Narration

Direct and Indirect Speech

ü For better understanding, I’d like you to read the whole lesson carefully and observe the examples again and again.

Ø Direct Speech: When we use direct speech, we repeat what someone has said using exactly the words they used:

She said, "If it rains, I won't go out." is an example of the use of direct speech.

Ø Indirect speech:​ The act of reporting something that was said but not using exactly the same way that the speaker used; rather in a little modified manner. If we see the earlier example, we can modify it in our own way:

She said that she wouldn’t go out if it rained.

Ø Reporting verb: Notice the example-

She said, "If it rains, I won't go out." the word said is reporting verb.

Ø Reporting speech: Notice the example-

She said, "If it rains, I won't go out." the underlined statement stands as reporting speech.

NOTE: If the reporting verb is in the present tense or future tense, we neither change the reporting verb nor the reporting speech:

Direct: She says, "If it rains, I won't go out." (Here “Says” is reporting verb and the statement is reporting speech)

Indirect: She says If it rains, she won't go out. (Here “Says” is reported verb and the statement is reported speech)

***Some time and place expressions: we change these (left)expressions when we employ indirect statement:

This= that

These= those

Now= then/immediately

At once= at once/immediately

Yet= yet(no change)

Here= there

Hence= thence

Thus= in that way

Come(different place from the narrator’s)= go

Ago= before

Today/tonight= that day/night

Next= the following

Next morning/weekend etc.= the following morning/weekend etc.

Tomorrow= the next day/ the following day

Yesterday= the previous day

Last= the previous

Last night/year etc.= the previous night/year etc.

*** To be and modals:

Am/is= was

Are= were

Was/were= had been

Will= would

Shall= would/ should

May= might

Can= could

Must= must (no change)/ had to

Would= would (no change)

Could= could (no change)/ had been able to

Might= might (no change)

Ought to= ought to (no change)

Used to= used to (no change)

Examples of Modals:

ü Some, but not all, modal verbs ‘shift back’ in time and change in indirect speech.

	direct speech	indirect speech	change
will	‘We will be there,’ he promised.	He promised they would be there.	will becomes would
shall	She said, ‘I shall need more money.’ ‘Shall I open it?’ she asked.	She said she would need more money. She asked if she should open it.	shall usually becomes would in reported questions, shall becomes should
can	‘I can see you at 2.30,’ he added.	He added that he could see me at 2.30.	can becomes could
may	‘I may be back later,’ she said. ‘You may wait in the hallway,’ he said.	She said she might be back later. He said we could wait in the hallway.	may (possibility) becomes might may (permission) becomes could
must	She said, ‘You must pay by 30th April.’ ‘It must be awful to live in such a noisy place,’ she said.	She said we had to pay by 30th April. She said it must be awful to live in such a noisy place.	must (obligation) usually becomes had to must(speculation) does not change
could	‘We could sell it for about 2,000 euros,’ he said.	He said they could sell it for about 2,000 euros.	no change
should	‘You should go there immediately,’ she said.	She said I should go there immediately.	no change
would	‘I would buy it if I had the money,’ he said.	He said he would buy it if he had the money.	no change
might	‘It might snow tonight,’ he warned.	He warned that it might snow that night.	no change
need	‘You needn’t come till six o’clock,’ he said.	He said we needn’t come till six o’clock.	no change

ü We can use a perfect form with have + -ed form after modal verbs, especially where the report looks back to a hypothetical event in the past:

Direct: He said, “The noise might be the postman delivering letters.”

Indirect: He said the noise might have been the postman delivering letters.

Direct: He said, “I’d help you if you needed a volunteer.”

Indirect: He said he would have helped us if we’d needed a volunteer.

ü Used to and ought to do not change in indirect speech:

Direct: She said, “I used to live in Chittagong.”

Indirect: She said she used to live in Chittagong. 

Direct: The guard told us, “You ought to leave immediately.”

Indirect: The guard warned us that we ought to leave immediately. 

