Look at the following picture and read the sentences given below :
1.
The teacher said to the students,
“Welcome back to school.”
2.
The teacher welcomed the students back to school.
Direct Speech : In Direct Speech, the
actual words spoken by a person are quoted within inverted commas
(“...........”). In the first
sentence below the picture, the actual words spoken by the teacher are quoted
without any change. Indirect Speech : In Indirect Speech,
the gist/meaning/matter of the speaker’s words is conveyed without
quoting the actual words. In the second sentence below the picture, the
meaning of the teacher’s words is conveyed without quoting her actual words.
Components
of Direct Speech : There are two parts of Direct Speech
(i)
Reporting Verb : The
part of the sentence outside the inverted commas is called Reporting Speech. It
is generally termed as Reporting Verb. It
has three parts : Subject, Reporting Verb and
Object. In certain cases, the object may be
missing.
(ii)
Reported Speech : The part of the
sentence enclosed within the inverted commas is called the Reported Speech. A
Reported Speech also has a Subject and a Verb
with other extensions (other parts of speech).
Read
the sentence given below and study its structure:
Direct
: She said to me,
“I am going to Delhi.” Direct : Reporting Verb, “Reported Speech.” Direct : (She) (said) (to me),
“I am going to Delhi.”
Direct : (Subject) (Reporting Verb) (Object), “Subject
and Verb of Reported Speech (with other extensions).”
Components
of the Indirect Speech : The Indirect
Speech is a Complex Sentence made of a Principal Clause (Reporting Speech) and
a Subordinate Clause (Reported Speech), generally joined by a conjunction. Look
at the following example :
She told me that she was going to Delhi. (Indirect Speech) (Principal Clause) Conjunction (Subordinate Clause)
|
Direct
Speech |
Indirect
Speech |
|
Actual words of the speaker are quoted in inverted commas. |
Actual words of the speaker are not quoted. The meaning or matter of the reported speech is conveyed indirectly. |
|
There are two parts : Reporting Verb and Reported Speech. |
There is one complex sentence with a
Principal Clause and a Subordinate Clause. |
|
Reporting Verb and Reported Speech are separated by comma.
Reported Speech is enclosed within inverted commas. |
There is no
use of comma to separate Reporting Verb and
Reported Speech. Inverted commas
are removed. |
|
Reported Speech in inverted
commas starts with a capital letter. |
Reported speech becomes the
subordinate clause of a Complex Sentence. Hence, it starts with a small letter. |
|
There is no use of Conjunction, as Reporting Verb and Reported
Speech are separated by a comma and inverted commas. |
In most of the cases, Reported speech
is introduced by a conjunction. |
Rule-I
: Inverted commas are removed.
Rule-II : Look at the tense of the reporting verb.
(a) If the tense of Reporting Verb in Direct Speech is Present or Future Tense, there will be no change in the tense of the Reported Speech while changing the Direct Speech into Indirect Speech.
For
Example :
Direct :
The teacher says to the students, “I have corrected your notebooks.”
Indirect :
The teacher tells the students that she has corrected their notebooks.
(b)
If the tense
of Reporting Verb in Direct Speech is
Past Tense, follow the rules regarding the change of tense discussed later in this chapter.
Rule-III : Rules regarding the change in Personal Pronouns
Important Note : While changing
the Personal Pronouns, the Gender and Case of the Personal Pronouns
should be kept the same. Study the
table given below.
|
Personal Pronouns |
Nominative Case |
Accusative Case |
Possessive Case |
|
First Person |
I, we |
me, us |
my, mine,
our, ours |
|
Second Person |
You, thou |
you, thee |
your, yours, thine |
|
Third person |
he, she, it, they |
him, her, it, them |
his, her, hers, its, their, theirs |
(i)
Pronouns of
the First Person in
the Reported Speech change according to the Subject
of the Reporting
Verb. The case will remain
the same.
Direct : My sister said to me, “I don’t want to waste my time”.
My sister (Subject,
Third Person) said to me, “I (First person, Nominative Case) don’t
want to waste my
(First Person, Possessive Case) time.”
