reporting verb and reported speech in narration

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Narration: reported to reporting speech.

David said, “I’m baking a chocolate cake for you.’’

David said that he was baking a chocolate cake for me.

If we consider these two sentences, we might notice that both of them convey the same message, but there is a difference if we look closely. In the first sentence, I am conveying the activities of David in his (D) own words without changing it; it is called direct speech or we can say reporting speech . In the second sentence, I am using my own words to convey the activities of the speaker (D) to the audience. This we can say indirect speech or reported speech .

There are some major rules to change these speeches from direct to indirect. We need to consider the tense , pronoun , words that describe time, place, distance, types of sentences, etc. let’s have a glance at the following rules:

1. Pronoun:

In an indirect speech the pronoun changes according to the speaker whether s/he is referring himself/herself or a third person . We can make this clearer if we learn this with some examples:

• Direct: George said, “ I cannot be with you .”
• Indirect: George said that he could not be with me .
• Direct: I said, “Leave me ”
• Indirect: I ordered to leave me alone. (Note: in this sentence the speaker is same, so there is no change in the indirect speech.)
• Direct: They said, “ We will be partying tonight.”
• Indirect: They said that they would be partying that night.
• Direct: I told George, “ You should stay.”
• Indirect: I told George that he should stay.
• Direct: She asked, “How are you doing today?”
• Indirect: She asked me how I was doing that day.
• Direct: Robert said, “Can you pull me up?”
• Indirect: Robert asked if I could pull him up.

2. Type of sentences:

a. Reporting Interrogative sentences:

I) If there is a  yes-no question in the direct speech, then the reported speech will start with whether/if and the reported clause form will be (subject+verb).

• Direct: Peter said, “Are you from Australia?”
• Indirect: Peter asked if I was from Australia.
• Direct: Tom asked, “Do you want to sit here?”
• Indirect: Tom asked whether I wanted to sit there.

II) In indirect speech questions starting with who, whom, when, how, where and what the wh-word would be the subject or the object of the reported clause:

• Direct: Brad said, “Who will come with me?”
• Indirect: Brad asked who would go with him.
• Direct: Tina said, “What will be the charges?”
• Indirect: Tina inquired what the charges would be.
• Direct: I said the man, “Where is the hotel?”
• Indirect: I asked the man where the hotel was.
• Direct: Mother said, “How is the chicken?”
• Indirect: Mother asked me how the chicken was.

b. Reporting statement sentences:

In a statement speech, we will use ‘that’ before the reported statement and the reported verb will be ‘told’ (followed by an object) or ‘said’ (will not be followed by an object).

• Direct: Edward said, “I like the book.”
• Indirect: Edward said that he liked the book.
• Direct: Alice said, “I want you to sing.”
• Indirect: Alice told me to sing.

c. Reporting imperative sentences:

We will use ‘to’ as joining clause before the reported command or request, and the reported verb will be changed according to the moods of the sentence (e.g., ordered, requested, urged, advised, forbade or begged)

• Direct: The man said, “Please, bring me a chair.”
• Indirect: The man requested to bring him a chair.
• Direct: The officer said, “Fall back!”
• Indirect: The officer ordered to fall back.
• Direct: Mother said, “Listen to your elders.”
• Indirect: Mother advised me to listen to my elders.
• Direct: Mr. Murphy said, “Do not go near the house.”
• Indirect: Mr. Murphy forbade going near the house.

d. Reporting exclamatory sentences:

To change direct exclamatory speeches to the indirect one we need to replace interjection (hurrah, wow, alas, oh, etc.) with joining clause ‘that’ and the exclamatory wh-words (what, how) will be replaced by ‘very’ before the adjective in the reported clause.

• Direct: Clare said, “Hurrah! Barcelona won the match!”
• Indirect: Clare exclaimed with joy that Barcelona had won the match.
• Direct: I said, “Alas! My pet died.”
• Indirect: I exclaimed with grief that my pet had died.

Usually, the present changes to past tense while we change direct speech to indirect.  

a. Simple present tense to simple past tense:

• Direct: She said, “I work in New York Times.”
• Indirect: She said that she worked in New York Times.
• Direct: Jim said, “Bill loves to drink Wine.”
• Indirect: Jim said that Bill loved to drink Wine.

Exceptions : If the content is still true or happening then we do not need to change the tense in the reported speech. Like;

• Direct: She said, “I live in Paris.”
• Indirect: She said that she lives in Paris.

b. Present continuous to past continuous tense

• Direct: Mother said, “Bob is taking a nap.”
• Indirect: Mother said that Bob was taking a nap.
• Direct: He asked, “Are they writing the paper?”
• Indirect: He asked if they were writing the paper.

c. Present perfect to past perfect tense:

Example: 

• Direct: Nicolas said, “I have made a donut.”
• Indirect: Nicolas said that he had made a donut.
• Direct: The teacher said, “The dates have been decided.”
• Indirect: The teacher announced that the dates had been decided.

d. Present perfect continuous to past perfect continuous tense:

• Direct: Mr. Parson asked, “How long have you been working here?”
• Indirect: Parson asked me how long I had been working there?”
• Direct: The boy said, “I have been waiting for my mother since morning.”
• Indirect: The boy said that he had been waiting for his mother since morning.

e. Simple past to past perfect tense

• Direct: Robert Langdon said, “My mother gave me the Mickey watch.”
• Indirect: Robert Langdon said that his mother had given the Mickey watch to him.
• Direct: The teacher said, “Shakespeare’s playing company built Globe Theatre in 1599.”
• Indirect: The teacher said that Shakespeare’s playing company had built the Globe Theatre in 1599.

f. Past Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous tense;

• Direct: Jenny said, “Marlow was leaving Belgium.”
• Indirect: Jenny told me that Marlow had been leaving Belgium.
• Direct: Maria said, “I was dialing your number, and you called.”
• Indirect: Maria said that she had been dialing my number and I had called.

Note: If two sentences are combined with a conjunction, and both sentences have different tenses then we need to change the tenses of both sentences according to the rule.

g. Past perfect tense does not change in the indirect speech;

• Direct: Alex said, “I had stopped to visit you.”
• Indirect: Alex said that he has stopped to visit me.
• Direct: She said, “Greece had tried to uphold their economy.”
• Indirect: She said that Greece had tried to uphold their economy.

h Simple future tense to present conditional;

• Direct: Smith said, “My parents will be there at 9am.”
• Indirect: Smith said that his parents would be there at 9am.
• Direct: Barbara asked, “Will you be my partner in the coming Summer Ball?”
• Indirect: Barbara asked if I would be her partner in the coming Summer Ball.
• Direct: John said, “I will be doing my CELTA next year.”
• Indirect: John said that he would be doing his CELTA next year. (Continuous conditional)

a. Modal verbs like shall, will, can, may change in reported speech. Let’s follow some examples:

• Direct: John said, “I will be there.”
• Indirect: John promised that he would be there.
• Direct: The boy said, “ May I come in?”
• Indirect: The boy asked if he could come in. (note: may becomes could when it implies permission)
• Direct: “I may not call you.” Said Boby.
• Indirect: Boby said that she might not call me.
• Direct: “I shall practice more.” said Barbara.
• Indirect: Barbara said that she would practice more.
• Direct: Joseph said, “ Shall I buy the car?”
• Indirect: Joseph asked if he should buy the car.

Note: shall becomes should if it implies a question.

b. Modal verbs like could, should, need, must, might, used to do not change in reported speech.

• Direct: she said, “I would not be the victim.”
• Indirect: she said that she would not be the victim.
• Direct: David said, “You need to repair the car.”
• Indirect: David said that I need to repair the car.
• Direct: Mary said, “I used to love dancing.”
• Indirect: Mary said she used to love dancing.

5. Adverbs and demonstratives:

Indirect speech differs from the direct speech’s time and place. When someone is conveying the message to the listener, the speaker might not be on the same day or place. So the demonstrative (this, that etc.) and the adverb of time and place (here, there, today, now, etc.) change. We can look into the following chart for the usual changes:

  Examples:

• Direct: I said, “Simon read Wordsworth yesterday .”
• Indirect: I said that Simon read Wordsworth the day before .
• Direct: Mother said, “ Come home now .”
• Indirect: Mother ordered me to go home at that moment .
• Direct: “ Bring the money with you.” Said Jessie.
• Indirect: Jessie demanded to take the money with me.
• Direct: The lovers said, “We will meet here tomorrow .”
• Indirect: The lovers promised to meet there the next day .

Reporting Verbs in English: List with Examples & Exercises

Reporting verbs are used when you want to tell someone about another conversation. We also call this reported speech or indirect speech. Two examples of reporting verbs are say and tell. There are many others and these have different meanings and grammar structures. In this study guide, we’ll look at examples of these verbs and show you how to use them correctly. We’ll also look at reporting verbs to improve your academic writing. Let’s go!

What are reporting verbs?

Reporting verbs list.

• How do I use them?

Reporting verbs in academic writing

• Test your knowledge: exercises

What you will learn: 

Reporting verbs (or referring verbs) are words used to report about (or refer to) what another person has said, written or done. These verbs are used in reported speech, which can be direct or indirect.

The first reporting verbs that English students learn are usually say and tell . For example compare i) and ii) below:

• “It’s my birthday next weekend. Please, make a birthday cake for me!” Charlotte said to her mum ( direct speech)

Charlotte told her mum to make a birthday cake for her. ( indirect speech)

There are many other reporting verbs in English. These can be particularly useful in formal and academic writing.

General reporting verbs

In this table, we have listed out some common reporting verbs that are used in everyday English. To help you understand how to correctly place them in a sentence, we have put them into approximate categories based on their most common usage. However, you should remember that some of these reporting verbs can be used in difference contexts and sometimes with different grammar structures.

Academic reporting verbs

In the table below, we’ve listed out the reporting verbs in groups based on their general meanings. We have also indicated the relative “strength” of each verb. For example, if I imply (suggest/hint, weak) that you are wrong, this is very different from if I assert (state/say, strong) that you are wrong. Remember that English is seldom “black vs. white” – there are often several degrees of meaning.

How do I use reporting verbs?

Understanding what the verbs mean is generally the easiest step. You see a new word, you learn what the word means in your own language and you learn how to pronounce it in English. In actual fact, you can only really say you’ve learnt a word when you also know how to accurately use it in a sentence.

Let’s return to our example with Charlotte’s birthday cake:

 “It’s my birthday next weekend. Make a birthday cake for me,” Charlotte said to her mum ( direct speech)

Easy, right? Now let’s consider that there are many other ways that Charlotte could say this in English. Depending on what she said and how she said it, you might need to use a different reporting verb, not just say or tell . For example:

• If you want to express the idea of “ Don’t forget ” “ Don’t forget to make a birthday cake for me.” Charlotte reminded her mum to make a cake.
• If you want to express the idea of “ No, I don’t want to do something ” (i) “ I’m not going to make my own birthday cake!” Charlotte said that she wouldn’t make her own cake.(ii) “ I’m not going to make my birthday cake. You can do it!” Charlotte refused to make a cake. (iii) “I’ve got lots of work to do this weekend and I might be too busy for other things”Charlotte hinted that she wouldn’t make the cake.  

In these sentences, there are three different verbs (say, hint, refuse). They all mean “no” but say is a neutral verb, hint is a weak verb, and refuse is much stronger .

• If you want to express the idea of “Please do this!” “ Can you make a birthday cake for me, please ?” Charlotte asked her mum to make a cake. “ Please, please, please, can you make a cake for my birthday?” Charlotte begged her mum to make a cake (or) Charlotte pleaded with her mum to make a birthday cake. Ask, plead and beg all have a similar meaning, but plead and beg are much stronger than ask.

Learning words in English is like collecting bricks to build a house. It’s not enough just to get the bricks. You also need to learn how to arrange them correctly so that your house is solid! You can’t build a good house from just a couple of bricks (e.g. say and tell). That’s why you need to learn more vocabulary – like reporting verbs. We don’t want the Big Bad Wolf to blow your house down!

Let’s take a look at HOW to use reporting verbs in real sentences. Below, we have divided the verbs into their different grammar structures so they are easier for you to learn.

1. Reporting verb + infinitive

Verbs: Refuse, decide, promise, demand, agree, threaten, plead with Examples:

• Charlotte refused to make a cake. ( NOT : Charlotte refused making a cake)
• My boss decided to give me a promotion.
• The teacher demanded to know who was responsible for the mess.
• We agreed to keep quiet and not tell anyone the news. (or) We agreed that we would keep quiet.
• We threatened to go to the police.
• They pleaded with the man to release the hostage.

