How to write Reported speech

 

Introduction:-

                       Reported speech is simply when we tell somebody what someone else said. It is part of daily english conversation. Reported speech is very different form of direct speech. It shows what somebody said. In reported speech we don't need to quote somebody directly. It is a linguistic technique which presents someone else's direct speech.           

 

            In indirect speech, words generally have referents appropriate to the context in which the act of reporting takes place, rather than that in which the speech act being reported took place. The two acts often differ in a reference point – the point in time and place and the person speaking – and also in the person being addressed and the linguistic context. Thus when a sentence involves words or forms whose referents depend on these circumstances, they are liable to change when the sentence is put into indirect speech. 

              If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use speaker's exact word, but reported speech. Therefore, we need to learn how to transfer direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little depending on wherever you want to transform a statement, question or result. When transforming statements, we need to make some changes;

1.  Changes in reporting verb and   conjunction
2.  Changes in tense
3.  Changes in pronoun
4.  Changes in place and time Expression

      

1. Changes in reporting verb and conjunction:-

      The reporting verb is usually given as 'said' in direct speech. The reporting verb varies depending on the type of statement as well as the conjugator used when converting a direct statement to an indirect statement depending on the type of statement. The following table shows the type of reporting verb as well as the type of conjunctive statement;

 

No.	Type of sentences	Reporting verb	Conjunction
1.	Assertive sentence	Said/ told	That
2.	Interrogative sentence	Asked	If / wherever ‘wh’ if asked by pronoun. Ex. What, how..
3.	Exclamatory sentence	Exclaimed Exclaimed with joy Exclaimed with sorrow Exclaimed with surprise	That
4.	Imperative sentence	Requested Ordered Suggested Advised	To

              

Ex. 

Direct speech: 'I work in a bank,' said Daniel.

indirect speech: Daniel said that he worked in a bank.

2. Changes in tense:-

          To convert direct speech to indirect speech, change the tense as shown below;

Am/ is                                           -   was Are                                                - Were Have/ has                                   - Had Do not/ does not                      – Did not Was / were                                -  had + p.p. Did not                                       – Had Not + p.p. Can.                                             – could Will/ shall                                  – would May                                            – might Simple present                        – simple past Simple past                              – perfect Past

Ex.,

       Direct:- He said "This is his pen".

        Indirect:- He said that that was his pen.

3. Changes in pronoun:-

          To convert direct speech to indirect speech, we need to make some changes regarding pronoun are given below;

Direct speech               /   Indirect speech  ____________________________________________                                  

                             Subject  pronoun

I	He, She
You	I,  She, He, We, They
We	They

                             Object pronoun

Me	Him, Her, Us, Them
You	Him, Her, Us, Them
Us	Them

                             Possessive adjective

My	His, Her
Your	My, His, Her, Our, their
Our	Their

                            Possessive pronoun

Mine	His, Hers
Your	Mine, His, Hers, Ours, Their
Our	Theirs

Ex., 

   Direct:- My friend said to me "let me give my pen''.

   Indirect:- My friend suggested me to let him give his pen.

Direct:- Anju said ''Let's thank our boss''.

Indirect:- Anju suggested to to thank their boss.

4. Changes in place and time Expression:-

                 The Place as well as the Time indicator words that definitely change when converting a direct to an indirect speech are listed below:

Direct speech	Indirect speech
This	That
These	Those
Here	There
Now	Then
Thus	So
Today	That day
Tonight	That night
Yesterday	The day before / the previous day
Tomorrow	The next day / the following day
Ago	Before

  

Ex., 

Direct:- He said "Arti will come tomorrow".

Indirect:- He said that Arti will come the next day.

Direct:- Ved said "Daxa is reading now".

Indirect:- Ved said that Daxa was reading then".

Let's look at some examples of reported speech:-

   

• Direct:- "Can I go home now?" he asked her.
• Indirect:- He asked her if he could go home then.

• Direct:- "May I call you by your first name?" he asked.
• Indirect:- He asked if he might call me by my first name.

• Direct:- "She must try harder if she wants to succeed," he said.
• Indirect:- He said that she had to try harder if she wanted to succeed.

• Direct:- "My father will be angry with me if he finds out," she said.
• Indirect:- She said that her father would be angry with her if he found out.

• Direct:- "You had better speak to the manager," she said to him.
• Indirect:- She told him that he had better speak to the manager.

Conclusion:- 

      

                     Thus, Reported speech is the essential part of English grammar as well as English conversation. It makes the language very effective.