Indirect : My sister told me that she (Third person,
Nominative Case) did not want to waste her (Third Person, Possessive Case)
time.
(ii) Pronouns of the Second Person in the Reported Speech change according to the Object of the Reporting Verb. The case will remain the same.
For
Example :
Direct : I said to her, “You should do your work.”
I said to her
(Object, Third Person), “You (Second
person, Nominative Case) should
do your (Second Person,
Possessive Case) work.”
Indirect : I
advised her that
she (Third
Person, Nominative Case) should do her
(Third Person, Possessive
Case) work.
(iii) Pronouns of the Third Person in the
Reported Speech remain unchanged.
For Example :
Direct : Asha said to me, “He (Third
Person) is wasting his (Third Person)
time.”
Indirect : Asha
told me that he (Third Person)
was wasting his (Third Person) time.
The following table will help the learners to learn the rules of Pronouns :
|
Reporting
Verb |
S |
O |
N |
|
Reported
Speech |
I |
II |
III |
Here : S = Subject I
= First Person
O = Object II
= Second Person
N = No change III
= Third Person
Rule- IV : Subject-verb agreement
must be followed when Pronoun
or Tense in the Reported Speech is
changed.
For Example :
Direct : I say to my friend, “You are very hard-working.”
Indirect : I
tell my friend that he
is very hard-working. Direct : I said to my friend, “You are very
hard-working.” Indirect : I told my friend
that he was very hard-working.
Rule-V : A conjunction is used to introduce the Reported Speech.
The use of conjunction depends on the type of
sentence of the Reported Speech. The following table will elaborate this concept.
|
Type of Sentence in Reported Speech |
Conjunction Used to join Reporting
Verb and Reported Speech |
|
Assertive Sentences (Affirmative and Negative) |
that |
|
Interrogative Sentences (Single) |
if/whether |
|
Interrogative Sentences (Double : with Wh-words) |
Wh-word used in the Reported Speech |
|
Imperative Sentences |
Infinitive with to/that |
|
Exclamatory Sentences |
that |
|
Optative Sentences |
that |
Rule-VI
: The tense of Reporting Verb remains the same. If the Reporting Verb is ‘say’, ‘says’, ‘will say’, or
‘said’ it remains the same. If Reporting Verb is followed by ‘to’ and an object,
there will be the following changes in the
Reporting Verbs if the Reported
Speech is an Assertive Sentence.
For Examples :
|
say to him |
tell him |
|
says to me |
tells me |
|
will say to her |
will tell her |
|
said to you |
told you |
Rule-I : If the Reporting Verb
is in Present Tense or Future
Tense, there will be no change in the
tense of the Reported Speech.
For Example :
Direct : My
mother says, “The food is
ready.” Indirect : My
mother says that the food is
ready. Direct : He
says to me, “I am
studying here.” Indirect
: He tells me that he is
studying here. Direct
: Tarun will say, “I was
sleeping.” Indirect
: Tarun will say that he was
sleeping.
Rule-II : If the Reporting Verb is in Past Tense, the tense of the Reported Speech will change to its corresponding tense in the Past Tense. The following table explains the change in tense :
|
Direct
Speech |
Indirect
Speech |
|
Simple Present (V1) Present Continuous (is/am/are+ V1+ ing) Present Perfect (has/have+V3) Present Perfect Continuous
(has/have +been+ V1+ing) Simple Past (V2) Past Continuous (was/were+ V1+ ing) Past Perfect (had+V3) Past
Perfect Continuous (had +been+ V1+ing) Simple Future (will/shall+V1) Future Continuous (will/shall+be+V1+ing) Future Perfect
(will/shall+ have+ V3) Future Perfect Continuous (will/shall+ have+ been+
V1+ing) |
Simple Past (V2) Past Continuous (was/were+ V1+ ing) Past Perfect (had+V3) Past
Perfect Continuous (had+ been+ V1+ing) Past Perfect (had+V3) Past Perfect
Continuous (had +been+ V1+ing) Past Perfect (had+V3) Past Perfect Continuous
(had +been+ V1+ing) Past form of Simple Future (would+ V1) Past form of Future Continuous
(would+be+V1+ing) Past form of Future Perfect (would+have+V3) Past form of Future Perfect Continuous (would+ have+ been+ V1+ing) |
For Example :
Direct : My
mother said, “The food is
ready.” Indirect : My
mother said that the food was
ready. Direct : He
said to me, “I am
studying here.” Indirect
: He told me that he was
studying there. Direct
: John said, “I was
sleeping.”
