switch off the fan.

Direct Ali said to Raza, "Send this file to GM, won't you?

Indirect Ali asked Raza to send that file to GM.


Direct She said to her neighbour, "Please take care of my son, will you?

Indirect She requested her neighbour to take care of her son.

Type-4 Direct Indirect Speech -


Optative Sentences
Optative Sentence indicates a wish, pray or desire. It ends with exclamation mark (!).

Rule no. 1
For making Indirect Speech of Optative Sentence,

'Said' of Reporting Verb is changed according to the Optative Word' of Reporting Speech.

A list of such words is given below.

Optative words In place of 'Said'

Good Morning! Wished

Good Evening! Wished

Good Afternoon! Wished

Good Night! Bade

Good Bye! Bade

Farewell! Bade

Would that…! Wished

O that…! Wished
O for…! Wished

May/May God Prayed

If…were (only imagination) Wished …Would

Examples of Optative Sentences


Direct He said, "Good morning, Mom!"

Indirect He wished his Mom good morning.

Direct Nadeem said, "Good evening, Sir!"

Indirect Nadeem respectfully wished the sir good evening. / Nadeem respectfully
wished me (you / him / her / them /…) good evening.

Direct Faisal said, "Good night, paapaa!"

Indirect Faisal bade his paapaa good night.

Direct Amina said, "Good bye, friends!"

Indirect Aman bade her friends good bye.

Direct Huma said to him, "Would that you were here at that time!"

Indirect Huma wished that he had been there at that time.

Direct He said, "O that I had the wings of a bird."

Indirect He wished that he had the wings of bird.

Direct She said, "O for a glass of water."


Indirect She wished for a glass of water.

Type-5 Direct Indirect Speech -


Exclamatory Sentences
Sentence that express strong feeling or emotions (like joy, sorrow, surprise, hatred,
contempt, etc) are called exclamatory sentences. Exclamatory sentence ends with
exclamation mark (!).

Rule no. 1
For making Indirect Speech of Exclamatory Sentence,

'Said' of Reporting Verb is changed according to the emotion of the 'Exclamatory Word' of
Reporting Speech.

A list of such words is given below.

Exclamatory Replace 'Said' with


Word
Wow! Exclaimed with joy

What! Exclaimed with surprise

Well done! Exclaimed with applause

Sorry! Exclaimed with regret

Pooh! Exclaimed with contempt

Oh! Exclaimed with surprise / sorrow

Nonsense! Exclaimed with contempt


Hurrah! Exclaimed with joy

How! Exclaimed with surprise / regret

Hear! Applauded ..(Subject of Reporting


Verb)..saying

Ha! Exclcaimed with joy

Good God! Exclaimed with surprise

Bravo! Applauded...(Subject of Reporting


Verb)..saying

Alas! Exclaimed with sorrow / grief

Aha! Exclaimed with joy

Ah! Exclaimed with sorrow / grief / joy

Same word can depict 'sorrow' or 'joy'. The specific emotion of above mentioned words is to
be construed as per sentence.

Rule no. 2
The words 'What' & 'How' of Reporting Speech are
replaced with words 'Very' Or 'Great'.
'Very' comes before Adjective and
'Great' comes before Noun.

Rule no. 3
In Exclamatory sentences, Comma (,) and Inverted Commas ("...") are

removed and word 'That' is used to join both the parts.

Examples of exclamatory Sentences


Direct Nadeem said, "Hurrah! We have won the match."

Indirect Nadeem exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.

Direct She said in Murree, "Wow! What a pleasant weather it is."

Indirect She exclaimed w ith joy in Murree that it was a very pleasant weather.

Direct The spectators said, "Bravo! A classical goal."

Indirect The spectators applauded him saying that it was a classical goal.

Direct She said, "Oh! I lost my mobile."

Indirect She exclaimed with sorrow that she had lost her mobile.

Direct Izza said, "Oh! Nadeem has come from London."

Indirect Izza exclaimed with surprise that Nadeem had come from London.

Direct "Pooh" said the Principal to Zain, "You have again failed in the
examination."

Indirect The Principal exclaimed with contempt that Zain had again failed in the
examination.

