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Complete Narration Guide: Direct & Indirect Speech

Introduction

Basic Concepts

Tense Changes

Pronouns & Modals

Advanced Rules

Practice Exercises

What is Narration?

Narration is the method of reporting someone's words or thoughts. In English grammar, we have two ways to do this:

Direct Speech

Quoting the exact words spoken by someone, enclosed in quotation marks.

Example: Rohan said, "I am going to the market."

Indirect Speech

Reporting what someone said without using their exact words, and without quotation marks.

Example: Rohan said that he was going to the market.

Hindi Example (हिंदी उदाहरण)

Direct: रोहन ने कहा, "मैं बाजार जा रहा हूँ।"

Indirect: रोहन ने कहा कि वह बाजार जा रहा है।

Why Learn Narration?

Mastering narration is essential for:

• Effective communication in both spoken and written English
• Writing stories, reports, and news articles
• Understanding literature and legal documents
• Preparing for competitive exams

Basic Rules of Narration

When converting direct speech to indirect speech, we follow several important rules:

✓ Rule 1: Remove Quotation Marks

In indirect speech, we don't use quotation marks.

Direct: She said, "I love reading books."

Indirect: She said that she loved reading books.

✓ Rule 2: Use Appropriate Reporting Verb

Common reporting verbs include: said, told, asked, exclaimed, etc.

Direct: He said, "I will help you."

Indirect: He said that he would help me.

✓ Rule 3: Change of Pronouns

Pronouns change according to the subject and object of the reporting verb.

Direct: Ravi said to me, "You should study harder."

Indirect: Ravi told me that I should study harder.

Hindi Example (हिंदी उदाहरण)

Direct: सीता ने कहा, "मैं कल दिल्ली जाऊँगी।"

Indirect: सीता ने कहा कि वह अगले दिन दिल्ली जाएगी।

Note how "मैं" (I) changed to "वह" (she) and "कल" (tomorrow) changed to "अगले दिन" (the next day).

Tense Changes in Narration

When the reporting verb is in the past tense, the tense of the reported speech changes as follows:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Simple Present	Simple Past
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
Present Perfect	Past Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
Simple Past	Past Perfect
Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
Will/Shall	Would/Should
Can	Could
May	Might

Examples of Tense Changes

Direct: He said, "I work in a bank."

Indirect: He said that he worked in a bank.

Direct: She said, "I am reading a book."

Indirect: She said that she was reading a book.

Direct: They said, "We have finished our homework."

Indirect: They said that they had finished their homework.

Hindi Example (हिंदी उदाहरण)

Direct: उसने कहा, "मैं पढ़ रहा हूँ।" (Present Continuous)

Indirect: उसने कहा कि वह पढ़ रहा था। (Past Continuous)

! Exception

If the reporting verb is in the present or future tense, the tense of the reported speech does not change.

Direct: He says, "I am busy."

Indirect: He says that he is busy.

Pronouns and Modals in Narration

Pronoun Changes

Pronouns change according to the perspective of the reporter:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
I	he/she
We	they
You	I/he/she/they
My	his/her
Our	their
Your	my/his/her/their

Examples of Pronoun Changes

Direct: He said to me, "You are late."

Indirect: He told me that I was late.

Direct: She said to him, "I will help you."

Indirect: She told him that she would help him.

Modal Verb Changes

Modal verbs also change in indirect speech:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Can	Could
May	Might
Will	Would
Shall	Should/Would
Must	Had to

Hindi Example (हिंदी उदाहरण)

Direct: उसने कहा, "मैं तुम्हारी मदद कर सकता हूँ।"

Indirect: उसने कहा कि वह मेरी मदद कर सकता था।

Note the change from "मैं" to "वह" and "कर सकता हूँ" to "कर सकता था".

Advanced Narration Rules

1. Changes in Time and Place Expressions

Words indicating time and place change in indirect speech:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Now	Then
Today	That day
Tomorrow	The next day
Yesterday	The previous day
Last week	The previous week
Here	There
This	That
These	Those

Direct: He said, "I will meet you here tomorrow."

Indirect: He said that he would meet me there the next day.

2. Interrogative Sentences (Questions)

When converting questions to indirect speech:

• Use 'asked' or 'enquired' instead of 'said'
• Remove the question mark
• Use 'if' or 'whether' for yes/no questions
• Maintain the word order of a statement (subject before verb)

Direct: She said, "Are you coming to the party?"

Indirect: She asked if I was coming to the party.

Direct: He said, "Where do you live?"

Indirect: He asked where I lived.

3. Imperative Sentences (Commands & Requests)

For commands and requests:

• Use 'ordered', 'commanded', 'requested', 'advised', etc.
• Use 'to' before the verb (infinitive form)
• For negative commands, use 'not to'

Direct: The teacher said, "Open your books."

Indirect: The teacher ordered the students to open their books.

Direct: She said to me, "Please help me."

Indirect: She requested me to help her.

Direct: He said, "Don't make noise."

Indirect: He told them not to make noise.

Hindi Example (हिंदी उदाहरण)

Direct (Question): उसने पूछा, "तुम कहाँ रहते हो?"

Indirect: उसने पूछा कि मैं कहाँ रहता हूँ।

Direct (Command): अध्यापक ने कहा, "किताबें खोलो।"

Indirect: अध्यापक ने आदेश दिया कि विद्यार्थी किताबें खोलें।

Practice Exercises

Test your understanding of narration with these exercises. Convert the following sentences from direct to indirect speech.

Exercise 1: Simple Statements

1. He said, "I am watching a movie."
2. She said, "I have completed my work."
3. They said, "We will visit Paris next month."

Hindi Sentences (हिंदी वाक्य)

1. उसने कहा, "मैं एक फिल्म देख रहा हूँ।"
2. उसने कहा, "मैंने अपना काम पूरा कर लिया है।"
3. उन्होंने कहा, "हम अगले महीने पेरिस जाएँगे।"

Exercise 2: Questions

1. She asked, "Do you like coffee?"
2. He said, "Where is the station?"
3. They inquired, "When will the meeting start?"

Hindi Sentences (हिंदी वाक्य)

1. उसने पूछा, "क्या तुम्हें कॉफी पसंद है?"
2. उसने पूछा, "स्टेशन कहाँ है?"
3. उन्होंने पूछा, "मीटिंग कब शुरू होगी?"

Exercise 3: Commands and Requests

1. The officer said, "Complete this report by tomorrow."
2. She said to me, "Please wait for a moment."
3. He said, "Don't touch that wire."

Hindi Sentences (हिंदी वाक्य)

1. अधिकारी ने कहा, "कल तक यह रिपोर्ट पूरी कर दो।"
2. उसने मुझसे कहा, "कृपया एक पल प्रतीक्षा करो।"
3. उसने कहा, "उस तार को मत छुओ।"

Answers

Show Answers for Exercise 1

1. He said that he was watching a movie.
2. She said that she had completed her work.
3. They said that they would visit Paris the following month.

Show Answers for Exercise 2

1. She asked if I liked coffee.
2. He asked where the station was.
3. They inquired when the meeting would start.

Show Answers for Exercise 3

1. The officer ordered to complete that report by the next day.
2. She requested me to wait for a moment.
3. He warned not to touch that wire.

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