Indirect : John said that
he had been sleeping.
Direct
: My sister said to me, “I don’t
like
mangoes.”
Indirect : My sister told me that she did not like mangoes
Rule-III : Modal Auxiliaries are changed according to the table given below.
|
Direct
Speech |
Indirect
Speech |
|
can |
could |
|
will/shall |
would |
|
may |
might |
|
could/should/would/might |
No change |
For Example :
Direct : He said to me, “You can take my book.”
Indirect : He told me
that I could take his book.
Direct : The teacher said to the student, “You may go now.”
Indirect : The teacher told the student that she might go then.
Rule-IV : Change of
‘Must’
(i)
If must
indicates future necessity or compulsion, it changes into would+ have + to + V1 (Conditional)
For Example :
Direct : He said, “I must finish this work by tomorrow.”
Indirect : He
said that he would
have to finish that work by the next day.
(ii) For immediate necessity, ‘must’
is changed into ‘had to’.
For Example :
Direct
: He said, “I must go home now.”
Indirect
: He said that he had to go home then.
(iii)
When ‘must’
indicates permanent rule, prohibition etc, it does not change.
For Example :
Direct : The teacher
said, “The students must not miss my
class.”
Indirect : The
teacher said that the students must
not miss her class. Rule-V : Change of Modal Auxiliaries ‘Need’ and ‘Dare’ : ‘Dare’
and ‘Need’ are used as a semi modal
verb. ‘Dare’ means to have the courage
to do something. Both are
mostly used negatively.
For Example :
Direct : He said to me,
“You need not go to market.”
Indirect : He told me that I need not go to market. Direct : He said to me, “I dare not talk to the teacher.” Indirect : He told me that he dare not talk to the teacher.
Rule-VI : Adverbs of Time and
Place and some other words are changed according to the table given below. If the tense of the Reported Speech
is not changed, the
adverbials of time and place are also not changed.
|
Direct
Speech |
Indirect
Speech |
|
this these here, hither hence, hereby
come now today tonight yesterday last week/month/year
last night tomorrow next week/month/year ago |
that those there, thither thence, thereby go then that day that night the previous day the previous week/month/year the night before/the previous
night the next day/the following year the following week/month/year before |
There are a few exceptional situations when the tense of the Reported
Speech is not changed even if the Reporting Verb is in the Past Tense.
(a)
If the
Reported Speech is a Universal Truth, a Mathematical fact, Geographical fact,
Historical fact, Chemical fact or some other fact, the tense is not changed.
For
Example :
Direct : The teacher
said, “The Earth revolves
around the sun. Indirect : The teacher
said that the Earth revolves around the sun.
Direct
: He said to me, “Two and
two make four.”
Indirect : He told me that two and two make four.
Direct : He said to me, “Water boils at 100° Celsius.”
Indirect : He
told me that water boils
at 100° Celsius. Direct
: He said to me, “The Taj Mahal is
in Agra.” Indirect : He
told me that the Taj Mahal is
in Agra.
(b)
If the Reported Speech is a Proverb or an act of morality, the tense is not
changed.
For Example :
Direct : Riya said to her
brother, “Honesty is the best policy.”
Indirect : Riya told her brother
that honesty is the
best policy.
(c)
If the
Reported Speech explains some habitual act, the tense is not changed.
Direct : The
teacher said, “Mohan always comes
late.” Indirect : The
teacher said that Mohan always comes
late. Direct : He
said to me, “I go
for a walk daily.”
Indirect : He told me
that he goes for a walk
daily.
(d)
If the
Reported Speech refers to past time/date/year, the tense is not changed.
For Example :
Direct : My mother said
to me, “India got
freedom on 15th August 1947.”
