Direct and Indirect Speech

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

We may report the words of a speaker in two ways:-

We may quote his actual words. This is called Direct Speech.

We may report what he said without quoting his exact words. This is called Indirect (or Reported) Speech.

Direct. -- Rama said. “I am very busy now.” Indirect. -- Rama said that he was very busy then.

It will be noticed that in Direct Speech, we use inverted commas to mark off the exact words of the speaker. In Indirect Speech we do not. It will be further noticed that in changing the above Direct Speech into Indirect certain changes have been made. Thus:

We have used the conjunction that before the Indirect statement.(The that is often omitted especially in spoken English)

The pronoun I is changed to he. (The Pronoun is changed in Person.)

The verb am is changed to was. (Present Tense is changed to Past.)

The adverb now is changed to then.

Rules for changing Direct Speech into Indirect

When the reporting or principal verb is in the Past Tense, all Present tenses of the Direct are changed into the corresponding Past Tenses. Thus:-

(a) A simple present becomes a simple past. Direct. -- He said, “I am unwell.” Indirect. -- He said (that) he was unwell.

A present continuous becomes a past continuous. Direct. -- He said, “My master is writing letters.” Indirect. -- He said (that) his master was writing letters.

A present perfect becomes a past perfect.

Direct. -- He said, “I have passed the examination.” Indirect. -- He said (that) he had passed the examination.

Note:- The shall of the Future Tense is changed into should. The will of the Future Tense is changed into would or should. As a rule, the simple past in the Direct becomes the past perfect in the Indirect.

Direct. -- He said, “The horse died in the night.” Indirect. -- He said that the horse had died in the night.

      The tenses may not change if the statement is still relevant or if it is a universal truth. We can often choose whether to keep the original tenses or change them.

Direct. – “I know her address,” said Gopi.

Indirect. -- Gopi said he knows/knew her address.

Direct. -- The teacher said, “The earth goes round the sun.”

Indirect. -- The teacher said the earth goes/went round the sun.

Direct. – “German is easy to learn”, she said.

Indirect. -- She said German is/was easy to learn.

The past tense is often used when it is uncertain if the statement is true or when we are reporting objectively.

If the reporting verb is in the Present Tense, the tenses of the Direct Speech do not change. For example, we may rewrite the above examples, putting the reporting verb in the Present Tense, thus:

He says he is unwell.

He has just said his master is writing letters.

He says he has passed the examination.

He says the horse died in the night.

The pronouns of the Direct Speech are changed, where necessary, so that their relations with the reporter and his hearer, rather than with the original speaker, are indicated. Observe the following examples :-

Direct. -- He said to me, “I don't believe you.”

Indirect. -- He said he didn't believe me.

Direct. -- She said to him, “I don't believe you.”

Indirect. -- She said she didn't believe him.

Direct. -- I said to him, “I don’t believe you.”

Indirect. -- I said I didn't believe him.

Direct. -- I said to you, “I don't believe you.”

Indirect. -- I said I didn't believe you.

Words expressing nearness in time or place are generally changed into words expressing distance. Thus :-

now -- becomes -- then

here -- becomes -- there

ago -- becomes -- before

thus -- becomes -- so

today -- becomes -- that day

tomorrow -- becomes -- the next day

yesterday -- becomes -- the day before

last night -- becomes -- the night before

Direct. -- He says, “I am glad to be here this evening.” Indirect. -- He says that he was glad to be there that evening.

The changes do not occur if the speech is reported during the same period or at the same place ; e.g.,

Direct. -- He said, “I am glad to be here this evening.” Indirect. -- He said that he was glad to be there that evening.

Similarly, this and these are changed to that and those unless the thing pointed out is near at hand at the time of reporting the speech.

Questions

In reporting questions the Indirect Speech is introduced by some such verbs as asked, inquired, etc.

When the question is not introduced by an interrogative word, the reporting verb is followed by whether or if.

Direct. -- He said to me, “What are you doing ?” Indirect. -- He asked me what I was doing. Direct. -- “Where do you live?” asked the stranger. Indirect. -- The stranger enquired where I lived.

Direct. -- The policeman said to us, “Where are you going ?” Indirect. -- The policeman enquired where we were going. Direct. -- He said, “Will you listen to such a man?”

Indirect. -- He asked them whether they would listen to such a man. [Or] Would they, he asked, listen to such a man ?

