Reported Speech

Click here for a list of reported speech exercises.

Click here to download this explanation in PDF.

Reported Statements

When do we use reported speech? Sometimes someone says a sentence, for

example "I'm going to the cinema tonight". Later, maybe we want to tell someone
else what the first person said.

Watch my reported speech video: 

Here's how it works:

We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. (Click here for more about using
'say' and 'tell'.) If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says'
and then the sentence:

 Direct speech: I like ice cream.

 Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the
'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We also may need to change words like 'my'
and 'your'.

(As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in
English. I've put it in brackets () to show that it's optional. It's exactly the same if
you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)

But, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in
the reported speech:




 Direct speech: I like ice cream.
 Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

Tense Direct Speech Reported Speech

present
I like ice cream She said (that) she liked ice cream.
simple
present I am living in
She said (that) she was living in London.
continuous London
She said (that) she had bought a car OR She
past simple I bought a car
said (that) she bought a car.
past I was walking She said (that) she had been walking along
continuous along the street the street.
present
I haven't seen Julie She said (that) she hadn't seen Julie.
perfect
I had taken English She said (that) she had taken English lessons
past perfect*
lessons before before.
will I'll see you later She said (that) she would see me later.
would* I would help, but..” She said (that) she would help but...
I can speak perfect She said (that) she could speak perfect
can
English English.
I could swim when She said (that) she could swim when she was
could*
I was four four.
shall I shall come later She said (that) she would come later.
I should call my
should* She said (that) she should call her mother
mother
might* I might be late She said (that) she might be late
She said (that) she must study at the
I must study at the
must weekend OR She said she had to study at the
weekend
weekend
* doesn't change.

Occasionally, we don't need to change the present tense into the past if the
information in direct speech is still true (but this is only for things which are
general facts, and even then usually we like to change the tense):

 Direct speech: The sky is blue.

 Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.

Click here for a mixed tense exercise about practise reported

statements.
Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.

Reported Questions

So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and
negative sentences. But how about questions?

 Direct speech: Where do you live?

How can we make the reported speech here?

In fact, it's not so different from reported statements. The tense changes are the
same, and we keep the question word. The very important thing though is that,
once we tell the question to someone else, it isn't a question any more. So we need
to change the grammar to a normal positive sentence. A bit confusing? Maybe this
example will help:

 Direct speech: Where do you live?

 Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.

Do you see how I made it? The direct question is in the present simple tense. We
make a present simple question with 'do' or 'does' so I need to take that away. Then
I need to change the verb to the past simple. 

Another example:

 Direct speech: Where is Julie?

 Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.

The direct question is the present simple of 'be'. We make the question form of the
present simple of be by inverting (changing the position of)the subject and verb.
So, we need to change them back before putting the verb into the past simple.
 Here are some more examples:

Direct Question Reported Question

Where is the Post Office, please? She asked me where the Post Office was.
What are you doing? She asked me what I was doing.
Who was that fantastic man? She asked me who that fantastic man had been.

So much for 'wh' questions. But, what if you need to report a 'yes / no' question?
We don't have any question words to help us. Instead, we use 'if':

 Direct speech: Do you like chocolate?

 Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

No problem? Here are a few more examples:

Direct Question Reported Question

Do you love me? He asked me if I loved him.
Have you ever been to
She asked me if I had ever been to Mexico.
Mexico?
Are you living here? She asked me if I was living here.
Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions.
Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions. 

Reported Requests

There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For
example:

 Direct speech: Close the window, please

 Or: Could you close the window please?
 Or: Would you mind closing the window please?

All of these requests mean the same thing, so we don't need to report every word
when we tell another person about it. We simply use 'ask me + to + infinitive':

 Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.

 Here are a few more examples: 

Direct Request Reported Request

Please help me.
Please don't smoke.
Could you bring my book tonight?
Could you pass the milk, please?
Would you mind coming early
tomorrow?
To report a negative request, use 'not':
She asked me to help her.
She asked me not to smoke.
She asked me to bring her book that
night.
She asked me to pass the milk.
She asked me to come early the next day.

