RULES TO CHANGE DIRECT SPEECH INTO INDIRECT OR REPORTED SPEECH

IMPORTANT POINTS

• REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE USUALLY ASKED TO REPORT A STATEMENT THAT WAS MADE
IN THE PAST.

• SENTENCES OF ALL KINDS, INTERROGATIVE, EXCLAMATORY OR IMPERATIVE HAVE TO BE

CHANGED INTO DECLARATIVE SENTENCES.

• REMEMBER TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES IN THE PRONOUNS IF THE PERSON

REPORTING AND THE PERSON SPEAKING ARE NOT THE SAME.

• PUNCTUATION MARKS SUCH AS “ “, ? AND ! ARE NOT USED IN REPORTED SPEECH.

**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.

The changes are shown below:

Simple present

“I always drink coffee”, she said.

Simple past

She said that she always drank coffee.

Present continuous

“I am reading a book”, he explained.

Past continuous

He explained that he was reading a book.

Present Perfect

Mary said,” I have read the book.”

Past Perfect

Mary said that she had read the book.

Present perfect continuous

They complained, “We have been waiting for hours”.

Past perfect continuous

They complained that they had been waiting for hours.

Simple past

“Bill arrived on Saturday”, he said.

Past perfect

He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday.

Past continuous

“We were living in Paris”, they told me.

Past perfect continuous

They told me that they had been living in Paris.

Past perfect

“I had just turned out the light,” he explained.

Past perfect

He explained that he had just turned out the light.

Past perfect continuous

“I had been exercising daily for a month when I began noticing an improvement in my fitness levels,”
he explained.

Past perfect continuous

He explained that he had been exercising for a week when he began noticing an improvement in his
fitness levels.
Simple Future

“I will be in Geneva on Monday”, he said.

Change in modal will

He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday.

Future continuous

She said, “I’ll be using the car next Friday”.

Change in modal will

She said that she would be using the car next Friday.

Future Perfect

She said to me, “I would have finished writing the report by Friday.”

No change in modal would

She told me that that she would have finished writing the report by Friday.

Future Perfect Continuous

“The team will have been practising for one hour by 9 am tomorrow,” the coach said.

Change in modal will

The coach said that the team would have been practising for one hour by 9 am the following day.

NOTE:

1. 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, if the statement is a habit, universal truth
etc.
He says, “I have missed the train, but I will catch the next one.” (The reporting verb is ‘says’)

He says that he has missed the train, but he will catch the next one.

2. “It is difficult to find our house,” We explained. (It means that it is still difficult to find our
house)

We explained that it is difficult to find our house.

3. She said to her friends, “I meditate for an hour every morning.” (Meditating is a daily habit)
 She told her friend that she meditates for an hour every morning.

4. “Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu,” The teacher said to the class. (It’s a universal truth)

The teacher informed the class that Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu.

**These modal verbs do not change in reported speech:

Might, Could, Would, Should, Ought to, E.g.

“It could be difficult to find our house,” we said.

We explained that it could be difficult to find our house.

“I might bring a friend to the party,” she said.

She said that she might bring a friend to the party.

** Changes in pronoun in Indirect Speech.

**The pronoun (subject) of the reported speech is changed according to the Noun/pronoun
(SUBJECT OR OBJECT) of the reporting verb.

**What are the subject and object of the reporting verb?

Example: Raman said to Nikhil, “I am tired today.”

Subject of the reporting verb- Raman

Object of the reporting verb- Nikhil

Example: He said to me, “I am hungry.”

Subject of the reporting verb- He

Object of the reporting verb- Me

Sometimes the pronoun may not change.

** First person pronoun in reported speech i.e. I, we, me, us, mine, or our, is changed according to
the pronoun of reporting verb, if the pronoun in the reporting verb is a third person pronoun i.e.
he, she, it, they, him, his, her, them or their.

Examples.

Direct speech: He said, “I live in New York”

Indirect speech: He said that he lived in New York.

Direct speech: They said, “We love our country”.

Indirect speech: They said that they loved their country.

** First person pronoun in reported speech i.e. I, we, me, us, mine, or our, is not changed if the
pronoun of the reporting verb is also a first-person pronoun i.e. I or we.