Direct. – “Do you suppose you know better than your own father?” jeered his angry mother.

Indirect. -- His angry mother jeered and asked whether he supposed that he knew better than his own father.

Commands and Requests

In reporting commands and requests, the Indirect Speech is introduced by some verb expressing command or request, and the imperative mood is changed into the Infinitive. Direct. -- Rama said to Arjun, “Go away.”

Indirect. -- Rama ordered Arjun to go away.

Direct. -- He said to him, “Please wait here till I return.” Indirect. -- He requested him to wait there till he returned. Direct. -- “Call the first witness,” said the judge.

Indirect. -- The judge commanded them to call the first witness.

Direct. -- He shouted, “Let me go.”

Indirect. -- He shouted to them to let him go.

Direct. -- He said, “Be quiet and listen to my words.”

Indirect. -- He urged them to be quiet and listen to his words.

Exclamations and Wishes

In reporting exclamations and wishes the Indirect Speech is introduced by some verb expressing exclamation or wish.

Direct. -- He said, “Alas! I am undone.”

Indirect. -- He exclaimed sadly that he was undone. Direct. -- Alice said, “How clever I am!” Indirect. -- Alice exclaimed that she was very clever. Direct. -- He said, “Bravo! You have done well.”

Indirect. -- He applauded him, saying that he had done well. Direct. -- “So help me, Heaven!” he cried, “I will never steal again.”

Indirect. -- He called upon Heaven to witness his resolve never to steal again.

Exercise

Turn the following into Indirect Speech:-

He said to me, “I have often told you not to play with fire.”

“You have all done very badly!” remarked the teacher.

They wrote, “It is time we thought about settling this matter.”

The teacher promised, "If you will come before school tomorrow, I will explain it.

She wrote, “I am waiting and watching and longing for my son's return.”

The examiner's orders were, “No one is to bring books into the room nor ask me questions about what I have told you to do.”

The dwarf said to her, “Promise me that when you are Queen you will give me your first-born child.”

“That is my horse,” said he, “and if I do not prove it in a few minutes I will give up my claim.”

“I will avenge your wrongs,” he cried, “I will not enter Athens until I have punished the king who had so cruelly treated you."

He wrote and said, “I am unable to come just now because I am ill, but I will certainly start as soon as I am well enough to do so.”

One day he sent for Cassim and said to him, “You are now old enough to earn your living, so you must set off, and make your own way in the world.”

Exercise

Turn the following into Indirect Speech:-

“What do you want?” he said to her.

He said, “How's your father?”

“Are you coming home with me?” he asked.

He enquired, “When do you intend to pay me?”

He said to us, “Why are you all sitting about there doing nothing?”

“Do you really come from China?” said the prince.

The poor man exclaimed, “Will none of you help me?”

“Which way did she go?” asked the young Rakshas.

Aladdin said to the magician, “What have I done to deserve so severe a blow?”

“Don't you know the way home?” asked I.

“Do you write a good hand?” he said.

“Have you anything to say on behalf of the prisoner ?”said the judge finally.

“Which is the proper way to answer this question, father?” the boy enquired.

“Have you anything to tell me, little bird?”. asked Ulysses.

The young sparrow said, “Mother, what is that queer object?”

Then aloud he said, “Tell me, boy, is the miller within?”

“Who are you, sir, and what do you want?” they cried.

“Dear bird,” she said, stroking its feathers, “have you come to comfort me in my sorrow?”

The Rajah was deeply grieved, and said to his wife, “What can I do for you?”

When the sun got low, the king's son said, “Jack, since we have no money, where can we lodge this night ?”

She said to him, “What is it that makes you so much stronger and braver than any other man ?”

When the Brahmin approached, the first thief said, “Why do you carry a dog on your back ? Are you not ashamed ?”

Exercise

Put the following in Indirect Speech:-

“Bring me a drink of milk,” said the swami to the villagers.

“Sit down, boys,” said the teacher.

“Halt!” shouted the officer to his men.

“Take off your hat,” the king said to the Hatter.

The teacher said to him, “Do not read so fast.”

He said to me, “Wait until I come.”

“Hurry up,” he said to his servant, “do not waste time.”

“Run away, children,” said their mother.

He said, “Daughter, take my golden jug, and fetch me some water from the Well.”