 Direct speech: Please don't be late.

 Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.

Reported Orders

And finally, how about if someone doesn't ask so politely? We can call this an
'order' in English, when someone tells you very directly to do something. For
example:

 Direct speech: Sit down!

In fact, we make this into reported speech in the same way as a request. We just use
'tell' instead of 'ask':

 Reported speech: She told me to sit down.

Direct
Reported Order
Order
Go to bed! He told the child to go to bed.
Don't worry! He told her not to worry.
Be on time! He told me to be on time.
Don't smoke! He told us not to smoke.
 Click here for an exercise to practise reported requests and
orders.

Time Expressions with Reported Speech

Sometimes when we change direct speech into reported speech we have to change
time expressions too. We don't always have to do this, however. It depends on
when we heard the direct speech and when we say the reported speech.

For example:

It's Monday. Julie says "I'm leaving today".

If I tell someone on Monday, I say "Julie said she was leaving today".

If I tell someone on Tuesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving yesterday".
If I tell someone on Wednesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving on Monday".
If I tell someone a month later, I say "Julie said she was leaving that day".

So, there's no easy conversion. You really have to think about when the direct
speech was said.

Here's a table of some possible conversions:

now then / at that time

today yesterday / that day / Tuesday / the 27th of June
the day before yesterday / the day before / Wednesday / the 5th of
yesterday
December
last night the night before, Thursday night
last week the week before / the previous week
tomorro
today / the next day / the following day / Friday
w

 Click here for an exercise about using 'say' and 'tell'.

 Click here for a list of all the reported speech exercises.
 En este blog ya hemos hablado varias veces del reported speech, o
estilo indirecto, una herramienta imprescindible en inglés pero que a
veces se resiste a los estudiantes. En este post queremos hacer
una explicación sencilla y sistematizada sobre cómo pasar del direct
speech al reported speech.

Reported speech: explicación fácil

El estilo indirecto se usa para hablar desde el punto de vista de una
tercera persona. Cuando queremos reproducir exactamente lo que otra
persona ha dicho, usamos el estilo directo, colocando lo que la otra
persona dijo entre comillas. Sin embargo, con el estilo indirecto no
reproducimos el mensaje literal, sino sólo la parte que nos interesa; esto
hace que el mensaje esté marcado por nuestra propia opinión.

Son varios los elementos de la oración que cambian para convertir el

estilo directo en estilo indirecto, principalmente pronombres y verbos,
veámoslo en mayor detalle.

Descarga el imprimible con ejercicios y explicación de Reported

Speech: 

Descargando la ficha "Reported Speech: guía paso a

Reported Speech: Guía Paso a paso", obtendrás:
paso + Ejercicios  Introducción: Para qué sirve el Reported
Speech o estilo Indirecto
 Los 5 pasos a seguir para pasar de Direct
Speech a Reported Speech
 Los reporting Verbs
 Ejercicios prácticos y soluciones
Email*

Provincia*
 - Selecciona -

 Suscríbeme al blog de What's Up

Descargar imprimible

Cómo usar el reported speech

Partiendo de una oración en estilo indirecto, debemos seguir los
siguientes pasos para pasarla a estilo indirecto:

 Definir el tipo de oración:

o Afirmación

o Pregunta

o Sugerencia/orden

Podéis ver esto en mayor detalle en este post sobre el reported speech

 Definir en qué tiempo verbal está la oración introductoria: la oración introductoria

es a que se convertirá en main clause en la nueva oración en estilo indirecto. Ésta puede
estar o bien en presente o bien en algún tiempo pasado. Si está en presente, no será
necesario cambiar el verbo de la subordinada; si está en un tiempo pasado será necesario
cambiarlo para que concuerde. Por ejemplo

o Paul always says: “ those were the best years of my life” > Paul always
says those were the best years of his life.

o Paul said: “ those were the best years of my life” > Paul said those had
been the best years of his life.

