Learn about direct and indirect speech completely with definitions, formulas, rules, tricks, examples, and exercises. You will learn an introduction to direct indirect speech from basics to advance step by step makes so easy to understand the complete course.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Direct Indirect Speech and Basic Changes
- How do you introduce direct and indirect speech?
- Direct and indirect speech definition?
- Direct and indirect speech with examples?
- What are the basic rules of changing direct speech into indirect speech?
Introduction
We can express anyone’s speech or talk in two ways.
1. Direct Speech
2. Indirect Speech
1. Direct Speech
To state anyone’s speech as such or as actual.
2. Indirect Speech
To state anyone’s speech with modification or with changed words so that the actual meaning remains the same.
Parts of Direct Speech
We shall apply changes in indirect speech as we want to change it to direct speech. So, direct speech contains two parts.
He said to me, (Reporting Speech)
“He is going to school” (Reported Speech)
Basic Changes
Basically, we apply five changes from indirect speech to direct speech.
1. Replacement of Say, said, etc
2. Replacement of Commas
3. Change of Pronoun
4. Change of Tenses
5. Change of Certain Words
Change/Replacement of “Said to”:
Exercise Just for the above rules:
I said to him, “Reported Speech.” (Dir.)
I told him that ………………….. (Ind)
Irfan says to them,” any type of a sentence”(Dir)
Irfan tells them that…………………….. (Ind)
They say to me, “……………………..”(Dir)
They tell me that ……………………. (Ind)
They said, “……………………”(Dir)
They said that…………………. (Ind)
(No change)
He says, “……………………..”(Dir)
He says that…………………… (Ind)
(No change)
Remember:
The above changes are according to the rules but not compulsory if you do not make these changes, the sentences will not be incorrect. In other words, these changes are optional. So, you can say that the compulsory changes are all in a reported speech from the replacement of commas followed by the change of pronouns, change of tenses, and change of certain words.
All these compulsory changes have been discussed in the next phase and you can consult it but we advise you to go step by step to get productive learning.
Rules for Certain Words
1. Rule One
If the reporting speech is in Past Indefinite Tense, the following certain words in reporting speech will be changed to the following:
Change in Certain Words
this → that
He said, “This is my pen.”
He said that that is his pen.
these → those
I said, “These are beautiful goats”.
I said that those were beautiful goats.
here → there
You said, “Akmal is here.”
You said that Akmal was there.
now →then
The teacher said to him, “You should write now.”
The teacher told him that he should write then.
thus →so
He said, “Thus they stood at once”.
He said that so they had stood at once.
ago →before
The peon said, “The officer came five minutes ago“.
The peon said that the officer had come five minutes before.
hither →thither
I said, “It is easy to see hither in a word”.
I said that it was easy to see thither in a word.
hence →thence
The teacher said, “They tried and hence proved it”.
The teacher said that they had tried and thence proved it.
today →that day
She said, “I got up late today“.
She said that she had gotten late that day.
tonight →that night
We said, “The passengers arrived tonight.”
We said that the passengers had arrived that night.
tomorrow →the next day
We said, “The passengers will arrive tomorrow.”
We said that the passengers would arrive the next day.
the next day →the following day
We said, “The passengers will arrive the next day.“
We said that the passengers would arrive the following day.
yesterday → the previous day
We said, “The passengers arrived yesterday.“
We said that the passengers had arrived the previous day.
last night →the previous night
We said, “The passengers arrived last night.“
We said that the passengers had arrived the previous night.
2. Rule Two
The words like all right, hello, well, yes, and no will be removed.
Examples:
Hello
He said, “Hello Afzal, I am going.”
He said to Afzal that he was going.
All right
They said, “All right, we should go now.”
They said that they should go then.
Well
She said, “Well, Ali will not stay.”
She said that Ali would not stay.
Yes
The teacher said, “Yes, He can go.”
The teacher said that he could go.
No
He said, “No, I did not take tea.”
He said that he had not taken tea.
3. Rule Three
Good morning, Good afternoon, good noon, and Good evening will be replaced or changed with greet/greeted by placing it right after the subject who used to say these words.