“Go down to the bazaar. Bring me some oil and a lump of ice.” ordered his master.

Exercise

Put the following in Indirect Speech:-

“What a rare article milk is, to be sure, in London !” said Mr. Squeers with a sigh.

“What a stupid fellow you are!” he angrily remarked.

He said, “My God! I am ruined.”

He said, “Alas! our foes are too strong.”

He said, “What a lazy boy you are! How badly you have done your work!”

“How smart you are!” she said.

He said. “Oh ! that's a nuisance.”

    He said, “How cruel of him!”

He said, “What a pity you did not come!”

“Ah me!” exclaimed the Queen. “What a rash and bloody deed you have done!”

Conversion of Indirect into Direct

The conversion of Indirect into Direct generally presents no special difficulties, as the following examples will show :-

Indirect. -- He inquired whether his name was not Ahmed.

Direct. -- He said to him, “Is not your name Ahmed ?”

Indirect. -- As the stranger entered the town, he was met by a policeman, who asked him if he was a traveller. He replied carelessly that it would appear so.

Direct. -- As the stranger entered the town, he was met by a policeman, who asked, “Are you a traveller?” “So it would appear,” he answered carelessly.

Indirect. -- She asked how she, a girl, who could not ride or use sword or lance,

could be of any help. Rather would she stay at home and spin beside her dear mother. Direct. -- She said, “How can I, a girl, who cannot ride or use sword or lance, be of any help? Rather would I stay at home and spin beside my dear mother?”

Exercise

Put the following in Direct Speech:-

He asked Rama to go with him.

Rama replied that he could not do so.

He asked his father when the next letter would come.

His father replied that there might not be another that year.

Rama asked me what had become of Hari.

I told him that I had not seen him for months.

The master requested that they would attend carefully to what he was saying.

I wrote that I would visit him next day.

He observed that he had never liked doing that.

I told them to be quiet.

He asked me if I had anything to say.

Rama asked Hari if he would change places with him.

He said that he was tired, and that he wished to go to bed.

An old mouse asked who would bell the cat.

John said that he wanted to be a soldier.

He asked me where I was going.

He asked me what I wanted.

Abdul said that he had seen that picture.

The boy said that he would go with us.

He said that the earth moves round the sun.

The stranger asked Alice where she lived.

I asked Mary if she would lend me a pencil.

He told us that he had waited an hour.

The lady inquired if he was now quite well again.

He said that he had come to see them.

He said that though he had come, it was against his will.

The speaker said that it gave him great pleasure to be there that evening.

He asked them whether they would listen to such a man.

He asked me if I would accompany him.

He ordered him to leave the room and forbade him to return.

The mother asked her boy where he had been all the afternoon.

Hari asked Rama if he had read the letter.

The King asked the philosopher whom he considered the happiest man living.

The magistrate asked the prisoner what he was doing with his hand in the gentleman's pocket.

The fox cried out to the goat that a thought had just come into his head.

He advised his sons not to quarrel amongst themselves, when he was dead but to remain united.

The lion told the fox that he was very weak, that his teeth had fallen out, and that he had no appetite.

He replied that he had promised to reward his soldiers and that he had kept his word.

Study the following examples, and in each case carefully note the changes made while turning from Direct into Indirect Speech:-

Direct. -- The Prince said, “It gives me great pleasure to be here this evening.” Indirect. -- The Prince said that it gave him great pleasure to be there that evening.

Direct. -- He said, “I shall go as soon as it is possible” Indirect. – He said that he would go as soon as it was possible.

Direct. -- He said, “I do not wish to see any of you; go away.”

Indirect. -- He said that he did not wish to see any of them and ordered them to go away.

Direct. -- My teacher often says to me, “If you don't work hard, you will fail.” Indirect. -- My teacher often says to me that if I don't work hard I shall fail.

Direct. -- He said, “We are all sinners.”

Indirect. -- He said that we are all sinners.

Direct. -- The lecturer said, “Akbar won the respect of all races and classes by his justice.”

Indirect. -- The lecturer said that Akbar won the respect of all races and classes by his justice.

Direct. -- He said, “Let us wait for the award.”

Indirect. -- He proposed that they should wait for the award.

Direct. – “Saint George strike for us!” exclaimed the Knight, “do the false yeomen give way?”

Indirect. -- The Knight prayed that Saint George might strike for them and asked whether the false yeomen gave way.

