2. We may report the words of a speaker in two ways :-
(i) We may quote his actual words. This is called Direct speech.
(ii) We may report what he said without quoting his exact words.
This is called Indirect or Reported speech.
Direct: Rama said, ‘I am very busy now’.
Indirect: Rama said that he was very busy then.
3. RCPVT
There are 5 factors to be remembered when a
direct speech is converted into reported
speech (indirect speech)
• Reporting verb
• Conjunction
• Pronoun
• Verb
• Time Expression
4. Alex said to Meera “I am going to
Chennai tomorrow”
5. Alex said to Meera “I am going to
Chennai tomorrow”
Alex told Meera that he
was going to Chennai the
next day
6. If Listener is Unknown -> said
Anil said “I was in Mumbai two
years ago”
7. If Listener is Unknown -> said
Anil said that he had been
in Mumbai two years
before
Anil said “I was in Mumbai two
years ago”
8. Changes in tense time expression
Direct speech Indirect speech
am/is/are (present cont) Was/were (past cont)
was/were (past cont) Had been (past perf cont)
Have/has (pres perf) Had (past perf)
Had (past perf) Had (past perf)
will/shall Would/Should
can could
must Had to
may Might
V1 (Root verb) V2 (simple past tense)
S form of verb V2 (simple past tense)
V2 (simple past tense) Had+V3 (past participle)
9. Word expressing nearness in time or place are generally changed
into words expressing distance. Thus:-
now becomes then today beco
mes
That day
here ,, there tomorrow ,, The next
day
ago ,, before yesterday ,, The day
before
thus ,, so Last night ,, The night
beofore
10. This & These
Direct speech Indirect speech
This (Pronoun) it/he/she
Eg :This is a pen It was a pen
Eg: This is Jayaram He was Jayaram
These (Pronoun) They
Eg: These are girls They were girls
This (Adjective) The
Eg: This book The book
Eg: These books The books
This (Time expression) That
Eg: This morning That morning
These (Time expression) Those
Eg: These days Those days
11. Vinod said to his sister “I will buy
a pen for you tomorrow”
Vinod told his sister that he
would buy a pen for her
the next day