Examples
Good noon
He said, “Brother, good noon.”
He greeted his brother.
Good afternoon
They said, “Friends, good afternoon.”
They greeted their friends.
Good morning
I said, “Uncle, good morning.”
I greeted my uncle
Good evening
We said, “Good evening, Ali”.
We greeted Ali.
4. Rule Four
Good night, goodbye will be a good night to and goodbye to then place the name to whom the subject says these words.
Examples:
Goodbye
She said, “Goodbye, Saima.”
She said goodbye to Saima.
Good night
Irfan said, “Good night father.”
Irfan said good night to his father.
5. Rule Five
Madam or Sir will be replaced with respectfully.
Examples
Sir
He said, “Sir, I have done it.”
He said respectfully that he had done it.
Madam
She said, “Madam, I solved this MCQ.
She said respectfully that she had solved that MCQ.
6. Rule Six
If there is an object of reporting speech used in reported speech then add this object right after said to. And the words like hello and hi will be removed.
Examples
I said, “Zain, I am going.”
I told/said to Zain that he was going.
He said, Hello Zain, I am going.”
He told/said to Zain he was going.
2. Subjective Pronouns Changes
Now we will learn to change the person of the pronoun which is a very necessary and important change that we have to make anyway. Whatever the tense is.
We have to learn first what are the persons of pronouns with their types or cases. By learning pronouns, we can learn respective changes.
Before we proceed, we shall have to learn what are pronouns and persons of pronouns or the types of pronouns.
| Case/ Types | 1st Persons | 2nd Person | 3rd Persons | ||||
| Subjective | I | We | You | He | She | They | It |
| Possessive (S) | My | Our | Your | His | Her | Their | It |
| Possessive (P) | Mine | Ours | Yours | – | Hers | Theirs | Its |
| Objective | Me | Us | You | Him | Her | Them | It |
Possessive (S)=Possessive Singular
Possessive (P)=Possessive Plural
Rule One
If the subject of ‘reported speech’ is first person, it changes with the subject of ‘reporting speech’.
First Person of Reported Speech → Subject of Reporting Speech
For Example:
(R.ing Speech) (R.ted Speech)
He said to me, I am …………
↓ ↓
Subject First Person
Now the answer will be as:
He told me that he was…….
More Example:
(R.ing Speech) (R.ted Speech)
You I am listening…
↓ ↓
subject First Person
Now the answer will be as:
You told me that you were listening….
Rule of First Person (We)
If the subject of ‘reported speech’ is first person, it changes with the subject of ‘reporting speech’. But remember, if the subject of reported speech is ‘we’, change everytime it with ‘they’.
If the subject of reported speech is “We” and whatever the subject reporting speech has, just change it to they in reported speech except “you”.
For Example:
(R.ing Speech) (R.ted Speech)
He said, “We are friends.”
He→Subject
We→ First Person
He told me that they were friends.
The reason behind changing “He” to “They” is that “We” is plural whereas “He” is singular so to make the balance of plural, we changed “He to They”.
Example:
You said, “We are writing…. (Dir.)
↓
You told that you are writing…. (Ind.)
In the above example, both “We” and “you” are plural so the balance of plural is there. Therefore, you will be changed with “We” to give “you”
Role No. 2
Rule of 2nd Person(You)
As we know that ‘You’ is only the second person. So, if the subject of the reported speech is ‘You’, it will be changed with the object of reporting speech.
Remember, if reporting speech has no object, just suppose ‘me’ or ‘him’ as an object and then make a change.
Example:
He said to me, “You are a good friend.”(Dir.)
↓
He told me that I am……….(Ind.)
Note: If there is no object in reporting speech, we can consider “him” or “me”.
Example:
He said You are……….(Dir.)
↓
He told that he was (Ind.)
or
He told that I was…. (Ind.)
We shall also change the helping verb according to the newly changed subject of reported speech. Look above example for understanding.
Rule No.3
“Rule of the Third Person for Subjective Pronoun Changes in Direct and Indirect Speech”
[He, She, It They, Name(s)]
If the subject of reported speech is ‘3rd person’ then it will remain unchanged but change of pronouns will be made.