*** The tense of the original sentence changes as follows:

Ø Simple tenses:

Do/does= did

Did= had done

Will do= would do

Ø Perfect tenses:

Have/has done= had done

Had done= had done (no change)

Will have done= would have done

Ø Continuous tenses:

Am/is/are doing= was/ were doing

Have/ has been doing= had been doing

Was/were doing= had been doing

Had been doing= had been doing (no change)

Will be doing= would be doing

Will have been doing= would have been doing

***Some common expressions and their changing trends:

Yes= Replied in the affirmative.
No= Replied in the negative.

Sir= Respectfully/politely/ with honor/ with due respect

Please=Requested

By Allah/God = Swearing by Allah/God.

Exclamation marks like oh!, alas!, fie!, hurrah!, etc. =Exclaim in Joy /wonder/surprise/shock/shame/sorrow/grief/anger etc.

 “Congratulations.”₌congratulated.
“Excuse me.”= apologized/asked (s/b) to excuse (the speaker).

 “Sure.”= Giving assurance/sub+ assured

“Of course.”= firmly agreed with/firmly said

If s/b address s/b with special expression= addressing (the obj) as s/th

Good morning/evening= wished/greeted/+obj+ good morning/evening

Goodbye/bye= bade + obj+ Goodbye/ farewell

***Narrative style of Assertive sentences:

Ø Structure:

Sub+ say (to+ object) + (that)+ sub. of the reported speech+ verb………

Sub+ tell (object)+ (that)+ sub. of the reported speech+ verb………

e.g.:

Direct: “You have selected the typist for the job. You will take his responsibility from now”, said the Officer to the manager.

Indirect: The officer said to the manager that he(M) had selected the typist for the job. He(O) again said that the manager would take his(T) responsibility from then.

Or

The officer told the manager that he(M) had selected the typist for the job. He(O) again said that the manager would take his(T) responsibility from then.

***Narrative style of interrogative sentences:

Ø Structure: with yes/no questions

Sub+ ask/enquire+ obj+ if/whether+ sub. of the reported speech+ verb………

e.g.:

Direct: He said to me, “Are you hungry?”

Indirect: He asked me whether I was hungry.

If or whether?

ü We can use if or whether to report indirect yes-no questions and questions with or. If is more common than whether:

Direct: Sam said to me, “Can you call the bakeries around town and find out any of them sell raspberry pies?”

Indirect: Sam asked me whether I could call the bakeries around town and find out if any of them sold raspberry pies.

Direct: Jim told, “I rang Peter from the station.” Then he asked, “Could I drop in to see you before going back or could you meet me?”

Indirect: Jim said that he had rung Peter from the station and asked if he(J) could drop in to see him before going back or if he(P) could meet him.

We often prefer whether in more formal contexts:

Direct: The school committee said to the teachers, “Would you please recommend the book to your classes?”

Indirect: The school committee politely asked the teacher whether they would recommend the book to their classes.

ü It preferable to use whether with or when there is more than one alternative in the indirect question:

Direct: After the election, the journalists asked the elected party, “Will your government pay serious attention to this country’s downward economy, foreign problems, or both.”

Indirect: After the election, the journalists asked the elected party whether they would pay serious attention to that country’s downward economy, foreign problems, or both.

ü To express an alternative, we can use or not with if and whether. With whether we can use or not immediately after whether or in the end position. With if we use or not in end position only:

Direct: Austin asked Bill, “Are you really going to Afghanistan or not?”

Indirect: Austin asked Bill whether or not he was really going to Afghanistan.

Or,

Indirect: Austin asked Bill if he was really going to Afghanistan or not.

Ø Structure: W/H words:

Sub+ ask/enquire+ obj+ W/H+ sub. of the reported speech+ verb………

e.g.:

Direct: They asked us, “Where will you be?”

Indirect: They asked us where we would be.

Direct: Simentha asked me, “Who came to meet you at the airport?”

Indirect: Simentha asked me who had come to meet me at the airport.

 Direct: John said, “What will the repairs cost?”

Indirect: John wondered what the repairs would cost. 

 Direct: Stokes asked his neighbor, “When did it happen?”

Indirect: Stokes asked his neighbor when it had happened.

Direct: The stranger asked me, “Where is the bus station?”

Indirect: The stranger asked me where the bus station was. 

Direct: The teacher asked the students, “How do you want to do the activity?”

