Some Rules for changing Direct into Indirect
Three major Changes in Reported Speech
Change of Pronouns
A. First person (I, We) and second person (you) become third person (he, she, they) respectively
Direct: He said, “I go.”
Indirect: He said that he went.
Direct: He said, “You go.”
Indirect: He said that he went.
B. First person changes in accordance with the subject of the Reporting verb, and Second person according to the object of the Reporting verb:
Direct: She said, “I work.”
Indirect: She said that she worked.
Direct: She said to me, “You work.”
Indirect: She told me that I worked.
C. Third person does not change:
Direct: She said, “He is my good friend.”
Indirect: She said that he was her good friend.
Change of Tenses
When the reporting verb is in the present, present perfect or future tense, there is no change in tense of the Reported Speech:
Direct: He says/he has said/ he will say, “I sleep.”
Indirect: He says/he has said/he will say that he sleeps.
D. When the Reporting verb is in the past tense the following changes take place:
|
Direct |
Indirect |
|
Simple present (v1/v5) |
Simple past (v2) |
|
Present continuous (am/is/are + v4) |
Past continuous (was/were + v4) |
|
Present perfect (has/have + v3) |
Past perfect (had + v3) |
|
Present perfect cont. (have/has been +v4) |
Past perfect continuous (had been + v4) |
|
Simple past (v2) |
Past perfect (had + v3) |
|
Past continuous (was/were + v4) |
Past perfect continuous (had been + v4) |
|
Simple future (shall/will + v4) |
Conditional (would) |
|
Future perfect (shall/will have +v4) |
Conditional perfect (would have + v3) |
|
Would (in polite request) |
Would (unchanged) |
|
Past perfect (had + v3) |
Unchanged |
|
Conditional |
Unchanged |
|
Would/could/might/should |
Unchanged |
|
Had better/ought to/used to |
Unchanged |
B. The past Tense in Time clauses does not normally change, but when changed it becomes Past Perfect:
Direct: He said “When we lived in Kathmandu, we often met Ramesh.”
Indirect: He said that when they lived in Kathmandu, they had often met Ramesh.
The tense does not change in universal truth:
Direct: The teacher said, “The sun is very hot.”
Indirect: The teacher said that the sun is very hot.
Change of Adverbials
Certain adverbs, denoting time and place, and other expressions are changed in the following ways
|
Direct |
Indirect |
|
Now/just |
Then |
|
Today |
That day |
|
Yesterday |
The day before |
|
Tomorrow |
The next/following day |
|
The day before yesterday |
Two days before |
|
The day after tomorrow |
In two days’ time |
|
Next week/month |
The following week/month |
|
A year ago |
A year before/the previous year |
|
Hence |
Thence |
|
Thus |
So |
|
Here |
There |
|
This/these |
That/those |
|
|
|
Imperative sentences
The imperative can be changed into Reported Speech with the use of tell/order/ask/command, etc. + object + infinitive phrase:
Direct: Give me a pen.
Indirect: He asked her to give him a pen.
Direct: Ramesh said to Rita, “Sit down.”
Indirect: Ramesh asked Rita to sit down.
Negative Imperatives
Negative imperatives in the direct speech changes into Negative infinitive (i.e., not to + infinitive) in the Reported speech:
Direct: He said to me, “Don’t make a noise.”
Indirect: He told me not to make a noise.
Direct: He said to me, “Do not tell a lie.”
Indirect: He told me not to tell a lie.
Questions in Reported Speech
Wh-questions (who, what, which, where, when, how, whose) in Direct Speech take the affirmative form in Indirect Speech and the question mark then is avoided. The Reporting verb can, according to sense, be ask, inquire, wonder or want to know, but as the last three cannot take an indirect object, we use ask for addressing a person:
Direct: They said, “How can we help?”
Indirect: They asked how they could help.
Direct: She said, “Why don’t you learn to read?”
Indirect: She wanted to know why he didn’t learn to read.
Yes – No Questions
If there is no question-word in the Direct speech, if or whether must be used in the Reported (or Indirect) speech. We can use either or these two, but if is more usual; whether is more useful in the sense that it can be applied for both if and if not:
Direct: He said to me, “Do you drink tea?”
Indirect: He asked me if I drank tea.
Or: He asked me whether I drank tea.
Questions beginning with shall I/we?
“Questions beginning with shall I/we?” express speculations or requests for information about a future event. These follow the ordinary rule about shall/will.
Speculations are normally introduced by wonder.
A. Shall I/we …...? denoting pure future, in the direct speech becomes if he would in the indirect speech:
Direct: She said to me, “Shall I meet you?”
Indirect: She asked me if she would meet me.
Direct: He said, “Shall I enjoy the party?”
Indirect: He wondered whether he would enjoy the party.
B. Shall I…...? expressing request becomes if he should in Indirect speech:
Direct: He said, “Shall I bring the book?”
Indirect: He asked if he would bring the book.
Direct: He said, “Shall we take part in sports?”
Indirect: He asked if they should take part in sports.
Exclamation and Wish
For expressing exclamation and wish:
A. The Reporting verb is accordingly changed into exclaim, desire, wish, bless, curse, etc. in the indirect speech.
Direct: He said, “May you succeed!”
Indirect: He wished that he might succeed.
B. What a …...! what ….!, how ….! are changed in this way:
Direct: He said, “How terrible!”
Indirect: He said that it was terrible.
C. Oh! ugh, alas! bravo! hurrah! etc. are changed into exclaim, etc. + with joy/sorrow etc. in Reported speech.
Direct: He said, “Hurrah! My aunt has come.”
Indirect: He exclaimed with joy that his aunt had come.
Must in Direct Speech
must in the Direct Speech has three semses:
A. The real present, denoting necessity or compulsion at the time of speaking, becomes Past in the Reported Speech
Direct : He said, “I must see him.”
Indirect : He said that he had to see him.
Direct : He said, “ I mustn’t see him.”
Indirect : He said that he wasn’t to see him.
B. must and needn’t denoting future necessity or compulsion (or instead of shall have to) change into the conditional in Indirect Speech.
Direct : She said, “I must go tomorrow.”
Indirect : She said that she would have to go that day.
Direct : She said, “I needn’t go next week.”
Indirect : She said that she wouldn’t have to go the following week.
Direct : She said “I must not go.”
Indirect : She said she wasn’t to go.
C. must denoting permanent statement or prohibition does not change.
Direct : She said to me, “You mustn’t smoke in the hospital.”
Indirect : She told me that I mustn’t smoke in the hospital.