Example:
You said, “They are lawyers. (Dir.)
↓
You told that they were lawyers. (Ind.)
Example:
You say, “He is topper.”.(Dir.)
↓
You tell that he is topper. (Ind.)
Example:
They told, “Ali is a good boy”.(Dir.)
3. Possessive Pronouns Narration Change
The Objective Pronouns Changes are of two types.
a Possessive Pronoun (Singular) Change
b. Possessive Pronoun (Plural) Change
Possessive Pronoun (Singular) Change:
Singular Possessive Pronouns
My, our, your, his, her, their, it
Rule of Possessive Pronouns 1st Person (my, our)
If there is a Possessive pronoun singular in reported speech, it will change with the subject of reporting a speech by changing it into the Possessive Singular Case.
Example(my)
He said to me, “It is my bat.”
He said to me, “It is my bat.”
He told me that it… his bat.
Note: We do not write helping verb and keep it empty because we will learn its changes in next lesson.
Example(my) Possessive Pronouns Changes in Narration
You said to me, “It is my bat.”
You said to me, “It is my bat.”
He told me that it… your bat.
Example(my)
She said to me, “It is my bat.”
She told me that it was her bat.
Example(our) Possessive Pronouns Changes in Narration
She said to me, “It is our bat.”
She told me that it was their bat.
Note: Change ‘our’ to ‘their’ whatever the subject of reporting speech is. The reason is that ‘our’ is used for plural.
Example(our)
He said to me, “It is our bat.”
He said to me, “It is our bat.”
He told me that it… their bat.
Example(our)
You said to me, “It is our bat.”
You said to me, “It is our bat.”
You told me that it……your bat.
Rule for Second Person Possessive Pronoun (Your)
Change possessive pronoun singular of reported speech with objective of reporting speech.
Example(your) Possessive Pronouns Changes in Narration
He said to me, “It is your bat.”
He told me that it… my bat.
Example(your)
He said to us, “It is your bat.
He told us that it… our bat.
Example(your)
He said to him, “It is your bat.”
He said to him, “It is you bat.”
He told us that it…… his bat.”
Example(your)
He said to her, “It is your bat.”
He said to her, “It is your bat.
He told us that it…. her bat.”
Example(your):
He said to them, “It is your bat.”
He said to them, “It is your bat.
He told them that it…. their bat.
Rule for Possessive Pronoun Third Person Singular
The third persons possessive pronouns such as his, her, their, its, names will not be changed.
Possessive Pronouns Changes in Direct and Indirect Speech
Example(his)
He said to them, “It is his bat.”
He said to them, “It is his bat.
He told them that it…. his bat.
Example(her)
He said to them, “It is her bat.”
He said to them, “It is her bat.”
He told them that it…. her bat.
Example (their) Possessive Pronouns Changes in Direct and Indirect Speech
He said to them, “It is their bat.”
He said to them, “It is their bat.”
He told them that it…. their bat.
Example(its) Possessive Pronouns Changes in Direct and Indirect Speech
He said to them, “It is its beak.”
He said to them, “It is its beak.”
He told them that it…. its bat.
Example(name)
He said to them, “It is Ali’s bat.”
He said to them, “It is Ali’s bat.”
He told them that it… Ali’s bat.
2. Possessive Pronoun (Plural) Change
Possessive pronouns such as mine, ours, yours, hers, theirs, its will be changed in plural form.
Example(mine)
He said to me, “It is mine.”
She said to me, “It is mine.”
She told me that it ۔۔۔ hers.
Example(mine)
You said to me, “It is mine
You said to me, “It is mine.”
You told me it …….. yours.
Example(mine)
Amina said to them, “It is
Amina said to me, “It is mine.”
Amina told me it………….hers.
Example(ours)
She said to me, “It is ours.”
She told me that it….. hers.
Example(ours):
He said to me, “It is
He said to me, “It is ours.”
He told me that it….theirs.
We place ‘their’ because ‘our’ is plural and ‘he’ is singular so, to make ‘he’ plural, ‘their’ will be written which is our final change.