Direct. – “Curse it!” exclaimed the driver. “Who could have foreseen such ill-luck? But for accident we should have caught the train easily.”

Indirect. -- The driver exclaimed with an oath that nobody could have foreseen such ill-luck. But for the accident they would have caught the train easily.

Direct. -- The general, addressing his mutinous troops said, “You have brought disgrace upon a famous regiment. If you had grievances, why did you not lay them before your own officers? Now you must first suffer punishment for your offence, before your complaints can be heard.”

Indirect. -- The general told his mutinous troops that they had brought disgrace upon a famous regiment. If they had grievances, why had they not laid them before their own officers? Now they must suffer punishment for their offence before their complaints could be heard.

Direct. -- The traveller said, “Can you tell me the way to the nearest inn?” “Yes,” said the peasant, “do you want one in which you can spend the night?” “No,” replied the traveller, “I only want a meal.”

Indirect. -- The traveller asked the peasant if he could tell him the way to the nearest inn. The peasant replied that he could, and asked whether the traveller wanted one in which he could spend the night. The traveller answered that he did not wish to stay there, but only wanted a meal.

Remark. -- It will be noticed that we have avoided the ugly phrases “replied in the affirmative” and “replied in the negative.”

Exercise

Turn the following into Indirect Speech:-

“Cheer up, mother, I'll go and get work somewhere,” said Jack.

But the sea-god cried, “Do not be afraid, noble prince. I have taken pity on you and will help you.”

“No,” said the child; “I won't kneel, for if I do, I shall spoil my new breeches.”

“What a horse are they losing for want of skill and spirit to manage him!” exclaimed Alexander.

Telemachus replied, "How can I drive away the mother, who bore me and nourished me?"

“Call no man happy,” was the reply of the philosopher, “until he has ended his life in a fitting manner.”

Then said the wolf to the fox, “Now either yield thyself as vanquished, or else certainly I will kill thee.”

“I believe,” said he, “that we are in this country among a people whom we like and who like us.”

he said, “Take that bird away. Its gilded cage reminds me of my father whom I imprisoned.”

“I have just one word to say to you,” said the dealer. “Either make your purchase, or walk out of my shop.”

“My hour is come,” thought he. “Let me meet death like a man.”

“Be not cast down,” said Mentor, “remember whose son thou art, and all shall be well with thee.”

Bhishma said: “Boys! boys ! remember you play a game. If it be Arjuna's turn let him have it.”

“Friends,” said the old man, “sit down and rest yourselves here on this bench. My good wife Baucis has gone to see what you can have for supper.”

“Ah! you don't know what these beans are, said the man; if you plant them over-night, by morning they grow right up to the sky.”

“How clever I am !” he said. “All my life I have been talking prose without knowing

it.”

“I am old and lonely,” said she. “Hast thou no pity on my lonelines? Stay with me, my best son, for thou art yet more boy than man.”

“I do not practice”, Goldsmith once said; "I make it a rule to prescribe only for my friends." "Pray, dear doctor," said Beauclerk, "alter your rule, and prescribe only for your enemies."

He said: "Who are you to speak to me like this? I am the master. Why should I help you? It is your work, not mine, to draw the cart."

"I cannot hope to see these trees which I am planting come in perfection," said the duke, "but it is right for me to plant for the benefit of my successors."

"Are you angry, my friends," said the king, "because you have lost your leader? I am your king; I will be your leader."

Said an old Crab to young one, "Why do you walk so crooked, child? Walk straight!" "Mother," said the young Crab, "show me the way, will you?"

"Who are you?" said the Deer. The Jackal replied: "I am Kshudrabuddhi the Jackal. I live in this forest all by myself; I have neither friend nor relation."

One summer some elephants were very much distressed by the heat, and said to their leader: "We are absolutely perishing, for want of water. The smaller animals have bathing-places but we have none. What are we to do? Where are we to go?"

When the king saw him coming he said, "Pray who are you, and what do you want ?" The Rabbit said, "I am an ambassador from His Majesty Chandra - the Moon." The Elephant King replied, "Declare your errand."

A young Rajah once said to his Vizier, "How is it that I am so often ill? I take great care of myself; I never go out in the rain; I wear warm clothes; I eat good food. Yet I am always catching cold or getting fever."

