INDIAN SCHOOL AL WADI AL KABIR

QUESTION BANK ON REPORTED SPEECH (2020-21) Class: IX

Sub: ENGLISH

Rules for Changing Direct Speech into Indirect Speech:

 In the Indirect speech, no inverted commas are used.

 The conjunctions that, if, whether, are generally used after the reporting verb.
 The first word of the reported speech begins with a capital letter.
 The tense of the reporting verb is never changed.
 The reporting verb changes according to sense: it may be told, asked, inquired

Rules for the Change of Pronouns:

 The first person pronouns (I, me, my, we, us, our) in the reported speech change
according to the subject of the reporting verb.
 The pronouns of the second person (you, your, yourself) in the reported speech
change according to the object of the reporting verb.
 The pronouns of the third person do not change.

For example:

1. He said, “I like the book.”

He said that he liked the book.
2. He said to me, “Do you like the book?”
He asked me if I liked the book.

Changes in words expressing nearness, time, auxiliaries, etc.

Change in Tenses:
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  If the reporting verb is in the present or the future tense, the tense of the reported
speech is not changed:
Satish says, “I am flying a kite.”
Satish says that he is flying a kite.
Satish will say, “I want a glass of milk.”
Satish will say that he wants a glass of milk.
 If the reporting verb is in the past tense, then the tense of the reported speech will
change as follows:

 If the direct speech expresses a historical fact, a universal truth or a habitual fact,
then the tense of the direct speech will not change:
Direct : He said, “Honesty is the best policy.”
Indirect : He said that honesty is the best policy.
Direct : He said, “The sun rises in the east.”
Indirect : He said that the sun rises in the east.
Direct : Rakesh said, “I am an early riser.”
Indirect : Rakesh said that he is an early riser.
Direct : She said, “God is omnipresent.”
Indirect : She said that God is omnipresent.
Direct : The teacher said, “The First World War started in 1914.”
Indirect : The teacher said that the First World War started in 1914.

Changing Statements into Indirect Speech:

 The reporting verb ‘said to’ is changed-to ‘told’, ‘replied’, ‘remarked’,

 The reporting verb is not followed by an object, it is not changed.
 The inverted commas are removed. The conjunction that is used to connect the
reporting clause with the reported speech.
 The rules for the change of pronouns, tenses, etc. are followed.
1. Direct : Ramu said, “I saw a lion in the forest.”
Indirect: Ramu said that he had seen a lion in the forest.
2. Direct : Satish said to me, “I am very happy here.”
Indirect: Satish told me that he was very happy there.
3. Direct : He said, “I can do this work.”
Indirect: He said that he could do that work.
4. Direct : Renu said to me, “I was washing the clothes.”
Indirect: Renu told me that she had been washing the clothes.
5. Direct : She said, “I am not well.”
Indirect: She said that she was not well.
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 6. Direct : He said to Sita, “I have passed the test.”
Indirect: He told Sita that he had passed the test.
7. Direct : I said to my friend, “He has been working very hard.”
Indirect: I told my friend that he had been working very hard.
8. Direct : My friend said to me, “I shall go to Delhi tomorrow.”
Indirect: My friend told me that he would go to Delhi the next day.
9. Direct : I said, “I agree to what he said.”
Indirect: I said that I agreed to what he had said.
10. Direct : The student said to the teacher, “I am sorry that I am late.”
Indirect: The student told the teacher that he was sorry that he was late.

Rules for the Change of Interrogative (Questions) sentences:

 The reporting verb “say’ is changed into ask, inquire,

 The interrogative sentence is changed into a statement by placing the subject
before the verb and the full stop is put at the end of the sentence.
 If the interrogative sentence has a wh-word (who, when, where, how, why, etc) the
wh-word is repeated in the sentence. It serves as a conjunction.
 If the interrogative sentence is a yes-no answer type sentence (with auxiliary
verbs am, are, was, were, do, did, have, shall, etc), then ‘if or ‘whether’ is used as
a conjunction.
 The auxiliaries do, does, did in a positive question in the reported speech are
dropped.
 The conjunction that is not used after the reporting clause.
1. Direct : I said to him, “Where are you going?”
Indirect: I asked him where he was going.
2. Direct : He said to me, “Will you go there?”
Indirect: He asked me if I would go there.
3. Direct : My friend said to Deepak, “Have you ever been to Agra?”
Indirect: My friend asked Deepak if he had ever been to Agra.
4. Direct : I said to him, “Did you enjoy the movie?”
Indirect: I asked him if he had enjoyed the movie.
5. Direct : I said to her, “Do you know him?”
Indirect: I asked her if she knew him.
6. Direct : He said to me, “Will you listen to me?”
Indirect: He asked me if I would listen to him.
7. Direct : I said to him, “When will you go there?”
Indirect: I asked him when he would go there.
8. Direct : He said to me, “How is your father?”
Indirect: He asked me how my father was.
9. Direct : I said to him, “Are you happy?”
Indirect: I asked him if he was happy.
10. Direct : He said to her, “Do you like apples?”
Indirect: He asked her if she liked apples.