Examples.

Direct speech: I said, “I write books.”

Indirect speech: I said that I wrote books.

Direct speech: We said, “We completed our work.”

Indirect speech: We said that we had completed our work.

** Second person pronoun in reported speech i.e., you, yours is changed according to the person
of object of reporting verb.

Examples.

Direct speech: She said to him, “You are intelligent”.

Indirect speech: She told him that he was intelligent.

Direct speech: He said to me, “You are late for the party.”

Indirect speech: He told me that I was late for the party.

** Third person pronoun in reported speech i.e., he, she, it, they, him, his, her, them or their, are
not changed in indirect speech.

Examples.

Direct speech: They said, “He will come”.

Indirect speech: They said that he would come.

Direct speech: You said, “They are waiting for the bus.”
Indirect speech: You said that they were waiting for the bus.

**Changes in time and adverbs in indirect speech.

Time and adverbs are changed in indirect speech.

Examples.

Direct speech: He said, “I will buy a book tomorrow”.

Indirect speech: He said that he would buy a book the next day.

Direct speech: She said, “I am happy now”.

Indirect speech: She said that she was happy then.

Direct speech: He said, “I like this book”.

Indirect speech: He said that he liked that book.

**Common Rules

• Today changes to that day/the same day.

• Tomorrow changes to the next day/the following day • Yesterday changes to the day
before/the previous day.
• Next week/month/year changes to the following week/month/year • Last
week/month/year changes to the previous week/month/year
• Now/just changes to then.
• Ago changes to before
• Here changes to there
• This changes to that
**Modal changes in indirect speech.

Some modals in reported speech also shift back in time just like tenses do.

There are some modal verbs that change tense in reported speech.

The most used are:

MODAL VERBS MODAL VERBS IN REPORTED SPEECH

Must (obligation) Had to

Can Could

May (possibility) Might

May (permission) Could

Will Would

Shall Should

NOTE: Modal verbs that do not change: Could, might, must (speculation), need, ought, should and
would.

Examples

* Mario stated that “I can use cold colours instead of warm colours”. ⇒ Mario stated that he could
use cold colours instead of warm colours.

* “I may meet with my sister”, said my mother. ⇒ My mother said that she might meet with her
sister.

*He said, “My house must be located in Bordeaux”. ⇒ He said that his house must be located in
Bordeaux.

*They said, “It must be hard to understand the algebra”. ⇒ They said that it must be hard to
understand the algebra.

* He said” If nuclear energy is used mistakenly, we shall die”. ⇒ He said that if nuclear energy was
used mistakenly, we should die.

* Joe said that “I will fix the plug”. ⇒ Joe said that he would fix the plug.
**Question forms and reported speech.
Word order

Normal word order is used in reported questions, that is, the subject comes before the
verb, and it is not necessary to use 'do' or 'did':

Examples
Direct speech Indirect speech She said to
him, “Where does Peter live?" She asked him where Peter lived.

"Where are you going?" she asked. She asked where I was going.

"Why is she crying?" he asked. He asked why she was crying.

**Yes / no questions.

This type of question is reported by using 'asked' + 'if / whether' + clause:

Examples
Direct speech
He asked me “Do you speak English?" He
asked me if I spoke English.
He asked me "Are you British or American?"
He asked me whether I was British or American.

"Is it raining?" she asked. She

asked if it was raining.
He asked me “Have you got a computer?" He
wanted to know whether I had a computer.
He asked her “Can you type?" He
asked her if she could type.
He said to me “Did you come by train?"
He enquired whether I had come by train.
She asked Martha “Have you been to Bristol before?" She
asked Martha if she had been to Bristol before. **Wh
questions or non-yes/ no questions

This type of question is reported by using 'asked' (or another verb like 'asked') + question
word + clause. The clause contains the question, in normal word order and with the
necessary tense change.

Examples
Direct speech Indirect speech
"What is your name?" he asked me. He asked me what my name was.

"How old is your mother?", he asked. He asked how old her mother was.

