Given that the English language is covered in the syllabus for the majority of government exams, including SSC, RRB, IBPS, Insurance, and others, candidates for these positions should thoroughly study the ideas and guidelines of direct and indirect speech. Hence, the topic needs to be understood very precisely. It is one of those topics of English grammar that are essential for not only passing an exam but also for keeping up the day-to-day conversation at your workplace.
Table of Content
- Direct and Indirect Speech Rules
- Direct and Indirect Speech Examples
- Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises
- Direct and Indirect Speech Rules Chart
- Difference Between Direct and Indirect Speech
What is Direct & Indirect Speech?
When anything is repeated exactly as it was – usually between two inverted commas – it is referred to as direct speech. The indirect speech will still convey the same information, but instead of simply repeating someone’s words or speech, it will report or describe what was said without the use of inverted commas.
There are some common rules to change the mode of speech. Other rules vary depending on the types of sentences i.e. Assertive, Interrogative, Imperative, Optative and Exclamatory.
In this article, we will discuss all the rules related to Direct and Indirect Speech of Assertive, Interrogative, and Imperative sentences.
Direct and Indirect Speech Rules
I. Change of words
Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
This | That |
These | Those |
Today | This day |
Tomorrow | The Next day |
Yesterday | The previous day |
Now | Then |
II. Change of Pronouns
- The first person pronoun is changed based on: the subject of reporting speech.
- The second person pronoun is changed based on: the object of reporting speech.
- The Third-person pronoun remains unchanged in indirect speech.
III. Change of tense
There is no need of changing the verb/tense of the reported speech when the reporting verb is in the present or future tense.
When the reporting verb is in the past tense, then the conversion happens according to the following rules:
Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
Simple Present Tense | Simple Past Tense |
Present Continuous Tense | Past Continuous Tense |
Present Perfect Tense | Past Perfect Tense |
Present Perfect Continuous Tense | Past Perfect Continuous Tense |
Simple Past Tense | Past Perfect Tense |
Past Continuous Tense | Past Perfect Continuous Tense |
- Past Perfect Tense and Past Perfect Continuous Tense remain the same in such cases.
- Modal verbs such as Can, Shall, Will, May, Must is converted into Could, Should, Would, Might and Must respectively.
- In the case of the general truths and habits in the reporting speech, the tense remains same.
Direct and Indirect Speech Examples
Now, let’s have a look at the rules which are specific to the sentences. These are certain rules that you need to follow & remember for the questions of Direct & Indirect speech:
1. Assertive Sentence
The inverted commas (“ “) used in Direct Narration is removed in Indirect Narration and “that” conjunction is used.
Says to/said to is converted into tells/told in indirect speech if they are followed by an object. If not, they would remain the same in indirect speech.
Examples:
Direct: Ram said, “I am ill”
Indirect: Ram said that he was ill.
Direct: He said, “I must go at once.”
Indirect: He said that he had to go at once.
Direct: Raj said to Sheela, “The Sun rises in the east”.
Indirect: Raj told Sheela that the Sun rises in the east.
Direct: She said, “My uncle came yesterday.”
Indirect: She said that her uncle had come the previous day.
Direct: Nusrat says, “I am never late”
Indirect: Nusrat says that she is never late.
2. Interrogative sentence
Say/Said is changed to ask/asked/wonder/wondered/enquire of/enquired of etc as per the sense of the sentence. If the reported speech is in YES/NO question form then if/whether is used before reported speech. If the reported speech is in the form of WH-Question (who/ what/ why/ how/ where/ when/ which etc), no conjunction is used before the question word. The question word itself works as conjunction.
The reported verb is made assertive; i.e. it is kept in the order of subject + verb.
The sign of interrogation (?) is removed and full stop is used.
Examples:
Direct: Rahul said to his teacher, “What is the way to solve the question?”
Indirect: Rahul asked his teacher what the way to solve the question was.
Direct: The stranger said to me, “where do you live?”
Indirect: The stranger asked me where I lived.
Direct: “Where were you last evening?” said the lady to her maid.
Indirect: The lady asked her maid where she had been the previous evening.
Direct: The teacher said to me, “have you submitted your project?”
Indirect: The teacher asked me whether I had submitted my project.
Direct: The doctor said the patient, “Are you feeling better today?”
Indirect: The doctor asked the patient if he was feeling better that day.
3. Imperative sentence
In imperative sentences, order, request, advice, or negative command is given. In negative command, the reported speech starts with Do not or Don’t.
Say/said to is converted into order/ ordered/ command/ commanded/ request/ requested/ urge/ urged/ advise/ advised/ ask/ asked/ tell/ told/ suggest/ suggested as per the sense of the sentence and to is used before the main verb.