Rule for Possessive Pronoun Second Person Singular (yours)
As we know that second person changes with object of reporting speech. But if there is possessive pronoun of second person is in plural form then it changed with object of reporting speech in plural form.
Example(yours)
He said to me, “It is yours.”
He said to me, “It is yours“
He told me that it… mine.
Example(yours)
He said to us, “It is yours.”
He said to us, “It is yours.”
He told us that it… ours.
Example(yours)
He said to her, “It is yours.”
He said to her, “It is yours.
He told her that it….. hers.
Example(yours)
He said to them, “It is yours.”
He said to them, “It is yours.”
He told them that it….. theirs.
Rule for Possessive Pronoun Plural for 3rd Person
Third person will not be changed whether they are possessive, subjective, or objective.
Example(hers)
He said to them, “It is hers.”
He said to them, “It is hers.”
He told them that it…. hers.
Example(theirs)
He said to them, “It is theirs.”
He said to them, “It is theirs.”
He told them that it…. theirs.
Example(its)
He said to them, “It is its.”
He said to them, “It is its.”
He told them that it…. its.
Example(name) Possessive Pronouns Changes in Direct and Indirect Speech
He said to them, “It is Ali’s.”
He said to them, “It is Ali’s.
4. Objective Pronouns Change
This rule is as same as we applied to subjective pronouns in relation to objective pronouns. In other words, we’ll change persons with objective pronouns now.
All the changes will be made as we did on the rules previously. The first person will be changed with the subject of reporting speech whereas the second person with the object of reporting speech but all changes will be transformed into objective cases.
Objective Pronoun Change in Narration
‘Me, us, you, him, her, them, it’
Rule (First Person Objective me, us)
The objective pronoun (1st Person) of the reported speech will be changed with the subject of the reporting speech and it will be written in an objective case.
Example(me) Objective Pronouns Changes in Narration
You said to me, “It is best for me.”
You said to me, “It is best for me.”
You told me that it… best for you.
Example(me)
He said to me, “It is best for me.”
He told me that it… best for him.
Example(me)
She said to me, “It is best for me.”
She told me that it…best for her.
Example(me)
They said to us, “They are praying for me.”
They told us that they…praying for them.
Example(us)
You said to me, “It is best for us.”
You told me that it… best for you.
Example(us) Objective Pronouns Changes in Narration
I said to them, “It is best for us.”
I told them that it….. best for us/them.”
Rule of Second Person Objective Case (You)
The object (2nd Person) of the reported speech will be changed with the object of the reporting speech all in the objective case.
Example(you) Objective Pronouns Changes in Direct and Indirect Speech
I said to them, “It is best for you.”
I told them that it….. best for them.
Example(you)
I said to her, “It is best for you.”
I told her that it….. best for her.
Example(you)
I said to him, “It is best for you.”
I told her that it….. best for him.
Rule for Third Persons Objective Case
The third person will not be changed whatever the case is. Whether the case is subjective objective or possessive.
Example(him) Objective Pronouns Changes in Narration
I said, “It is best for him.”
I said that it…best for him.
Example(her)
I said, “It is best for her.”
I said that it.. best for her.
Example(them)
I said, “It is best for them.”
I said that it.. best for them.
“Them” is a third person → No change
Example(her)
He said, “I love it.”
He told that he loved it.
5. Tense Changes
Remember, the changes in tenses in Indirect Speech can be done by considering five rules. These five rules are compulsory.
Rule One (Present Indefinite Tense)
In the first rule, first part i,e reporting speech is present indefinite tense then tense of reported speech will not be changed but other changes will be made.
Examples
1. He says to me, → Present Indefinite Tense
In the above sentence, “He says to me,” belongs to the present indefinite tense. Therefore, the tense will not be changed.
He says to me, “I get up early in the morning.”(Dir)
He says to me that he gets up early in the morning. (Ind)
2. You say to us, → Present Indefinite Tense
You say to us, “we went to school on foot.” (Dir)
Finally,
You say to us that they went to school on foot. (Ind)
3. Subject + says to them, → Present Indefinite Tense
He says to them, “I called them twice.” (Dir)
He says to them that he called them twice. (Ind)
Rule Two (Past Indefinite Tense)
In the second rule, if reporting speech consisted of Past Indefinite Tense and reported speech consisted of Present Indefinite Tense then Present will be converted into Past Indefinite Tense.