Direct Kiran said, "Alas! I have lost my diamond bangle."

Indirect Kiran exclaimed with sorrow that she had lost her diamond bangle.

Direct He said, "Good God! The fellow has come to life again."

Indirect He exclaimed with surprise that the fellow had come to life again.

Direct She said to her servant, "How foolish you are!


Indirect She exclaimed with surprise that her servant was very foolish.

Direct He said, "Ah! What a beautiful scene."

Indirect He exclaimed with joy that it was a beautiful scene.

Direct Naeem Bhai said, "Well done! Nadeem."

Indirect Naeem Bhai exclaimed with applause that Nadeem had done well.

Direct He said, "If I were you, I would have slapped him"

Indirect He wished that he would have slapped him.

Direct She said, "If I were rich, I would have given one bungalow to my
daughter"

Indirect She wished that if she had been rich, she would have given one
bungalow to her daughter.

Direct Easha said to Alisha, "Congratulations!"

Indirect Easha congratulated Alisha.

Direct Nadeem said, "Thank God!"

Indirect Nadeem thanked God.

Direct They said to us, "Welcome! Please come in."

Indirect They welcomed us and requested to come in.

Direct She said to me, "Happy New Year!"

Indirect She wished me happy new year.


Direct Nadeem said, "Happy Birthday!"

Indirect Nadeem wished (me/her/him/you…) happy birthday.

Direct She said, "How foolish I have been!"

Indirect She regretted that she had been very foolish.

Direct The captain said, "Bravo! You have done well, my friends."

Indirect The captain applauded his friends saying that they had done well.

Direct "Pooh what a dirty child!" said the nurse.

Indirect The nurse exclaimed hatefully that the child was very dirty.

Direct The young lady said, "Alas! my husband is no more."

Indirect The young lady exclaimed with sorrow that her husband was no more.

Type-6 Direct Indirect Speech -


Sentences with Let
Like Imperative sentences,

use of 'Let' in the sentences of Let has different meaning and

in Reporting Verb 'Said To' is replaced according to the notion of the sentence with words
like - Proposed, Suggested, Requested, Ordered, Wished, Told, etc.

Rule-1

If the meaning of 'Let Sentence' is a suggestion, proposal or wish then for making Indirect
Speech

(1) 'Said To' is replaced with 'Proposed To / Suggested To / Wished To',


(2) 'Let' is replaced with 'Should'. 'Should' comes after the Pronoun. And

(3) 'That' is used to join both the parts of the sentence.

Rule-2

If the meaning of 'Let Sentence' is to allow, order or persuade then for making Indirect
Speech

(1) 'Said To' is replaced with 'Requested To / Ordered To',

(2) 'Let' may remain in the sentence or it may be replaced with 'Allow' and

(3) 'To' is used to join both the parts of the sentence.

Rule-3

If condition or supposition comes in 'Let Sentence' then for making Indirect Speech

(1) 'Said To' is replaced with 'Told',

(2) 'Let' is replaced with 'Might' and

(3) 'That' is used to join both the parts of the sentence.

Examples of Sentences with Let


Direct Saima said to Nadeem, "Let us go to see a movie."

Indirect Saima proposed to Nadeem that they should go to see a movie.

Direct Aleena said to me, "Let us play carom today".

Indirect Aleena proposed to me that we should play carom that day.

Direct She said to her sister, "Let him complete his study first."
Indirect She suggested her sister that he should complete his study first.

Direct He said, "Let us wait a few minutes and try again later".

Indirect He suggested that they should wait a few minutes and try again later.

Direct Kinza said, "Let me take two chocolates".

Indirect Kinza wished that she should take two chocolates.

Direct Nadeem said to his teacher, "Let me go home early today".

Indirect Nadeem requested his teacher to let him go early that day. OR Nadeem
requested his teacher to allow him to go early that day.

Direct The Manager said to his PA, "Let the boys come in."

Indirect The Manager ordered the PA to let the boys come in.

Direct Party workers said to the Leader, "Let us do some favour to our
supporters".

Indirect Party workers requested to the leader to let them (OR allow them) do
some favour to their supporters.