Indirect : My
mother told me that India got
freedom on 15th August 1947.
(e)
If the Reported Speech
expresses two simultaneous actions, the tense remains the same.
For Example :
Direct
: He said to me, “I played when my
brother slept.”
Indirect
: He told me that he played when his
brother slept.
Direct : He
said to me, “I was
completing my homework when my mother was cooking food.”
Indirect : He told me that he was completing his homework
when his mother was cooking food.
(f) If the action expressed in the Reported Speech continues at the time of Reporting, the tense is not changed.
For Example :
Direct : He said to me,
“Prices are going up.”
Indirect : He told me that prices are going
up.
Direct
: He said to me, “India is
progressing by leaps and bounds.”
Indirect
: He told me that India is
progressing by leaps and bounds.
(g)
If the Reported Speech
expresses an imaginary
condition or an unreal
condition, the tense is not changed.
For Example :
Direct : He said, “If
my friend were here,
I would be very
happy.” Indirect : He
said that if his friend were there, he would be very happy. Direct
: He said to me, “If you had invited me,
I would have attended the party.”
Indirect : He
told me that if I had
invited him, he would have attended the party.
There are different
rules for different
types of sentences
for changing Direct Speech into Indirect Speech.
Therefore, it is very important
to find out what
type of sentence Reported Speech
is. Reported Speech
in Direct Speech
may be an
1.
Assertive Sentence
2.
Interrogative Sentence
3.
Imperative Sentence
4.
Exclamatory Sentence
5.
Optative Sentence
Assertive Sentences are simple statements. There are two types : Affirmative
Sentences and Negative Sentences.
1. Remove inverted commas and use the conjunction ‘that’ to join the Reporting Speech and the Reported Speech.
2.
Change Personal Pronouns
according to General rules.
3.
Follow Tense related rules to change or not to change the Tense.
For Example :
Direct : He said, “I am watching T.V.”
Indirect
: He said that he was watching T.V.
Direct : My
friend said to me, “I have
solved the sum.” Indirect
: My friend told me that
he had
solved the sum. Direct
: He said to me, “I can
explain the situation” Indirect
: He told me that
he could
explain the situation. Direct
: She said to me, “I was
waiting for you.”
Indirect : She told me that she had been waiting for
me.
Direct : My brother said to me, “I will work
hard to stand first in the class.”
Indirect : My
brother told me that
he would
work hard to stand first in the class.
Exercise 1
(Unsolved)
1.
She said to me, “I will go to
Delhi next week.”
2.
Rajan said to him, “I returned
your book yesterday.”
3.
My sister said
to me, “I have to finish my work before 5 o’clock today.”
4.
The teacher
said to the students, “You must
attend your classes regularly.”
5.
The stranger said to me, “I
belong to Rajasthan.”
6.
The captain said to players, “In case of rain we will
cancel the match.”
7.
My friend said to me, “You can take my book if you want to study.”
8.
My neighbour said to me, “Someone
has stolen my scooter.”
9.
His brother said to him, “I am going to watch
a movie.”
10. Riya said to me, “I shall go to Chennai next week.”
Interrogative Sentences are questions. There
are two types of Interrogative Sentences :
(a) Single Interrogative Sentence
: It starts with a Primary Auxiliary or a Modal Auxiliary. Such sentences are answered in ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
For Example
: Are you a teacher? Yes/No
Will you marry me? Yes/No
(b) Double Interrogative Sentence : It starts with
a ‘Wh-word’ (Interrogative Pronoun or Interrogative Adverb).
For Example : What is your name?
Who are you?
Where are you going?
1.
Change the
reporting verb into ask/asked, enquire/enquired, or wonder/wondered etc.
2.
Remove
inverted commas. If the Reported Speech is a Single Interrogative Sentence, use
the conjunction ‘if’ or ‘whether’ to
join the Reporting Speech and the Reported Speech.
3.
If the
Reported Speech is a Double Interrogative Sentence, use the Wh-word given in
the Reported Speech as a conjunction.
4.
Follow the rules of Pronouns
and Tenses.
5.