"My sons," said he, "a great treasure lies hidden in the estate I am about to leave you." "Where is it hid?" said the sons. "I am about to leave you." said the old man, "but you must dig for it."

"How very well you speak French!" Lady Grizzel said. "I ought to know it," Becky modestly said. "I taught it in a school, and my mother was a Frenchwoman."

"What are you going to do with the tinder-box?" asked the soldier. "That's no business of yours," said the witch; "You've got your money; give me my tinder-box."

"My name is Noman," said Ulysses, "my kinsmen and friends in my own country call me Noman." "Then," said the Cyclops, "this is the kindness I will show thee, Noman; I will eat thee last of all thy friends."

"I am a dead man, Hardy," said Nelson; "I am going fast; it will be all over with me soon. Come nearer to me. Let my dear Lady Hamilton have my hair, and all other things belonging to me."

He said to the shoemaker: "You are a big blockhead; you have done the reverse of what I desired you. I told you to make one of the shoes larger than the other, and, instead of that, you have made one of them smaller than the other."

“I can extend no other mercy to you,” said the Raja, “except permitting you to choose what kind of death you wish to die. Decide immediately, for the sentence must be carried out.” “I admire your kindness, noble Prince,” said the jester, “I choose to die of old age.”

Her mother said, "You must go straight to your grandmother's cottage and not loiter on the way. There is a wolf in the wood through which you are going; but if you keep to the road he won't do you any harm/Now, will you be a good girl and do as I tell you ?"

Next morning at breakfast his wife said to him, "George, I think I can tell what is amiss with our clock." "Well, what is it?" he sharply asked. "It wants winding up," said his partner.

A fawn one day said to her mother, "Mother, you are bigger than a dog, and swifter and better winded, and you have horns to defend yourself; how is it that you are so afraid of the hounds?" She smiled and said, "All this, my child, I know fully well; but no sooner do I hear a dog bark, than, somehow or other, my heels take me off as fast as they can carry me."

Said a young mole to her mother, "Mother, I can see." So her mother put a lump of frank incense before her, and asked her what it was. "A stone," said the young one. "O my child !" said the mother, "not only do you not see, but you cannot even smell."

"What are you doing, good old woman ?" said the princess. "I'm spinning, my pretty child." "Ah, how charming ! Let me try if I can spin also."

"You say," said the judge, "that the bag you lost contained one hundred and ten pounds." "Yes, your honour," replied the miser. "Then as this one contains one hundred pounds it cannot be yours."

He answered slowly, "Alas ! my dear son, why do you ask the one thing I cannot grant you ? Your hands are too weak to rein those fiery beasts ; you do not know the path. Come, ask something else, anything but that,"

The speaker said, "I entirely object to the proposal. I object to it as founded on a wrong principle, and I object to it as highly inconvenient at this time. Have you considered all that this proposal involves ? Gentlemen, I entreat you to be cautious."

Kausalya said to Rama, "Do not desire, O my child, to possess the moon, because it is thousands of miles off, and it is not a plaything for children and no child ever got it. If you wish I will bring some jewels that are brighter than the moon, and you can play with them."

The hen bird was just about to lay, and she said to her mate: "Cannot you find me some place convenient for laying my eggs?" "And is not this," he replied, "a very good place for the purpose?" "No," she answered, "for it is continually overflowed by the tide." "Am I, then, become so feeble," he exclaimed, "that the eggs laid in my house are to be carried away by the sea ?" The hen bird laughed and said, "There is some considerable difference between you and the sea."

A cat hearing that a hen was laid up sick in her nest, paid her a visit of condolence, and creeping up to her, said: "How are you, my dear friend ? What can I do for you ? What are you in want of ? Only tell me. Is there anything in the world that I can bring you ? Keep up your spirits, and do not be alarmed." "Thank you," said the hen. "Do you be good enough to leave me, and I have no fear but I shall soon be well."

"Sweet child," he answered, "do not fret, for I can make you happier here than ever you could have been on the earth ; I will give you beautiful things to play with, which a queen would envy. Rubies and diamonds shall be your toys, and your plates shall be of solid gold. All the beautiful things you see, belong to me, for I am king of this rich underworld." But she only replied, "I was happy playing with the pebbles on the seashore, and I care only for the sparkle of the little waves on the shining sand. Here there are no flowers, no sun," and she wept a new.