Changing Commands and Requests into Indirect Speech:

 In imperative sentences having commands, the reporting verb is changed into

command, order, tell, allow, request, etc.
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  The imperative mood is changed into the infinitive mood by putting ‘to’, before the
verb. In case of negative sentences, the auxiliary ‘do’ is dropped and ‘to’ is placed
after ‘not’:

1. Direct : She said to me, “Open the window.”

Indirect: She ordered me to open the window.
2. Direct : The captain said to the soldiers, “Attack the enemy.”
Indirect: The captain commanded the soldiers to attack the enemy.
3. Direct : I said to him, “Leave this place at once.”
Indirect: I told him to leave that place at once.

Sentences with ‘Let’.

 ‘Let’ is used in various meanings.

(i) ‘Let’ is used to make a proposal.

 First change the reporting verb into ‘proposed’ or ‘suggested’.

 Use ‘should’ instead of ‘let’.
Example:
Direct : He said to me, “Let us go home.”
Indirect: He suggested to me that we should go home.

(ii) ‘Let’ is used as ‘to allow’.

 In Indirect Speech, we change the reporting verb to ‘requested’ or ‘ordered’.

 We start Reported Speech with ‘to’.
Direct : Ram said to Mohan, “Let him do it.”
Indirect: Ram ordered Mohan to let him do that.
Or
Ram told Mohan that he might be allowed to do that.

Sentences with Question Tags

(i) In the indirect speech the question-tag is usually left.
(ii) In indirect speech these words are removed and the word ‘respectfully’ is used in the
reporting clause.
Direct : Mahesh said, “Sir, may I go home?”
Indirect: Mahesh respectfully asked his sir if he might go home.

11. Sentences with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’

Direct : He said, “Can you dance?” And I said, “No.”
Indirect: He asked me if I could dance and I replied that I couldn’t.
Direct : My mother said, “Will you come home on time?” And I said, “Yes.”
Indirect: My mother asked me if I would come home on time and I replied that I would.

Note: ‘Yes’ of ‘No’ hides a complete sentence. Therefore, change yes/no into a short
answer.

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Direct : She said to me, “You didn’t break the window, did you?”
Indirect: She asked me if/whether I had broken the window.
Direct : He said to Geeta, “You are going to the station, aren’t you?”
Indirect: He asked Geeta if/ whether she was going to the station.

Sentences with ‘have to’ or ‘had to’

(i) Change ‘have to’ according to the rules.
(ii) But change ‘had to’ into ‘had had to’ in the indirect speech.
Direct : Hari said, “I have to work a lot.”
Indirect: Hari said that he had to work a lot.
Direct : Hari said, “I had to work a lot.”
Indirect: Hari said that he had had to work a lot.

Sentences with ‘Sir’, ‘Madam’ or ‘Your Honour’ etc.

 Generally such words are used to show respect to the person concerned.

Exclamations and Wishes

Sometimes Exclamatory sentences contain exclamations like Hurrah!, Alas!, Oh!,
Heavens!, Bravo, etc. Such exclamatory words are removed in the indirect speech and
we use ‘exclaimed with sorrow’, exclaimed with joy, exclaimed with surprise, etc.
instead of ‘said’.
Examples:

1. Direct : Rohan said, “Hurrah! We won the match.”

Indirect: Rohan exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
2. Direct : Reema said, “Alas! Karina’s mother is suffering from cancer.”
Indirect: Reema exclaimed with sorrow that Karina’s mother was suffering from
cancer.
3. Direct : The captain said to Kapil, “Bravo! You scored 89 runs.”
Indirect: The captain exclaimed with praise that he (Kapil) had scored 89 runs.

(a) Look at these sentences.

1. Direct : My mother said, “May God bless you!”

Indirect: My mother prayed to God for my well-being.
2. Direct : She said, “May God save the country!”
Indirect: She prayed to God to save the country.
3. Direct : They said to the king, “Long live!”
Indirect: They blessed the king for his long life.

(b) Look at these sentences.

1. Direct : Mohan said, “What a pity!”

Indirect: Mohan exclaimed that it was a great pity.
2. Direct : I said, “How stupid he is!”
Indirect: I exclaimed that it was a very stupid of him.

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 3. Direct : “What a terrible sight it is!” said the traveller.
Indirect: The traveller exclaimed that it was a very terrible sight.
All the sentences in inverted commas are exclamatory sentences.