Example of Narration Change in Tenses for Past Indefinite Tense
He said to me, = Past Indefinite Tense
“I get up early in the morning.”= Present Indefinite Tense
As we know that the reported speech is past indefinite. So, the tense (verb or helping verb) will be changed from present to past.
He said to me, “I get up early in the morning.”(Dir)
He told me that he got up early in the morning. (Ind)
Similarly, Example Change In Tense in Indirect Speech
I said to him, = Past Indefinite Tense
“You do not play cricket.”= Present Indefinite Tense
I said to him, “You do not play cricket.”(Dir)
I told him that he did not play cricket. (Ind)
Rule Three (When Both Past Indefinite)
In the third rule, if reporting speech consisted of Past Indefinite Tense and reported speech consisted of Past Indefinite Tense as well then it will be converted into Past Perfect Tense.
Examples
Both parts are Past Indefinite Tenses.
1. He said to him, “He went to school.”(Di)
He told me that he had gone to school. (Ind)
Like the first sentence, apply the same concept.
2. I said to you, “Hamza cooked food.”(Di)
I told you that Hamza had cooked food. (Ind)
Similarly,
3. They said to him, “We wrote a book.”(Di)
They told him that they had written a book. (Ind)
Narration Rules For Universal Truth
In the rule, if reported speech consists of universal truth, reality, or any customs then just change commas to that and do not make any other changes.
Example
Remember, punctuational marks must be applied.
You said to me, “The Earth is round”.(Di)
Note: capitalization will be applied because Earth is a proper noun.
You said to me that the Earth is round. (Ind)
They said, “Honesty is the best policy.”(Di)
They said that honesty is the best policy. (Ind)
Similarly,
I said, “God helps those who help themselves.”(Di)
I said that God helps those who help themselves. (Ind)
Rule for Helping Verb
In this section, we will change the helping verb in reported speech if the reporting speech is past tense. This how we shall change it. Examples are as follow:
Remember, the following changes are also compulsory.
Is, are, am → was, were
He said, “I am going to school”
He said that he was going to school.
was, were → had been
He said, “I was watching T.V.”
He said that he had been watching T.V.
will, shall → would
They said, “We will go.”.
They said that they would go.
Also, change these:
can→ could
The girl said, “She can cook.”
The girl said that she could cook.
Similarly,
may →might
The student said, “He may pass.”
The student said that he might pass.
has, have → had
She said to him, “I have done it”.
She told him that she had done it.
I said, “He has done it”.
I said that he had done it.
do not, does not → did not
They said, “We do no go daily.”
They said that they did not go daily.
You said, “He does not write.”
You said that he did not write.
did not → had not
I said to him, “You did not wash hands”.
I told him that he had not washed hands.
could → no change
He said to him, “I could get the result.”
He told him that he could get the result.
must → no change
They said, “We must follow him.”
They said that they must follow him.
would → no change
Ali said, “I would go there.”
Ali said that he would go there.
should → no change
The teacher said, “We should speak the truth.”
The teacher said that they should speak the truth.
had → no change
Alia said, “I had done her duty.”
Alia said that she had done her duty.
Finally, change the following:
might → no change
Ahmad said, “He might be absent.”
Ahmad said that he might be absent.
Remember, we shall not change the form of verbs after these helping verbs because according to the rule, after these helping verbs only the first form of the verb comes.
6. Assertive Sentence Changes
These sentences consist of news that shows anything happened or not and these sentences in reported speech are those which start with subjects such as I, We, You, He, She, It, or name.
Narration Change for Assertive Sentences
He said to me, “I am waiting for you.”
Asma said, “She did not write a letter yet.”
They said to us, ” We are enjoying a party.”
I said to him, ” I am in the room.”
Ali said to Umar, “I am not in the market.”
Changing 1
Write said to/say to as it is or change them to told/tell.
Replace commas with that.
Never use to right after tell/told.