In Indirect
Speech, Interrogative Sentence, given in the Reported Speech, changes
into an Assertive
Sentence. Therefore, the places of Subject and Verb are exchanged. This is known as Inversion. Sign of Interrogation
(?) is removed.
For Example : Is he
your
friend? (Interrogative Sentence)
He is your friend. (Assertive Sentence)
6.
Helping verbs : ‘do’, ‘does’, or ‘did’ are removed.
For
Example :
Direct
: He said to me, “Do you live in Delhi?”
Indirect
: He asked me if I lived in Delhi.
Direct : He said to me,
“When are you going to
Ajmer?”
Indirect : He asked me when I was going to Ajmer.
Direct :
The teacher said to the students, “Who
broke the chair?” Indirect
: The teacher asked the students who had broken the
chair. Direct
: She said to me, “Shall I open
the door?”
Indirect : She asked me if she should open the door.
Direct
: My father said to me, “Have
you seen my spectacles?”
Indirect :
My father asked me if
I had seen his spectacles. Direct : My sister said to me, “Why are you disturbing me?” Indirect : My sister asked me why I was disturbing
her.
Questions Starting with Shall I/We
1.
If
‘shall’ indicates Future Tense or some information/speculation, it
changes into ‘would’.
For Example :
Direct : He said to me,
“Shall we ever meet
again?”
Indirect
: He wondered if we would ever meet again.
2.
If
‘shall’ indicates seeking advice or a
request, it changes into ‘should’.
For Example :
Direct
: Ritu said, “Shall I open the
door?”
Indirect : Ritu asked if she should open the door.
3.
If ‘shall’ indicates an offer, it
is replaced with the verb ‘offer’.
For Example :
Direct
: She said to me, “Shall I bring you
something to eat?”
Indirect : She offered to bring me something to eat.
4.
If ‘shall’ indicates a suggestion, it is replaced
with the verb ‘suggest’.
For Example :
Direct : He said, “Shall we meet again tomorrow?”
Indirect : He suggested meeting again the next day.
Questions
Starting with Will you/Would you/Could you
1. If the questions starting with ‘will you’, ‘would you’ or ‘could you’ are ordinary questions, the rules of single interrogative sentences will be applied.
2.
If the
questions starting with ‘will you’, ‘would you’ or ‘could you’ indicate an
order, request or offer, the changes will be made accordingly as explained in
the following examples :
Direct : He
shouted, “Will you keep
silent?” (order) Indirect : He ordered me
to keep silent.
Direct : She said to
me, “Could you give
me some sugar?” (request) Indirect : She requested me to give her some sugar.
Direct : She said to
me, “Would you like to have a drink?” (offer) Indirect : She invited me
for a drink. Or, She offered me
a drink.
Exercise 2
(Unsolved)
1.
The shopkeeper said to the boy, “What do you want to buy?”
2.
The student said to the teacher, “Can you explain
the sum again?”
3.
The father said to his son, “Where have you kept my spectacles?”
4.
The teacher said to the student,
“Why have you come late today?”
5.
I said to him, “When are you shifting
to your new house?”
6.
My father said
to my sister, “Why have you not prepared your lessons?”
7.
He said to his guest, “Shall
I make you a cup of tea?”
8.
The secretary said to the visitor,
“Whom do you want to see?”
9.
He said to me, “Are you building a new house?”
10.
My uncle said to me, “When
does the postman
come every day?”
Imperative Sentences express an order,
command, request, prohibition or advice. These sentences start directly with
the first form of Verb or ‘Don’t’,
followed by the first form of Verb.
1.
Change the
Reporting Verb in order/ordered,
request/requested, command/commanded, forbid/forbade or advise/advised according to the meaning implied in the Reported Speech.
2.
The Imperative Mood is changed
into Infinitive Mood.
3.
Change the
first form of verb into Positive Infinitive (to+V1) and ‘Don’t+ V1’ into Negative Infinitive (not+to+V1). For
Negative Infinitive, the verb ‘Forbid’ can also be used.
For Example :
Direct : The
boss said to his employee, “Show
me the report.” Indirect
: The boss ordered his employee to
show him the report. Direct : My father said to me, “Take care of your health.” Indirect : My father advised me to take care
of my health.
