EASY WAY TO UNDERSTAND DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH RULES

Introduction.

There two ways to convey a message of a person, or the words were spoken by a person to another person.
1. Direct speech
2. Indirect speech

 

EASY WAY TO UNDERSTAND DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH RULES
C) Pronouns. Direct Speech. Reported Speech. I. He, she. Me. Him, her. We. They. Us. Them. You. He, she, they. Him, Her, them. My. His, her. Mine. His, hers. Our. Their. Ours. Theirs. Your. His, her, their. Yours. His, hers, theirs.

Download Android app to learn a simple way of learning English tense.(There are only three basic tenses in the English language: the past, the present, and the future.)

English Tense

Linkhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.practise.english_tenses

Suppose your friend whose name is Vipul tells you in College, “I will give you a pen”. You come to home and you want to tell your brother what your friend told you. There are two ways to tell him.

Direct speech:         Vipul said, “I will give you a pen”.

Indirect Speech:      Vipul said that he would give me a pen.

In direct speech, the original words of an person are narrated (no change is made) and are enclosed in quotation mark. While in an indirect speech some changes are made in original words of the person because these words have been spoken in past so the tense will change accordingly and pronoun may also be changed accordingly.

In an indirect speech, the statement of the person is not enclosed in quotation marks, the word “that” may be used before the statement to show that it is indirect speech. Indirect speech is also called reported speech because reported speech refers to the second part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person.

Download Android app to learn a simple way of learning English tense.(There are only three basic tenses in the English language: the past, the present, and the future.)

English Tense

Link – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.practise.english_tenses

Note:

In Simple words:-

Quoting the exact words of the speaker is called “The Direct Speech”.
David said, “I am writing a letter now”.

Reporting of what a speaker said without quoting his exact words is called ‘Indirect Speech’.
David said that he was writing a letter then.

Reporting verb:

The verb first part of the sentence (i.e. he said, she said, he says, they said, she says,) before the statement of a person in a sentence is called reporting verb.

Example. In all of the following example, the reporting verb is “said”.
He said, “I work in a factory” (Direct speech)
He said that he worked in a factory. (Indirect speech)

They said, “we are going to cinema” (Direct speech)
They said that they were going to cinema. (Indirect speech)

Reported Speech:

The second part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person (which is enclosed in quotation marks in direct speech) is called reported speech. For example, a sentence of indirect speech is, He said that he worked in a factory. In this sentence, the second part “he worked in a factory” is called reported speech and that is why the indirect speech as a whole can also be called reported speech.

The adverbs of nearness should be put into those of distance

Direct Speech                 –               Indirect Speech
now                           –                           Then

READ  Interview Question(Puzzles)

here                           –                          There

hereafter                            –                           thereafter

this                                –                               That

these                               –                                Those

ago                                       –                                    Before

thus                                   –                                        So

today                                            –                                         that day

to-night                                             –                                         that night

last night                                                 –                               the previous night

yesterday                                                        –                                       the day before (or)

the previous day, Tomorrow                             –                the next day (or) the following day

last week                           –        the week before (or) the previous week

next week                                               –              the week after (or) the following week

READ  Business English idioms, expressions and phrases

last month                                                                  –               the month before (or) the previous month

next month                                                         –                                               a month after

hither                                                            –                                                   Thither

hence                                                            –                                                    Thence

Direct - Indirect speech
Direct – Indirect speech
Other Important Rules
1 – Statement (or) Assertive Sentence

Rules :

Remove the quotation marks in the statement
Use the conjunction ‘that’
Change the reporting verb ‘say to’ into ‘tell’
Change the reporting verb ‘said to’ into ‘told’

Note :

He said that (correct)
He told me that (correct)
He told that (Incorrect)

1. “I will work hard to get first class” said Lazar (D.S.)
Lazar said he would work hard to get first class. (I.S.)

2. “You can do this work” said Nelson to Johnsi (D.S.)
Nelson told Johnsi that he could do that work. (I.S.)

