CSSPMSMENTOR
Mentorian – Leading Your Way
DIRECT & INDIRECT SPEECH
CSSPMSMENTOR
Mentorian – Leading Your Way
Direct & Indirect Speech
• Direct speech is used to repeat what someone else has said, and indirect
speech is used to report on what someone else has said.
• Direct speech, sometimes called quoted speech, is the speech that is
repeated verbatim or quoted from the original source.
• Indirect speech, also referred to as reported speech, is the interpretation
or modification of the words of the original source.
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Mentorian – Leading Your Way
Direct & Indirect Speech Rules
Direct Speech Indirect Speech Direct Speech Indirect Speech
Can Could Now Then
May Might This That
Must Had to Ago Before
Should Should Today That day
Might Might Tomorrow The next day
Could Could Come Go
Would Would These Those
Ought to Ought to Yesterday The previous day
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Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises for Modals
1. He said, “I can drive.”
→ He said that he could drive.
2. She said, “I may leave early.”
→ She said that she might leave early.
3. He said, “I will call you.”
→ He said that he would call me.
4. They said, “We shall return.”
→ They said that they would return.
5. She said, “You must obey me.”
→ She said that I had to obey her.
CSSPMSMENTOR
Mentorian – Leading Your Way
Direct & Indirect Speech Rules
According to the reporting verb, changes are made in the direct
sentence or the sentence in inverted commas.
1. If the reporting verb is in the past tense, then the direct
sentence is changed in its past tense.
2. If the reporting verb is in the present tense or in the future
tense, then the it remains unchanged in the Indirect Speech.
3. If the direct sentence contains the universal truth, then it
remains unchanged in the Indirect Speech.
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Exercises for Reporting Verb
1. They said, “We are going to the market.”
→ They said that they were going to the market.
2. Rida said, “My brother plays football.”
→ Rida said that her brother played football.
3. I said, “You look tired.”
→ I said that he looked tired.
4. The teacher said, “You are late.”
→ The teacher said that I was late.
5. Usman says, “I want to study medicine.”
→ Usman says that he wants to study medicine.
6. He will say, “I am learning French.”
→ He will say that he is learning French.
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TENSES CHANGE RULES
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Exercises for Tenses
1. Simple Present → Simple Past
1.I said, “We live in Karachi.”
→ I said that we lived in Karachi.
[Link] said, “We go to school daily.”
→ They said that they went to school daily.
[Link] said, “I speak English well.”
→ Ali said that he spoke English well.
[Link] said, “I do not like coffee.”
→ She said that she did not like coffee.
[Link] said, “They don’t know me.”
→ He said that they did not know him.
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Exercises for Tenses
2. Present Con nuous → Past Con nuous
1. I said, “She is studying.”
→ I said that she was studying.
2. They said, “I am working late.”
→ They said that he was working late.
3. Rida said, “I am making tea.”
→ Rida said that she was making tea.
4. He said, “I am not watching TV.”
→ He said that he was not watching TV.
5. She said, “We are not sleeping.”
→ She said that they were not sleeping.
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Exercises for Tenses
3. Simple Past → Past Perfect
1. I said, “I met Ali.”
→ I said that I had met Ali.
2. They said, “We watched the movie.”
→ They said that they had watched the movie.
3. You said, “She cooked dinner.”
→ You said that she had cooked dinner.
4. She said, “They didn’t help me.”
→ She said that they had not helped her.
5. I said, “We didn’t go.”
→ I said that we had not gone.
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Exercises for Tenses
4. Future (will) → would
1. They said, “We will attend the meeting.”
→ They said that they would attend the meeting.
2. Zara said, “I will send the report.”
→ Zara said that she would send the report.
3. I said, “He won’t agree.”
→ I said that he would not agree.
4. They said, “We will not accept it.”
→ They said that they would not accept it.
5. Sana said, “I won’t repeat the mistake.”
→ Sana said that she would not repeat the mistake.
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Mentorian – Leading Your Way
Rules Changes in Pronoun
While making the changes from Direct and Indirect speech, one
should be having knowledge of rules of changes in pronouns.
1. The first person in reported speech changes according to the
subject of reporting speech.
2. The second person in the reported speech changes according to
the object of reporting speech.
3. The third person remains unchanged.
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Rules Changes in Pronoun
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
I He/She
You He/She/They
We They
They They
He He
She She
It It
Us Them
Our Their
His His
Her Her
Its Its
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Rules Changes in Pronoun
1st Person Pronoun Change (I → he/she, we → they)
1) Direct: He said, “I am tired.”
