Direct and Indirect Speech | Narration | Rules
●What is Direct & Indirect Speech?
●Direct speech: Reporting the speaker's message in the exact words as spoken by him.
● Example: He said, "I am busy now."
●Indirect speech: Reporting the speaker's message in our own words.
●Example: He said that he was busy.
●Rules for converting Direct into Indirect speech:
● Rule No. 1: Remove the inverted commas from the direct speech and use " That "
● Rule No. 2:
Change of the pronouns:
▪︎The first-person pronouns of the reported speech change according to the subject of the reporting speech.
▪︎ The second-person pronouns of the reported speech change according to the object of the reporting speech.
▪︎No change if there are third-person pronouns in the reported speech.
● Rule No. 3: Change of Tenses:
▪︎ When the reporting verb of direct speech is in the past tense, all the present tenses are changed to the corresponding past tense in indirect speech.
▪︎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
▪︎ No change in the past perfect and past perfect continuous tense.
▪︎ Future Tense: Change "will" into "would"
● Rule No.4:
▪︎ Do not change the tense of the reported speech if the tense of the reporting speech is in the Present or Future.
● Rule No.5:
▪︎ Do not change the tense of the reported speech if there is a universal truth or fact.
● Rule No. 7:
Change in Model Verbs:
▪︎Can becomes could
▪︎May becomes might
▪︎Must becomes had to
● Rule No. 8:
Use of say/Said/Tell/Told:
▪︎Use "say" or "said" in the indirect speech if there is no object in the reporting verb.
▪︎ Use "tell" or " told" in the indirect speech if an object is in the reporting verb.
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