Direct & Indirect Speech: A Fun Guide!
Hello, super students! Today, we're going to learn about something cool in grammar called 'Direct and Indirect Speech'. Imagine someone says something, like “I love ice cream!” That's Direct Speech – their exact words, usually in speech marks (“ ”). Now, if you tell your friend what that person said, like 'She said that she loved ice cream', that's Indirect Speech! It's like being a storyteller. When we change from Direct to Indirect, we sometimes need to change little words like 'I' to 'he' or 'she', or how we talk about time, like 'today' becomes 'that day'. Don't worry, it's like a fun puzzle, and this guide will show you all the tricks!
How Words Change: Tenses & More
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
|
Simple Present Tense [go/goes] |
Simple Past Tense [went] |
|
Present Continuous Tense [am/is / are going] |
Past Continuous Tense [was/were going] |
|
Present Perfect Tense [have / has gone] |
Past Perfect Tense [had gone] |
|
Simple Past Tense [went] |
Past Perfect Tense [had gone] |
|
Past Continuous Tense [was / were going] |
Past Perfect Continuous Tense [had been going] |
| am, is, are | was, were |
| have, has | had |
| do, does | did |
| was, were | had been |
| had | had |
| shall | should |
| will | would |
| can | could |
| may | might |
| must | must / had to |
| our | their |
| this | that |
| these | those |
| here | there |
| now, just | then |
| ago | before |
| thus | so |
| come | go |
| today | that day |
| tomorrow | the next day |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| tonight | that night |
| last night | the night before / the previous night |
| the next day/week/month/year | the following day/week/month/year |
Let's Practice: Examples
- The doctor said, “I have given an injection and it will make you sleep.” The doctor said that he had given an injection and it would make him sleep.
- “Who are you and what are you doing here?” she asked him. “I am a painter and I’m drawing pictures on my pitcher,” he said. She asked him who he was and what he was doing there. He answered that he was a painter and was drawing pictures on his pitcher.
- “Something is burning,” said the man. “Can you smell it, Vinay?” The man said that something was burning. He asked Vinay whether he could smell it.
- She’d said, “What do you think – that somebody’s always going to be around to wait on you?” She asked him whether he thought that somebody would always be around to wait on him.
- He announced that he was going to be a doctor. (Change into direct speech) He announced, “I am going to be a doctor.”
- “Why not settle for something more, within your capabilities, like History or Psychology?” suggested the biology professor. The biology professor suggested to him that he should settle for something more within his capabilities like History or Psychology.
- “Dave”, said the other senior, gripping his shoulder, “I can see like an eagle.” Gripping his shoulder, the other senior told Dave that he could see like an eagle.
- The violet opened her blue lips and said, “What an unfortunate am I among the flowers!” The violet opened her blue lips and exclaimed that she was very unfortunate among the flowers.
- She laughed and commented. “How strange is your talk!” She laughed and commented that her talk was very strange.
- She approached and said, “Has greed entered your heart and humbled your senses?” She approached and asked whether greed had entered her heart and had humbled her senses.
- The queen of violets called to her family, saying, “Let the memory of this scene be a reminder of your good fortune.” The queen of violets called to her family to say that the memory of that scene should be a reminder of their good fortune.
- He would give a reply, “We do not need a house of our own. I already own five houses.” He would reply that they did not need a house of their own and added that he already owned five houses.
- I tried arguing, “But what difference does it make?” I tried to argue saying that it did not make any difference.
- “Is it dead?” asked Neha. “No,” said Rahul. “I can still feel its heart beating.” Neha asked whether it was dead. Rahul replied in the negative. He added that he could still feel its heart beating.
- Gandhiji said that the greatest lessons in life are learnt from children. (Change into direct speech) Gandhiji said, “The greatest lessons in life are learnt from children.”
New Words & Easy Meanings
- Direct Speech: Telling exactly what someone said, using their actual words. Example: Mia said, "I like cookies."
- Indirect Speech (Reported Speech): Telling what someone said, but not using their exact words; like telling a story about what was said. Example: Mia said that she liked cookies.
- Tense: A word part that shows when something happens (like now, before, or later). Example: "walk" (now), "walked" (before).
- Simple Present Tense: Used for things that happen often or are always true. Example: The sun shines. I eat breakfast every day.
- Present Continuous Tense: Used for things happening right now. Example: He is playing.
- Present Perfect Tense: Used for things that happened in the past but are important now. Example: I have done my homework.
- Simple Past Tense: Used for things that already finished. Example: We played yesterday.
- Past Continuous Tense: Used for things that were happening at a certain time in the past. Example: She was reading when the phone rang.
- Past Perfect Tense: Used for something that happened before another past event. Example: He had eaten before he went out.
- Past Perfect Continuous Tense: Used for something that was going on for a while before another past event. Example: They had been waiting for a long time.
- Modal Verbs: Special helping verbs that show if something is possible, allowed, or necessary (like can, will, must, may). Example: You can do it!
- Pronoun: A small word used instead of a name (like I, you, he, she, it, we, they). Example: She is my friend.
- Adverbials (of time/place): Words that tell us when or where something happens. Example: 'now', 'then', 'here', 'there', 'today'.
- Reporting Verb: The verb that tells us someone spoke (like said, asked, told, shouted). Example: He said, "Hello."
- Capabilities: The things you are able to do; your skills. Example: Singing is one of her capabilities.
- Gripping: Holding something very tightly. Example: He was gripping the rope.
- Unfortunate: Not lucky; when something bad happens. Example: It was unfortunate that it rained on picnic day.
- Humbled: Made to feel not too proud; understanding you are not better than others. Example: The kind act humbled him.
- Fortune: Luck, especially good luck. Example: It was good fortune to find the lost toy.
- Arguing: Giving reasons for or against an idea; discussing with a different opinion. Example: They were arguing about which game to play.
- Announced: Told people something important officially or loudly. Example: The teacher announced the winner.
- Approached: Came near or closer to someone or something. Example: The cat approached the food bowl.
- Exclaimed: Shouted or said something suddenly and loudly because of surprise or excitement. Example: "Wow!" she exclaimed.