SSC Exams - English Grammar - Direct and Indirect Speech Rules with Examples

There are two ways of relating what a person has said: Direct Speech and Indirect Speech. In Direct speech we repeat the original speaker's exact words as:

i) "I have finished my homework", Kartheek said.

ii) Abhi said to Arnav, "We'll have a holiday tomorrow."

Remarks thus repeated are placed between inverted commas and a comma or colon is placed immediately before the remark. Direct speech is found in conversations in books, in plays and in quotations.

When we turn the Direct Speech into Indirect or Reported Speech, some changes are usually necessary. Let's see how the above sentences are reported.

i) Kartheek said that he had finished his homework.

ii) Abhi told Arnav that they would have a holiday the next day or the following day.

Rules:

i) Punctuation: Inverted commas (" ... ") and the comma (,) after said, etc. are omitted. Question marks and exclamation marks (?/ !) have to be usually dropped.

ii) Pronouns: Usually pronouns and possessives in the first and second persons are changed into third person. 'I' has become 'he' and 'my' has become 'his' in the first case and 'we' has become 'they' in the second case.

iii) Tenses: If the reporting verb is in the present and future tenses, there is usually no change in the tense of the reported verb. However, when the reporting verb is in the past tense, the following changes are usually made.

Present Simple/ Continuous → Past Simple/ Continuous

Present Perfect/ Past Simple → Past Perfect 

In the examples above, 'has finished' has become 'had finished' in the first one, and 'will have' has become 'would have' in the second one.

iv) Time/ Place Expressions: Depending on the situation, time/ place expressions of nearness are usually changed into those of distance.

now → then 

ago → before 

this → that

these → those 

today → that day

tomorrow → the next or the following day

yesterday → the previous day or the day before

In both the sentences, a special reporting word 'that' is used.

SSC English Grammar - Using Tenses in Reported Speech

Tenses: If the reporting verb is in the present and future tenses, there is usually no change in the tense of the reported verb. However, when the reporting verb is in the past tense, the following changes are usually made.

When the reporting verb is in the present tense, the tense of the verb in the Reported Speech does not change.

Eg: They say, "God is great".

They say that God is great.

It goes without saying: "Water runs deep''.

It goes without saying that water runs deep.

10th Class Grammar Model Questions on Reported Speech for Telangana and AP students

Here is the exercise on Direct and Indirect Speech questions (Grammar) to be asked in 10th Class / SSC English. The model questions are useful for the SSC Public Exams of AP and Telangana students.

Exercise:

Turn the following sentences into indirect (Reported) Speech.

1. Sai Priya said to Padma Sree, ''I met Shruthi in Kolkata".

2. Sai Krupa said, ''I don't drink tea"

3. She said to me, ''How old are you?"

4. My father said, "I am terribly busy now''.

5. The manager said, "The train will be late".

6. The doctor said to the patient, "Take complete bed rest for a week".

7. Ganesh said, "What is the strange cry?"

8. The peon said to his officer, "Sir, please grant me leave".

9. The teacher said, "Be regular to classes".

10. His mother said, "Kartheek, how clever you are!"

11. He said, "oh God! I will never sin again".

12. I said to my sister, "Will you help me?"

13. Our teacher said, "Be careful of your behaviour".

14. The inspector said to the constables, "Chase the thief".

15. The student said to the Headmaster, "I shall never do it again, sir".

Answers:

1. Sai Priya told Padma Sree that she had met Shruthi in Kolkata.

2. Sai Krupa said that she didn't drink tea.

3. She asked me how old I was.

4. My father said that he was terribly busy then.

5. The manager said/ announced that the train would be late.

6. The doctor advised the patient to take complete bed rest for a week.

7. Ganesh wanted to know what the strange cry was.

8. The peon requested his/ her officer to grant him/ her leave.

9. The teacher asked/ advised us to be regular to classes.

10. His mother exclaimed that Kartheek was very clever.

11. He prayed that he would never sin again.

12. I asked my sister if/ whether she would help me.

13. Our teacher warned us to be careful of our behaviour.

14. The Inspector ordered the constables to chase the thief.

15. The student assured the Headmaster that he would never do that again.