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Direct Speech & Indirect Speech

August 24, 2020
Category: Direct Speech & Indirect Speech

☼ Definition :– Direct speech indicates the actual expression (words) of a speaker. Indirect speech indicates the reported expression (words) of a speaker.

No.	Rule	Usage
1.	Reported speech expressing a universal truth or habitual fact is not changed.	D	My teacher said, “Slow and steady wins the race.”
1.		I	My teacher told that slow and steady wins the race.
2.	Reporting verb in the present or future tense remains unchanged.	D	Ram says, “I shall go to Bombay tomorrow. ”
2.		I	Ram tells that he will go to Bombay tomorrow.
3.	The simple past tense and the past continuous tense are not changed in the following cases. (a) Time clauses (b) A past historical event (c) An improbable condition (d) A past habit or custom	D	(a) Time clauses Raj said to his father, “When I went there, Mohan was reading a novel,”
		I	Raj told his father that when he went there, Mohan was reading book.
		D	(b) A past historical event My teacher said, “Gandhi was born in porbandar.”
		I	My teacher said that Gandhi was born in porbandar.
		D	(c) An improbable condition “if I said to my sister, Ramesh were a chief Minister, I would ask him help,”
		I	I told my sister that if Ramesh were a chief minister, I would ask him help.
		D	(d) A past habit or custom “People in India worshipped nature as God in the past,” our teacher said to us.
		I	Our teacher told us that People in India worshipped nature as God in the past.

4.	Reporting verb ‘said’ + to + noun/pronoun is changed into ‘told’ in statements.	D	Mahesh said to Maya, “I went to your school.”
		I	Mahesh told Maya that he had gone to her school.
5.	Other verbs like ‘reply / answer / inform / state’ may be used instead of ‘said’ or told in statements.	D	“My name is Rekha. I teach English at school,” she said.
		I	She replied that her name was Rekha and she taught English at school.
6.	‘That’ is used as a connecting word in reported speech in statements.	D	Ramesh said to Rekha, “I am writing the letter.”
		I	Ramesh told Rekha that he was writing the letter.
7.	The Interrogative form of the sentence must be turned into statement in reported speech.	D	“Where are you going ?” Kumar said to Kala.
		I	Kumar asked Kala where she was going.
8.	‘That’ is not used with ‘who/whom/ whose/what/which/when/why/where /how’ in interrogative sentences.	D	“What do you want?” kumar said to his friend.
		I	Kumar asked his friend what he wanted.

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