Direct Shahroz said to Rafay, "Let him study even so hard but he cannot top the
class'"

Indirect Shahroz told Rafay that he might study even so hard but he cannot top the
class.

Direct He said to Umer, "Let him be smart but he cannot excel you.

Indirect He told Umer that he might be smart but he cannot excel him.

Direct She said to me, "Let me buy some clothes for Sadaf and Aleena."
Indirect She told me to let her buy some clothes for Sadaf and Aleena.

Indirect She requested me to allow her to buy some clothes for Sadaf and Aleena.

Type-7 Direct Indirect Speech -


Miscellaneous Sentences
In few sentences, emotions are very important.

While converting their Direct Speech to Indirect Speech,

word of the same emotion is used in place of 'Said To'.

Examples of Miscellaneous Sentences


Direct Nadeem said to Ali, "May you live long!"

Indirect Nadeem prayed that Ali might live long.

Direct She said to Najma, "May God bless you with a son!"

Indirect She prayed that God might bless Najma with a son.

Direct He said, "If I were a king."

Indirect He wished that he would be a king.

Direct The beggar said, "If I had a ten rupee note!"

Indirect The beggar wished that he would have a ten rupee note.

Direct The Chairman said, "Farewell my friends."

Indirect The Chairman bade his friends' farewell.


Direct The patient said, "Thank you, doctor."

Indirect The patient thanked the doctor.

Direct He said to her, "Rest assured, I shall help you."

Indirect He assured her that he would help her.

Direct He said to me, "Beware of false friends."

Indirect He warned me against false friends.

Direct Sheeza said, "No I shall not go there."

Indirect Sheeza refused to go there.

Direct He said, "Fire! Fire! Put out the fire."

Indirect He called aloud to the people to put out the fire.

Direct The farmer said to the fox, "I shall hang you, you rogue."

Indirect The farmer called the fox a rogue and said that he would hang him.

Direct The speaker said, "Ladies & gentlemen, I am at your disposal.

Indirect Addressing the audience the speaker said that he was at their disposal.

Name of person comes in Reported Speech instead of


Reported Verb.
Examples
Direct She said, "Nabeel, I am warning you."

Indirect She told Nabeel that she was warning him.


Direct Nadeem said, "Play with your toys, Maham."

Indirect Nadeem asked Maham to play with her toys.

Words 'Sir' and 'Madam' come in Reported


Speech.
Examples

Direct She said, “May I come in, Madam?

Indirect She asked the Madam if she might come in.

Direct He said, "May I introduce myself to you, Sir?"

Indirect He asked respectfully to me (you/him/her/them/…) whether he might


introduce himself.

Words 'You see, you know, well, okay' come in


Reported Speech.
Examples

Direct Madam sitting on the help desk said, "Well, what can I do for you?"

Indirect Madam sitting on the help desk asked politely what she can do for her.

Direct She said, "Well, it is none of your business."

Indirect She asked politely that it was none of her business.

Direct "Okay". The manager said, "I will take care of her case."

Indirect The manager assured that he would take care of her case.
If 'Had to' comes in a sentence, in Indirect Speech it is
changed to 'Had had to'
Examples
Direct He said, "The police had to arrest the leader after court order".

Indirect He said that the police had had to arrest the leader after court order.

More than two sentences in Reported Speech.


Examples

Direct Captain said, "He is an enemy. Keep an eye on him."

Indirect Captain said that he was an enemy and added to keep an eye on him.

Direct She said to her husband, "I will not prepare dinner today. I also need a
holiday. I will take rest.

Indirect She told her husband that she would not prepare dinner that day and
further added that she also needed a holiday and she would take rest.

Direct Simran said to Nadeem, "No. No. You cannot play smart with me. I am
a girl of Pune and I am smarter than you.

Indirect Simran Nadeem that he could not play smart with her as she was a girl
of Pune and she was smarter than him.

Some sentences look Interrogative or Negative, but it


has an advice or request.
Examples
Direct Her mother said to her, "Why don't you sleep early."

Indirect Her mother advised her to sleep early.

Direct Old lady said, "Could you please move a bit?"

Indirect Old lady asked him to move a bit.

Prepared By:

Sir Nadeem Raza

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