2. Reporting verb + somebody + (not) infinitive

Verbs : remind, ask, beg, warn , order, encourage, persuade, advise, urge, agree Examples :

• Charlotte reminded her mum to make a cake.
• They asked me to cook
• He begged his friend not to tell
• They warned me not to go there by myself.
• The government has ordered everybody to stay at home.
• Her parents always encourage her to work
• They persuaded me to stay for another drink.
• The doctor advised me to stop
• Our new neighbours have invited us to have dinner with them tomorrow.

3. Reporting verb + verb +ing

Verbs: Deny, suggest, recommend, report, propose, admit

These verbs can be used with +ing or with that , but it’s generally better to be concise and use the +ing verb. Short and sweet! Examples :

• They denied taking the last biscuit. (short) (or) They denied that they had taken the last biscuit. (long)
• She admitted stealing the money. (or) She admitted that she had stolen the money. / She admitted to me that she had stolen the money.
• She suggested taking a taxi because it would be quicker. (or) She suggested that we took a taxi.
• I recommend going in the morning when the weather isn’t so hot. (or) I recommend ( that) we go in the morning.
• I propose cancelling the next meeting until we have made a decision. (or) I propose that we cancel the next meeting.

4. Reporting verb + preposition + verb + ing

Verbs: Blame smbd for, accuse smbd of, insist on, apologise for, complain about, confess to, forbid smbd from, agree to, think about Examples :

• They blamed me for missing the train.
• She accused her friend of
• He apologised for breaking the window.
• She is thinking about moving to France.
• He insisted on paying for everybody. / He insisted that he paid for everybody.
• They complained about not having a small hotel room. / They complained that they didn’t have a bigger room.

The reporting verbs we use in academic writing also follow specific grammatical patterns. Again, it is important to know whether the verb needs +ing, the infinitive , or that after it.

5. Academic reporting verb + that

Verbs: Point out, find, observe , state, agree, believe, assert, claim, contend, explain, guess, assert, imply, reason, prove, note, report, reveal.

• Bosley (2017) found that elderly patients experience fewer symptoms of pain when they have regular access to some form of nature. (or) Bosley (2017) found a link between symptoms and access to nature. ( find smth )
• Martinez (2008) and Zhang (2009) agree that … (or) Martinez (2008) and Zhang (2009) agree with this theory . ( agree with + smth/smbd )
• Persson (2003) claims that a community is impossible without a shared aim.
• Research conducted by Bradwell in 2017 revealed that there was a considerable difference in the amount of time UK and US teenagers spent with their families. (or) Research conducted by Bradwell in 2017 revealed a considerable difference in the amount of time UK and US teenagers spent with their families.

6. Academic reporting verb + smth

Verbs: Develop, study, focus on, acknowledge, doubt, contribute to, echo, subscribe to, question, disapprove of, dispute, reject, discuss, investigate, illustrate, present, outline, put forward, consider, support, emphasise, challenge, analyse, discard, identify, explore, propose, highlight, stress. Examples:

• Wang (2016) supports the idea that there is a significant link between play and child development. NOT : Wang (2016) supports that there is a significant link between play and child development.  
• Roberts (2018) identifies three possible factors in early diagnosis.
• Solara (2015) questions the importance of this approach. (or) Solara (2015)  questions whether this approach is important.
• Barboza (2018) rejects the three factors presented by Solara.
• Miller (2016) discusses this theory in detail. NOT : Miller (2016) discusses about this theory in detail

In academic writing, reporting verbs are used when you want to refer to what another person has said. You do this to strengthen your own argument and to show that other academics think the same as you.

It would be easy to just learn the verb “to state”, and use this all the time. However, using a range of other verbs can allow you to express your opinion about the author’s idea more precisely. For example, “to state” is quite neutral , but “to claim” implies that there is no proof behind what the author is saying.

Past or present tense?

You can use both the past and the present tense in academic writing.

If you are talking about recent research, use the present. This makes a connection between past research and now, which adds weight to your argument.

• Wang (2016) support s the idea that there is a significant link between play and child development. (present simple)

If you are talking about how research was conducted, you will need to use the past simple (either active or passive voice).

• Wang (2016) examin ed fifty groups of siblings. (past simple) The siblings were asked the following questions. (passive voice)

Avoid these common mistakes!

• It’s possible to express someone’s opinion using “According to…”. This does not need a reporting verb. “According to” does the job of a reporting verb already. e.g. “According to Covey (2017)…” (Not: “ According to Covey (2017) states that… ”)
• A source written by one author will need a singular verb with “-s” at the end e.g. “Liu (2016) suggest s that…” (Not: “ Liu (2016) suggest that… ”)
• A source written by more than one author will need a plural verb. e.g. “Liu and Helzer (2016) suggest that…” (Not: “ Liu and Helzer (2016) suggests that… ”)
• If you use “et al.” to indicate multiple authors, this will also require a plural verb as it means “they”. e.g. “Rosenberg et al. (2018) argue that…” (Not: “ Rosenberg et al. (2018) argues that…” )

Reporting verbs: Exercises

• Why didn’t you _____________ me that you don’t eat meat? a) say.  b) tell
• I didn’t ____________ anything to you, because I was too worried. a) tell.    b) say
• We __________ them to meet us in the main square at half past eleven. a) told.  b) said
• You should ________ her that you don’t want to go on holiday. a) say.  b) tell
• Are you going to ___________ anything to Sue about your good news? a) say.  b) tell
• They have ________ that we will need to bring our own bed linen and towels. a) told.    b) said

Which of these sentences are right and which are wrong? Choose correct or incorrect.

• She suggested to study together for the exam. a . Correct    b. Incorrect
• I said you not to do that. a. Correct    b. Incorrect
• I didn’t tell anyone anything. a . Correct.  b . Incorrect
• We have decided live in the countryside. a. Correct    b. Incorrect
• My grandmother always encouraged to learn to cook. a. Correct    b. Incorrect

Choose the correct verb to complete the sentences.

• She invited me ________ to her house for a drink after work. a. go    b. going  c. to go
• She asked me _________ some money. a. lending    b. to lend    c . to lend her
• They persuaded me _________ to London with them. a. go    b. to go    c. of going
• He advised _______ more exercise. a. I do    b. me to do    c. me doing
• He begged me not _______ anybody about the accident. a. of telling    b. tell    c. to tell
• He reminded ________ to renew the car insurance. a . to me    b. me    c. of me
• She refused _______ the washing-up again! a. me to do    b. to do.  c. doing
• She apologised _________ me an angry text message. a. of sending. b. for sending    c. sending
• He admitted ________ the red wine on the sofa. a. spilling    b. to spill    c. spill of
• He suggested _________ on a cycling holiday next year. a. go    b . going c. we going
• He denied _________ my car. a. taking    b . to take    c. taking of
• She decided __________ the risotto. a. having.  b. to have    c. to having

Exercise 1:

Exercise 2:

• b. Incorrect (She suggested studying together for the exam.)
• b. Incorrect (I told you not to do that.)
• b. Incorrect (We have decided to live in the countryside.)
• b. Incorrect (My grandmother always encouraged me to learn to cook.)

Exercise 3:

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Difference Between: Inquiry vs. Enquiry

Inquiry and enquiry sound the same (ɪnkwaɪəri), but have different meanings in British English. Inquiry means ‘official investigation’ – e.g. The government launched an inquiry into corruption. Enquiry means ‘a question about something’ – e.g. The gym received an enquiry about its opening hours. Americans only use inquiry .

Difference Between: Too vs. Also

Too (tuː) and also (ɔːlsoʊ) are both adverbs that mean ‘in addition’. The difference is their position in the sentence. Adding extra information – e.g. Jamie bought some milk. He bought some bread too . Or Jamie bought some milk. He also bought some bread.   Adding emphasis – e.g. Emma can play the guitar. She can play the piano too . Or Emma can play the guitar. She can also play the piano.

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Reported Speech and Reporting Verbs

Reported speech.

Direct speech and reported speech are the two ways we can say what someone has said.

Directed speech: "I am your neighbour," said James.

Reported speech: James said that he was my neighbour.

Because we are talking about something that happened in the past, we use past tense verbs in reported speech: said not say ; was not am .

Reporting verbs

In the sentence "James said that he was my neighbour" , said is a reporting verb ( was is a reported verb). There are other reporting verbs we can use depending on the statement. We can also use the verbs like told , offered and promised . Let's take a look at some examples.

"My brother is buying a car" said Anne (direct speech) becomes Anne told me (that) her brother was buying a car .

Use told + person + what was said . Don't use told with to : Anne told to me (that) her brother was buying a car is not correct.

Use offered + to + infinitive verb .

"I'll do the shopping for you", said Simon becomes Simon offered to do the shopping for us .

Use promise + to + infinitive verb

"I'll buy you lunch", said Mark becomes Mark promised to buy me lunch .

OR Promise + clause (change the tense of the verb) :

Mark promised (that) he would buy me lunch.

Take a look at these other reporting verbs and choose the best one for each sentence. For extra practice, rewrite the sentences using reported speech.

Link: How to use reported speech

• 1 - "I'll email you every day": suggested explained promised
• 2 - "You need an F-1 visa to study in America": realised said explained
• 3 - "Why don't we go for a walk?": told suggested asked
• 4 - "The music is too loud. I can't sleep": complained suggested said
• 5 - "Could you tell me where the bathroom is?": offered asked suggested
• 6 - "You can't come with me": promised suggested told
• 7 - "Is this your car?": offered said asked
• 8 - "I'll be very careful": promised told suggested
• 9 - "Let me help you with those bags": explained told offered
• 10 - "Water boils at 100 degrees": offered promised told

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A Comprehensive Guide To Reported Speech In English

There are times when someone tells you something and you’ll have to report what they said to someone else.

How can you do this in English?

You’ll need to know how to use what's called reported speech in English and this is what you’ll learn in this blog post.

What Is Reported Speech In English?

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of retelling what someone else has said without repeating their exact words. 

For example, let’s say you have a friend called Jon and one called Mary. Mary has organised a house party and has invited you and Jon. 

Jon, however, is not feeling well. He says to you, “Sorry but I cannot come to the party. I spent all day working outside under the rain and I feel ill today.” 

A few days after the party, you meet Sarah. She’s another one of your friends and she was at the party too, but she arrived late – a moment before you left. You only had time to say hello to each other. 

She asks you, “I saw you at the party but I didn’t see Jon. Where was he?”

When Sarah asks you, “Where was Jon?” you can say, 

“Jon said, ‘Sorry but I cannot come to the party. I spent all day working outside under the rain and I feel ill today’.”

However, it would be more natural to use indirect speech in this case. So you would say, “Jon said he couldn’t come to the party. He had spent all day working outside under the rain and he felt ill that day .” 

Did you notice how the sentence changes in reported speech?

Here’s what happened:

• “I” became “he”
• “Cannot” became “couldn’t”
• “Spent” became “had spent”
• “I feel ill today” became “he felt ill on that day” 

Let’s take a closer look at how we form reported speech.

How To Form Reported Speech In English

To form reported speech, you might have to make a few changes to the original sentence that was spoken (or written). 

You may have to change pronouns, verb tenses, place and time expressions and, in the case of questions, the word order.

There are certain patterns to learn for reporting promises, agreements, orders, offers, requests, advice and suggestions.

Let’s have a look at all these cases one by one.

Reported Speech In English: Changing Verb Tenses

In general, when we use reported speech, the present tenses become past tenses.  

We do this because we are often reporting someone else’s words at a different time (Jon’s words were spoken 3 days before you reported them to Sarah).

Here’s an example:

Jenny (on Saturday evening) says,  “I don't like this place. I want to go home now.”(present tenses)

Matt (on Sunday morning) talks to James and says, “Jenny said that she didn't like the place, and she wanted to go home. (past tenses)

So this is how different verb tenses change:

Simple Present → Simple Past

DIRECT: I need money.

INDIRECT: She said she needed money.

Present Progressive → Past Progressive

DIRECT: My French is improving.

INDIRECT: He said his French was improving.

Present Perfect → Past Perfect

DIRECT: This has been an amazing holiday.

INDIRECT: She told me that it had been an amazing holiday.

What if there is a past simple form of the verb in direct speech? Well, in this case, it can stay the same in reported speech or you can change it to past perfect .