 Definir si se debe cambiar la persona (el pronombre personal): al igual que ocurre
con los verbos, la persona también debe concordar cuando pasamos una oración a estilo
indirecto. Esto puede suponer, en algunos casos, un cambio en los pronombres personales y
posesivos (no cuando se refiere a una tercera persona). Por ejemplo:

o Andrew said: “it is all my fault” > Andrew sad it was all his fault
 o Mary told me “you are my best friend” > MAry told me I was her best
friend

o Robert said: “the guests are about to arrive” > Robert said the guests were
about to arrive.

 Definir si se deben hacer concordar los tiempos verbales: como hemos dicho antes,
si el verbo en la oración introductoria no está en presente, eso significa que habrá que
cambiar los tiempos verbales para que concuerden. Aquí os dejamos una chuleta, para que
sepáis que tiempo verbal sustituye a cada cual:

o Present simple > Past Simple

o Past Simple > Past Perfect

o Present perfect > Past Perfect

o Past perfect > Past Perfect

o Will (future) > Would

Si nos fijamos atentamente, lo que hacen estos verbos es dar un “paso

atrás en el tiempo”. Tenedlo en cuenta y esto os ayudará.

 Definir si se deben cambiar las expresiones de tiempo y lugar: al igual que ocurre
con los verbos, estas expresiones deben ajustarse al nuevo tiempo del estilo indirecto.
Además, no solo el tiempo cambia, tambié el lugar es susceptible de ser dstinto. Aunque el
cambio no será siempre necesario, se debe tomar la decisión teniendo en cuenta la
concordancia, por ejemplo:

o This afternoon > that afternoon

o Today > that day

o Now > then

o A week ago > a week before

o Next month > the following month

o Tomorrow > the following/next day

 o Here > There

¿Quieres saber más de nuestro método para aprender

Inglés?    Contactanos ahora!

Post relacionados:

 Los conectores en la redacción en inglés: mejora tus argumentos

 Las claves del direct y el reported speech
 Reported speech: ejercicios para practicar
 
 

TENSE CHANGES WHEN

USING REPORTED
SPEECH
Normally, the tense in reported speech is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech:
She said, "I am tired." = She said that she  was tired.

Phrase in Direct Speech Equivalent in Reported Speech

Simple present Simple past

"I always drink coffee", she said She said that she always drank coffee.

Present continuous Past continuous

"I am reading a book", he explained. He explained that he was reading a boo

Simple past Past perfect

 Phrase in Direct Speech Equivalent in Reported Speech

"Bill arrived on Saturday", he said. He said that Bill had arrived on Saturd

Present perfect Past perfect

"I have been to Spain", he told me. He told me that he had been to Spain.

Past perfect Past perfect

"I had just turned out the light," he explained. He explained that he had just turned o

Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

They complained, "We have been waiting for hours". They complained that they had been w

Past continuous Past perfect continuous

"We were living in Paris", they told me. They told me that they had been living

Future Present conditional

"I will be in Geneva on Monday", he said. He said that he would be in Geneva on

Future continuous Conditional continuous

She said, "I'll be using the car next Friday". She said that she would be using the ca

You do not need to change the tense if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the original
statement was about something that is still true, e.g.

 He says he has missed the train but he'll catch the next one.

 We explained that it is very difficult to find our house.
 

These modal verbs do not change in reported speech: might, could, would, should, ought to:

 We explained, "It could be difficult to find our house." = We explained that it could be

difficult to find our house.
 She said, "I might bring a friend to the party." = She said that she might bring a friend to
the party.

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

What is reported speech?

Reported speech is when you tell somebody else what you or a person said before.

Distinction must be made between direct speech and reported speech.

Direct speech vs Reported speech:

Direct speech Reported speech
She says: "I like tuna fish." She says that she likes tuna fish.
She said: "I'm visiting Paris next She said that she was visiting Paris the following
weekend" weekend.

