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Practice Direct Indirect Speech Questions and Answers

Direct & Indirect Speech Question & Answer

Direct & Indirect Speech forms an important part of the syllabus of the English Language section of various government and bank exams like- SSC, RRB, IBPS PO and many others. Therefore, it is imperative that the candidates understand the concept and rules of conversion of Direct & Indirect speech thoroughly.

What is Direct and Indirect Speech?

  • Direct speech – When the message of the speaker is reported in the exact words as spoken by him, it is called Direct Speech.

For example-

Maya said, ‘I am busy now’.

  • Indirect speech- When the message of the speaker is reported in our own words, it is known as Indirect Speech.

For example-

Maya said that she was busy then.

Direct and Indirect Speech Rules

Rules of Conversion as per the Reporting Verb

  • When the reporting or principal verb is in the Past Tense, all Present tenses of the Direct Speech are converted into the corresponding Past Tenses in Indirect Speech.

For example-

Direct: He said, “I am unwell.”

Indirect: He said (that) he was unwell.

  • If the reporting verb is in the Present or Future Tense, the tenses of the Direct Speech do not change.

For instance-

Direct: He says/will say, “I am unwell.”

Indirect: He says/will say he is unwell.

  • The tense in Indirect Speech will not change if the words within the quotation marks talk about a universal truth or habitual action.

For example-

Direct: They said, “We cannot live without water.”

Indirect: They said that we cannot live without water.

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion- Present Tense

Conversion Rules of Present TenseDirect SpeechIndirect Speech
Simple Present changes to Simple Past "I am happy", she said. She said that she was happy.
Present Continuous Changes to Past Continuous "I am reading a book", he explained. He explained that he was reading a book.
Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect She said, "He has finished his food“. She said that he had finished his food.

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

Conversion Rules of Present TenseDirect SpeechIndirect Speech
Conversion Rules of Past and Future Tense Direct Speech  Indirect Speech
Simple Past Changes to Past Perfect She said, “Irvin arrived on Sunday.” She said that Irvin had arrived on Sunday.
Past Continuous Changes to Past Perfect Continuous  "We were living in Goa", they told me. They told me that they had been living in Goa.
Future Changes to Present Conditional He said, "I will be in Delhi tomorrow." He said that he would be in Delhi the next day.
Future Continuous Changes to Conditional Continuous He said, “I’ll be disposing of the old computer next Tuesday.” He said that he would be disposing of the old computer the following Tuesday.

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Interrogative Sentences

  • If a sentence begins with a question like- what/where/when, then no conjunction is used as the "question-word" itself acts as a joining clause.

For example-

Direct: “Where do you live?” asked the woman.

Indirect: The woman enquired where I lived.

  • If a direct speech sentence begins with an auxiliary verb/helping verb, the joining clause will be if or whether.

For example- 

Direct: He said, ‘Will you come for the party’?

Indirect: He asked whether we would come for the party.

  • Reporting verbs such as ‘said/ said to’ changes to enquired, asked, or demanded.

For example- 

Direct: She said to me, ‘What are you wearing’? 

Indirect: She asked me what I was wearing.

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Changes in Modals

ModalsDirect SpeechIndirect Speech
Can becomes could Radha said, ‘She can dance’. Radha said that she could dance. 
May becomes might She said, ‘I may buy a dress’. She said that she might buy a dress.
Must becomes had to/would have to Steve said, ‘I must complete the assignment’. Steve said that he had to complete the assignment.

However, there are some modals which do not change like- could, would, ought to, might, should.

Direct: He said, ‘I should clean the house’

Indirect: He said that he should clean the house.

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Pronoun

PronounsDirect SpeechIndirect Speech
First Person- in direct speech, it changes as per the subject of the speech  She said, “I am in class Tenth.” She says that she was in class Tenth.
Second Person- changes as per the object of reporting speech. He says to them, “You have done your work.” Hetells them that they have done their work.
Third Person- here, the direct speech does not change. He says, “She dances well.” He says that she dances well.