Past Simple → Past Simple Or Past Perfect

DIRECT: I didn’t go to work.

INDIRECT: Mary said that she didn’t go to work / Mary said that she hadn’t gone to work 

Past Perfect Tenses Do Not Change

DIRECT: I arrived late because I had missed the bus.

INDIRECT: He said he arrived (or had arrived) late because he had missed the bus.

Modal verbs like “can,” “may,” and “will” also change in reported speech.

Will → Would

DIRECT: The exam will be difficult.

INDIRECT: They said that the exam would be difficult.

Can → Could

DIRECT: I can’t be there.

INDIRECT: He told me he couldn’t be there.

May → Might

DIRECT: We may go there another time.

INDIRECT: They said they might go there another time.

However, past modal verbs don’t change (would, must, could, should, etc.) don’t change in reported speech.

DIRECT: It would be nice if we could go to Paris.

INDIRECT: He said it would be nice if we could go to Paris.

Here are some other examples:

So, in summary, 

• am/is → were
• do/does → did
• have/has → had
• had done → had done
• will → would
• can → could
• may → might
• could → could
• would → would
• like/love/buy/see → liked/loved/bought/saw or had liked/ had loved/had bought/had seen.

You make these verb tense shifts when you report the original words at a different time from when they were spoken. However, it is often also possible to keep the original speaker’s tenses when the situation is still the same.

For example, 

1. DIRECT: I am feeling sick.

   INDIRECT: She said she is feeling sick.

2. DIRECT: We have to leave now.

   INDIRECT: They said they have to leave now.

3. DIRECT: I will call you later.

   INDIRECT: He said he will call me later.

4. DIRECT: She is not coming to the party.

   INDIRECT: He said she is not coming to the party.

5. DIRECT: They are working on a new project.

   INDIRECT: She said they are working on a new project.

What about conditional sentences? How do they change in reported speech?

Sentences with “if” and “would” are usually unchanged.

DIRECT: It would be best if we went there early.

INDIRECT: He said it would be best if they went there early.

But conditional sentences used to describe unreal situations (e.g. second conditional or third conditional sentences) can change like this:

DIRECT: If I had more money I would buy a new car.

INDIRECT: She said if she had had more money, she would have bought a new car OR She said if she had more money, she would buy a new car.

Reported Speech In English: Changing Pronouns

In reported speech, because you’re reporting someone else’s words, there’s a change of speaker so this may mean a change of pronoun.

An example:

Jenny says,  “I don't like this place. I want to go home now.”

Matt says, “Jenny said that she didn't like the place, and she wanted to go home.” 

In this example, Jenny says “I” to refer to herself but Matt, talking about what Jenny said, uses “she”.

So the sentence in reported speech becomes:

• Jenny said that she didn’t like . . . ( not Jenny said that I didn’t like . . .)

Some other examples:

1 . DIRECT: I have been studying for hours.

   INDIRECT: He said he had been studying for hours.

2. DIRECT: I don’t like that movie.

   INDIRECT: She said she didn’t like that movie.

3. DIRECT: He doesn't like coffee.

   INDIRECT: She said he doesn't like coffee.

4. DIRECT: We have a new car.

   INDIRECT: They told me they had a new car.

5. DIRECT: We are going on vacation next week.

    INDIRECT: They said they are going on vacation next week.

Reported Speech In English: Place And Time Expressions

When you’re reporting someone’s words, there is often a change of place and time.  This may mean that you will need to change or remove words that are used to refer to places and time like “here,” “this,” “now,” “today,” “next,” “last,” “yesterday,” “tomorrow,” and so on. 

Check the differences in the following sentences:

DIRECT: I'll be back next month.

INDIRECT: She said she would be back the next month , but I never saw her again.

DIRECT: Emma got her degree last Tuesday.

INDIRECT: He said Emma had got her degree the Tuesday before.

DIRECT: I had an argument with my mother-in-law yesterday .

INDIRECT: He said he’d had an argument with his mother-in-law the day before .

DIRECT: We're going to have an amazing party tomorrow.

INDIRECT: They said they were going to have an amazing party the next day.

DIRECT: Meet me here at 10 am.

INDIRECT: He told me to meet him there at 10 am.

DIRECT: This restaurant is really good.

INDIRECT: She said that the restaurant was really good.

DIRECT: I'm going to the gym now.

INDIRECT: He said he was going to the gym at that time.

DIRECT: Today is my birthday.

INDIRECT: She told me that it was her birthday that day .

DIRECT: I'm leaving for Europe next week.

INDIRECT: She said she was leaving for Europe the following week.

Reported Speech In English: Word Order In Questions

What if you have to report a question? For example, how would you report the following questions?

• Where’s Mark?
• When are you going to visit your grandmother?
• What do I need to buy for the celebration?
• Where are your best friend and his wife staying?
• Do you like coffee?
• Can you sing?
• Who’s your best friend?
• What time do you usually wake up?
• What would you do if you won the lottery?
• Do you ever read nonfiction books?

In reported questions, the subject normally comes before the verb and auxiliary “do” is not used.

So, here is what happens when you're reporting a question:

DIRECT: Where’s Mark?

INDIRECT: I asked where Mark was. 

DIRECT: When are you going to visit your grandmother?

INDIRECT: He wanted to know when I was going to visit my grandmother.

DIRECT: What do I need to buy for the celebration?

INDIRECT: She asked what she needed to buy for the celebration.

DIRECT: Where are your best friend and his wife staying?

INDIRECT: I asked where his best friend and his wife were staying.

DIRECT: Do you like coffee?

INDIRECT: I asked if she liked coffee.

DIRECT: Can you sing?

INDIRECT: She asked me if I could sing.

DIRECT: Who’s your best friend?

INDIRECT: They asked me who my best friend was. 

DIRECT: What time do you usually wake up?

INDIRECT: She asked me what time I usually wake up.

DIRECT: What would you do if you won the lottery?

INDIRECT: He asked me what I would do if I won the lottery.

DIRECT: Do you ever read nonfiction books?

INDIRECT: She asked me if I ever read nonfiction books.

You might have noticed that question marks are not used in reported questions and you don’t use “say” or “tell” either.

Promises, Agreements, Orders, Offers, Requests & Advice

When you’re reporting these, you can use the following verbs + an infinitive:

Here are some examples:

DIRECT SPEECH: I’ll always love you.

PROMISE IN INDIRECT SPEECH: She promised to love me.

DIRECT SPEECH: OK, let’s go to the pub.

INDIRECT SPEECH: He agreed to come to the pub with me.

DIRECT SPEECH: Sit down!

INDIRECT SPEECH: They told me to sit down OR they ordered me to sit down.

DIRECT SPEECH: I can go to the post office for you.

INDIRECT SPEECH: She offered to go to the post office.

DIRECT SPEECH: Could I please have the documentation by tomorrow evening?

INDIRECT SPEECH: She requested to have the documentation by the following evening.

DIRECT SPEECH: You should think twice before giving him your phone number.

INDIRECT SPEECH: She advised me to think twice before giving him my phone number.

Reported Speech In English

All right! I hope you have a much clearer idea about what reported speech is and how it’s used. 

And the good news is that both direct and indirect speech structures are commonly used in stories, so why not try the StoryLearning method ? 

You'll notice this grammatical pattern repeatedly in the context of short stories in English.

Not only will this help you acquire it naturally, but you will also have a fun learning experience by immersing yourself in an interesting and inspiring narrative.

Have a wonderful time learning through books in English !

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Narration rules all with example [direct and indirect speech], narration rules with example and table.

Table of Contents

Narration rules (from direct to indirect) are a nice topic for learning English grammar. Here I have presented all the narration rules step by step in an easy way that will help you to learn narration change. After reading the article you can also teach someone.

What is Narration?

Narration is the way of presenting sentences spoken by somebody.

Well, let us discuss all the narration rules.

Narration Rules

When you will learn English grammar “Narration Change”, you have to remember some narration rules those will help you to be an expert in narration change. I have discussed all the narration rules step by step below.

• Change of tense
• Change of place and time
• Change of person
• Change of conjunction
• Change of reporting verb

Narration Rules For Tense

When we change direct speech into indirect speech, we must have to change the tense in some cases. I have explained all the rules thoroughly and given examples so that the learners can understand the narration rules in a very easy way.

Rule No. 01

Direct: The man says, “Playing cricket is my hobby.”

Indirect: The man says that playing cricket is his hobby.

Direct: The girls say to me, “You have supported us here.”

Indirect: The girls tell me that I have supported them there.

Rule No. 02

Direct: Ram will say, “I have done this work.”

Indirect: Ram will say that he has done that work.

Rule No. 03

Direct: Riya said, “I know the gentleman.”

Indirect: Riya said that he knew the gentleman.

Direct: Mitali said, “I am doing the sums now.”

Indirect: Mitali said that he was doing the sums then.

Rule No. 04

Direct:  Mother said, “I cooked fish yesterday.”

Indirect: Mother said that she had cooked fish the previous day.

Direct: Liton said, “I was playing football in the field.”

Indirect: Liton said that he had been playing football in the field.

Rule No. 05

Direct: Your father said to me, “Kakoli will pass the examination.”

Indirect: Your father told me that Kakoli would pass the examination.

Direct: He said to me, “You will fail the test.”

Indirect: He told me that I would fail the test.

Rule No. 06

Direct: He said to me, “You can solve the problem.”

Indirect: You told me that I could solve the problem.

Direct: Ratan said to the girl, “You could pass the exam.”

Indirect: Ratan told the girl that she could pass the exam.

Direct: The players said, “We may win the match now.”

Indirect: The players said that they might win the match then.

Direct: The old man said to the player, “It might rain today.”

Indirect: The old man told the player that it might rain that day.

Direct: My grandfather said to me, “We should respect our national flag.”

Indirect: My grandfather told me that they should respect their national flag.

Direct: Mohit said to us, “We would play cricket in this field.”

Indirect: Mohit told us that they would play cricket in that field.

Direct: Father said to the student, “You must come to school in dress.”

Indirect: Father told the student that he must go to school in dress.

Narration Rules  For Tense In Table

Look at a glance changing of tense

Narration Rules For Persons (Person/ Noun/ Pronoun)

We must change the person, noun, and pronoun of reported speech according to the subject and object of the reporting verb. Read the rules carefully below step by step.

Rules No.01

Direct: Sujata said to me, “I have gone to this office with my elder brother.”

Indirect: Sujata told me that she had gone to this office with her elder brother.

Direct: The boys said to me, “We have completed our homework.”

Indirect: The boys told me that they had completed their homework.

Rules No.02

Direct: The man said to me, “You will bring your cycle.”

Indirect: The man told me that I would bring my cycle.

Direct: She said to the boy, “Your friend insulted you there”

Indirect: She told the boy that his friend had insulted him there.

Rules No.03

Direct: Rina said to me, “It is a fresh mango.”

Indirect: Rina told me that it was a fresh mango.

Direct: I said to you, “He is not a good boy.”

Indirect: I told you that he was not a good boy.

Direct: You said to us, “Ratan took a cup of tea.”

Indirect: You told us that Ratan had taken a cup of tea.

Direct: He said to you, “They do not study in the school.”

Indirect: He told you that they did not study in the school.

examlabs.com

Narration Rules For Time & Place

There are some words and phrases that are time and place. We must have to change them in indirect speech. The words and phrases are given below. 

Direct: Gobindo said, “I saw this ox yesterday.”

Indirect: Gobindo said that he had seen that ox the previous day.

Direct: She said, “I am eating rice now.”

Indirect: She said that she was eating rice then.

Narration Rules For Assertive Sentences

We change the “Reporting Verb” of direct speech into indirect speech according to the tense at the time of narration change. I have mentioned the reporting verb below.

Narration change of assertive sentences

Direct: Dipa says, “I have finished my homework”.

Indirect: Dipa says that she has finished her homework.

Reporting Verb Past Tense and Reported Speech Universal Truth and Habitual Fact

Direct: Father said, “The sun rises in the east.”

Indirect: Father said that the sun rises in the east.

Direct: Grandfather said to me, “Man is mortal.”

Indirect: Grandfather told me that man is mortal.

Direct: Rahit said to me, “I practice batting in this field daily.”

Indirect: Rahit told me that he practices batting in that field daily.

Direct: Your brother said to him, “My grandfather reads the Mahabharat every day.”

Indirect: Your brother told him that his grandfather reads the Mahabharat every day.