Different types of sentences

When you use reported speech, you either report:

 statements
 questions
 requests / commands
 other types

A. Reporting Statements

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

 pronouns
 tense
 place and time expression
1- Pronouns

In reported speech, you often have to change the pronoun depending on who says what.

Example:

She says, “My dad likes roast chicken.” – She says that her dad likes roast chicken.

2- Tenses

 If the sentence starts in the present, there is no backshift of

tenses in reported speech.
 If the sentence starts in the past, there is often backshift of
tenses in reported speech.

Direct speech Reported speech
(no backshift) “I write poems.” He says that he writes poems.
(backshift) “I write poems.” He said that he wrote poems.

No backshift

Do not change the tense if the introductory clause is in a present tense (e. g. He says).
Note, however, that you might have to change the form of the present tense verb (3rd
person singular).

Example:
He says, “I write poems.” – He says that he writes English.

Backshift

You must change the tense if the introductory clause is in a past tense (e. g. He said).

Example:
He said, “I am happy.” – He said that he was happy.

Examples of the main changes in tense:

Direct Speech Reported Speech

Simple Present Simple Past
He said: "I am happy" He said that he was happy
Present Progressive Past Progressive
He said: "I'm looking for my keys" He said that he was looking for his keys
Simple Past Past Perfect Simple
He said: "I visited New York last year"  He said that he had visited New York the
previous year.
Present Perfect  Past Perfect 
 He said: " I've lived here for a long time "
Past Perfect  Past Perfect
He said: "They had finished the work when
I arrived"
Past Progressive
He said: "I was playing football when the
accident occurred"
Present Perfect Progressive
He said:"I have been playing football for
two hours."
Past Perfect Progressive
He said: "I had been reading a newspaper
when the light went off"
Future Simple (will+verb)
He said: "I will open the door."
Conditional (would+verb)
He said: "I would buy Mercedes if
I were rich"
He said that he had lived there for a long time
 
He said that they had finished the work when
he had arrived"
Past Perfect Progressive
He said that he had been playing football
when the accident had occurred 
Past Perfect Progressive
He said that he had been playing football for
two hours
Past Perfect Progressive
He said that he had been reading a newspaper
when the light had gone off
Conditional (would+verb)
He said that he would open the door.
Conditional (would+verb)
He said that he would buy Mercedes if he had
been rich"

The modal verbs could, should, would, might, needn't, ought to, used to do not
normally change.
Example:
He said, "She might be right." – He said that she might be right.

Other modal verbs may change:

Modal Direct speech Reported speech

can "I can do it." He said he could do it.
may "May I go out?" He wanted to know if he might go out.
must "She must apply for the job." He said that she must/had to apply for the job.
will "They will call you." He told her that they would call her.

3- Place, demonstratives and time expressions

Place, demonstratives and time expressions change if the context of the reported
statement (i.e. the location and/or the period of time) is different from that of the
direct speech.

In the following table, you will find the different changes of place; demonstratives and
time expressions.

Direct Speech Reported Speech

 Time Expressions
today that day
now then
yesterday the day before
… days ago … days before
last week the week before
next year the following year
tomorrow the next day / the following day
Place
here there
Demonstratives
this that
these those

B. Reporting Questions

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

 pronouns
 place and time expressions
 tenses (backshift)

Also note that you have to:

 transform the question into an indirect question

 use the question word (where, when, what, how) or if / whether

Types of questions Direct speech Reported speech

With question word (what, "Why" don’t you He asked me why I didn’t
why, where, how...) speak English?” speak English.
Without question word (yes “Do you speak He asked me whether / if I
or no questions) English?” spoke English.

C. Reporting requests / commands

When transforming requests and commands, check whether you have to change:

 pronouns
 place and time expressions

Direct speech Reported speech

“Nancy,do the exercise.“ He told Nancy to do the exercise.
 "Nancy, give me your pen, please." He asked Nancy to give him her pen.

