Direct and Indirect Speech (Narration)
1. Reporting verb
- Statement: said → said (that); said to → told + object (never "told to").
- Question: said to → asked/enquired; yes/no → if/whether; wh-question → keep the wh-word. Use statement order, no do/does/did, no question mark.
- Command: ordered/commanded + object + to-V1; negative → not to-V1. Request (please) → requested + to-V1. Advice → advised.
- Let us … → proposed/suggested that we/they should ….
- Exclamation: Alas → exclaimed with sorrow; Hurray/Bravo → exclaimed with joy; What/How … ! → exclaimed that it was very ….
- Wish/prayer: May God bless you → prayed that God might bless him/me. Greetings → wished; Thank you → thanked.
2. Tense change (when the reporting verb is past)
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| am/is → was; are → were | present continuous → past continuous |
| has/have + V3 → had + V3 | V2 (past) → had + V3 |
| will/shall → would; can → could; may → might | must → had to (necessity) |
No change when: the reporting verb is present/future (He says…); universal truths, proverbs, habits (The sun rises…); "used to", "could", "would", "should", "might".
3. Pronouns
First person → like the subject of the reporting verb; second person → like the object; third person → no change.
4. Time and place words
| now → then | today → that day | tonight → that night |
| yesterday → the previous day | tomorrow → the next day | ago → before |
| last night → the previous night | here → there | this/these → that/those |