Examples
1.He said to me, “I advise you to do your duty.” (Di)
He said to, “I advise you to do your duty.” (Di)
Changing 2
said to→told
commas (,) → that
I→he
you →me
your→my
advise→advised
He told me that he advised me to do my duty. (Ind)
He told me that he advised me to do my duty. (Ind) without colours
2.I said to the headmaster, “I have acted upon your advice, Sir.” (Di)
I said to the headmaster, “I have acted upon your advice, Sir.” (Di)
Changing 3
said to→told
commas (,) → that
I→I
your →his
Sir → respectfully
have→had
I told the headmaster respectfully that I had acted upon his advice. (Ind)
I told the headmaster respectfully that I had acted upon his advice. (Ind) without colours
3. Akram will say, “I do not tell lies as I am afraid of Allah.” (Di)
Akram will say, “I do not tell lies as I am afraid of Allah.” (Di)
Changes for Assertive Sentences
commas (,) → that
I→Akram
I→Akram
As reporting speech is not in Past Tense therefore tense will not be changed.
Akram will say that he does not tell lies as he is afraid of Allah. (Ind) without colours
Exercise
Muhammad said to us, “I know what you mean to do.”(Di)
Muhammad told us that he knew what we meant to do. (Ind)
The captain said to the team, “We are hopeful to win the match.”(Di)
The captain told the team that they were hopeful to win the match. (Ind)
He said, “The earth revolves around the sun.”(Di)
He said that the Earth revolves around the sun. (Ind)
(Note: Universal Truth)
He says to her, “I and your brother can speak French fluently.”(Di)
He tells her that he and her brother can speak French fluently. (Ind)
More Examples for Change of Assertive Sentences to Indirect Speech
He said to me, “I shall drive your car if you allow me.”(Di)
He told me that he would drive my car if I allowed him. (Ind)
Our teacher said to us, “God helps those who help themselves.”(Di)
Our teacher told us that God helps those who help themselves. (Ind)
“Yes father, “said Ali, “I beat the dog but I am sorry for that.”(Di)
Ali told his father that he had beaten the dog but he was sorry for that. (Ind)
She says to me, “I shall attend the meeting if you invite me.”(Di)
She told me that she would attend the meeting if I invited her. (Ind)
Akram said to me, “I am always ready to help you in English.”(Di)
Akram told me that he(Akram) was always ready to help me in English. (Ind)
7. Exclamatory Sentence Changes
We will make changes to the reporting speech. Whereas in reported speech, changes will made that we have made before.
Changing ‘said to’ to be Made
For Joy
exclaimed with joy/exclaimed joyfully
For Surprise
exclaimed with wonder/exclaimed wonderfully
For Sorrow/Condolence
exclaimed with sorrow/exclaimed sorrowfully
Bravo, Wow, Alas, Oh, Ah, Hurrah, Buck Up
More Changings
Remove the words like Well done etc.
Change What/How to very.
Replace ‘commas’ with ‘that’.
The sentence having ‘wonder/surprise’, is converted into a simple sentence before changing to indirect speech.
If there is an objective in reporting speech, add ‘and told me’.
