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SSC CGL Preparation – Day 11
English: Direct and Indirect Speech (Reported Speech)
🔍 What is Direct and Indirect Speech?
Direct Speech: The exact words spoken by a person.
Example: He said, “I am going to the market.”
Indirect Speech: Reporting what someone said without quoting them exactly.
Example: He said that he was going to the market.
🧩 Key Components of Reported Speech:
- Reporting Verb: Said, told, asked, etc.
- Reported Speech: The part of the sentence that contains the original speech.
- Change of Pronouns
- Change of Tenses
- Change of Time and Place
🔄 Tense Change Rules (if reporting verb is in past tense):
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| Present Simple: “I eat.” | Past Simple: He said he ate. |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect |
| Will/Shall | Would/Should |
| Can/May | Could/Might |
| Past Perfect / Modals | No Change |
👤 Pronoun Change Rules:
Pronouns are changed based on the subject and object in the reporting clause.
Example:
Direct: She said, “I am ready.”
Indirect: She said that she was ready.
🕒 Time & Place Change Examples:
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| Now | Then |
| Today | That day |
| Tomorrow | The next day |
| Yesterday | The previous day |
| Here | There |
| This | That |
🧭 Reporting Statements:
Structure:
He said, “I like tea.” → He said that he liked tea.
- No comma and quotation marks in indirect speech.
- Use “that” for reported statements.
❓ Reporting Questions:
🔹 Yes/No Type Questions:
Use if or whether.
Direct: He said, “Do you like music?”
Indirect: He asked if I liked music.
🔹 Wh-type Questions:
Direct: She asked, “Where do you live?”
Indirect: She asked where I lived.
- Do not use question marks in indirect questions.
🗣️ Reporting Commands & Requests:
Use verbs like ordered, requested, advised, told, suggested.
Direct: He said, “Please help me.”
Indirect: He requested me to help him.
Direct: She said, “Don’t go.”
Indirect: She told me not to go.
✍️ Examples and Conversions:
Example 1
Direct: He said, “I will call you tomorrow.”
Indirect: He said that he would call me the next day.
Example 2
Direct: They said, “We have completed the work.”
Indirect: They said that they had completed the work.
Example 3
Direct: I said to him, “Are you coming to the party?”
Indirect: I asked him if he was coming to the party.
📌 Tips to Remember:
- Change tenses only if the reporting verb is in the past.
- For universal truths or habitual facts, tense does not change. Direct: The teacher said, “The sun rises in the east.”
Indirect: The teacher said that the sun rises in the east. - Use to + verb for commands and requests.
- Do not use quotation marks in indirect speech.
- Question structure changes to statement format in indirect speech.
📘 Common Reporting Verbs:
| Reporting Statements | Reporting Questions | Commands/Requests |
|---|---|---|
| Said, told, stated | Asked, inquired | Requested, told, ordered, advised, suggested |
🔚 Conclusion:
Mastering Direct and Indirect Speech helps improve both grammatical accuracy and comprehension skills. It’s a regular feature in SSC exams, so focus on understanding tense shifting, pronoun adjustment, and sentence structure transformation.