For negative commands, inverted commas are removed and not + to + verb (first form) is used. For example, “do not go” is converted into “not to go”.
The words like kindly, and please are removed.
Examples:
Direct: Doshi said to his wife, “Please select one of these necklaces.”
Indirect: Doshi requested his wife to select one of those necklaces.
Direct: “Wait here till I return”, she told them.
Indirect: She ordered them to wait there till she returned.
Direct: Father said, “do not get dry in the rain”.
Indirect: Father advised not to get dry in the rain.
Direct: My mother said, “Blink often if your eyes are dry.”
Indirect: My mother advised me to blink often if my eyes were dry.
Direct: The officer said, “March on, don’t stop unless told!”
Indirect: The officer commanded to march on and not to stop unless told.
Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises
Read the following sentences carefully and change them into indirect speech:
Questions:
1. Sheela said to me, “When are you leaving?”
2. His mother said to me, “You were wrong.”
3. Manav said, “I may go there.”
4. Grandfather said to me, “May God bless you.”
5. Mr. Harvey said to me, “Please wait here till I return.”
6. “We have been living alone for years,” he said.
7. “You must leave now,” Sunny said to me.
8. “French is easy to learn,” the teacher said.
9. The speaker said, “Be quiet and listen to my words.”
10. “I know her name and address,” said Joanna.
Answers:
1. Sheela asked me when I was leaving.
2. His mother told me that I was wrong.
3. Manav said that he might go there.
4. Grandfather prayed that God might bless me.
5. Mr. Harvey requested me to wait there till he returned.
6. He said that they had been living alone for years.
7. Sunny told me that I should leave then.
8. The teacher said that French was easy to learn.
9. The speaker urged to be quiet and listen to his words.
10. Joanna said that she knew her name and address.
Direct and Indirect Speech Rules Chart
| Tense | Tense Change | Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
| Present Simple | Past Simple | He said to me, “She always wears a blazer.” | He told me that she always wore a blazer. |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous | He said to me, “He is looking for the way.” | He told me that he was looking for the way. |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect | He said to me, “My sister gave me a chocolate.” | He told me that his sister had given him a chocolate. |
| Past Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous | They said to me, “We were living in Delhi.” | They told me that they were living in Delhi. |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect | He said to me, “He has written a book on SRK.” | He told me that he had written a book on SRK. |
| Past Perfect | Past Perfect | He said to me, “The food has gone stale.” | He informed me that the food had gone stale. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous | He said to me, “She has been working in my office since last two years.” | He told me that she had been working in his office since last two years. |
| Will | Would | He said to me, “I will finish this assignment.” | He told me that he would finish that assignment. |
| Shall | Should | He said to me, “You shall obey the rules.” | He advised me that I should obey the rules. |
| Can | Could | They said to me, “We can invite our friends.” | They told me that they could invite their friends. |
| May | Might | He said to me, “He may get a flight today.” | He told me that he might get a flight this day. |
| Have to | Had to | He said to me, “You have to understand this situation.” | He told me that I had to understand that situation. |
| Must | Must | He said to me, “I must go to the office for the party arrangements.” | He told me that he must go to the office for the party arrangements. |
| Would/Should | Would/Should | He said to me, “He would give a speech in the auditorium.” | He told me that he would give a speech in the auditorium. |
Difference Between Direct and Indirect Speech
The difference between direct and indirect speech have been explained below:
I. Direct Speech means the exact repetition of the words spoken by a person, using a quotative frame. Whereas, indirect speech means to report something said or written by another person, without using the exact words.
II. Direct Speech is also known as ‘quoted speech,’ since it uses the exact words of the speaker. Whereas, the indirect speech is also known as ‘reported speech,’ since it narrates what is spoken by a person.
III. Direct Speech is narrated from the speaker’s viewpoint, whereas indirect speech is narrated from the listener’s viewpoint.
IV. When the exact rendition of the words of the speaker is used in a sentence, it is direct speech. Conversely, when own words are used to report the speaker’s statement, it is indirect speech.
V. In direct speech, inverted comma is used whereas, it is not used in indirect speech.
Direct and Indirect Speech Rules- FAQs
What is Direct & Indirect Speech with Examples?
Direct speech means to report the message of the speaker in the exact words as spoken by a person. For eg., Ronit said, “I am occupied now.”
Indirect speech means to report the message of the speaker in our own words. For eg., Ronit said that he was occupied then.
How do you change direct speech to indirect speech?
In order to understand the process to change direct speech into indirect speech, there are certain rules to be followed and they have already been described above.
Examples of Direct Speech?
Examples of direct speech have already been explained above.
Examples of Indirect Speech?
Examples of indirect speech have already been explained above.
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