3. He says, “I am glad to be here this evening”(D.S.)
He says that he is glad to be there that evening. (I.S.)

4.“I‘m going to the library now” said David (D.S.)
David said that he was going to the library then. (I.S.)

 

Download Android app to learn a simple way of learning English tense.(There are only three basic tenses in the English language: the past, the present, and the future.)

English Tense

Link – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.practise.english_tenses

What is Indirect Speech


2 – Imperative Sentence (Order or Request)

Rules :

Remove the quotation mark in an Imperative sentence.

Use ‘to’ if it is an affirmative sentence. (without don‘t)

Use ‘not to’ if the sentence begins without Don‘t.

Don‘t use ‘that’

Omit the word ‘please’. Use the word ‘request’ instead of ‘say’.

If the direct speech contains a request or a command, the reporting verb (say, said) change to tell, request, order, command etc. In its correct tense.

READ  Mastering the Rules of Direct and Indirect Speech for Clear Communication

1. “Don‘t talk in the class” said the teacher to the boys. (D.S.)
The teacher advised the boys not to talk in the class. (I.S.)

2.“Please give me something to eat. I am hungry” the old man said to them. (D.S.)
The old man requested them to give him something to eat and said that he was hungry (I.S.)

3. “Be careful” said he to her. (D.S.)
He ordered her to be careful. (I.S.)

4. “Bring me a cup of tea” said Nelson to Andriya. (D.S.)
Nelson asked Andriya to bring him a cup of tea. (I.S.)

 

3 – Interrogative Sentence (Questions)
Rules :

Remove the quotation marks and question mark in the interrogative sentence.

Use ‘if’ or ‘whether’ if the sentence inside the quotation marks begins with a helping verb (Auxiliary verb).

Use the given interrogative word (what, when, where, why, who, whom, whose, which, now etc.) if it does not begin with the helping verb.

Don‘t use ‘that’

Changing the reporting verb (say, said) into ‘ask’ or ‘enquire’ in its correct tense.

Omit helping verb like ‘do, does, did’. But don’t omit them when they are with ‘not’.

1. “Won’t you help me to caary this box?” said I to my friend. (D.S.)
I asked my friend if he would not help me to carry that box. (I.S.)

2. Mohan said to Stalin, “Why did not you attend the meeting yesterday”? (D.S.)
Mohan asked Stalin why he had not attended the meeting the day before. (I.S.)

3. “How often do you go to the theatre?” said David to John. (D.S.)
David asked John how often he went to the theatre. (I.S.)

4. Mohamed said to Sultan, “Do you like mangoes?” (D.S.)
Mohamed asked Sultan if he liked mangoes. (I.S.)

4 – Exclamatory Sentence

Rules :

Change the exclamatory sentence into satement or Assertive Remove the quotation marks and exclamatory mark.

Use the conjunction ‘that’

Omit the interjections such as Oh, O, Alas, how, what, hurrah.

Add the word ‘very’ to the adjective or adverb if necessary.

If the verb is not given, use ‘Be’ form verb (is, was, are, were, am) in its correct tense according to the subject.

Change the reporting verb (say, said) to ‘exclaim joyfully’

Use ‘exclaim’ sorrowfully for sorrowful incidents.

1. “O, what a beautiful flower that is!” said she. (D.S.)
She exclaimed joyfully that that was a very beautiful flower. (I.S.)

2. “What a horrible sight!” we all exclaimed. (D.S.)
We all exclaimed that it was a very horrible sight. (I.S.)

3. “Alas! I have broken my brother’s watch” said he.
He exclaimed sorrowfully that he had broken his brothers watch. (I.S.)

4. “How beautiful she is!” said Boon. (D.S.)
Boon exclaimed joyfully that she was very beautiful. (I.S.)

Download Android app to learn a simple way of learning English tense.(There are only three basic tenses in the English language: the past, the present, and the future.)

What is Indirect Speech

English Tense

Link – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.practise.english_tenses

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