(i) Use ‘exclaimed’ in place of ‘said’ in the reporting verb in the indirect speech.
(ii) In Indirect sentences, we use exclamatory sentences as statements.
(iii) Indirect speech begins with that and full stop (•) is used instead of the exclamation
mark (!).

Exercise (Solved)
Change the following sentences into Indirect Speech:
(i) He said, “I will do it now.”
Answer: He said that he would do it then.

(ii) He says, “Honesty is the best policy.”

Answer: He says that honesty is the best policy.

(iii) Ramesh says, “I have written a letter.”

Answer: Ramesh says that he has written a letter.

(iv) She said, “Mahesh will be reading a book.”

Answer: She said that Mahesh would be reading a book.

(v) She said, “Where is your father?”

Answer: She inquired where his father was.

(vi) He said to me, “Please take your book.”

Answer: He requested me to take my book.

(vii) The Principal said to the peon, “Let this boy go out.”
Answer: The Principal ordered the peon to let that boy go out.

(viii) He said to me, “May you live long!”

Answer: He prayed that I might live long.

(ix) She said, “Goodbye friends!”

Answer: She bade goodbye to her friends.

(ix) The student said, “Alas! I wasted my time last year.”

Answer: The student regretted that he had wasted his time the previous year.

VOCABULARY EXERCISE
1. Use an appropriate word from the synonyms given above in the following sentences.
Clues are given in brackets.
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(i) She was __________ by the news of her brother’s wedding. (very pleased)

(ii) I was __________to be invited to the party. (extremely pleased and excited about)

(iii) She was __________ at the birth of her granddaughter. (extremely happy)

(iv) The coach was __________ with his performance. (satisfied about)

(v) She was very __________ with her results. (happy about something that has
happened).

2. Study the use of the word big in the following sentence.

He was so big − his hands and his neck, especially his mouth…

Here, big means large in size.

Now, consult a dictionary and find out the meaning of big in the following sentences. The
first one has been done for you.

(i) You are a big girl now. older

(ii) Today you are going to take the biggest decision of your career. _________

(iii) Their project is full of big ideas. _________

(iv) Cricket is a big game in our country. _________

(v) I am a big fan of Lata Mangeskar. _________

(vi) You have to cook a bit more as my friend is a big eater. _________

(vii) What a big heart you’ve got, Father dear. _________

ANSWER:

1. (i) She was delighted by the news of her brother’s wedding.

(ii) I was thrilled to be invited to the party.

(iii) She was overjoyed at the birth of her granddaughter.

(iv) The coach was pleased with his performance.

(v) She was very happy with her results.

2. (i) older
(ii) most important

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 (iii) excellent
(iv) huge (in popularity)
(v) great
(vi) a lot or above average (in quantity)
(vii) a good and kind

REPORTED SPEECH

Verbs of Reporting

Study the following sentences.

• “What!” screamed Mother.

• “N-n-no”, she whispered.

• “Sit up,” he ordered.

The italicized words are verbs of reporting. We quote or report what someone has said or
thought by using a reporting verb. Every reporting clause contains a reporting verb. For
example:

• He promised to help in my project.

• “How are you doing?” Seema asked.

We use verbs of reporting to advise, order, report statements, thoughts, intentions,

questions, requests, apologies, manner of speaking and so on.

1. Underline the verbs of reporting in the following sentences.

(i) He says he will enjoy the ride.

(ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.

(iii) No one told us that the shop was closed.

(iv) He answered that the price would go up.

(v) I wondered why he was screaming.

(vi) Ben told her to wake him up.

(vii) Ratan apologized for coming late to the party.

2. Some verbs of reporting are given in the box. Choose the appropriate verbs and fill
in the blanks in the following sentences.

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 were complaining shouted replied
remarked ordered suggested

(i) “I am not afraid,” __________ the woman.

(ii) “Leave me alone,” my mother __________.

(iii) The children __________ that the roads were crowded and noisy.

(iv) “Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all,” __________the master.

(v) “Let’s go and look at the school ground,” __________ the sports teacher.

(vi) The traffic police __________ all the passers-by to keep off the road.
ANSWER:

1. (i) He says he will enjoy the ride.

(ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.

(iii) No one told us that the shop was closed.

(iv) He answered that the price would go up.

(v) I wondered why he was screaming.

(vi) Ben told her to wake him up.

(vii) Ratan apologized for coming late to the party.

2. (i) “I am not afraid,” replied the woman.

(ii) “Leave me alone,” my mother shouted.

(iii) The children were complaining that the roads were crowded and noisy.

(iv) “Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all,” remarked the man.

(v) “Let’s go and look at the school ground,” suggested the sports teacher.

(vi) The traffic police ordered all the passers-by to keep off the road.

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