Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech: Rules and Examples | Direct and Indirect Sentences with Easy Examples

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Direct and Indirect Speech

What is Direct Speech? 

👉Points to remember:

• Direct Speech repeats the actual words of the speaker are put
•  within "........."(inverted commas)
• The Reported Speech is separated from the Reporting Verb 
• by a comma.
• The first word of Reported Speech begins with a capital letter.

👉Structure:

Subject + reporting verb + "quoted speech"

Example

He said to me," I am reading a story book"

What is Indirect Speech?

Indirect speech reports what someone said without quoting their exact 

words.

👉Structure:

Subject + reporting verb+ that + clause

He told me that he was reading a story book.

👉Points to remember: Learn Fast, Remember Forever 

• No inverted commas are used.
• The comma separating the reporting verb from the Reported Speech is removed.
• The reported speech is introduced by some conjunctions: that, if, what, why, etc.
• The tense of the Reporting Verb is never changed.
• The Reporting Verb changes according to tense.
• The punctuation marks other than full - stop are removed.
• There is no sign of Interrogation or Exclamation mark at the end of the sentence.
• The reported speech is changed into assertive speech.

Reporting Verb vs Reporting Speech:

See the image and learn the difference - images stay in our mind for a long time.

Let's have a quick glance at what we will learn in this article:

Golden Rules

Master Direct and Indirect Speech quickly with this visual trick - ideal for competitive exams.

Conversion Rules: 

Understanding narration conversion rules is vital for candidates, boosting

 linguistic skills. It enables clarity in transforming speech, which is essential for language exams and communication jobs, preventing errors and enhancing articulation.

 These rules, are beneficial for competitive exams so, don't skip them:

The No Change Zone: 

"Don't just read grammar - see it,
understand it and remember it forever."

Apart from Universal Truths, there are three specific scenarios where the tense 

does not change even if the reporting verb is in the past tense.

 

If the reporting verb is in the present tense or future tense, the tense of the verb in the Reporting Speech is not changed.

Direct Speech

He says, "You play in the evening."

(Direct Speech)

He says that you play in the evening. (Indirect Speech)

 Note:

The tense of the reporting verb is never changed.

Here, the subject is: He

Reporting verb says (It will remain as it is)

In reporting speech, there will be no change, only we add " that" just

 after reporting verb to connect the reporting verb to reporting speech.

I would like to provide more examples to clarify your doubts:

He says, " He will play in the evening. (Direct Speech)

He says that he will play in the evening. (Indirect Speech)

Here, reporting verb (says) is in the present tense, the tense of the verb inside the 

quotation marks (will play) does not change. Only the comma and the quotation marks are replaced by the conjunction " that" to connect the reporting verb to reporting speech.

He will say," You are never late to play in the evening."(Direct Speech)

He will say that I am never late to play in the evening. (Indirect Speech)

Here, " He will say" is in the future tense. When the reporting verb is in the future 

or present, the tense of the verb inside the quotation marks ("are") does not change. 

The second-person pronoun "You" changes to the first - person pronoun "I" assuming as if he is speaking to me.The comma and quotation marks are removed and replaced with "that".

The Past Indefinite remains the same if the Reported Speech states a past historical fact:

For Example:

He said," India got independence on 15th August, 1947". (Direct Speech)

He said that India got independence on 15th August 1947. (Indirect Speech)

Why the tense didn't change:

Here, the past tense verb 'got' remains unchanged as it refers to a historical fact, or we can say when reporting a statement that expresses a universal truth, the tense will not change. Even though we are shifting to indirect speech, the date of India's independence is a permanent fact that we cannot change.

Historical Accuracy: 

If we use "had gotten" might imply the event is relative to another past event, whereas "got" simply states the historical reality.

Example

You said," I lived in Assam for ten years. (Direct Speech)

You said that you had lived in Assam for years. (Indirect Speech) 

The sentence is in the simple past tense(lived). In indirect speech,

 Simple past perfect (had + past participle). Therefore, "lived" will

change into "had lived".

Here, we add the conjunction 

"that " to introduce the reported statement, though in casual conversation,

 it is optional.

Note: If the subject (You) is still living in Assam at this very moment, then 

we can technically keep it in the past tense (".... that you lived in Assam ").

Two Simultaneous Actions:

If two things happened at the same time in the past, the tense is not changed.

For Example: 

"I was reading a novel while she was cooking." he said. (Direct Speech)

He said that he was reading a novel while she was cooking. (Indirect Speech)

Improbable/ Hypothetical Conditions:

He said, "If I were a millionaire, I would build another Lotus Temple

 to meditate". (Direct Speech)

He said that if he were a millionaire, he would build another Lotus

 Temple to meditate. (Indirect Speech)

Here, 'said' remains unchanged as in this sentence there is no listener mentioned

(e.g., ' said to me'). The word 'that' is added to connect the reporting clause with

 the speech. The first- person 'I' changes to the third - person "he" to match the speaker.

 Hypothetical or if statements using "were" and "would", the tense usually does not change.

The " Must" Transformation:

"must" indicates permanent ruling or prohibition. In such type of sentences, "must" 

remains unchanged

Example

"You mustn't play outside, children", said the mother. (Direct Speech)

The mother told her children that they must not play outside. (Indirect Speech)

Here, said is transformed into told

You will change into they (pronoun change) mustn't change into must not (no tense change for strong obligation/prohibition)

Sometimes "must" indicates necessity or compulsion at the moment of speaking. 
It is then a case of True Present and is changed into Past Tense when reported:

Example

He said to his friend," I must complete the assignment". (Direct Speech)

He told his friend that he had to complete the assignment. (Indirect Speech)

Sometimes "must" shows necessity or compulsion in future

 (This is like future tense and "must" is to be changed into "would have 

to ".)

Example:

The servant said to his master, "I must leave for Delhi next week. (Direct Speech)

The servant told his master that he would have to leave for Delhi

 following week. (Indirect Speech)

When converting direct speech to indirect speech, certain words that express nearness

 in time and place are often changed to reflect the shift in perspective. Below is the a

illustrating these changes:

Here," said to "will change into told
'must' change into had to (modal change) next week will change into
 the following week (time expression change) " I " will change into 
' he ' (pronoun change).

Learn grammar through visuals - because what you see, you remember!

Some other rules to change from direct speech to indirect speech:

Flowchart (To Convert Direct Speech to Indirect Speech) 

Master Direct and Indirect Speech quickly with this (flowchart)
- ideal for Competitive Exams

Examples with Easy Explanation 

Exercise for competitive exams:

👉At last,some exam tips:

Don't forget using "that" to connect

"Reporting Verb" and " Reporting Speech".

Focus on pronoun change.

Always check tense of reporting verb.

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