Indirect: The teacher asked the students how they wanted to do the activity. 

***Narrative style of Imperative sentences:

Ø Structure: say/tell= advise/request/ordered/shout/ask/beg/ (forbid/prohibit- for negative)

Sub+ advise/request etc.+ (obj)+ to+ verb (base form)………

e.g.:

Direct: Father told me, “leave the room at once.”

Indirect: Father ordered me to leave the room at once/immediately.

Direct: I said to him, “please explain the passage.”

Indirect: I requested him to explain the passage.

Direct: I said to him, “Don’t waste your time.”

Indirect: I forbade him to waste his time./ I suggested him not to waste his time.

Direct: Having lost its wonderful tail, the sly fox called for a meeting of all faxes in the woods and told the other foxes, “My dearest friends! After thinking a lot, I discovered that our tails are useless and often cause us thousands of problems, so we don’t need them.”

Indirect: Having lost its wonderful tail, the sly fox called for a meeting of all faxes in the woods and by addressing the other foxes as his dearest friends, he tried to implore the other foxes to cut their tails as well. Thus, he started his speech in a very convincing way. So, he told them that after thinking a lot, he had discovered that their tails were useless and they(tails) caused them thousands of problems. After a long description of the uselessness of the tails, he concluded that they didn’t need that useless stuff(tails).

Note:

ü Indirect reports of commands consist of a reporting clause and a reported clause beginning with a to-infinitive:

Direct: The General told the troops, “Advance!”

Indirect: The General ordered the troops to advance. 

Direct: The chairperson told him, “Sit down and stop interrupting!”

Indirect: The chairperson told him to sit down and to stop interrupting.

ü We also use a to-infinitive clause in indirect reports with other verbs that mean wanting or getting people to do something, for example, advise, encourage, warn:

Direct: They told me, “You should wait till the following day.”

Indirect: They advised me to wait till the following day.

Direct: The guard told us, “You must not enter the area.”

Indirect: The guard warned us not to enter the area. 

Ø Structure: let (first person)

Sub+ suggest/ propose+ that+ sub+ should+ verb (base form) ………

e.g.:

Direct: He said, “let’s play cricket.”

Indirect: He suggested that we should play cricket./ He suggested playing cricket./ He suggested that we play cricket.

Direct: He said to him, “Let’s have a picnic next Friday”

Indirect: He proposed to him(the other one) that they should have a picnic the following Friday.

Ø Structure: let(second and third persons)

Sub+ said+ that+ s/b+ might/might be allowed to+ verb (base form)………

e.g.:

Direct: He said, “let the boy play cricket.”

Indirect: He said that the boy might be allowed to play cricket.

Direct: He said, “let the innocent be free.”

Indirect: He said that the innocent might be free.

***Narrative style of optative sentences:

Ø Structure:

Sub+ pray/wish+ that+ sub of reporting speech+ might+ verb (base form)………

e.g.:

Direct: Jim said to Della, “May you be happy.”

Indirect: Jim prayed that Della might be happy.

Direct: He said to me, “May you shine in life.”

Indirect: He wished that I might shine in life.

***Narrative style of Exclamatory sentences:

Ø Structure: Exclamation marks

Sub+ exclaim in joy/sorrow etc.+that+ sub of reporting speech+ verb………

e.g.:

Direct: He said, “Alas! I am undone.”

Indirect: He exclaimed in grief that he was undone.

Direct: He said to them, “Bravo! You have done well.”

Indirect: He applauded by saying that they had done well.

Ø Structure: how and what

How:

Direct: He said to me, “How happy you are!”

Sub+ say (to object) +that+ sub of reporting speech+ verb+ very+ adj

Indirect: He said to me that I was very happy.

Direct: He said, “How nice the scene is!”

Indirect: He exclaimed in wonder that the scene was very nice.

What:

Direct: He said, “What a fool you are.”

Sub+ say (to object) +that+ sub of reporting speech+ verb+ (a-for singular noun) + very/great+ noun

Indirect: He said to me that I was a great fool.

Direct: He said, “What a happy life they are leading!

Indirect: He exclaimed in surprise that they were leading a very happy life.