How to change tense in direct and indirect speech
CHANGE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS
- The personal pronouns are changed as follows:
- First person changes according to subject of the reporting verb.
- Second person changes according to object of the reporting verb.
- Third person remains unchanged.
We need to change the tense if the reporting verb is in the past tense. The tense of the
reported speech changes into corresponding past tense as follows:
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| Simple present ["I prefer coffee to tea.", she said.] | Simple past [She said that she preferred coffee to tea.] |
| Present continuous [I said to her, "You are doing well."] | Past continuous [I told her that she was doing well.] |
| Present perfect [Krishna said to me, "I have made a plan."] | Past perfect [Krishna told me that he had made a plan.] |
| Present perfect continuous [Sudha said to us, "I have been waiting for you."] | Past perfect continuous [Sudha told us that she had been waiting for us.] |
| Simple past [Raju said to me, "I didn't like her."] | Past perfect [Raju told me that he hadn't liked her.] |
| Past continuous [My father told me, 'I was doing my best." ] | Past perfect continuous [My father told me that he had been doing his best.] |
| Past perfect [She said to him, "I had prepared food."] | No change in tense [She told him that she had prepared food.] |
| Past perfect continuous [She said to him, "I had been preparing food."] | No change in tense. [She told him that she had been preparing food.] |
| All future [can, shall, will, may] | Conditional [could, should, would, might] |
When should not the tense be changed
Do not change the tense if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the original statement is about something that is still true, e.g.| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| She said to me, "The sun gives heat." | She told me that the sun gives heat. |
| Sashi said to him, "I never drink tea." | Sashi told him that she never drinks tea. |
| He said to us, “The earth rotates the sun.” | He told us that the earth rotates the sun. |
| The teacher will tell us, "I will punish you." | The teacher will tell us that he will punish us. |
| He says, "I'm a brave boy." | He says that he is a brave boy |
Change of Time Adverbials
Time and place references are also changed in reported speech
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| "I will see you here tomorrow", she said. | She said that she would see me there the next day. |
| "I saw him today", she said | She said that she had seen him that day. |
| "I saw him yesterday", she said. | She said that she had seen him the day before. |
| "I met her the day before yesterday", he said. | He said that he had met her two days before. |
| "I'll see you tomorrow", he said | He said that he would see me the next day. |
| "We'll come the day after tomorrow", they said. | They said that they would come in two days time/ two days later. |
| "I have an appointment next week", she said. | She said that she had an appointment the following week. |
| "I was on holiday last week", he told us. | He told us that he had been on holiday the previous week. |
| "I saw her a week ago," he said. | He said he had seen her a week before. |
| "I'm getting a new bike this week", she said. | She said she was getting a new bike that week. |
| "Do you like this pant?" he asked | He asked if I liked that pant. |
| He said, "I work here". | He said that he worked there. |
Assertive sentences (statements)
When we change a direct speech into indirect speech we have to find out the reporting
verb (R.V.) and the reported speech (R.S.). The verb followed by the speaker is called
a reporting verb and the speaker's saying which is inside the inverted commas is called
reported speech.
Prashant said to me, "I have no money."
R.V. R.S.
"I didn't eat meat", said Prerana.
R.S. R.v.
Changing a direct speech into indirect speech.Reporting verb 'said’ remains unchanged and 'said to' is changed into 'told'.
Pushpa said, "I saw a snake."
Pushpa said that she had seen a snake.
Prerana said to Prashant, "You have made a mistake.
"
Prerana told Prashant that he had made a mistake.
The word ‘that’ has been added between ‘the reporting verb’ and the ‘reported speech'.
Shashi said to Tara, "I will help you".
Shashi told Tara that she would help her.
The Pronoun of the reported speech is changed according to the following ways.
- First person changes according to subject of the reporting verb.
- Second person changes according to object of the reporting verb. If there is no object given, a suitable object (generally a first person object or according to the context) is added.
Radha said, "I need your help."
Radha
told me that she needed my help.
- Third person remains unchanged.
The tense of the reported speech changes into corresponding past tense as shown earlier.
The time of adverb of the reported speech is changed as mentioned earlier.
- now – then
- this – that
- today – that day
- tomorrow – the following day
- yesterday – the day before
- come- go
- here- there
- ago- before etc.
For Example
Pritija said to me, “I will help you tomorrow.”
Pritija told me that she would help me the following day.
The comma of reporting verb and inverted commas of reported speech are removed.
For Example.
Pragya said to Karan, “They are my
relatives.”
Pragya told Karan that they were her relatives.
Interrogative sentence /Question sentence
Study the following sentences:
1. a. Direct: She said, "Where is he going?"
b. Indirect: She asked where she was going.
2. a. Direct: She said, "What happened?"
b. Indirect: She asked what had happened.
3. a. Direct: He said, "Will you be there tomorrow?"
b. Indirect: He asked if she would be there the next day.
4. a. Direct: He said to me, "Where do you live?"
b. Indirect: He asked me where I lived.
5. a. I said to her, "Are you coming to the party this evening?"
b. I asked her if she was coming to the party that evening.
6. a. The teacher said to the students, "Have you finished your class work?"
b. The teacher asked the students if they had finished their class work.
How to change a direct speech into indirect?
(a) Reporting verb. 'said/ said to is changed into 'asked'. Example.
Gopal said to Arun, "Can you do this?"
Gopal asked Arun if he could do that.
(b) Yes/ No question is joined with. if/whether and Wh-question is joined with Wh-word
of the same question sentence. Example.
Rohini said to Nisha, "Will you call me?"
Rohini asked Nisha if she would call him.
My son said to me, "Where did you go yesterday?"
My son asked me where I had gone the day before.
(c) Reported speech is always in V+ S+O +? (question form), in direct speech which would be changed into S+V+ O form in indirect speech. Example
Rajendra said to Gauri, "Does your brother teach you?"
Rajendra asked Gauri if her brother taught her.
Rita said to me, "Did you finish your work?"
Rita asked me if I had finished my work.
(d) The other rules of changing pronoun, tense, time adverbials of the reported speech are
as per the rules of assertive sentences.
Imperative sentence (command/request)
Prakash said to me, "Open the door."
My sister said to me, "Don't go out."
How to change a direct speech into indirect?
(a) Reporting verb, said/ said to is changed into told, asked, requested, ordered, and
commanded according to the situation.
She said to him, "Work hard."
She told him to work hard.
They said to me, "Please, guide us,"
They requested me to guide them.
(b) ‘Reporting verb’ is joined with the ‘Reported speech’ with the word. to / not to.
For Example.
Ram said to Shyam, "Clean the room."
Ram asked (told) Shyam to clean the room.
We said to Dinesh, "Don't smoke."
We told Dinesh not to smoke.
(c) Tense is not changed.
Ravi said to Laxman, "Give me your book."
Ravi asked Laxman to give him his book.
(d) The pronoun and the time adverbials of the reported speech are changed as per the
rules of assertive sentences. For Example.
Uma said to Hari, "Do this tomorrow."
Uma told Hari to do that the following day.