Direct To Indirect Speech Conversion – Reporting Verb

1. When the reporting verb of direct speech is in past tense then all the present
tenses are changed to the corresponding past tense in indirect speech.

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: She said, ‘I am happy’.

Indirect: She said (that) she was happy.

1. In indirect speech, tenses do not change if the words used within the
quotes (‘’) talk of a habitual action or universal truth.

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: He said, ‘We cannot live without air’.

Indirect: He said that we cannot live without air.

1. The tenses of direct speech do not change if the reporting verb is in

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: She says/will say, ‘I am going’

Indirect: She says/will say she is going.

Rule 2 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech conversion – Present Tense

 Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect.

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: “I have been to Boston”, she told me.

Indirect: She told me that she had been to Boston.

 Present Continuous Changes to Past Continuous

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: “I am playing the guitar”, she explained.

Indirect: She explained that she was playing the guitar.

 Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: He said, “She has finished her homework“.

 Simple Present Changes to Simple Past

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: “I am unwell”, she said.

Indirect: She said that she was unwell.

Rule 3 – Direct Speech to Indirect Speech conversion – Past Tense & Future Tense

 Simple Past Changes to Past Perfect

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: She said, “Irvin arrived on Sunday.”

Indirect: She said that Irvin had arrived on Sunday.

 Past Continuous Changes to Past Perfect Continuous

Direct to indirect speech example

Direct: “We were playing basketball”, they told me.

Indirect: They told me that they had been playing basketball.

 Future Changes to Present Conditional

Direct to indirect speech example

Direct: She said, “I will be in Scotland tomorrow.”

Indirect: She said that she would be in Scotland the next day.

 Future Continuous Changes to Conditional Continuous

Direct to indirect speech example

Direct: He said, “I’ll be disposing of the old computer next Tuesday.”

Indirect: He said that he would be disposing of the old computer the following
Tuesday.

Read the following sentences and change them into reported speech
1. Suman said, “I get up early every morning.”
2. The maths teacher said, “three multiplied by three is nine.”
3. The tourist said, “India is a very beautiful country.”
4. Tina said, “It is hot outside.”
5. The teacher said, “The Sepoy Mutiny took place in 1857.”
6. Ira said, “I saw an elephant in the zoo.”
7. Peter said, “I can do this work.”
8. Uma said to her mother, “I have passed the exam”.
9. Ajay said to Lucy, “I will go to Bangalore tomorrow.”
10. Lewis said, “my mother is sleeping.”
11. Tamal said to Naira, “When are you leaving?”
12. “Where do you live?” the old man asked Timothy.
13. The teacher asked Arjun, “Why are you talking?”
14. Olena said to Andrew, “Bring me my rifle.”
15. “Call the first convict,” said the jury.
16. “Please call the ambulance,” said the woman.
17. Betty said to me, “I will cook today’s dinner.”
18. The teacher said to me, “You are very intelligent.”
19. My mother said to me, “Please wait here till I come back.”
20. The coach said to David, “Bravo! You have played well.”
21. Ramen said, “Alas! My kitten passed away.”
22. Bruce said, “I may go to the party.”
23. Miss Davis said to the student, “Did you listen to me?”
24. The lady said, “Let me come in.”
25. Granny said to me, “May God bless you.”
26. The policeman said to us, “Where are you going?”
27. The boy shouted, “Let me go.”
28. Shilpa said, “Alas! I am undone.”
29. “I know his address,” said Rupert
30. Punit said, “My mother is writing letters.”
31. Rishav said to Roshni, “Have you ever been to the Taj Mahal?”
32. Anu said to Shivina, “Please lend me a pencil.”
33. Logan said, “When are you coming home?”
34. Rory said to her colleagues, “We have successfully achieved our
goal.”
35. The teacher said to the students, “Make sure you hand over your
papers before 12 p.m.”
36. My mom said, “Everything is going to be fine.”
37. Luke said, “I will cook for you tomorrow.”
38. Manisha said, “I think I will have a shot at it next year.”
39. Soumia said, “I am wearing a black dress for Achu’s reception.”
40. The manager said, “All the rooms have been allocated according to
your choices.”
 41. My grandmother said, “I have some work to do.”
42. Lakshmi said, “I am a tailor.”
43. Madhav said, “The cricket team did their best.”
44. Dhoni said, “Can you help me with the luggage?”
45. My parents said, “We loved the passion fruit dessert.”
46. Danny said, “I am starting work from tomorrow.”
47. The police officer said, “We are investigating the matter.”
48. Emily said to Richard, “You are raising your voice.”
49. Josh said, “I love shrimp.”
50. Naomi said, “Was Farsana present yesterday?”

Answers
1. Suman said that she got up early every morning.
2. The maths teacher said that three multiplied by three is nine
3. The tourist said that India was a very beautiful country.
4. Tina said that it was hot outside.
5. The teacher said that the Sepoy Mutiny took place in 1857.
6. Ira said that she saw/had seen an elephant in the zoo.
7. Peter said that he could do that work.
8. Uma told her mother that she had passed the exam.
9. Ajay informed Lucy that he would go to Bangalore the next day.
10. Lewis said that his mother was sleeping
11. Tamal asked Naira when she was leaving.
12. The old man asked Timothy where he lived.
13. The teacher asked Arjun why he was talking.
14. Olena ordered Andrew to bring her rifle.
15. The jury ordered to call the first convict.
16. The woman requested to call an ambulance.
17. Betty said to me that she would cook that day’s dinner.
18. The teacher told me that I was intelligent.
19. My mother requested me to wait there till she returned.
20. The coach applauded David, saying that he had played well.
21. Ramen exclaimed sadly that his kitten had passed away.
22. Bruce said that he might go to the party.
23. Miss Davis asked the student if he was listening to her.
24. The lady asked to let her come in.
25. Granny prayed that God might bless me.
26. The policeman enquired where we were going.
27. The boy shouted to them to let him go.
28. Shilpa exclaimed sadly that she was undone.
29. Rupert said that he knows/knew his address.
30. Punit said that his mother was writing letters.
31. Rishav asked Roshni if she had ever been to the Taj Mahal.
32. Anu requested Shivina to lend her a pencil.
33. Logan asked when I was coming home.
34. Rory said to her colleagues that they have successfully achieved their
goal.
35. The teacher told the students to make sure that they handed over
their papers before 12:00 p.m.
36. My mom said that everything was going to be fine.
37. Luke said that he would cook for me the next day.
38. Manisha said that she thought she would have a shot at it the next
year.
39. Soumia said that she was wearing a black dress for Achu’s reception.
40. The manager said that all the rooms have been allocated according to
their choices.
41. My grandmother said that she had some work to do.
42. Lakshmi said that she was a tailor.
43. Madhav said that the cricket team did/had done their best.
44. Dhoni asked if I could help him with the luggage.
45. My parents said that they loved the passion fruit dessert.
46. Danny said that he was starting work from the next day.
47. The police officer said that they were investigating the matter.
48. Emily said to Richard that he was raising his voice.
49. Josh said that he loved shrimp.
50. Naomi asked if Farsana was present the previous day.