The policeman said to the boy,

"Where do you live?" The policeman asked the boy where he
lived.
"What time does the train arrive?" she asked. She asked what time the train arrived.
"When can we have dinner?" she asked. She asked when they could have dinner.
Peter said to John, "Why are you so late?" Peter asked John why he was so late.

IMPERATIVE SENTENCES

In Imperative sentences, reported speech contains a command, order, request, advice, or

proposal etc. The verb in the reporting speech is changed according to the mood of the
reported sentence.

**In orders the imperative mood is changed into infinitive mood by adding the word ‘to’
after the object The phrase ‘said to’ is changed to ‘ordered’.
For Example:

a. He said to me, “Sit down.” He ordered

me to sit down.

b. The teacher said to the boys, “Leave

the room at once.” The teacher ordered the
boys to leave the room at once.

**If the reported speech contains a request, the phrase ‘said to’ is changed into requested.
The mood is changed to infinitive by adding ‘to’ after the object. In such cases mostly the
reported speech contains the word ‘Please’. The word ‘Please’ is removed without any word
in its place. Eg

“Please help me,” Madan said to Sheela. Madan

requested Sheela to help him. **The words
‘Sir or Madam’ in the reported speech are
removed and a word ‘respectfully’ is added in
the reporting speech. Eg

Ramya said to the principal, “Sir, would you address the students please.?” Ramya
respectfully requested the principal to address the students.
** In negative sentences the word ‘do’ is removed and in its place ‘not to’ is used.

For Example:

a.The teacher said to the boys, “Do not make noise.”

The teacher ordered the boys not to make noise.

b.The son said to his father,” Please do not go to office today.” The
son requested his father not to go to office that day.

** If the reported speech contains some advice, the phrase ‘said to’ in the reporting
speech is changed into advised. The mood is changed to infinitive by adding ‘to’ after the
object.

For Example:
a. His father said to John, “Work hard lest you should
fail.” His father advised John to work hard lest he should fail.

b. The teacher said to him,” Do not waste your time.”

The teacher advised him not to waste his time.

** If the reported speech starts with the phrase ‘Let us’ the phrase ‘said to’ in the
reporting speech is changed into ‘proposed to’ or ‘suggested to’.

The phrase ‘Let us’ is replaced with the phrases ‘we should, or ‘they should’ according to
subject and object in the reporting speech.

If either of subject or object in reporting speech is first person, the phrase ‘we should’ is
used and if these are in third person, the phrase ‘they should’ is used.

That is used after the object.

For example:

a. She said to me, “Let us go out for a picnic.”

She proposed to me that we should go out for a picnic.

b. He said to his wife, “Let us go shopping.”

He suggested to his wife that they should go shopping.

c. He said to them,” Let us not quarrel with each other.”

He suggested to them that they should not quarrel with each other.
** If the reported speech starts with the words ‘Do not’ the phrase ‘said to’ in the reporting
speech is changed into ‘forbade’. “From” is added after the object. The phrase ‘Do not’ is
removed.

For Example:

He said to me, “Do not make haste.”

He forbade me from making haste.

The word ‘forbade’ itself contains the meaning of not so the phrases ‘not or do not’ are not
used thereafter in the sentence.

**Both the words Please and Do not are sometimes used in a single sentence e.g.

The old man said to the boys, “Please do not disturb me.”
In such sentences ‘said to’ is changed into ‘requested’ and ‘to’ is added after the object but it
is preceded by ‘not’.
The old man requested the boys not to disturb him.

More Examples:
*The shopkeeper said to the customer, “Please do not touch the items on display.” The
shopkeeper requested the customer not to touch the items on display.

*The host said to the guests, “Please do not stand during the ceremony.” The
host requested the guests not to stand during the ceremony.

SENTENCES — starting with the word “Let”.

** If the reported speech starts with the word ‘Let’ the phrase ‘said to’ in the reporting
speech is changed into “told or asked”. ‘To’ follows the object.