Direct : My sister
said to me, “Please, don’t disturb me.
Indirect : My sister
requested me not to disturb
her.
Direct : The Commander
said to the soldiers, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy.
Move forward.”
Indirect : The Commander
commanded the soldiers not to be
afraid
of
the enemy and to move forward.
Direct : The gardener
said to the boys, “Don’t pluck the flowers.”
Indirect : The gardener forbade the boys from plucking the flowers.
There are different ways to use ‘Let’ in Imperative
Sentences.
(a)
To Propose or Suggest something :
In such a case, the Reporting Verb is
changed into ‘proposed’ or ‘suggested’ and ‘Let’ is changed into ‘should’.
Conjunction ‘that’ is used.
For
Example :
Direct : She said to us, “Let’s go for shopping.”
Indirect : She proposed to us that we should go for shopping.
(b)
To permit/get permission : In such
cases, ‘Let’ is changed into ‘to let’ or ‘might
be allowed to’. Conjunction ‘that’
is used.
For
Example :
Direct :
Rohit said to his father,
“Let me choose the subject
I want to study.”
Indirect
: Rohit asked his father to let him
choose the subject he wanted to study.
(c)
To express a condition or supposition :
In such a case, ‘Let’ is changed into ‘might’. Conjunction ‘that’ is used.
For
Example :
Direct : He said, “Let him try ever so hard, he will not stand first in the class.”
Indirect : He said that he would not stand first in the class
however hard he might try.
Exercise 3
(Unsolved)
1.
The teacher said to the
students, “Don’t make a noise.”
2.
She said to her father, “Let me buy the dress I want to.”
3.
The Principal said to the boys,
“Work hard if you want to succeed.”
4.
My mother said to me, “Clean
your room and arrange your books.”
5.
The beggar said, “Please give
me a rupee.”
6.
The leader
said to his followers, “Let’s do something for our motherland.”
7.
He said to his son, “Never tell
a lie.”
8.
The Principal said to the peon,
“Bring that file to me.”
9.
The captain said to the
soldiers, “Fire at the enemy.”
10.
My friend said to me, “Let’s play cricket.”
Exclamatory Sentences express a sudden or a
strong feeling. These sentences start with an Interjection such as ‘Hurrah’,
‘Alas’, ‘Oh’, ‘What’, ‘How’ etc.
1.
The Exclamatory Sentence is
changed into Assertive Sentence.
2.
The Reporting Verb is changed into exclaimed or
exclaimed with (Joy, sorrow, wonder etc. according to the
Interjection given in the Direct Speech).
3.
Conjunction ‘that’
is used to join the Reporting Verb and the Reported Speech.
4.
‘Interjection’ or any other
exclamatory word is removed.
5.
All the rules of Pronouns and Tenses are
followed.
6.
Mark of exclamation is removed.
What! Oh! Good Heavens! etc. express wonder/surprise.
Alas! Ah! etc. express grief or pain.
Hark! Hush! Lo! Behold! express attention. Pooh! Pooh!
express contempt.
Damn!
expresses swear.
Bravo!
expresses applaud/encouragement.
Direct : She said, “Alas! I have injured my hand.”
Indirect : She exclaimed with sorrow that she had injured her hand. Direct :
The players said, “Hurrah! We have
won the match.” Indirect : The
players exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
Direct : The captain said to the players, “Bravo!
You played very well today.”
Indirect : The captain applauded the players saying that they had
played very well that day.
Direct : She said, “How beautiful the scenery is!”
Indirect : She exclaimed that the scenery was very beautiful.
Direct : She said, “How foolish I have been!”
Indirect : She confessed that she had been very foolish.
Exercise 4
(Unsolved)
1.
My brother said, “Hurrah!
I have got the first rank in my class.”
2.
He said, “Alas! I have lost my son.”
3.
She said to me, “Good Heavens!
You have come again.”
4.
He said to the boy, “Pooh! Pooh! What a dirty fellow you are!”
5.
The students said, “How difficult the question paper
is!”
6.
She said to her son, “Hush!