Reporting Verb Past Tense and Reported Speech More Than Two Past Tense

Direct: The grandfather said, “My daughter was good and kind and she respected everyone.”

Indirect: The grandfather said that his daughter was good and kind and she respected everyone.

Narration Rules For Interrogative Sentences

Interrogative Sentence

When we change the direct speech of the interrogative sentences into the indirect, we use “Ask/Enquire/Want to know” instead of “Say”. Then we use “If/Whether” if the reported speech is yes no interrogative sentence. Next, we use a full stop instead of a question mark.

For Example:

Direct: I said to her, ‘’Have you brought my book?

Indirect: I asked her if she had brought my book.

Direct: The man said to me, “Do you know the address?”

Indirect: The man enquired me whether I knew the address.

Direct: Rahim said to the girl, “Why are you shouting?’’

Indirect: Rahim asked the girl why she was shouting.

Direct: I said to Rabin, “When will you join the service?”

Indirect: I wanted to know Rabin when he would join the service.

Direct: The teacher said to the student, “Why were you absent yesterday?”

Indirect: The teacher wanted to know the student why he had been absent the previous day.

Narration Rules For Imperative Sentences

We change the “Reporting Verb” of direct speech into indirect speech according to the tense and reported speech at the time of narration change. I have mentioned the reporting verb below.

Imperative    Sentence

Direct: The teacher said to the students, “Stand up.”

Indirect: The teacher ordered the students to stand up.

Direct: The old man said to me, “Please help me.”

Indirect: The old man requested me to help him.

Direct: The teacher said to the students, “Respect the seniors.”

Indirect: The teacher advised the students to respect the seniors.

Direct: The cornel said to the soldiers, “March on.”

Indirect: The cornel commanded the soldiers to march on.

Direct: Mother said to me, “Do not wet in the rain.“

Indirect: Mother ordered me not to wet in the rain.

Narration Rules For Negative Imperative Sentences

Direct: Mother said to her son, “Don’t drink coloured water.”

Indirect: Mother forbade /prohibited her son to drink coloured water. 

Direct: My father said to me, “Don’t waste time.”

Indirect: My father forbade me to waste time.

Direct: The passerby said to the boys, “Don’t throw stones at the bird.”

Indirect: The passerby prohibited the boys to throw stones at the bird.

Narration Rules For Imperative sentence with ‘Let’

If we find “Us” after “Let” we should follow the below rules.

Direct: He said to me, “Let us go out for a walk.’’

Indirect: He proposed to me that we should go out for a walk.

Direct: Our friends said to me, “Let us arrange a party.”

Indirect: Our friends proposed to me that they should arrange a party.

Direct: Tapan said to you, “Let us play cricket.”

Indirect: Tapan suggested to you that they should play cricket.

Narration Rules For Imperative sentence with ‘Let’ but ‘Us’ not follow ‘Let’

“ Us” is not mentioned after let.

  Example: 

Direct: He   said, “Let   me finish   this   work.”

Indirect: He wished that he might be allowed to finish that work.

Direct: The boy said to the man, “Let me write the answer.”

Indirect: The boy requested the man that he may write the answer.

Direct: I said to you, “Let her dance on the stage.”

Indirect: I told you that she might dance on the stage.

Narration Rules For Optative Sentences

“God” is mentioned in the Optative sentence

Direct: He said to me, “May God bless you.”

Indirect: He prayed that God might bless me.

Direct: He said, “May God punish him for his sins.”

Indirect: He prayed that God might punish him for his sins.

Direct: She said, “May God show you the right path.”

Indirect: She prayed that God might show you the right path.

The word “God” is not in the optative sentence

Direct: They said, “Long live our president.”

Indirect: They wished that their president might live long.

Direct: We said, “Long live our captain.”

Indirect: We wished that our captain might live long.

Narration Rules For Exclamatory Sentences

Exclamatory Sentence

For Example

Direct: She said to me, “Good morning.”

Indirect: She wished me good morning.

Direct: Mother said to me, “Have a good result.”

Indirect: Mother wished me have a good result.

Direct: They said, “How happy we are here!”

Indirect: They exclaimed with joy that they were very happy there very happy there.

Direct: He said, “What a fool I am!”

Indirect: He exclaimed with sorrow that I was a great fool.

In case of happiness, gladness, sorrow and surprise

Direct: The boys said, “Hurray! We have won the match.”

Indirect: The boys exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.

Direct: Simanta said, “Alas! I have lost the book.”

Indirect: Simanta exclaimed with sorrow/grief that he had lost the book.

Direct: The boy said to me, “What a smart girl!”

Indirect: The boy exclaimed with surprise me that the girl was very smart.

Direct: The man said, “Alas! My grandmother is no more.”

Indirect: The man exclaimed sorrowfully that his grandmother was no more.

In case of desire

Direct: The old man said, “Were I a king!”

Indirect: The old man strongly wished that he were a king.

Direct: Ramesh said, “Had I much money!”

Indirect: Ramen strongly wished that he had much money.

Narration Rules For The Vocative Sentence

Direct: He said, “My friend, listen to me.”

Indirect: He told his friend to listen to him. Or

Addressing his friend, he told/requested him to listen to him.

Direct: He said, “Rahim, do not touch it.”

Indirect: He ordered Rahim not to touch it. OR

He prohibited/ forbade Rahim to touch it. OR

Addressing Rahim, he ordered him not to touch it. OR

Addressing Rahim, he prohibited/ forbade him not to touch it.

Narration Rules For The Sentences with “Sir” or “Madam”

Direct: The boy said to the teacher, “Sir, I can answer to this question.”

Indirect: The boy respectfully told the teacher he could answer to that question.

Direct: The girl said to the madam, “Madam, I could not understand it.”

Indirect: The girl respectfully told the madam that she could not understand it.

• Narration Change
• Voice change
• Type of sentence
• Degree Change
• All Conditional Sentences
• Transformation of Sentences [Affirmative to Negative]
• Transformation of sentences [Simple, Complex and Compound]

If you think that this article (Narration Rules) is good and necessary, you can share it with your friends and relatives through social media like WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger. Thank you! – Prakash sir

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What is Reported Speech and how to use it? with Examples

Published by

Olivia Drake

Reported speech and indirect speech are two terms that refer to the same concept, which is the act of expressing what someone else has said.

On this page:

Reported speech is different from direct speech because it does not use the speaker’s exact words. Instead, the reporting verb is used to introduce the reported speech, and the tense and pronouns are changed to reflect the shift in perspective. There are two main types of reported speech: statements and questions.

1. Reported Statements: In reported statements, the reporting verb is usually “said.” The tense in the reported speech changes from the present simple to the past simple, and any pronouns referring to the speaker or listener are changed to reflect the shift in perspective. For example, “I am going to the store,” becomes “He said that he was going to the store.”

2. Reported Questions: In reported questions, the reporting verb is usually “asked.” The tense in the reported speech changes from the present simple to the past simple, and the word order changes from a question to a statement. For example, “What time is it?” becomes “She asked what time it was.”

It’s important to note that the tense shift in reported speech depends on the context and the time of the reported speech. Here are a few more examples:

• Direct speech: “I will call you later.”Reported speech: He said that he would call me later.
• Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?”Reported speech: She asked if I had finished my homework.
• Direct speech: “I love pizza.”Reported speech: They said that they loved pizza.

When do we use reported speech?

Reported speech is used to report what someone else has said, thought, or written. It is often used in situations where you want to relate what someone else has said without quoting them directly.

Reported speech can be used in a variety of contexts, such as in news reports, academic writing, and everyday conversation. Some common situations where reported speech is used include:

News reports:  Journalists often use reported speech to quote what someone said in an interview or press conference.

Business and professional communication:  In professional settings, reported speech can be used to summarize what was discussed in a meeting or to report feedback from a customer.

Conversational English:  In everyday conversations, reported speech is used to relate what someone else said. For example, “She told me that she was running late.”

Narration:  In written narratives or storytelling, reported speech can be used to convey what a character said or thought.

How to make reported speech?

1. Change the pronouns and adverbs of time and place: In reported speech, you need to change the pronouns, adverbs of time and place to reflect the new speaker or point of view. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “I’m going to the store now,” she said. Reported speech: She said she was going to the store then.

In this example, the pronoun “I” is changed to “she” and the adverb “now” is changed to “then.”

2. Change the tense: In reported speech, you usually need to change the tense of the verb to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “I will meet you at the park tomorrow,” he said. Reported speech: He said he would meet me at the park the next day.

In this example, the present tense “will” is changed to the past tense “would.”

3. Change reporting verbs: In reported speech, you can use different reporting verbs such as “say,” “tell,” “ask,” or “inquire” depending on the context of the speech. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?” she asked. Reported speech: She asked if I had finished my homework.

In this example, the reporting verb “asked” is changed to “said” and “did” is changed to “had.”

Overall, when making reported speech, it’s important to pay attention to the verb tense and the changes in pronouns, adverbs, and reporting verbs to convey the original speaker’s message accurately.

How do I change the pronouns and adverbs in reported speech?

1. Changing Pronouns: In reported speech, the pronouns in the original statement must be changed to reflect the perspective of the new speaker. Generally, the first person pronouns (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours) are changed according to the subject of the reporting verb, while the second and third person pronouns (you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, theirs) are changed according to the object of the reporting verb. For example:

Direct speech: “I love chocolate.” Reported speech: She said she loved chocolate.

Direct speech: “You should study harder.” Reported speech: He advised me to study harder.

Direct speech: “She is reading a book.” Reported speech: They noticed that she was reading a book.

2. Changing Adverbs: In reported speech, the adverbs and adverbial phrases that indicate time or place may need to be changed to reflect the perspective of the new speaker. For example:

Direct speech: “I’m going to the cinema tonight.” Reported speech: She said she was going to the cinema that night.

Direct speech: “He is here.” Reported speech: She said he was there.

Note that the adverb “now” usually changes to “then” or is omitted altogether in reported speech, depending on the context.

It’s important to keep in mind that the changes made to pronouns and adverbs in reported speech depend on the context and the perspective of the new speaker. With practice, you can become more comfortable with making these changes in reported speech.

How do I change the tense in reported speech?

In reported speech, the tense of the reported verb usually changes to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here are some guidelines on how to change the tense in reported speech:

Present simple in direct speech changes to past simple in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I like pizza.” Reported speech: She said she liked pizza.

Present continuous in direct speech changes to past continuous in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I am studying for my exam.” Reported speech: He said he was studying for his exam.

Present perfect in direct speech changes to past perfect in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I have finished my work.” Reported speech: She said she had finished her work.

Past simple in direct speech changes to past perfect in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I visited my grandparents last weekend.” Reported speech: She said she had visited her grandparents the previous weekend.

Will in direct speech changes to would in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I will help you with your project.” Reported speech: He said he would help me with my project.

Can in direct speech changes to could in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I can speak French.” Reported speech: She said she could speak French.

Remember that the tense changes in reported speech depend on the tense of the verb in the direct speech, and the tense you use in reported speech should match the time frame of the new speaker’s perspective. With practice, you can become more comfortable with changing the tense in reported speech.

Do I always need to use a reporting verb in reported speech?

No, you do not always need to use a reporting verb in reported speech. However, using a reporting verb can help to clarify who is speaking and add more context to the reported speech.

In some cases, the reported speech can be introduced by phrases such as “I heard that” or “It seems that” without using a reporting verb. For example:

Direct speech: “I’m going to the cinema tonight.” Reported speech with a reporting verb: She said she was going to the cinema tonight. Reported speech without a reporting verb: It seems that she’s going to the cinema tonight.

However, it’s important to note that using a reporting verb can help to make the reported speech more formal and accurate. When using reported speech in academic writing or journalism, it’s generally recommended to use a reporting verb to make the reporting more clear and credible.

Some common reporting verbs include say, tell, explain, ask, suggest, and advise. For example:

Direct speech: “I think we should invest in renewable energy.” Reported speech with a reporting verb: She suggested that they invest in renewable energy.

Overall, while using a reporting verb is not always required, it can be helpful to make the reported speech more clear and accurate

How to use reported speech to report questions and commands?

1. Reporting Questions: When reporting questions, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “asked” or “wondered” followed by the question word (if applicable), subject, and verb. You also need to change the word order to make it a statement. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “What time is the meeting?” Reported speech: She asked what time the meeting was.

Note that the question mark is not used in reported speech.