He exclaimed joyfully and told me
Example(Joy) Change for Exclamatory Sentences
He said, “Hurrah! We have gotten brilliant marks.”(Dir)
He said, “Hurrah! We have gotten brilliant marks.”(Dir)
said + Hurrah! ⇒ exclaimed with joy
commas ⇒ that
we ⇒ they
have ⇒ had
He exclaimed with joy that they had gotten brilliant marks. (Ind)
Example(Joy) Change for Exclamatory Sentences
He said to us, “Hurrah! I have gotten admission in the university.”(Dir)
He said to us, “Hurrah! I have gotten admission in the university.”(Dir)
said + Hurrah! ⇒ exclaimed with joy
to us⇒ and told us
commas ⇒ that
I ⇒ he
have ⇒ had
He exclaimed with joy and told us that he had gotten admission to the university. (Ind)
Example(Wonder) Change for Exclamatory Sentences
He said, “Wow! What a huge building that is!”(Dir)
He said, “Wow! What a huge building that is!”(Dir)
said + Wow! ⇒ exclaimed with wonder
commas ⇒ that
what ⇒ very
is ⇒ was
! ⇒ removed
make it simple,
He said, “The building is very huge”(Dir)
He exclaimed with wonder that the building was very huge. (Ind)
Example(Wonder)
I said to you, “Woh! What great cleanliness is here.”(Dir)
I said to you, “Woh! What great cleanliness is here.”(Dir)
said + Wow! ⇒ exclaimed with wonder
to you⇒ and told you
commas ⇒ that
what ⇒ very
is ⇒ was
make it simple,
I said to you, “The cleanliness is very great here.”(Dir)
He exclaimed with wonder and told you that the cleanliness was very great there. (Ind)
Example(Sorrow) Change for Exclamatory Sentences
They said, “Alas! We lost the money”(Dir)
They said, “Alas! We lost the money”(Dir)
said + Alas! ⇒ exclaimed with sorrow
commas ⇒ that
what ⇒ very
lost ⇒ had lost
They exclaimed with sorrow that they had lost the money. (Ind)
Example(Sorrow)
I said to you, “Oh! You lost the final match.”(Dir)
I said to you, “Oh! You lost the final match.”(Dir)
said + oh! ⇒ exclaimed with sorrow
to you ⇒ and told you
You ⇒ you
commas ⇒ that
lost ⇒ had lost
I exclaimed with sorrow and told you that you had lost the final match. (Ind)
Example No. 2 (Sorrow):
I said to him, “Oh! She lost the golden locket.”(Dir)
I said to him, “Oh! She lost the golden locket.”(Dir)
said + oh!⇒exclaimed with sorrow
to him ⇒and told him
She ⇒third person no change
commas ⇒that
lost⇒had lost
I exclaimed with sorrow and told him that she had lost her golden locket. (Ind)
8. Change of Optative Sentences
There are two types of sentences containing the contents of pray, curse, or wish.
Examples of Sentences(Pray)
He said to us, “May you get success.”
Examples of Sentences(Curse)
He said, “May you not reach in time.”
Examples of Sentences(Wish)
She said, May I get first prize.”
Instructions
We’ll follow the following instructions
Change said/said to etc according to reporting speech. Like:
If pray then Said to → Prayed for
Pray then Say to → Pray for
Pray then Says to → Prays for
If wish then Said to → Wished for
Wish then Say to → Wished for
Wish then Says to → Wished for
If regret then Said to → Wood that
If there is ‘ sign of exclamation’ at the end of the sentence, replace it with full stop.
If the reported speech expressing a wish, change said to with wishes and remove ‘wood that’.
Examples(Pray) for Change for Optative Sentences
He said to me, “May your dream get true!”(Dir)
First, make it simple:
He said to me, “Your dream may get true!”(Dir)
Changes
said to ⇒ prayed for
commas ⇒ that
Your⇒ my
may⇒ might
!⇒ removed
He prayed for me that my dream might get true. (Ind)
More Examples
I said, “May you win the first prize!”(Dir)
I said, “You may win the first prize!”(Simple Dir)
I pray that he might win the first prize. (Ind)
The father said, “May my son pass the examination!”(Dir)
The father said, “My son may pass the examination!”(Simple Dir.)
The father prayed that his son might pass the examination. (Ind)
The mother said, “May my daughter make no mistake!”(Dir)
The mother said, “My daughter may make no mistake!”(Simple Dir.)
The mother wished/prayed that her daughter might make no mistake. (Ind)
You said to me, “May your business prosper!” (Dir)
You said to me, “Your business may prosper!” (Simple Dir.)
You prayed for me that my business might prosper. (Ind)
Examples(Curse)
He said, “May you forget the way.”(Dir)
First make it simple:
He said,”You may forget the way.”(Dir)
He said to me, “You may forget the way.”(Dir)
Changes
said to ⇒ prayed for
commas ⇒ that
You⇒ I
may⇒ might
He cursed me that I might forget the way. (Ind)
Example
She said, “May you go to hell!” (Dir)
She said, “You may go to hell!” (Simple Dir.)
