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Rules for Direct to Indirect Speech
 
 
DIRECT INTO INDIRECT SPEECH

Rules for Direct to Indirect Speech in English

Direct into Indirect Speech

"Direct and Indirect speech are ways of narrating the speech of someone to some other person following certain rules."

In direct speech, the actual words spoken by a person are conveyed to another person.
In indirect speech, the actual words spoken by a person are slightly changed while conveying them to another person. i.e. the verb and pronouns are changed.

Before Learning the rules for Direct and Indirect Speech, you must learn the following two parts of the sentence.

1. Reporting verb:

The verb in the first part of the sentence (i.e. he/she said, he/ she said etc.) is called reporting verb.

Examples:
  • • He said, "I need your help".
  • • She says, "I got first division".
  • • They said, "We saw a tiger".
2. Reported speech:

The second part of the sentence which is enclosed in invited commas is called reported speech.

Examples:
  • • He said, "I need your help".
  • • She says, "I got first division".
  • • They said, "We saw a tiger".
Rules for usage of Direct and Indirect Speech:
Rule 1: If the statement is a universal truth.

In a universal truth, the tenses remain the same.

Example:
  • • Priya said "The sun rises in the east". (Direct)
  • • Priya said that the sun rises in the east. (Indirect)
Rule 2: If the reporting verb is in past tense.

When the reporting verb is past tense, then the verb inside the quotation is also changed to past when changing a sentence from direct to indirect speech.

Example:
  • • She said, 'I am sad.' (Direct)
  • • She said that she was sad. (Indirect)
Rule 3: If the reporting verb is in present/future tense.

If the reporting verb is in present/future tense, then the tense remains the same as in direct speech.

Example:
  • • She says, 'I am coming.' (Direct)
  • • She says she is coming. (Indirect)
Rule 4: Conversion for Interrogative sentences.

If a sentence starts with a question word like what, when, and why in direct speech, the question word itself acts as the joining class.

Example:
  • • "Where do you live?" Asked the girl. (Direct)
  • • The girl enquired where I lived. (Indirect)
Rule 5: Conversion Change in Modals.

Modal verbs are those verbs that are preceded by another verb, which is the main verb. Can, May, and Must are some examples of Modals. Modals that won’t change are Could, would, should, ought to, might. While changing direct to indirect speech, the Modals change as below:

Can become could - May becomes Might - Must becomes had to (or) would have to.

Examples:
  • • She said, "She can dance." (Direct)
  • • She said that she could dance. (Indirect)
  • • She said," I should cook the dinner." (Direct)
  • • She said that she should cook the dinner. (Indirect)
Rule 6: Conversion change in pronouns.

The first person in Direct speech changes as per the subject of the speech.

Example:
  • • He said, "I am in standard fifth." (Direct)
  • • He said that he was in standard fifth. (Indirect)

The second person of Direct speech changes as per the object of the indirect speech.

Example:
  • • She says to them, "You have passed your exam." (Direct)
  • • She tells them that they have passed their exam. (Indirect)

If the third person is mentioned in the Direct speech, it does not change in reported speech.

Example:
  • • She says, "He plays well." (Direct)
  • • She says that he plays well. (Indirect)
Rule 7: Conversion in Request, Command, Wish and Exclamation.

Request:

Example:
  • • She said to her 'Please remove it'. (Direct)
  • • She requested her to remove that. (Indirect)

Exclamation:

Example:
  • • He said, 'Alas! I am undone'. (Direct)
  • • He exclaimed sadly that he was broke. (Indirect
Rule 8: Change in Time.

If time is mentioned in sentence, the words for describing the time will be changed in indirect speech. like : change today into that day, tomorrow into the next day, yesterday into the previous day and now into then etc.

Examples:
  • • He said, "I am feeling good today". (Direct)
  • • He said that he was feeling good that day. (Indirect)
  • • She said, "I will attend lacture tomorrow". (Direct)
  • • She said that she would attend lacture the next day. (Indirect)
  • • He said, "I lost my pen yesterday". (Direct)
  • • He said that he had lost his pen the previous day. (Indirect)
  • • She said, "I need your help now". (Direct)
  • • She said that she needed my help then. (Indirect)
Rule 9: Conversion in punctuations.

In Direct speech, the words spoken must start with(") and ends with(.) inside the double inverted commas. All symbols such as question marks, full stops or exclamatory marks should be placed inside the quotes.

Example:
  • • They said. "We are the best"
  • • She asked, "Can I come with You?".
  • • He uttered, "Keep Quiet!".
Rule 10: Conditional Sentences.

Conditional sentences in direct speech often follow the same tense in indirect speech.

Example:
  • • "If it rains, we will cancel the trip." (Direct)
  • • He said that if it rained, they would cancel the trip. (Indirect)

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