2. Reporting Commands: When reporting commands, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “ordered” or “told” followed by the person, to + infinitive, and any additional information. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “Clean your room!” Reported speech: She ordered me to clean my room.

Note that the exclamation mark is not used in reported speech.

In both cases, the tense of the reported verb should be changed accordingly. For example, present simple changes to past simple, and future changes to conditional. Here are some examples:

Direct speech: “Will you go to the party with me?”Reported speech: She asked if I would go to the party with her. Direct speech: “Please bring me a glass of water.”Reported speech: She requested that I bring her a glass of water.

Remember that when using reported speech to report questions and commands, the introductory phrases and verb tenses are important to convey the intended meaning accurately.

How to make questions in reported speech?

To make questions in reported speech, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “asked” or “wondered” followed by the question word (if applicable), subject, and verb. You also need to change the word order to make it a statement. Here are the steps to make questions in reported speech:

Identify the reporting verb: The first step is to identify the reporting verb in the sentence. Common reporting verbs used to report questions include “asked,” “inquired,” “wondered,” and “wanted to know.”

Change the tense and pronouns: Next, you need to change the tense and pronouns in the sentence to reflect the shift from direct to reported speech. The tense of the verb is usually shifted back one tense (e.g. from present simple to past simple) in reported speech. The pronouns should also be changed as necessary to reflect the shift in perspective from the original speaker to the reporting speaker.

Use an appropriate question word: If the original question contained a question word (e.g. who, what, where, when, why, how), you should use the same question word in the reported question. If the original question did not contain a question word, you can use “if” or “whether” to introduce the reported question.

Change the word order: In reported speech, the word order of the question changes from the inverted form to a normal statement form. The subject usually comes before the verb, unless the original question started with a question word.

Here are some examples of reported questions:

Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?”Reported speech: He wanted to know if I had finished my homework. Direct speech: “Where are you going?”Reported speech: She wondered where I was going.

Remember that when making questions in reported speech, the introductory phrases and verb tenses are important to convey the intended meaning accurately.

Here you can find more examples of direct and indirect questions

What is the difference between reported speech an indirect speech?

In reported or indirect speech, you are retelling or reporting what someone said using your own words. The tense of the reported speech is usually shifted back one tense from the tense used in the original statement. For example, if someone said, “I am going to the store,” in reported speech you would say, “He/she said that he/she was going to the store.”

The main difference between reported speech and indirect speech is that reported speech usually refers to spoken language, while indirect speech can refer to both spoken and written language. Additionally, indirect speech is a broader term that includes reported speech as well as other ways of expressing what someone else has said, such as paraphrasing or summarizing.

Examples of direct speech to reported

• Direct speech: “I am hungry,” she said. Reported speech: She said she was hungry.
• Direct speech: “Can you pass the salt, please?” he asked. Reported speech: He asked her to pass the salt.
• Direct speech: “I will meet you at the cinema,” he said. Reported speech: He said he would meet her at the cinema.
• Direct speech: “I have been working on this project for hours,” she said. Reported speech: She said she had been working on the project for hours.
• Direct speech: “What time does the train leave?” he asked. Reported speech: He asked what time the train left.
• Direct speech: “I love playing the piano,” she said. Reported speech: She said she loved playing the piano.
• Direct speech: “I am going to the grocery store,” he said. Reported speech: He said he was going to the grocery store.
• Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?” the teacher asked. Reported speech: The teacher asked if he had finished his homework.
• Direct speech: “I want to go to the beach,” she said. Reported speech: She said she wanted to go to the beach.
• Direct speech: “Do you need help with that?” he asked. Reported speech: He asked if she needed help with that.
• Direct speech: “I can’t come to the party,” he said. Reported speech: He said he couldn’t come to the party.
• Direct speech: “Please don’t leave me,” she said. Reported speech: She begged him not to leave her.
• Direct speech: “I have never been to London before,” he said. Reported speech: He said he had never been to London before.
• Direct speech: “Where did you put my phone?” she asked. Reported speech: She asked where she had put her phone.
• Direct speech: “I’m sorry for being late,” he said. Reported speech: He apologized for being late.
• Direct speech: “I need some help with this math problem,” she said. Reported speech: She said she needed some help with the math problem.
• Direct speech: “I am going to study abroad next year,” he said. Reported speech: He said he was going to study abroad the following year.
• Direct speech: “Can you give me a ride to the airport?” she asked. Reported speech: She asked him to give her a ride to the airport.
• Direct speech: “I don’t know how to fix this,” he said. Reported speech: He said he didn’t know how to fix it.
• Direct speech: “I hate it when it rains,” she said. Reported speech: She said she hated it when it rained.

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• Elementary School
• Reading & Speaking
• External Independent Testing
• Grammar Exercises

Reported Dialogues

Reported Speech: A Dialogue in Narration

Let’s focus on reported dialogues learn how to report a dialogue in narration.

Task 1. Rewrite these dialogues in the form of Direct Speech, Reported Speech, narration, and summary.

Dick:   Hi! How are you?

Helen: Fine, thanks, and you?

Dick:   Just fine. Where are you going?

Helen: To the library.

Dick:   O.K. I’ll see you later. So long.

Helen: See you later.

Direct Speech

“Hi,” said Dick, “how are you?” “Fine, thanks,” answered Helen, “and you?” “Just fine,” replied Dick. “Where are you going?” he asked. “To the library,” replied Helen. “O.K.,” said Dick. “I’ll see you later. So long!” “So long!” said Helen.

Reported Speech

Dick greeted Helen and asked her how she was feeling. Helen said she was fine and asked Dick about his health. Dick said he was fine too and asked Helen where she was going. She replied she was going to the library. Dick said he would see her later and said good-bye. Helen also said good-bye to him.

Dick and Helen exchanged greetings. Dick wanted to know where Helen was going. Helen was going to the library. They said good-bye to each other.

Dick met Helen when she was going to the library. They exchanged some words of greetings and parted.

Margaret: What time is it?

Tom: It’s a quarter to five.

Margaret: Aren’t we supposed to be at Jim’s house by five o’clock?

Tom: Five or five thirty. He said it didn’t make any difference.

Margaret: Then maybe we could pick your suit up at the cleaners’.

Tom: Sure, we have plenty of time.

Alice: Hello.

Fred: Hi, Alice. This is Fred. Would you like to go to a movie tonight?

Alice: Thanks. I’d love to. I haven’t been to a movie for a long time.

Fred: Good. I’ll pick you up around seven thirty, then. The movie starts at eight.

Alice: Fine! I’ll be ready.

Linda: You look happy today!

Frank: I am happy. I’ve just passed my physics exam.

Linda: Congratulations! I’m glad somebody’s happy.

Frank: Why? What’s the matter?

Linda: Oh, I’m just worried, I guess. I have to take a history exam next week.

Bob: Excuse me, is this seat taken?

Larry: No, it isn’t.

Bob: Would you mind moving over one, so my friend and I can sit together?

Larry: No problem.

Bob: Thanks a lot.

Jane: Have you been ill?

Cathy: Well, I had the flu for a couple of weeks, but I’m fine now.

Jane: You are looking well. By the way, did you hear about Nelly?

Cathy: No. What about her?

Jane: She had such a bad case of the flu that they had to take her to the hospital.

Cathy: Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.

Task 2. Reported Dialogues. Write narrations and summaries of the following dialogues.

Shirley: Would you like some cookies? I’ve just made them.

Becky: Thank you. Yes, I would.

Shirley: These are chocolate, and those are almond-flavored.

Becky: I guess I‘ll a chocolate one at first. Mmmm… this is delicious. Are they hard to make?

Shirley: No, they are really quite easy. Wait a minute, I’ve got the recipe right here. See… These are the ingredients, and then you just follow the directions.

Becky: That does look easy. I think I’ll make some tonight.

Karen: Brrr! I’m cold. I thought it was supposed to get warmer today.

Ed: Yeah, I thought so, too. That’s what the weatherman said.

Karen: It must be the wind that makes it so cold. I’m freezing!

Ed: Me too. Let’s go inside.

Karen: O.K. It’s not fun standing out here, even if the sun is shining.

Steve: Excuse me. I wonder if you can help me.

Mike: Sure. What is it?

Steve: I want to have my hair cut, but I can’t find a barber shop.

Mike: I know where one is. Come on – I’ll show you.

Joyce: Shall we take a taxi or a bus to the meeting?

Bill: We’d better take a bus. It’s almost impossible to find a taxi during rush hours.

Joyce: Isn’t that a bus stop over there?

Bill: Yes. Oh! There’s a bus now. We’ll have to run to catch it.

Joyce: O.K. … Oh, oh! We’ve just missed it.

Bill: Never mind. There’ll be another one in ten minutes.

Roger: What do you do in your spare time?

Barry: Oh, nothing special. I read… watch TV… surf the Net.

Roger: Don’t you have any hobbies, like collecting something or things like that?

Barry: No, I don’t have any hobbies. How about you?

Roger: I have just one – photography. It’s expensive but it’s a lot of fun.

Debbie: I give up! I simply can’t learn French!

Helen: Why do you say that?

Debbie: No, I’m not. I try and try and I still can’t speak it very well.

Helen: Learning any language takes a lot of efforts. But don’t give up. Why don’t we practise those dialogues together?

Debbie: Good idea. That just might help.

Task 3. Rewrite in Direct Speech.

David says he wonders if raccoons make good pets. Alec replies he is not sure. He thinks they are easiest to train and very amusing.

David asks if raccoons really wash their food before eating it. Alec affirms by saying that they dip food into water. David is interested if Alec ever saw a raccoon wash its food. Alec says he did and suggests that they give the raccoon a lump of sugar.

David is very much surprised when he sees how the raccoon runs to the basin and dips the sugar into the water. Alec is laughing and asks David if he didn’t tell him the raccoon would wash the sugar before eating it.

Task 4. Reported dialogues. 

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Negative Prefixes

Inversion after Negative Adverbials

Many Much A Lot Of

Quantifiers

Wishes and Regrets

despite and in spite of

Phrasal Verbs

Going to and Present Continuous

Must and Have to

Do and Make

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• Grammar Tests
• Grammar Exercisers

Reporting Verbs in Direct and Indirect Speech

Back to: Direct and Indirect Speech (Narration)

Table of Contents

Introduction

In narration change verbs are very important. In narration, verb that is used to convey the speech of the speaker is called reporting verb . In reported clause also verbs are of great importance. We use auxiliary verb or main or principal verb to form the speech and by changing the tense of the verb in reported clause we convert speech from direct to indirect or vice versa. 

Today we are going to take a detailed look at reporting verbs.

 Most of the time, we use say, tell and ask as reporting verb. Usually these reporting verbs are used in past forms. 

‘Say’, ‘tell’, ‘ask’ can be used depending on the context of the sentence. 

‘Say’ and ‘tell’ are the most common used verbs. Although the meaning of ‘say’ and ‘tell’ is almost similar, there is a bit difference between the two reporting verbs. 

We use ‘say’ in narration to just generally introduce the words of the speaker. The ‘say’ verb dose not reveal to whom the words are spoken to. If we want to indicate, we have to put a ‘to’ after ‘say’.

Rita says , “The world is full of wonder.” Rita says to me, “the world is full of wonder.”

We use ‘tell’ to indicate who is spoken to. In this context ‘to’ need not to be used. Tell is also used to instruct or inform. 

Mama told me, “Be a good boy.” The teacher tells us, “Knowledge is power.”

‘Ask’ is used in case of interrogative sentence. We use ask to question or to inquire. We can also use to after ‘ask’. 

Rabi asked Rupa, “Are you all right?”   The man asks , “Does god exist?’’

We can also use advice, request, and order, instruct, reply, suggest, complain, etc. as reporting verbs.  

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Reported speech

Reported speech is how we represent the speech of other people or what we ourselves say. There are two main types of reported speech: direct speech and indirect speech.

Direct speech repeats the exact words the person used, or how we remember their words:

Barbara said, “I didn’t realise it was midnight.”

In indirect speech, the original speaker’s words are changed.

Barbara said she hadn’t realised it was midnight .

In this example, I becomes she and the verb tense reflects the fact that time has passed since the words were spoken: didn’t realise becomes hadn’t realised .

Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words:

“I’m sorry,” said Mark. (direct)

Mark apologised . (indirect: report of a speech act)

In a similar way, we can report what people wrote or thought:

‘I will love you forever,’ he wrote, and then posted the note through Alice’s door. (direct report of what someone wrote)

He wrote that he would love her forever , and then posted the note through Alice’s door. (indirect report of what someone wrote)

I need a new direction in life , she thought. (direct report of someone’s thoughts)

She thought that she needed a new direction in life . (indirect report of someone’s thoughts)

Reported speech: direct speech

Reported speech: indirect speech

Reported speech: reporting and reported clauses

Speech reports consist of two parts: the reporting clause and the reported clause. The reporting clause includes a verb such as say, tell, ask, reply, shout , usually in the past simple, and the reported clause includes what the original speaker said.

Reported speech: punctuation

Direct speech.

In direct speech we usually put a comma between the reporting clause and the reported clause. The words of the original speaker are enclosed in inverted commas, either single (‘…’) or double (“…”). If the reported clause comes first, we put the comma inside the inverted commas:

“ I couldn’t sleep last night, ” he said.

Rita said, ‘ I don’t need you any more. ’

If the direct speech is a question or exclamation, we use a question mark or exclamation mark, not a comma:

‘Is there a reason for this ? ’ she asked.

“I hate you ! ” he shouted.

We sometimes use a colon (:) between the reporting clause and the reported clause when the reporting clause is first:

The officer replied: ‘It is not possible to see the General. He’s busy.’

Punctuation

Indirect speech

In indirect speech it is more common for the reporting clause to come first. When the reporting clause is first, we don’t put a comma between the reporting clause and the reported clause. When the reporting clause comes after the reported clause, we use a comma to separate the two parts:

She told me they had left her without any money.

Not: She told me, they had left her without any money .

Nobody had gone in or out during the previous hour, he informed us.

We don’t use question marks or exclamation marks in indirect reports of questions and exclamations:

He asked me why I was so upset.

Not: He asked me why I was so upset?

Reported speech: reporting verbs

Say and tell.

We can use say and tell to report statements in direct speech, but say is more common. We don’t always mention the person being spoken to with say , but if we do mention them, we use a prepositional phrase with to ( to me, to Lorna ):

‘I’ll give you a ring tomorrow,’ she said .

‘Try to stay calm,’ she said to us in a low voice.

Not: ‘Try to stay calm,’ she said us in a low voice .

With tell , we always mention the person being spoken to; we use an indirect object (underlined):

‘Enjoy yourselves,’ he told them .

Not: ‘Enjoy yourselves,’ he told .

In indirect speech, say and tell are both common as reporting verbs. We don’t use an indirect object with say , but we always use an indirect object (underlined) with tell :

He said he was moving to New Zealand.

Not: He said me he was moving to New Zealand .

He told me he was moving to New Zealand.

Not: He told he was moving to New Zealand .

We use say , but not tell , to report questions:

‘Are you going now?’ she said .

Not: ‘Are you going now?’ she told me .

We use say , not tell , to report greetings, congratulations and other wishes:

‘Happy birthday!’ she said .

Not: Happy birthday!’ she told me .

Everyone said good luck to me as I went into the interview.

Not: Everyone told me good luck …

Say or tell ?

Other reporting verbs

The reporting verbs in this list are more common in indirect reports, in both speaking and writing:

Simon admitted that he had forgotten to email Andrea.

Louis always maintains that there is royal blood in his family.

The builder pointed out that the roof was in very poor condition.

Most of the verbs in the list are used in direct speech reports in written texts such as novels and newspaper reports. In ordinary conversation, we don’t use them in direct speech. The reporting clause usually comes second, but can sometimes come first:

‘Who is that person?’ she asked .

‘It was my fault,’ he confessed .

‘There is no cause for alarm,’ the Minister insisted .

Verb patterns: verb + that -clause

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Direct and Indirect Speech Rules

English grammar direct and indirect speech rules, what is direct and indirect speech.

We often have to give information about what people say or think. In order to do this, we can use direct or quoted speech or indirect or reported speech .

Direct Speech

Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech).

For example:

• She said, “Today’s lesson is on presentations.” Or “Today’s lesson is on presentations,” she said.

Indirect speech

Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech or Narration ), doesn’t use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn’t have to be word for word. Thus, in indirect speech, we convey the speaker’s message in our own words.

• Direct Speech: He said, “I’m going to the cinema”.
• Indirect Speech: He said that he was going to the cinema.

Reported Speech Tenses Change Chart

Reported speech does not go back a tense if it is already in the past perfect (there is no further back it can go), and some modal verbs also do not change.

Direct and Indirect speech Examples for Tense

1. Simple Present to Simple Past

• Direct: He said, “The boy goes home.” Indirect: He said that the boy went home.

2. Present Continuous to Past Continuous

• Direct: Ram said, “I am reading a book.” Indirect: Ram said that he was reading a book.

3. Present Perfect to Past Perfect

• Direct: The girl said, “I have lost my pen.” Indirect: The girl said that she had lost her pen.

4. Present Perfect Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous

• Direct: He said, “Ram has been going.” Indirect: He said that Ram had been going.

5. Past Indefinite to Past Perfect

• Direct: Mother said, “I bought a watch for you.”
• Indirect: Mother said that she had bought a watch for him.

6. Past Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous

• Direct: Raju said, “I was repairing a car.” Indirect: Raju said that he had been repairing a car.

7. Future Tense (shall/will) to future in the Past (should/would)

• Direct: The teacher said, “I shall give you notes.” Indirect: The teacher said that he would give them notes.

8. Conditional to Perfect Conditional Direct:

• Direct: He said, “If I had the money I could buy the car.” Indirect: She said that if he had the money he could have bought the car.  

9. Past Perfect Tense: No Change

• Direct: She said, “I had gone to Bhagalpur.” Indirect: She said that she had gone to Bhagalpur.

10. Auxiliary Verbs (would, should, might, could, ought, must) —  No Change

• Direct: He said, “I would like to take milk.” Indirect: He said that he would like to take milk.
• Direct: The boy said, “The teacher could have solved it in no time.” Indirect: The boy said that the teacher could have solved it in no time.
• Direct: He said, “The boy must apologise to the teacher.” Indirect: He said that the boy must apologise to the teacher.

Changes of Interrogative Sentences

• Toni said, “What is Luna doing?” Toni asked me what Luna was doing.
• Luna said, “Will she come for lunch?” Luna asked if she would come for lunch.
• The boy asked, “ Wh ere do you stay?” The boy inquired where I stayed

Things are slightly more complicated with imperatives

Time and place references.

• I went to the theatre last night . He said he had gone to the theatre the night before .
• I’m having a party next weekend . He said he was having a party the next weekend .
• I’m staying here until next week . He said he was staying there until the following week.
• I came over from London 3 years ago . He said he had come over from London 3 years before.

When verbs don’t follow the rules?

• You’ve invited someone for dinner at your house, and the phone rings. It’s them! They say:
• (on the phone) “I’m sorry, but I think I’m going to be a bit late. There’s a lot of traffic.”
• After you finish speaking on the phone, you say to someone else:
• That was Juan. He said he thinks he’s going to be late because there’s a lot of traffic.

Another example:

• A friend says to you: “Maria’s ill. She’ s got chickenpox!”
• You say to someone else: Laura said that Maria’ s ill. She’ s got chickenpox.
• However, the following day you see Maria at the beach. You’re surprised and say to her:
• Laura said that you were ill. She said you had chickenpox.

This has to change to the past because it isn’t true . Maria obviously isn’t ill .

• A friend is telling you about the horrible weather: “It started raining heavily when I left work.” (This is where things get confusing):
• He said it had started raining heavily when he had left work (it sounds horrible and the sentence is almost nothing but verbs).
• He said it had started raining heavily when he left work (is wrong because it means it was already raining when he left work)
• He said it started raining heavily when he left work (is the best version because it is accurate, short, and there is no confusion because of the time context)

Generally speaking, the past simple and continuous don’t always need to be changed if:

Rules for Universal Truth, Habitual Facts, etc.

• Direct: My friend said, “I am an early riser.” Indirect: My friend said that he is an early riser.
• Direct: Father said, “Man is the only animal that cooks his food.” Indirect: Father said that man is the only animal that cooks his food.
• Direct: The teacher said, “Honesty is the best policy.” Indirect: The teacher said that honesty is the best policy.
• Direct: The teacher said, “The earth moves around the sun.” Indirect: The teacher said that the earth moves around the sun.
• Direct: Sarla said, “When Ram was reading Sham was writing.” Indirect: Sarla said that when Ram was reading Sham was writing.
• Direct: The teacher said, “Akbar died in 1605 AD.” Indirect: The teacher said that Akbar died in 1605 AD.
• Direct: The speaker said, “Gentlemen, I will tell you what is going there.” Indirect: The speaker told his audience (those present) that he would tell them what was going there
• Direct: He said, “I hope, friends, you will support me.” Indirect: He said that he hoped they would support him.
• Direct: He said, “I would rather she played.” Indict: He said that he would rather she played.
• Direct: He said, “If I  were rich, I would settle in Mumbai. Indirect: He said that if he were rich, he would settle in Mumbai.
• Direct: He said. “When we lived/were living in Chennai, we often visited Rameshwarm” Indirect: He said that when they lived/ were living in Chennai, they often visited / had visite Rameshwarm

Rules for the Change of Pronouns

If the direct speech has a pronoun, its person is changed, when necessary, to refer in the indirect to the same individual as it does in the direct.

• Soni said, “ I am a good girl.” Soni said that she was a good girl.
• I told them, “ You have finished your work.” I told them that they had finished their work.
• He said, “ She is in Delhi.” He said that she was in Delhi.
• Direct:  He said, “I can cross this river.” Indirect:   He said that he could cross that river.
• Direct:  You said. “I can cross this river.” Indirect:   You said that you could cross that river.
• Direct:  I said, “I can cross this river.” Indirect:  I said that I could cross that river.

You also need to be careful with  personal pronouns . They need to be changed according to the situation. You need to know the context.

For example , there is possible confusion when you try to change reported speech to direct speech:

• She  said  she ’d been waiting for hours. (Is ‘ she ‘ one person or two different people?)
• I told  them they  would have to ask permission. (Are we talking about two groups of people or only one?)

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Change the narration (advanced level rules) | direct speech to indirect speech.

 After completing basic level of narration in previous four articles, here we are to learn the advanced level rules to change the narration. 

 #1: 

Indirect Narration of a Speech Starting in  ‘ Let ’:

If the reported speech starts with ‘Let us’ or ‘Let’s’ :

Direct – I said, “Let’s play chess.” [Turn it into indirect speech.]

Now what to do this???

Let’s follow the steps below.

As ‘Let’s’ or ‘Let us’ denotes a suggestion or a proposal, the reporting verb ( say/says/said ) will be replaced with - suggest/suggests/suggested or,  propose/proposes/proposed followed by a ‘that’ .

As, Indirect – I suggested that... 

Use ‘we’ or ‘they’ as the subject after the conjunction ‘that’ removing the word ‘let’ .

Use only  ‘we’ when the subject of the reporting verb is a first person, and use either ‘we’ or ‘they’ when the subject is a third person.

As, Indirect – I suggested that we...

Remember : Here in the direct narration (reported speech) ‘Let’s’ is used. And we all know, Let’s = let us . So for the word us, ‘we’ is used in the narration as the subject of the clause after ‘that’.

Use the modal verb ‘should’ after the subject ‘we’ or ‘they’.

As, Indirect – I suggested that we should...

Use the verb and the object of the reported speech.

As, Indirect – I suggested that we should play chess.

— Here is our final answer. 

Some examples of this kind:

Direct – We said, “Let’s find him.”

Indirect – We suggested that we should find him.

Direct – Brie said, “Let’s go.”

Indirect – Brie proposed that they/we should go.

Direct – She says, “Let’s have some food.”

Indirect – She says the we/they should have some food.

Direct – He said, “Let us help the children.”

Indirect – He proposed that we/they should help the children.

 #2: 

Indirect Narration of a Speech with Multiple Clauses:

To change the narration of a speech containing multiple clauses, we will simply change the narration of all the clauses using basic rules. 

Direct – The teacher said to me, “ You obtain good marks because you work hard .”

Clause 1 =   You obtain good marks .

Clause 2 =   because you work hard .

Simply change the narration of all the clauses using basic rules –

Indirect – The teacher told me that I obtained good marks because I worked hard.

Sometimes the reporting verb is in between tow clauses. As –

Direct – “I am tired,” father said “So I want to sleep now.”