She cursed that he might go to hell. (Ind)
Example
Similarly,
The beggar said angrily, “May you suffer a great loss!”(Dir)
The beggar said angrily, “You may suffer a great loss!”(Simple Dir)
The beggar cursed angrily that he might suffer a great loss. (Ind)
Examples(Wish):
He said, “Would that I were a captain.”(Dir)
He said, “Would that I were a captain.”(Dir)
Changes
said ⇒ wished
commas ⇒ that
I⇒ he
were⇒ had been
Would that⇒ remove it
He wished that he had been a captain. (Ind)
Example:
Similarly,
They said, “Would that we were born with a silver spoon in his mouth!”(Dir)
They wished that they had been born with a silver spoon in their mouth. (Ind)
9. Imperative Sentence Changes
These sentences consist of order, request, advice, or prohibition, called Imperative Sentences. Remember, there is no subject in these types of sentences.
Sentence Examples
The teacher said, “Bring the glass of water.”
Aamir said to me, “Please give me a pen.”
He said to Babar, “Say your prayers.”
I said, “Do not tell a lie.”
Changes 1
Change ‘said to’ according to reporting speech. It means:
If the order is given in the sentence, change ‘said to’ to ‘order’.
If request is made then change (said to) to requested.
If advice is made, change it to advised.
Finally, change ‘said to’ to forbade if anything is prohibited.
Replace comma with ‘to’ and place first form of the verb very after ‘to’. Remove the words like please, kindly, etc.
In negative sentences, change ‘do not’ to ‘to not’.
Examples (Ordered) Change for Imperative Sentences
He said to me, “Write a letter right and check me.”(Dir)
He said to me, “Write a letter and check.”(Dir)
So, the changes will be as:
said to⇒ ordered
commas ⇒ to
me⇒
Write⇒ Write
check⇒ check (to)
He ordered me to write a letter and check him. (Ind)
Examples (Requested)
Shahzad said to the teacher, “Give me a leave for tomorrow.”(Dir)
said to⇒ requested
Commas ⇒ to
me ⇒ him
Change tomorrow ⇒ the next day
Shahzad requested the teacher to give him leave for the next day. (Ind)
Examples (Advised) Change for Imperative Sentences
The old man said to us, “Drink the water in three breaths.”(Dir)
The old man said to us, “Drink the water in three breaths.”(Dir)
said to⇒ advised
Commas ⇒ to
Finally,
The old man advised us to drink water in three breaths. (Ind)
Examples (Forbade)
Aslam said to them, “Do not throw garbage in the streets.”(Dir)
Aslam said to them, “Do not throw garbage in the streets.”(Dir)
Now,
said to forbade
Do not⇒ not to
Aslam forbade them not to throw garbage in the streets. (Ind)
Use of Let
In indirect speech, we make the use of let for two types of sentences for:
- Proposal
- Permission
For Proposal: Said to/ said will be changed to proposed/suggested. The commas will be replaced with “that”. Furthermore, add “should” after the subject of reported speech.
Secondly, change “us” with the subject of reporting speech because “us” is the first person and remember, after changing “us” the resultant must be in the subjective case.
Example No. 1
He said to them, “Let us clean the floor.”(Dir)
He said to them, “Let us clean the floor.”(Dir)
Now, applying changes:
said to⇒ proposed/suggested
Commas⇒ that
Let ⇒ should
us ⇒ they(subjective case)
He proposed them they should clean the floor. (Ind)
Example No. 2
She said, “Let us play cricket.”(Dir)
She said, “Let us play cricket.”(Dir)
said to⇒ proposed/suggested
Commas⇒ that
Let ⇒ should
us ⇒ they(subjective case)
She proposed that they should play cricket. (Ind)
For Permission: “said to / said will be changed to requested and commas will be replaced with “to”.
Example No.3
He said, “Let me go home.”(Dir)
Firstly,
He said, “Let me go home.”(Dir)
said⇒ requested
Commas⇒ to
me ⇒ him
He requested to let him go home. (Ind)
Example No. 4
They said to us, “Let them lend some money.”(Dir)
Firstly,
They said to us, “Let them lend some money.”(Dir)
said⇒ requested
Commas⇒ to
them⇒ third person no change
They requested to let them lend some money. (Ind)