The baby is sleeping.”
7. My friend said to me, “How nice of you to have come.”
8.
She said, “Hurrah! My brother has won a lottery prize.”
9.
The boy said, “Oh! I have forgotten my book at home.”
10.
I said, “What a tongue twister!”
Optative Sentences express
a wish, desire,
blessing, prayer or curse. The use
of Modal Auxiliaries ‘May’ and ‘Would’ is
common in these sentences. Conditional sentences using
‘were’ are also used to express a wish.
1.
Reporting verb is changed into
wished/prayed/desired/cursed etc.
2.
The word ‘wish’ used in the Direct Speech is
removed.
3.
If the Reporting Verb is in Past Tense, ‘May’ is changed into ‘Might’.
4.
‘Were’ used in Conditional Sentences is changed into ‘had been’
if the Reporting Verb is in Past Tense.
5.
We wish good morning,
good afternoon, good evening or good night.
6.
We bid welcome,
farewell or good-bye.
For Example :
Direct :
He said to me, “May you get success in life!.”
Indirect
: He wished that I might get success in life.
Direct : He
said, “Good morning, teacher.” Indirect :
He wished good morning to his teacher. Direct
: She said, “Good bye, friends.”
Indirect : She
bade farewell to her friends. Direct : He
said, “I wish I were a king!” Indirect : He
wished that he had been a king. Direct : He
said, “O for a glass of water!”
Indirect : He desired
strongly for a glass of water.
Exercise 5 (Unsolved)
Change the Narration
:
1.
I said to my friend, “May you get well soon!”
2.
My friend said to me, “Good
luck to you!”
3. John said, “O for a house to live in!”
4.
He said, “I wish I were the
Prime Minister!”
5.
My mother said to me, “May you get all the success in life!”
6.
The blind man said, “May God
bless you!”
7.
I said to my parents, “Good Night!”
8.
The teacher
said to the students, “May you all fare well in your examination!”
9.
She said to her friend, “May
you recover soon!”
10.
He said, “O for a cup of tea!”
Exercise
6 (Unsolved)
Change the Narration :
1.
He said to me, “You can go now.”
2.
Radha said, “I bought these
books yesterday.”
3.
Priyanka said to me, “I lost my book last night.”
4.
He said, “I have found a gold coin today.”
5.
She said to me, “I will wait for you here.”
6.
Pratibha said to her friend, “I should go back home
now.”
7.
The servant says to his master, “The dinner is ready.”
8.
Nehru said, “The Ganga has been a symbol of India’s culture.
9.
The teacher said to the students,
“You should obey your parents.”
10.
He said to the doctor,
“There is no hope for him unless
you treat him.”
Exercise 7
(Unsolved)
Change the Narration :
1.
The tourist said to the guide,
“How long does it take to reach
Manali?”
2.
He said to me, “Shall I help you?”
3.
I said to him, “When are you coming
to my home?”
4.
The daughter said to her mother, “What have you prepared in lunch?”
5.
He said to his neighbour, “Who has spoiled
my garden?”
6.
She said to me, “Do you know the way to railway station?”
7.
I said to him, “What have you got as your birthday gift?”
8.
She said to me, “Why did you hurt my brother?”
9.
My friend said to me, “Are you looking
for a new job?”
10.
Amit said to his brother,
“How did you fare in your final examination?”
Change the Narration :
Exercise
8 (Unsolved)
1.
He said to me, “You have no liking for poetry.”
2.
She said, “May God bless the
new born baby!”
3.
I said to him, “Did you go to
school today?”
4.
The boys screamed, “Bravo! It
is a big hit!”
5.
The boy said to his mother, “Let me play for some time.”
6.
He said to her, “Are you well?”
7.
She said, “You mustn’t break your promise.”
8.
The officer said to his men,
“Attack the enemy.”
9.
The teacher asked her why she
was late.
10. He said to me, “Let him play cunningly, he will not be able to defeat you.”
Change the Narration :
Exercise 9 (Unsolved)
1.
Mother said, “Go ahead and do
well in life.”
2.
He said, “Do it at once.”
3.