Indirect – Father said that he was tired, so he wanted to sleep.

Direct – “That is my horse,” said he, “and if I do not prove it, I will give up my claim.”

Indirect – He claimed that that was his horse and if he did not prove it, he would give up his claim. 

(Don’t wonder why the reporting verb becomes ‘claim’ in the indirect. It happened because the sense of the whole direct speech was a claim.)

Direct – “Spring has forgotten the garden”, they cried, “so we will live here all the year round.”

Indirect – They cried that Spring had forgotten the garden, so they will live here all the year round.

 #3: 

If the reported speech begins with words/phrases like well, now, okay, so, very well   etc. and comment clauses like as you know, to tell you frankly, you see 'you know', 'mind you,' 'you must admit.'   etc. just to introduce a sentence are usually dropped in the indirect speech.

E.g. –

Direct – The teacher said, “Well, we are going to discuss the fourth chapter.”

Indirect –  The teacher said that they were going to discuss the fourth chapter.

(simple rules to change the narration)

Direct –  My friend said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Indirect –  My friend said that she would see me the next day.

Direct –  The guide said to us, “Now, follow me.”

Indirect –  The guide asked us to follow him.

(simple rules to change the narration of an imperative sentence.)

Direct –  She said to me, “To tell you frankly, I don’t want to talk to him.”

Indirect – She told me that she didn’t want to talk to him.

Direct – The man said, “You know, I have nothing to do now.”

Indirect – The man said that he had nothing to do then.”

Direct –  Her father said to her, “You see, you are now grown up and you will have to make your own decision.” 

Indirect – Her father said to her that she was then grown up and she would have to make her won decision.

 #4: 

Indirect Narration of a Sentence with a Vocative Word or an Addressing Word :

1. Direct – I said, “John, are you busy now?” 

– In this sentence, the listener is addressed as ‘John’ , which is actually the listener’s name.

2. Direct – He said to us, “Brothers, are you happy?” 

– Here the listeners are addressed as ‘brothers’ which is neither the listeners’ actual name, nor is it used for blood relation, rather it is used casually for the sake of addressing.

So, how to change the narration of these two sentences, let’s see –

  1st Speech : 

Direct – I said, “John, are you busy now?”

If the listener is addressed with name (proper noun), in the indirect narration this name (proper noun) is used as the object of the reporting verb and the rest part of the reported speech is used after usual necessary changes. 

Indirect –  I asked John if he was busy then. – Here the name ‘John’ is used as the object if the verb ‘asked’ .

Another way of doing this is—

Think the direct narration above like –

Direct – I said John, “Are you busy now?” and simply change the narration into indirect speech. 

Other examples:–

Direct – Sandy said, “Preeti, I passed the examination.”

Indirect – Sandy told Preeti that he had passed the examination.

Direct – Jafar said, “Suman, Shaila is coming.”

Indirect – Jafar told Suman that Shaila was going.

  2nd Speech : 

Direct – He said to us, “Brothers, are you happy?”

The listeners are addressed as ‘brothers’ which doesn’t imply the actual name (proper noun), nor blood relation or any other close relationship.

For this sort of narration, we’ll write –

‘Addressing + me/us/you/him/her/it/them + as + vocative word’ or,

Subject + addressed + me/us/you/him/her/it/them + as + vocative word + and said (‘said’ or any other suitable verb)...”

So, here we have to write -

‘Addressing them as brothers he asked...’ or ‘He addressed them as brothers and asked...’

Indirect – Addressing them as brothers he asked if they were happy.

Direct – He said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I happy to be with you here.”

Indirect – Addressing the people as ladies and gentlemen he said that he was happy to be with them there.

See Details for Vocative words.

 #5: 

Indirect Narration of a Speech Starting in Greetings :

How do you solve it?

In case the reported clause starts in various greetings like,  ‘Good morning’ / ‘Good night’ / ‘Good evening’  etc., you simply put -

Wishied  + object + greeting words + and said

Or,  Wishinh  + object + greeting words +  subject said

Direct – “ Good morning students, I will be taking your Mathematics class.” Said the new teacher.

Indirect – The new teacher wished the students good morning and said that he would be taking their Mathematics class.

Direct –  “ Good evening  viewers, we're going to start a new series.” Said the anchor.

Indirect –  The anchor  wished the viewers good evening and said  that they were going to start a new series.

Direct – Richa said,   “ Good afternoon  Jack, how are you?”

Indirect –  Richa  wished Jack good afternoon and asked  him how he was.

Indirect Speech of Sentences with Question Tags:

Sentences with question tags are tentative statements, the speaker is not sure of something, and there is doubt about the statement made. So, he a question is tagged for some reassurance . 

Changing the narration of this sort of speech is very simple.

• Change the speech into indirect speech with the help of basic rules.

• To transform a question tag into indirect speech, we only use -

Subject of the reporting verb +  think/thinks/thought after ‘that’ .

Use ' think'/'thinks' when the reporting verb is in present tense ( say/says ). 

Use 'thought' , when the reporting verb is in past tense ( said ). 

Direct – I said, “He is a liar, isn’t he? ”

Indirect – I said that I thought he was a liar.

Direct – She says to me, “You know me, don’t you? ”

Indirect – She tells me that she thinks I know her.

Direct – Raii said to me, “You can solve it, can’t you? ”

Indirect – Raii told me that she thought I could solve it.

Direct – Brother says, “You took my help, didn’t you? ”

Indirect – Brother says that he thinks I took his help.”

Direct – Father said, “You are looking for the keys, aren’t you? ”

Indirect – Father said that he thought I was looking for the keys.

Hope this will help you a lot.

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Narration Change Class 8 Rules with Examples and Exercises

Discover the narration change class 8 rules with examples and exercises and learn how to change from Direct speech to Indirect Speech . Class 8   Narration rules with examples and exercises have been arranged in the following with our comprehensive guide, complete with examples and exercises.

Narration Change Class 8

Narration Change means to change the speech of the speaker either from  Direct to Indirect  or from  Indirect to Direct . When we quote the actual words of the speaker, it is called  Direct Narration.  But when someone narrates the speaker’s speech indirectly keeping the meaning the same, it is called  Indirect Narration. For examples,

• Direct: Debi says, “I pray to God.”
• Indirect: Devi says that she prays to God.

We sometimes need to change the speaker’s actual words indirectly keeping the meaning the same or vice versa. This needs to change Direct Narration to Indirect Narration or Indirect to Direct. In order that we must know some rules to keep meaning the same.

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Rules of Narration Change Class 8

The following Narration Change Rules must be observed carefully.

Rule 1: Change of Tense

1. If the reporting verb is in the Present or Future tense (e.g. say , will say ) there is no change in the tense of the verb in the Indirect Speech . For Example,

• Direct: Sabita says ( present ), ” I can do ( present ) the sum.”
• Indirect: Sabita says ( present ) that she can do ( present ) the sum.
• They will say ( Future ), “He could drive ( Past ) the car”
• They will say ( Future ) that he could drive ( Past ) the car.

2. If the Reporting verb is in the Past Tense , the tense of the verb in the reported speech or indirect speech must be generally changed.

Present Tense in the direct becomes Past Tense .

• Direct: He said, “I write a letter.”
• Indirect: He said that he wrote a letter

Past Tense becomes Past Perfect or remains Unchanged

• Direct: Ruby said, “I bought a pen yesterday.”
• Indirect: Ruby said that he had bought a pen the previous day.

Present Continuous becomes Past Continuous

• Direct: He said, “I am going to church.”
• Indirect: He said that he was going to church.

Past Continuous becomes Past Perfect Continuous

• Direct: Mohan said I was playing cricket
• Indirect: Mohan said that he had been playing cricket

Present Perfect becomes Past Perfect

• Direct: Kunal said, “I have done my homework.”
• Indirect: Kunal said that he had done his homework.

Present Perfect Continuous becomes Past Perfect Continuous

• Direct: Anita said I have been reading a novel
• Indirect: Anita said that she had been reading a novel

“ will ” and “ shall ” becomes ‘ would’ “ May ”, becomes “ might ” “ Can ”, becomes “ Could” “ Must ” becomes “ must ” or “ had to”

Rule 2: Change of Pronouns

The First Person Pronouns in the “ reported speech ” or “ Quoted Speech ” are put into the same person as “ the subject of the reporting Verb.”

• He said, “ I worked hard.”
• He said that he had worked hard.

The Second Person Pronouns in the “ reported speech ” or “ Quoted Speech ” are put into the same person as “ the indirect object of the reporting Verb.”

• I said to her , “ You are idle in your office.”
• I told her that she was idle in her office.

The Third Person Pronouns in the “ reported speech ” or “ Quoted Speech ” remain in the “Third Person.”

• I said, “ He will not wait for his friend.”
• I said that he would not wait for his friend.

Narration Change Class 8 Rules for Assertive Sentence:

1. No comma (, ) after the Reporting verb in Indirect Speech.

2. The full stop ( . ) at the end of the sentence in indirect speech.

3. Reporting verbs in Direct Speech (say/said/say to you / said to me) will be changed into (say/said/tell you / told me) in Indirect Speech.

4. Connective ‘that’ is to add between Reporting Verb and Direct Speech in Indirect Narration.

Examples of Narration Change Class 8 Assertive Sentences

Direct Speech: He said to me, “You are ill”

Indirect Speech: He told me that I was ill.

Assertive Sentence Workout Examples

Change the mode of Narration of the following sentences.

1. He says, “I shall help the poor.” Ans: He says that he will help the poor.

2. You will say, “I do not take tea.” Ans: You will say that you do not take tea.”

3. They said, “We are not afraid.” Ans: They said that they were not afraid.

4. She said, “I am working in the garden.” Ans: She said that she was working in the garden.

5. You said to me, “I have sold a bicycle.” Ans: You told me that you had sold a bicycle.

6. I said to Mitali, “You misunderstand me.” Ans: I told Mitali that she misunderstood me.

Q 7 . We said to them, “We will help you.” Ans: We told them that we would help them.

Q 8. Reba said to Rajib, “You are working very sincerely.” Ans: Reba told Rajib that he was working very sincerely.

Assertive Sentences Exercises & Answers

1. Sima told me that she had given me a pen the previous day. Ans: Sima said to me, “I gave you a pen yesterday.”

2. They said that they were happy then. Ans: They said. “We are happy now.”

3. The teacher said that man is mortal. Ans: The teacher said, “Man is mortal.”

4. He said that he walks in the morning every day. Ans: He said, “I walk in the morning every day.”

5. Mantu said that Iron is a very useful metal. Ans: Mantu said. “Iron is a very useful metal.”

Narration Change Class 8 Rules for Interrogative Sentence:

3. Reporting verbs in Direct Speech ( say / said / say to you / said to me ) will be changed into ( ask / asked / ask you / asked me ) in Indirect Speech. Reporting Verbs in Indirect Speech may also be ‘ enquire of ’, or ‘ want to know ’.

4. Connective ‘ if/whether ’ is to add between Reporting Verb and Direct Speech in Indirect Narration, if the interrogative sentence is not introduced with interrogative pronouns – who, what , whom , when , why, whose , where , how, etc.

In Indirect speech, the interrogative sentence will turn into an Assertive Sentence. That means the subject will follow the verbs.

Examples of Narration Change Class 8 Interrogative Sentences

Direct Speech: The boy said to me, ‘Will you help me?” Direct Speech: He said to me, “How old are you?”

Indirect Speech: The boy asked me if I would help him. Indirect Speech: The man asked me how old I was.

Interrogative Sentence Workout Examples

1. Mother said to my sister, “Will you entertain our guest?” Ans: Mother asked my sister if she would entertain their guests.

2. The teacher said to the boy, “Have you prepared your lesson?” Ans: The teacher asked the boy if he had prepared his lessons.

3. Mobarak said to Latif, “Did you go there yesterday?” Ans: Mobarak enquired of Latif whether he had gone there the previous day.

4. Hema said to Bina, “Are you ill today?” Ans: Hema asked Bina if she was ill that day.

5. Jyoti said to Moti, “are you weeping?” Ans: Jyoti asked Moti if she was weeping.

6. Debu said to Apu, “Have you closed the front door before you leave the house? Ans: Debu asked Apu if he had closed the front door before he left the house.

