Ready to test your knowledge about English Indirect Speech?
Understanding Indirect Speech (Reported Speech)
Indirect Speech, also known as Reported Speech, is a way of telling someone what another person said, but not using their exact words. It's like telling a story about what someone else told you.
Important Points
We don't use quotation marks in Indirect Speech.
Pronouns often change. For example, 'I' might become 'he' or 'she'.
Words that tell us about time and place often change. For example, 'today' might become 'that day'.
The verb tense usually changes. For example, 'am' might become 'was'.
How to Change Direct Speech to Indirect Speech
Important Points
If the reporting verb is in the present tense, we don't change the tense of the original words.
If the reporting verb is in the past tense, we usually change the tense of the original words.
Change 'now' to 'then', 'today' to 'that day', 'tomorrow' to 'the next day', and 'yesterday' to 'the day before'.
Change pronouns to match the speaker. For example, 'I' might become 'he' or 'she'.
Examples of Changing Tenses
Examples
Direct: He said, "I am happy." Indirect: He said that he was happy.
Direct: She said, "I will go to the park." Indirect: She said that she would go to the park.
Direct: They said, "We have finished our work." Indirect: They said that they had finished their work.
Questions in Indirect Speech
Important Points
Change the question into a statement.
Use 'if' or 'whether' for yes/no questions.
Don't use question marks in Indirect Speech.
Examples
Direct: He asked, "Are you coming?" Indirect: He asked if I was coming.
Direct: She asked, "Where do you live?" Indirect: She asked me where I lived.
Commands in Indirect Speech
Important Points
Use 'to' before the verb.
Use 'not to' for negative commands.
Examples
Direct: He said, "Sit down." Indirect: He told me to sit down.
Direct: She said, "Don't go." Indirect: She told me not to go.
Ready to test your knowledge about English Indirect Speech?