Indirect: He said that he was tired.
2) Direct: Sara said, “We are going shopping.”
Indirect: Sara said that they were going shopping.
3) Direct: John said, “I finished my homework.”
Indirect: John said that he had finished his homework.
4) Direct: The girl said, “I want to sleep now.”
Indirect: The girl said that she wanted to sleep then.
5) Direct: They said, “We will attend the party.”
Indirect: They said that they would attend the party.
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Rules Changes in Pronoun
2nd Person Pronoun Change (you → me/him/her/us/them)
1. Direct: She said to me, “You are my best friend.”
Indirect: She told me that I was her best friend.
2. Direct: He said to her, “You look beautiful.”
Indirect: He told her that she looked beautiful.
3. Direct: They said to us, “You should be careful.”
Indirect: They told us that we should be careful.
4. Direct: Teacher said to the student, “You have done well.”
Indirect: The teacher told the student that he/she had done well.
5. Direct: I said to you, “You can go now.”
Indirect: I told you that you could go then.
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Rules Changes in Pronoun
3rd Person Pronoun (Usually Unchanged)
1. Direct: She said, “He is my brother.”
Indirect: She said that he was her brother.
2. Direct: Ali said, “They are going to school.”
Indirect: Ali said that they were going to school.
3. Direct: He said, “She likes ice cream.”
Indirect: He said that she liked ice cream.
4. Direct: My friend said, “They have arrived.”
Indirect: My friend said that they had arrived.
5. Direct: The boy said, “He is my cousin.”
Indirect: The boy said that he was his cousin.
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Interrogative Sentences Rules
Here, we are sharing certain rules of Direct and Indirect speech for
interrogative sentences conversions.
1. The reporting verb said/said to is changed in asked, demanded,
ordered, enquired as per the nature of the sentence.
2. While a sentence starts with reporting verb then at the conversion
time if /whether is used as the joining clause.
3. In case the sentence starts from “Wh” question word, then no
extra conjunction is used.
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Interrogative Sentences Examples
1. Direct: He said to me, “Do you like coffee?”
Indirect: He asked me if I liked coffee.
2. Direct: She said, “Are they coming tomorrow?”
Indirect: She asked if they were coming the next day.
3. Direct: Ali said to her, “Can you help me?”
Indirect: Ali asked her whether she could help him.
4. Direct: He said to me, “Where do you live?”
Indirect: He asked me where I lived.
5. Direct: She said, “Why are you crying?”
Indirect: She asked why I was crying.
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Exclamatory Sentences
1. Exclamatory sentences express a sudden outburst of some emotions such as
joy, sorrow, contempt, regret, surprise etc. Common explanatory phrases are
given below:
1. Hurrah! Ha! (Express joy)
2. Alas! Oh! (Express sorrow, regret, or loss)
3. Bravo! (Express Applause)
4. What! Oh! How! (Express surprise)
5. Pooh! Pshaw! (Express contempt)
2. In indirect speech, the exclamatory phrase or word (interjection) is replaced
by ‘exclaimed with joy, sorrow, regret, surprise, contempt etc.’
3. The connective that has to be supplied in the indirect speech.
CSSPMSMENTOR
Mentorian – Leading Your Way
Exclamatory Sentences
1. Exclamatory sentences express a sudden outburst of some emotions such as
joy, sorrow, contempt, regret, surprise etc. Common explanatory phrases are
given below:
1. Hurrah! Ha! (Express joy)
2. Alas! Oh! (Express sorrow, regret, or loss)
3. Bravo! (Express Applause)
4. What! Oh! How! (Express surprise)
5. Pooh! Pshaw! (Express contempt)
2. In indirect speech, the exclamatory phrase or word (interjection) is replaced
by ‘exclaimed with joy, sorrow, regret, surprise, contempt etc.’
3. The connective that has to be supplied in the indirect speech.
CSSPMSMENTOR
Mentorian – Leading Your Way
Exclamatory Sentences
1. Direct: He said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”
Indirect: He exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
2. Direct: She said, “Alas! My brother failed the exam.”
Indirect: She exclaimed with sorrow that her brother had failed the exam.
3. Direct: The captain said, “Bravo! You played very well.”
Indirect: The captain exclaimed with applause that he had played very well.
4. Direct: They said, “What a beautiful painting this is!”
Indirect: They exclaimed with surprise that it was a very beautiful painting.