7. Geeta said to Sumita, “Can you solve this problem?” Ans: Geeta asked Sumita if she could solve the problem.

8. Haren said to Baren, “When have you come here?’ Ans: Haren asked Baren when he had gone there.

Interrogative Sentences Exercises & Answers

1. Dwijen asked Swapan how old he was. Ans: Dwijen said to Swapan,”How old are you?”

2. Rupa asked Nipa whom she had spoken with the night before. Ans: Rupa said to Nipa, “Whom did you speak with the last night?”

3. You enquired of me what I wanted from you. Ans: You said to me, “What do you want from me?”

4. Sipra asked us how long she would wait for our friends to come there. Ans: Sipra said to us, “How long shall I wait for your friends to come here?”

5. The boy asked me where I lived. Ans: The boy said to me, “Where do you live?”

6. The teacher asked whose book that was. Ans: The teacher said, “Whose book is this?”

7. The man asked her whom she wanted to see. Ans: The man said to her, “Whom do you want to see?”

Narration Change Class 8 Rules for Imperative Sentence:

1. In Indirect Speech, the reporting verb becomes order , request , advise , ask , tell , etc. according to the sense.

2. Infinitive, “to” is used before the main verb in Indirect Speech.

3. In the case of the Negative Imperative, ‘not’ is used before the Infinitive in the Indirect Speech. The verb ‘forbid’, ‘prohibit’, etc may be used and in that case ‘not’ is not used before the Infinitive.

4. The expressions like ‘Sir’ and ‘please’ i n Direct Speech are omitted in Indirect Speech and reporting verbs ‘request’ , ‘entreat’ etc., and adverbs ‘kindly’ , ‘politely’ , ‘respectfully’ etc, may be used in their place to express the sense.

An imperative Sentence beginning with ‘Let’

1. ‘Let’ with ‘us’ express ‘ suggestion’, or ‘proposal’ – reporting verb in Indirect Speech will be ‘suggest’, ‘propose’; ‘Let’ changed to ‘should’ and placed after subject; connective ‘that’ is used.

2. ‘Let’ with ‘me’, ‘him’, and ‘her’ not express ‘ suggestion’, or ‘proposal’ – reporting verb in Indirect Speech will be ‘request’ or ‘wish’ according to sense; ‘ Let ’ changed to ‘ may/may be allowed to ‘ – Present Tense; might /might be allowed to – Past Tense’ and placed after subject; connective ‘that’ is used.

Examples of Narration Change Class 8 Imperative Sentences

Direct Speech: The teacher said to the pupils, “Respect your superiors.” Direct Speech: You said to her, “Don’t insult me.”

Direct Speech: My friend said to me, “Let us go for a picnic.” Direct Speech: The girl said to her mother, “Let me take some rest for a while.”

Indirect Speech: The teacher advised the pupils to respect their superiors. Indirect Speech: You told her not to insult you.

Indirect Speech: My friend suggested that they should go for a picnic. Indirect Speech: The girl requested her mother that she might be allowed to take some rest for a while.

Imperative Sentences Workout Examples

Change the Narration of the following sentences.

1. The general said to the soldiers, “March forward.” Ans: The general ordered the soldiers to march forward.

2. The boy said to his friend, “Give your brother this information.” Ans: The boy told his friend to give his brother that information.

3. He said to me, “Follow me.” Ans: He asked (told) me to follow him.

4. You said to her, “Do not insult me in this way.” Ans: You forbade her to insult you in that way. Ans: You told her not to insult you in that way.

5. The student said to the teacher, “Please explain the law of Gravitation once again. Ans: The student requested the teacher to explain the law of Gravitation once again.

6. The master said to the servant, “Act up to my instruction. Ans: The master ordered the servant to act up to his instruction.

Imperative Sentences Exercises and Answers

7. The preceptor said to the disciple, “Lead a peaceful and truthful life. Ans: The preceptor advised the disciple to lead a peaceful and truthful life.

8. Father said to me, “Take care of your health and mind your lessons. Ans: Father advised me to take care of my health and to mind my lessons.

9. The Convict said to the Bishop, “Give me food and drink. Ans: The convict told the Bishop to give him food and drink.

10. The teacher said to the pupils, “Do not smoke. Ans: The teacher forbade the pupils to smoke. Ans: The teacher advised the pupils not to smoke.

11. The old man said to the traffic police, “Please show me the way to the hospital.” Ans: The old man requested the traffic police to show him the way to the hospital.

12. The prisoner said to the police officer on duty, “Sir, allow the inmates of my family to meet me. Ans: The prisoner politely requested the police officer on duty to allow the inmates of his family to meet him.

13. The teacher said, “Sit down, boys.” Ans: The teacher told the boys to sit down.

Imperative Sentence Examples with “Let”.

1. The boys said, “let us take a trip to Digha.’ Ans: The boys proposed or suggested that they should take a trip To Digha.

2. The girl says to her friends, “Let us arrange a picnic on Sunday.’’ Ans: The girl proposed or suggested to her friends that they should arrange a picnic on Sunday.

3. My friend said to us, “Let us avail ourselves of this unique opportunity.’’ Ans: My friend proposed (suggested) to us that we should avail ourselves of that unique opportunity.

4. Phatik said to his playmates, “Let us roll the log.” Ans: Phatik proposed (suggested) to his playmates that they should not the log.

5. He said to me, “Let me take off the lid of the kettle.” Ans: He proposed to me that he should take off the lid of the kettle.

6. The boy requests that he may be allowed to (or may) enjoy the Television Programme then. Ans: The boy says, “Let me enjoy the Television Programme now.”

7. The girl requested her mother that she might (or might be allowed to) take a rest for a while. Ans: The girl said to her mother, “Let me take a rest for a while.”

8. He said that he might ( might be allowed to) select the poem for recitation. Ans: He said, “Let me select the poem for recitation.”

9. The old man said that he might (or might be allowed to) die in peace. Ans: The old man said, “Let me die in peace.”

10. You requested that you might be allowed to (or might) try. Ans: You said, “Let me try.”

Narration Change Class 8 Rules for Optative Sentence:

1. In Indirect Speech, the reporting verb becomes wish , pray , desire.

2. Connective ‘that’ is introduced.

Optative Sentences Examples of Narration Change Class 8

Direct Speech: He said to me, ‘May you be happy.”

Indirect Speech: He wished that I might be happy.

Optative Sentences Workout Examples

1. Mother said, ‘May you be happy.’ Ans: Mother wished that I might be happy.

2. He said to you, ‘May God bless you.’ A ns: He prayed that God might bless you.

3. She said, ‘Had I been there!’ Ans: She wished that she had been there.

4. He said to me, ‘May you succeed.’ Ans: He wished that I might succeed.

5. They said, ‘Long live the leader.’ Ans: They prayed that the leader might live long.

6. He said to me, ‘May your mother recover soon.’ Ans: He wished that my mother might recover soon.

7. The monk said, ‘May peace prevail.’ Ans: The monk hoped that peace would prevail.

8. The boy said, ‘Had I the wings of a bird.’ Ans: The boy wished that he could have the wings of a bird.

Optative Sentences Exercise and Answers

1. The poor man said, ‘If only I had a hundred rupees.’ Ans: The poor man longed for a hundred rupees.

2. Mother said, ‘May the child the cured of cough and cold.’ Ans: Mother prayed that the child might be cured of cough and cold.

3. The people in Great Britain said, “May the departed soul of Diana rest in peace.’ Ans: The people in Great Britain prayed that the departed soul of Diana might rest in peace.

4. He said to me, “Wish you a happy retired life.” Ans: He wished that I might have a happy retired life.

5. You said to her, “May Heaven’s choicest blessings be showered on your wedded life.” Ans: You wished her that Heaven’s choicest blessings might be showered on her wedded life.

6. I said to him, “May Mother Teresa bless us.’ Ans: The people prayed that Mother Teresa might bless them.

7. They said to her, “May you come round soon.’ Ans: They wished that she might come round soon.

8. She said, “Oh, could I sing like a cuckoo.” Ans: She wished that she could sing like a cuckoo.

Class 8 Narration Change Rules for Exclamatory Sentences:

1. In reporting Exclamatory Sentences, the reporting verb according to sense in the Indirect Speech is introduced by some verb like ‘exclaim in (with) joy,’ ‘exclaim in (with) sorrow’, ‘exclaim in (with) wonder, ‘exclaim in (with) anger,’ ‘exclaim in (with) despair, ‘exclaim in (with) shame, may be used.

2. Where the nature of exclamation is not clear, the reporting verb ‘cry out’ or ‘exclaim’ only may be used.

3. The exclamation form is changed into Assertive Form with the linker ‘that’.

4. Exclamatory Sentence beginning with ‘what’ or ‘how’ becomes ‘great’ or ‘very’ according to sense, usually ‘great’ is used before a Noun and ‘very’ before an Adjective.

5. Note of exclamation ( ! ) turns into a full stop ( . ) in the Indirect Speech.

Examples of Narration Change Class 8 Exclamatory Sentences

Direct Speech: She said, “Alas! I am undone.”

Indirect: She exclaimed with/in sorrow that she was undone.

Exclamatory Sentences Workout Examples

1. He said, “What a beautiful sight it is!” Ans: He exclaimed in (with) joy that it was a very beautiful sight

2. You said, “How happy we are here!” Ans: You exclaimed in (with) joy that you were very happy there.

3. She said, “Alas! I am undone.” Ans: She exclaimed in (with) sorrow that she was undone.

4. The boy said, “How big the snake is!” Ans: The boy exclaimed in (with) wonder that the snake was very big.

5. The boys said, “Hurrah! East Bengal has won the Asian cup.’ Ans: The boys exclaimed with (in) joy that East Bengal had won the Asain Cup.

6. He said to me, “What a loss you have done to me!” Ans: He cried out in anger that I had done a great loss to him

7. Sudeshna said, “How foolish she is !” Ans: Sudeshna cried out (exclaimed) in despair that she was very foolish.

8. The countrymen said, “Fie! What a treachery.” Ans: The countrymen exclaimed in shame that it was a great treachery.

9. The boy said, “Alas! I find no hope of recovery.” Ans: The boy exclaimed in despair that he found no hope of recovery.

10. He said, “By God, what a thrilling experience !” Ans: He swore by God that it was a very thrilling experience.

11. He said, “Good morning, my friend!” Ans: He wished good morning to his friends.

Exclamatory Sentences Exercises and Answers

1. The patriot said, “Goodbye, my countrymen!” Ans: The patriot bade goodbye to his countrymen.

2. He said to me, “Heartiest Bijoya Greetings!” Ans: He wished me the heartiest Bijoya Greetings.

3. They said, “Who knew that Mother Teresa would leave us so early!” Ans: They said that none knew that Mother Teresa would leave them so early.

4. The President said, “Thank you, my countrymen. Ans: The President thanked his countrymen.

5. You said to him, “Bravo! You have scaled over the wall.” Ans: You applauded him saying that he had scaled over the wall.

5. He said, ‘How nice it is!’ Ans: He exclaimed in joy that it was very nice.

6. She said, ‘Alas! I am ruined.’ Ans: She exclaimed in sorrow that she was ruined,

7. He said to his son, ‘Bravo! You have done well.’ Ans: He applauded his son, saying that he had done well.

8. How happy we were there !’ They said to each other. Ans: They wistfully / gloomily said to each other that they had been very happy there.

9. The supporters said, ‘Hurrah! we have won?’ Ans: The supporter exclaimed in joy that they had won.

10. The girl said, ‘How wonderful love is! Ans: The girl exclaimed in joy that love is wonderful.

Exclamatory Sentences Worksheet

1. The teacher said, ‘Bravo! Well done!’ Ans: The teacher applauded his students by saying that they had done well.

2. ‘Alas! I am undone’, said the woman. Ans: The woman cried out in sorrow that she was undone.

3. He said, ‘Goodbye, my friends! Ans: He bade his friends goodbye.

4. The old man said to the youth, ‘Fie! You are such a coward.’ Ans: The old man exclaimed that it was shameful for the youth to be such a coward.

5. ‘How dirty the house is!’ he observed. Ans: He exclaimed in irritation that the house was very dirty.

6. “Good God! I am saved’, said he. Ans: He exclaimed in the name of merciful God that he was saved.

7. The girl said, ‘What a fool I am!’ Ans: The girl exclaimed with grief that she was a great fool.

8. He said, ‘You cheat !’ Ans: He called me a cheat.

9. Our teacher said, ‘Congratulations! Ans: Our teacher congratulated us.

10. He said ‘Sorry, it was my mistake! Ans: He confessed that it was his mistake.

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