Tenses are not relevant for requests – simply use to  / not to + verb (infinitive without
"to")

Example:

She said, “Sit down." - She asked me to sit down.

She said, "don't be lazy" - She asked me not to be lazy

For affirmative use to + infinitive (without to)

For negative requests, use not to + infinitive (without to).

D. Other transformations

 Expressions of advice with must, should and ought are usually reported

using advise / urge.
Example:
"You must read this book."
He advised / urged me to read that book.
 The expression let’s is usually reported using suggest. In this case, there
are two possibilities for reported speech: gerund or statement
with should.
Example:
"Let’s go to the cinema."
1. He suggested going to the cinema.
2. He suggested that we should go to the cinema.

Main clauses connected with and/but

If two complete main clauses are connected with ‚and or ‚but, put ‚that after the
conjunction.

Example:
He said,“I saw her but she didn't see me.“ – He said that he had seen her but that she
hadn't seen him.“

If the subject is dropped in the second main clause (the conjunction is followed by a
verb), do not use ‚that‘.

Example:
She said,“I am a nurse and work in a hospital.“ – He said that she was a
nurse and worked in a hospital.“
Exercises on the reported speech

See the sentences below with direct and indirect speech forms, these are great references
to understand the difference.

Also See:
Say vs Tell Exercises
Subjunctive That Clause

Reported Speech Examples 1

1. "Don't play with matches," his mother said.

1. His mother told him not to play with matches.

2. "I've forgotten to bring my lunch with me," he said.

2. He said that he'd forgotten to bring his lunch with him.

3. "Will you be home soon?" she asked her husband.

3. She asked her husband if he would be home soon.

4. "Go to bed!" father said to the children.

4. Father told the children to go to bed.

5. "I'll clean the car tomorrow," Tim said to his father.

5. Tim told his father that he would dean the car the following day.

6. "Where have you been?" Gary asked his wife.

6. Gary asked his wife where she had been.

7. "I've been working for the same company since 1960," he said to me.
7. He told me that he had been working for the same company since 1960.

8. "Do you know Garfield?" she asked me.

8. She asked me if I knew Garfield.

9. "How shall I tell Tom the bad news?" she said.

9. She asked how she should tell Tom the bad news.

10. "You must try my home-made wine," he said.

10. He said that I had to try his home-made wine.

11. "Can I go home now?" he asked her.

11. He asked her if he could go home then.

12. "May I call you by your first name?" he asked.

12. He asked if he might call me by my first name.
13. "She must try harder if she wants to succeed," he said.
13. He said that she had to try harder if she wanted to succeed.

14. "My father will be angry with me if he finds out," she said.>
14. She said that her father would be angry with her if he found out.

15. "You had better speak to the manager," she said to him.
15. She told him that he had better speak to the manager.

16. "I may not be able to meet you at the airport," he said to her.
16. He told her that he might not be able to meet her at the airport. 

Reported
Speech -
English
grammar
rules   >>Te
st 1 & Test
2>>

 Reported Speech - Direct Speech and Indirect Speech

 
Direct Speech
Direct speech with quotation marks: "l learn at school".
 
Reported Speech Speech:
Reported Speech: He said he worked in a bank.

The tenses, word-order, pronouns are different from those in the direct speech
sentence.

Direct Speech Reported Speech

Jake says: "I bought some DVDs." Jake says that he bought some DVDs
 
Introduction Simple Present - English
 
Direct Speech Reported Speech

Susan says: “I want an ice-cream.” Susan says that she wants an ice-cream

 
Reported Speech Speech: Change of tenses
 
Introduction Tenses Direct Speech Tenses Reported Speech

Ann said: “I want ice-cream.” Ann said that she wanted ice-

 cream.