You said to us,
“Why were they quarrelling at night?”
4.
Her sister said, “How stupid
you are!”
5.
He said, “I must win the prize.”
6.
Sonam said to her mother, “Where are the keys?”
7.
We wished them
success in life.
8.
The Fox said, “How clever I am!”
9.
The Principal
said to the students, “You should
always respect your teachers.”
10.
“What a lovely flower!” I said.
Exercise 10
(Unsolved)
Change the Narration :
1.
I said to her, “Are you comfortable now?”
2.
He said to me, “You can trust me.”
3. He said to Sonam, “Whose car is that?”
4.
Money said to Simmy, “I am going to Jaipur tomorrow.”
5.
Manav said to Hari, “Please
lend me some money.”
6.
I said to him, “Let us go to
the cinema tonight.”
7.
He said to me, “Let me know if I can do something
for you.”
8.
The officer said, “March
forward, boys.”
9.
The Guru said, “Do good and
expect nothing in return.”
10.
He said, “If he were a king!”
Exercise 11
(Unsolved)
Change the Narration :
1.
She said to him, ‘‘Where are you staying?”
2.
I said to my secretary,‘‘ Don’t disturb me.”
3.
Mother said to her, ‘‘Why
don’t you finish your meals quickly?”
4.
He said to the teacher, “Don’t blame me, Sir.”
5.
I said, “Good bye, friends.”
6.
“You are a coward”,
said the girl.
7.
Yoga teacher said, “Take a deep breath.”
8.
The manager said to the waiter, “Shut up.”
9.
“Alas! I have no money”, said
the gambler.
10.
She said, “May I go home, Sir?”
Exercise 12
(Unsolved)
Change the Narration
:
1.
I said to her, “Does that book belong to you?”
2.
He said to me, “When is your
last paper?”
3.
I said to her, “Have you learnt your lesson?”
4.
She said to me, “I can help you
in studies.”
5.
His friend said to him, “You must work hard for success.”
6.
I asked her where she had been missing.
7.
The old woman said, “God be
with you, my child.”
8.
Children said to her, “Good morning, madam.”
9.
His wife said to him, “Good
night darling, I am going to sleep now.”
10.
She said to me, “Let’s not run after the wealth.”
Exercise 13
(Unsolved)
Change the Narration
:
1.
The teacher said to the boys,
“Are you ready for the test?”
2.
She said to her friend, “Where
should I wait for you?”
3.
The bus conductor said, “Come
inside, Sir.”
4.
I said, “Hurrah! My buddy has won.”
5.
The officer said, “Get ready
for a long race.”
6.
She said, “I wish I were the
Prime Minister of India!”
7.
Bose said to
the volunteers, “Give me blood and I will get you freedom.”
8.
He said to his boss, “Forgive
my mistakes, Sir.”
9.
I said to the boy, “Get me a glass of water.”
10.
The old man said, “Farewell, my son.”
Exercise 14
(Unsolved)
Change the Narration
:
1.
Rosy said to her mother, “I will come on Monday.”
2.
She said to the peon, “Do you know when the Principal will come?”
3.
Surabhi said to her niece, “I
am busy today.”
4.
Prabhjot said to the child, “You better see the doctor now.”
5.
I said, “Will you be quiet for sometime?”
6.
Farzana said, “I must go soon.”
7.
Anurag said, “I like this story,”
8.
Bindu said, “I wish I could
help you.”
9.
Varinder said, “Did she
like the movie?”
10.
Deepak said, “It’s a great idea to see the play today.”
Exercise 15
(Unsolved)
Change the Narration
:
1.
Sachin said, “I don’t want to
play anymore.”
2.
“What is going in your mind?”
Geeta said to her brother.
3. He reminded me that he would meet me the next day.
4.
She says, “I will be a lawyer
when I grow up.”
5.
Pardeep said, “If I were rich,
I would travel a lot.”
6.
She remarked, “I needn’t hurry now.”
7.
Samay said, “Do you know French?”
8.
He said, “My coffee is too cold.”
9.
Her teacher said, “Don’t talk
so fast.”
10.
The teacher asked me where I
had been.
