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Rules Of Direct And Indirect Speech
Rules for converting Direct into Indirect speech
To change a sentence of direct speech into indirect speech there are various factors that are considered, such as reporting verbs, modals, time, place, pronouns, tenses, etc. We will discuss each of these factors one by one.
Rule 1 – Direct To Indirect Speech Conversion – Reporting Verb
- When the reporting verb of direct speech is in past tense then all the present tenses are changed to the corresponding past tense in indirect speech.
Direct to indirect speech example:
Direct: She said, ‘I am happy’.
Indirect: She said (that) she was happy.
- In indirect speech, tenses do not change if the words used within the quotes (‘’) talk of a habitual action or universal truth.
Direct to indirect speech example:
Direct: He said, ‘We cannot live without air’.
Indirect: He said that we cannot live without air.
- The tenses of direct speech do not change if the reporting verb is in the future tense or present tense.
Direct to indirect speech example:
Direct: She says/will say, ‘I am going
Indirect: She says/will say she is going.
Rule 2 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Present Tense
- Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect.
Direct to indirect speech example:
Direct: “I have been to Boston”, she told me.
Indirect: She told me that she had been to Boston.
- Present Continuous Changes to Past Continuous
Direct to indirect speech example:
Direct: “I am playing the guitar”, she explained.
Indirect: She explained that she was playing the guitar.
- Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect
Direct to indirect speech example:
Direct: He said, “She has finished her homework“.
Indirect: He said that she had finished her homework.
- Simple Present Changes to Simple Past
Direct to indirect speech example:
Direct: “I am unwell”, she said.
Indirect: She said that she was unwell.
Rule 3 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech conversion – Past Tense & Future Tense
- Simple Past Changes to Past Perfect
Direct to indirect speech example:
Direct: She said, “Irvin arrived on Sunday.”
Indirect: She said that Irvin had arrived on Sunday.
- Past Continuous Changes to Past Perfect Continuous
Direct to indirect speech example
Direct: “We were playing basketball”, they told me.
Indirect: They told me that they had been playing basketball.
- Future Changes to Present Conditional
Direct to indirect speech example
Direct: She said, “I will be in Scotland tomorrow.”
Indirect: She said that she would be in Scotland the next day.
- Future Continuous Changes to Conditional Continuous
Direct to indirect speech example
Direct: He said, “I’ll be disposing of the old computer next Tuesday.”
Indirect: He said that he would be disposing of the old computer the following Tuesday.
To ace the verbal ability section, it is important to have a clear conceptual knowledge of Direct and Indirect Speech, its usage, and applications in the English language. Therefore, candidates can go through the video on Direct and Indirect Speech rules in English Language, given below for better understanding-
Rule 4 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Interrogative Sentences
- No conjunction is used if a sentence in direct speech begins with a question (what/where/when) as the “question-word” itself acts as a joining clause.
Direct to indirect speech example
Direct: “Where do you live?” asked the boy.
Indirect: The boy enquired where I lived.
- If a direct speech sentence begins with an auxiliary verb/helping verb, the joining clause should be if or whether.
Direct to indirect speech example
Direct: She said, ‘Will you come to the party’?
Indirect: She asked whether we would come to the party.
- Reporting verbs such as ‘said/ said to’ change to enquired, asked, or demanded.
Direct to indirect speech example
Direct: He said to me, ‘What are you wearing’?
Indirect: He asked me what I was wearing.
How to Convert Between English Grammar Direct and Indirect Speech?
The conversion of English Grammar from direct to indirect speech and vice versa is predetermined. Here’s an easy way to remember them using direct and indirect speech rules.
Rule #1
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
| Present Simple Tense do /does V1 | Past Simple Tense did + V1 V2 |
| Present Progressive Tense is/am/are + V4 | Past Progressive Tense was /were + V4 |
| Present Perfect Tense has /have + V3 | Past Perfect Tense had + V3 |
| Present Perfect Progressive has been /have been + V4 | Past Perfect Progressive had been + V4 |
| Past Simple Tense did + V1 V2 | Past Perfect Tense had + V3 |
| Past Perfect Tense had + V3 | Past Perfect Tense had + V3 |
| Past Perfect Progressive had been + V4 | Past Perfect Progressive had been + V4 |
| Future Simple Tense will + V1 | would + V1 |
| Future Progressive Tense will be + V4 | would be + V4 |
| Future Perfect Tense will have + V3 | would have + V3 |
| Future Perfect Progressive will have been + V4 | would have been + V4 |
Rule #2: If the reporting verb is given in present or future tense, then there shall be no change in the tense of reported speech in direct and indirect speech rules.
| Reported Verb | Reported Speech |
| Subject | First person (I, we) Changes according to the subject of the reported verb |
| Object | Second person (you) Changes according to the object of the reported verb |
| No Change | Third person (he, she, it, they) No change |
Example:
- He said,” I will go.“
- “I” will change according to the subject of the reported verb that is “he”
- So in place of “I“, “he” will be used for Indirect speech.
Rule #3
Learn about the direct indirect speech rules below!
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
| Direct and Indirect Speech examples | |
| He had said to me, “We play.” | He had said to me that they played. |
| He had said to me, “We are playing.” | He had said to me that they were playing. |
| He had said to me, “We have played.” | He had said to me that they had played. |
| He had said to me, “We have been playing.” | He had said to me that they had been playing. |
| He had said to me, “We played.” | He had said to me that they had played. |
| He had said to me, “We were playing.” | He had said to me that they had been playing. |
| He had said to me, “We had played.” | He had said to me that they had played. |
| He had said to me, “We had been playing.” | He had said to me that they had been playing. |
| Language | English |
| No. of Pages | 4 |
| PDF Size | 0.04 MB |
| Category | Education |
| Source/Credits | cdn1.byjus.com |
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