Simple Past Simple Present Simple Past

Simple Past
Simple Past Present Perfect Past Perfect
Past Perfect

Simple Past will would

Reported Speech: 'to be'

Simple Past am/is/are was/were

was/were
Simple Past have/has been had been
had been
 
The Past Perfect Tense does not change in the Reported Speech.
 
Questions - Reported Speech English
 
Do you like Jake?
She asked me if/whether I liked Jake.
 
Questions with questions words-  Reported Speech
 
“Who is your friend?”
She asked me who my friend was.
 
Commands Reported Speech - English
 
“Sit down!” - The teacher told them to sit down.
“Drink a lot of tea!” - He told us to drink a lot of tea.
 
Changes - Reported Speech
 
The tenses, word-order, pronouns are different from those in the direct speech
sentence.
 
Change of pronouns - Change of place and time - Reported Speech
 
Direct Reported Speech
  Speech (Reported speech)

I ⇒ he/she
We ⇒ they
my ⇒ his/her
Change of pronouns your ⇒ my
our ⇒ their
me ⇒ him/her
us ⇒ them

Change of place and here ⇒ there

 today ⇒ that day
this ⇒ that morning
morning ⇒ the day before
yesterday ⇒ the next day
time
tomorrow ⇒ the following week
next week ⇒ the following month
next
month
 

1. Direct Speech
In direct speech, we convey the message of the speaker in his own actual words
without any change to another person.

2. Indirect Speech
In indirect speech, we convey the message of the speaker in our own words to
another person.

3. Procedure of changing direct speech into indirect speech

1. Remove comma and inverted commas.
2. Put "that" between the reporting and reported speeches.(it is optional to
put "that" between the reporting and reported speech)
3. Change the 1st letter of reported speech into small letter except for "I"
4. Change the pronoun of the direct speech according to the rules described
in table 2
5. Change the tense of the direct speech appropriately according to rules
described in table 3.
6. Change the words expressing nearness in time or places of the direct
speech into its appropriate words expressing distance as per table 1

4. Rules for changing Direct into Indirect Speech

1. The past tense is often used when it is uncertain if the statement is true
or when we are reporting objectively.
 Indirect Speech Conversion

Present Tenses in the Direct Speech are changed into Past Tense.

Do Not Change Tense of reported Speech in Indirect Speech sentence

2. When there are two sentences combined with the help of a conjunction
and both sentences have got different tenses. then change the tenses of
both sentences according to the rule.
3. Words expressing nearness in time or places are generally changed into
words expressing distance.

Change of place and time

Here

Today

this mornin

Yesterday

Tomorrow

next week

next month
 Now

Ago

Thus

Last Night

This

These

Hither

Hence

Come

5.
6. Change in Pronouns
The pronouns of the Direct Speech are changed where necessary, according to
their relations with the reporter and his hearer, rather than with the original
speaker. If we change direct speech into indirect speech, the pronouns will
change in the following ways.

Rules

The first person of the reported speech changes according to the subject of reporting speech.

The second person of reported speech changes according to the object of reporting speech.

The third person of the reported speech doesn't change.

 7. Change in Tenses
The past perfect and past perfect continuous tenses do not change.

Rules Dir

Simple Present Changes "I always drink coffee", she said

To
Simple Past

Present Continuous Changes "I am reading a book", he explai

To
Past Continuous

Present Perfect Changes She said, "He has finished his w

To
Past Perfect

Present Perfect Continuous Changes "I have been to Spain", he told m

To
Past Perfect Continuous

Simple Past Changes "Bill arrived on Saturday", he sa

To
Past Perfect

Past Perfect Changes "I had just turned out the light," h
To
Past Perfect (No Change In Tense)

Past Continuous Changes "We were living in Paris", they to

To
Past Perfect Continuous

Future Changes "I will be in Geneva on Monday"

To
Present Conditional
 Future Continuous Changes She said, "I'll be using the car n
To
Conditional Continuous

8. Changes in Modals

Rules Direct Spee

CAN changes into COULD He said, "I can drive a car".