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Punctuations

PunctuationsDirect Speech
In direct speech, the words actually spoken should be in (‘’) quotes and always begin with a capital letter. She said, “I am the best.”
Full stop, comma, exclamation or question mark, are placed inside the closing inverted commas. They asked, “Can we come with you?”
If direct speech comes after the information about who is speaking, a comma is used to introduce the speech, placed before the first inverted comma. She shouted, “Shut up!”

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion – Change of Time

Words that express nearness in time or place in Direct Speech are usually converted into words expressing distance in Indirect Speech.

For instance-

  • Now becomes then
  • Here becomes there
  • Ago becomes before
  • Thus becomes so
  • Today becomes that day 
  • Tomorrow becomes the next day
  • This becomes that 
  • Yesterday becomes the day before
  • These become those
  • Hither becomes thither
  • Come becomes go 
  • Hence becomes thence
  • Next week or month becomes following week/month

For example-

Direct: He said, ‘His girlfriend came yesterday.’

Indirect: He said that his girlfriend had come the day before.

If the reporting verb is in the present tense or future tense, the time expression does not change.

For example-

Direct: He says/will say, ‘My girlfriend came yesterday.’

Indirect:  He says/will say that his girlfriend had come the day before.

Rules of Converting Indirect Speech to Direct Speech

  • You must use the reporting verb such as (say, said to) in its correct tense.
  • Put a comma before the statement and the first letter of the statement must be in capital letter.
  • Based on the mood of the sentence, insert question mark, quotation marks, exclamation mark and full stop.
  • Wherever necessary, remove the conjunctions like (that, to, if or whether).
  • Change the reporting verb to present tense in the direct speech, where the reporting verb is in past tense in indirect speech.
  • Change the past perfect tense either into present perfect tense or past tense, as necessary.

For example-

Indirect: She asked whether she was coming to the prom night.

Direct: She said to her, “Are you coming to the prom night?”

Indirect: The girl said that she was happy with her result.

Direct: The girl said. “I am happy with my result.”

Sample Questions on Direct Speech & Indirect Speech

Given below are some sample questions on direct and indirect speech questions asked in the English language section of various government examinations. 

Q.1. Find out the correct indirect speech for the given sentence.

She said,’ I have baked a cake’

  1. She said that she baked a cake
  2. She said that she had baked a cake.
  3. She said that I baked a cake.
  4. She said that she had bake a cake.

Answer: (2) She said that she had baked a cake.

Q.2. Choose the correct sentence. 

Aviral said, ‘What a beautiful rainbow it is’.

  1. Aviral exclaimed wonderfully that the scenery was very beautiful.
  2. Aviral said with wonder that the scenery was very beautiful.
  3. Aviral exclaimed with wonder that the scenery is very beautiful.
  4. Aviral exclaimed with wonder that the scenery was very beautiful.

Answer: (4) Aviral exclaimed with wonder that the scenery was very beautiful.

Q.3. The correct indirect speech for ‘This world’, she said, ‘is full of sorrow. Wish that I were dead’. is?

  1. She observed that the world is full of sorrow. She wished to be dead.
  2. She said that the world was full of sorrow. She wished to be dead.
  3. She observed that the world was full of sorrow. She wished to be dead.
  4. She observed that the world was full of sorrow. She wished to die.

Answer: (1) She observed that the world is full of sorrow. She wished to be dead

Q.4. The policeman said, ‘Where are the weapons?’

  1. The policeman inquired where was the weapons.
  2. The policeman enquired where are the weapons.
  3. The policeman enquired where the weapons were.
  4. The policeman questioned where were the weapon.

Answer: (3) The policeman enquired where the weapons were.

Q.5. The man said, ‘Ah! I am ruined.’

  1. The man cried that he was in ruined.
  2. The man exclaimed in grief that he was ruin.
  3. The man said that Ah, he is ruined.
  4. The man exclaimed with sorrow that he was ruined.

Answer: (4) The man exclaimed with sorrow that he was ruined.

Conclusion 

The topic of Direct & Indirect Speech is a scoring topic. However, the candidates will have to understand the rules of conversion of Direct & Indirect speech properly to solve the questions accurately. Candidates can expect around 4 to 5 questions in the exam.

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