5. Direct: The teacher said, “Pooh! This excuse is nonsense.”
Indirect: The teacher exclaimed with contempt that the excuse was nonsense.
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Optative Sentences
1) Optative sentence is different from exclamatory sentence in the sense that
this kind of sentence expresses hope, wish, prayer, whereas exclamatory
sentence expresses emotions. Optative sentence starts with ‘may’ or ‘wish’
2) Instead of a question mark (?), a full stop (.) or exclamatory mark (!) can be
used in case of optative sentence.
3) The reporting verb of optative sentence changes to wished/prayed/hoped
in narration change from direct to indirect speech.
4) The reporting clause and reported clause is connected with conjunction
‘that’, sometimes no conjunction is used.
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Optative Sentences
1. He said, “May you live long!”
He prayed that I might live long.
2. He said, “Would that I were rich!”
He wished that he were rich.
3. The beggar said to me, “May you go to hell!”
The beggar cursed at me that I might go to hell.
4. I said to her, “May you succeed in your life!”
I wished that she might succeed in her life.
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Imperative Sentences
1. An imperative sentence is a type of sentence that gives a
command or makes a request.
2. The verb of reported clause changes to infinitive. After omitting
comma and inverted comma the word ‘to’ is used to connect
reporting and reported clause.
3. In imperative sentence the reporting verb ‘said’, ‘said to’, ‘told’
changes to advised, command, requested, ordered, etc.
depending on the mood of the sentence.
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Imperative Sentences
1. I said to my servant, “Polish my shoes.”
I ordered my servant to polish my shoes.
2. He said to me, “Please do not run so fast.”
He requested me not to run so fast.
3. He said, “Rizwan, come here”
He ordered Rizwan to come there.
4. The officer said to the peon, “Get out and do not come again”
The officer ordered to peon to get out and not to come again.
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Rules of “Let” Sentences
1. Let’s — Suggestion (Let us...)
Structure:
Direct: Subject said, “Let us + base verb...”
Indirect: Subject suggested/proposed that we should + base verb...
Examples:
1. Direct: He said, “Let us go for a walk.”
Indirect: He suggested that we should go for a walk.
2. Direct: They said, “Let us help the poor.”
Indirect: They proposed that we should help the poor.
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Rules of “Let” Sentences
2. Let him/her/them — Permission or Command
Structure:
Direct: Subject said, “Let him/her/them + base verb...”
Indirect: Subject told/ordered/allowed + object + to + base verb...
Examples:
1. Direct: The teacher said, “Let him answer the question.”
Indirect: The teacher allowed him to answer the question.
2. Direct: The officer said, “Let them go.”
Indirect: The officer ordered them to go.
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Rules of “Let” Sentences
3. Let me — Requesting permission
Structure:
Direct: Subject said, “Let me + base verb...”
Indirect: Subject requested/asked to be allowed to + base verb...
Example:
1. Direct: He said, “Let me try once more.”
Indirect: He requested to be allowed to try once more.
2. Direct: He said, “Let me make a call.”
Indirect: He requested to be allowed to make a call.
CSSPMSMENTOR
Mentorian – Leading Your Way
Practice Exercise
1. When Mrs Diaz opened the door, I asked, “Have you seen Lee?”
2. She replied, “No, I haven’t seen him since lunchtime.”
3. The boss was angry and shouted, “Why isn’t he here? He hasn’t
finished that report yet!”
4. “I’m seeing my brother tomorrow.”
5. “It’s been raining since this afternoon.”
6. “I haven’t seen them since last week.”
7. “When are you leaving?”
8. “How will they get here?”
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Practice Exercise
1. The wolf said, “You abused me last year.”
2. “Sir, I have no brother or sister” said the lamb.
3. He said, “May you live long.”
4. He said to me, “Would that I were rich!”
5. I said to her, “May you succeed in your life.”
6. An old rat came forward and said, “But tell me who will bell the cat.”
7. He said to me, “Please do not run too fast.”
8. He said, “Let me do my duty.”
9. He said, “Come here.”
[Link] said to him, “Why did you lie to me?”
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Mentorian – Leading Your Way
Practice Exercise
1. They said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”
2. He said to me, “Can you help me now?”
3. The teacher said to the students, “Be quiet.”
4. The stranger said, “Where do you live?”
5. He said, “Alas! I lost my phone.”
6. I said to her, “Open the door.”
7. She said to the man, “Do not touch this.”
8. He said, “How beautiful this painting is!”
9. The child said, “I want to go home.”
[Link] manager said, “Let us begin the meeting now.”