For Example:

a.He said to the peon, “Let the boys come in.” He

told the peon to let the boys come in.
‘
b.The host said to the boy, “Let the guests start their dinner.” The
host told the boy to let the guests start their dinner.

c.The shopkeeper said to the customer, “Let me finish my work first.” The
shopkeeper told the customer to let him finish his work first.

d.The nurse said to the visitors, “Let the patient take rest for some time now.” The
nurse told the visitors to let the patient take rest for some time then.
Changing an Exclamatory Sentence into the Reported Speech

Exclamatory sentences express a sudden outburst of some emotions such as joy, sorrow,
contempt, regret, surprise etc. Common explanatory phrases are given below:

Hurrah, Aha, Ha! Exclaimed with happiness or joy that….

Alas, Ah! Exclaimed with sorrow that….
What, How, Oh! Exclaimed with surprise that….
Sorry! Exclaimed with regret that….
Pooh, Pshaw! Exclaimed with contempt that……
Bravo! Applauded him saying that……
An exclamatory sentence has a sign of exclamation after it which changes into a full stop in
the indirect speech.

In indirect speech, the exclamatory phrase or word (interjection) is replaced by ‘exclaimed

with joy, sorrow, regret, surprise, contempt etc.’

The words Hurrah, Alas, Bravo, What, How, Sorry etc. are removed while changing direct
into indirect speech.

In case of sentences containing what, how the words ‘very’ or ‘great’ are used.

*She said, “What a lovely rose!”

She exclaimed that it was a very lovely rose.

*The teacher said to him, “What a nice fellow you are!” The
teacher exclaimed that he was an extremely nice fellow.

Examples
Direct: The boy said, ‘Hurrah! We have won the match.’
Indirect: The boy exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
Direct: The old man said, ‘Alas! I have lost my purse.’
Indirect: The old man exclaimed with sorrow that he had lost his purse.
Direct: The child said, ‘What a beautiful sight!’
Indirect: The child exclaimed (with delight) that it was an incredibly beautiful sight. OR The
child exclaimed with delight that the sight was beautiful.
Direct: The girl said, ‘How beautiful the rainbow is!’
Indirect: The girl exclaimed (with delight) that the rainbow was incredibly beautiful. Direct:
The candidate said, ‘How difficult the problem is!’
Indirect: The candidate exclaimed (with disapproval) that the problem was difficult.
Direct: The students said to the teacher, ‘Good morning, Teacher!’ Indirect: The
students respectfully wished their teacher good morning.
Direct: ‘How glad I am,’ said Alice, ‘to meet my friend here.’
 Indirect: Alice exclaimed (with delight) that she was glad to meet her friend there. Direct:
The Emperor said, ‘Alas! Our foes are too strong!’
Indirect: The Emperor exclaimed with sorrow that their foes were too strong.
Direct: ‘Hurrah!’ cried the boy, ‘I have won a prize.’ Indirect:
The boy exclaimed with delight he had won a prize.
Direct: He said, “Bravo! You have done well".
Indirect: He applauded him saying that he had done well
Direct: The spectators said, “Bravo! Well played, Sachin".
Indirect: The spectators applauded Sachin saying that he had played well.
Direct: They said, “Bravo! An exceptionally fine score".
Indirect: They shouted with applause that it was an exceptionally fine score.
Direct: She said, “Pooh! What a clumsy fellow he is.”
Indirect: She exclaimed with contempt that he was a very clumsy fellow.
Direct: She said, “What! You have won the case.”
Indirect: She exclaimed with surprise that he had won the case.

NOTE -The words in brackets may or may not be used.

In sentences starting with the words ‘Good Morning or Good Evening, the verb in the
reporting speech is changed into ‘wished’. In case of ‘Goodbye’ the word ‘bade’ is used.

The lady said, “Good morning, gentlemen.” The

lady wished the gentlemen good morning.

The boy said, “Goodbye, mother”.

The boy bade his mother goodbye.

The children said to him, “Good evening, Sir.”

The children respectfully wished him good evening.

**In sentences containing a wish and generally starting with the word ‘May', the verb in the
reporting speech is changed into ‘Prayed’. 'May' is changed according to verb in the reporting
speech.

For Example:

a. She said, “May you succeed in the examination!"

She prayed that I might succeed in the examination.

b. He said," May God bless you with success!"

He prayed that God might bless me with success.