MAY changes into MIGHT He said, "I may buy a computer"

MUST changes into HAD TO He said, "I must work hard"

These Modals Do Not Change: Would, could, might, should, ought to.

Would They said, "we would apply for a visa"

Could He said, "I could run faster"

Might John said, "I might meet him".

Should He said, "I should avail the opportunity"

Ought to He said to me, "you ought to wait for him"

9.
10. Changes for Imperative Sentences
Imperative sentences consist any of these four things:

1. Order
2. Request
3. Advice
4. Suggestion
 

Most commonly used words to join clauses together are ordered, requested,
advised and suggested. Forbid(s)/ forbade is used for the negative sentences.

Mood of Sentence in Direct Speech

Order ordered

Request requested / e

Advice advised / urg

Never told, advised

Direction directed

Suggestion suggested to

Warning warn

(If a person is addressed directly) called

o Exclamatory Sentences
Exclamatory sentences expresses emotions. Interjections such as Hurrah, wow,
alas, oh, ah are used to express emotions. The word "that" is used as join
clause.

1. Rules for conversion of Exclamatory Direct Speech Sentences into

Indirect Speech Sentences
1. Exclamatory sentence changes into assertive sentence.
2. Interjections are removed.
3. Exclamation mark changes into full stop.
4. W.H words like , "what" and "how" are removed and before the
adjective of reported speech we put "very"
 5. Changes of "tenses" , "pronouns" and "adjectives" will be
according to the previous rules.

Mood of Sentence in Direct Speech

sorrow in reported speech Excla

happiness in reported speech excla

surprise in reported speech excla

appreciation and it is being expressed strongly appla

B. Interrogative Sentences
Interrogative sentences are of two types:

1. Interrogative with auxiliaries at the beginning.

2. Interrogatives with who, where, what, when, how etc., i.e. wh questions.

1. Rules for conversion of Interrogative Direct Speech Sentence into

Indirect Speech Sentences
There are some rules to change direct to Indirect speech of Interrogative
sentence:

RULES

Changes Direct Speech Condition

Reporting Verb said/ said to

Joining Clause If sentence begins with auxiliary verb

If sentence begins with "wh" questions

 Punctuation Question Mark

sentences is expressing positive feeling

Helping Verbs if 'No' is used in interrogative sentences

Did or has/have

1. Helping verbs (is, am, are, was, were) are used after the subject.
2. Adverbs and pronouns are converted according to the table 1 and table 2
respectively.

o Punctuation in Direct Speech

In direct speech, various punctuation conventions are used to separate the
quoted words from the rest of the text: this allows a reader to follow what's going
on.
Here are the basic rules:

RULES

The words that are actually spoken should be enclosed in inverted commas

Start new paragraph every time when a new speaker says something.

Comma, full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark must be present at the end of reported sentences.

If direct speech comes after the information about who is speaking, comma is used to introduce the piece
If the direct speech is broken up by information about who is speaking, comma (or a question mark or exc

o Rules for conversion of Indirect Speech to Direct Speech

To change from Indirect to Direct Speech, keep the rules of the Direct Speech
are applied in the reverse order.

1. Use the reporting verb, "say" or "said to" in its correct tense.
2. Remove the conjuctions "that, to, if or whether etc". wherever necessary.
3. Insert quotation marks, question mark, exclamation and fullstop,
wherever necessary.
4. Put a comma before the statement.
5. Write the first word of the statement with capital letter.
6. Change the past tense into present tense wherever the repoting verb is in
the past tense.
7. Convert the past perfect either into past tense or present perfect as found
necessary.
8. Be careful about the order of words in the question.

The following table will enable to find the kind of sentence:

Indirect (Conjunction)

That Statement (or) Exclamatory sentence

to, not to Imperative

requested + to Begin the imperative sentence with "pleas

if or whether Interrogative sentence (Helping Verb + Su

What, When, How etc., (Wh or How + Helping Verb + Subject + M