Direct and Indirect Speech — The Conversion Rules for Statements, Questions and Commands

Narration Is Three Changes, Not Fifty Rules

Every English paper carries two or three narration questions, and candidates lose them because they try to remember rules sentence by sentence. There are only three things that ever change:

1. 1.The pronouns
2. 2.The tense of the reported words
3. 3.The words of time and place

Everything else is packaging. Look at the shape:

> Direct: He said, "I am busy today."

> Indirect: He said that he was busy that day.

The inverted commas and the comma disappear. The word *that* joins the two halves. *I* became *he*, *am* became *was*, *today* became *that day*. Three changes, exactly as promised.

One detail decides half the marks: the reporting verb. If it is in the past — *said, told, asked* — the tense shifts back. If it is present or future — *says, will say* — nothing shifts at all.

1. Choose the correct indirect form: He said, "I am ill today."

2. Choose the correct indirect form: The teacher said, "The earth revolves round the sun."

3. Choose the correct indirect form: She said to me, "Are you coming with us?"

4. Choose the correct indirect form: He said to me, "Shut the door at once."

5. In indirect speech with a past reporting verb, the word "tomorrow" is normally changed to:

6. Choose the correct indirect form: He said, "What a beautiful garden this is!"

7. Choose the correct indirect form: She said to him, "Please help me with this work."

8. Choose the correct indirect form: He said to her, "Let us go for a walk."