Compete in GRE & TOEFL Olympiad — Scholarships Worth ₹5 Crores!
change of speech verbal ability banner

Change of Speech Examples and Rules with Tips & Tricks

Understanding change of speech rules and applying them is important to achieve good marks in placement exams. Change of speech examples are crucial to comprehend the basic principles of direct and indirect speech. Individuals can improve their performance in the verbal ability section of placement exams by following change of speech tips and tricks.

Understanding Change of Speech Rules with Examples

Change of speech is an important topic with some key rules to keep in mind. Change of Speech involves converting a sentence or a statement from direct quotations into indirect or reported speech, and vice versa, as instructed.

1. Direct speech

Direct speechpresents a statement or dialogue exactly as it was spoken or written, using quotation marks. It is used to quite the words spoken by someone as it is.

For Example:

John said, "I will attend the meeting tomorrow."

2. Indirect speech

Indirect speech,also called reported speech, reports or paraphrases what someone said without using quotation marks. In reported speech, the speaker is retelling the statement of the original speaker in their own words, while keeping retaining the meaning and essence of the sentence.

For Example:

John said that he would attend the meeting the next day.

There are some basic rules of direct speech into reported speech conversion. A few of them are:

  • Replace the quotation marks and the comma while writing reported speech and add 'that' just before starting the reported piece of speech.
  • Change the tense of the verb from present to past, unless the speech is about a habitual action or a universal truth.
  • Change the pronouns and possessive adjectives according to the context.
  • Use a conjunction like that, if, whether, etc. to introduce the indirect speech.
  • Change the words that indicate time and place according to the situation.

These rules are pretty comprehensive and have a few exceptions as well.

Here are the main conversion rules to convert direct speech into indirect speech:

1. Rules to Convert Tenses into indirect speech from direct speech

When converting from direct speech to indirect speech, the present tense is usually converted to past tense when the reporting verb is in the past tense (said, requested, suggested, commanded, etc.)

Although, the reported speech will feature present tense only when the reporting verb is in the present tense (says, suggests, requests, commands, etc.)

The tense won't undergo any change when the statement is in the future tense or the direct speech features a universal truth or a habit.

Following are the rules to change tenses from direct to indirect speech:

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

Present Simple

Past Simple

Present Continuous

Past Continuous

Present Perfect

Past Perfect

Present Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous

Past Simple

Past Perfect

Past Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect

No change

Past Perfect Continuous

No change

Future Simple

Conditional

Future Continuous

Conditional Continuous

Future Perfect

Conditional Perfect

Future Perfect Continuous

Conditional Perfect Continuous

2. Rules to convert modal or conditionals into indirect speech from direct speech

Most of the models are converted into conditionals in reported speech. The conditionals such as could, would, should, might, etc. remain the same.

Refer to this table for the rules of changing modals from direct to indirect speech:

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

Can

Could

Could

No Change

May

Might

Might

No Change

Will

Would

Would

No Change

Shall

Should

Should

No Change

Must

Had to

Ought to

No Change

Need not

Did not need to

Have to

Had to

Used to

No Change

Would rather

No Change

Would rather not

No Change

3. Rules to Convert words indicating Time and Place into indirect speech from direct speech

When changing the sentence from direct to reported speech, the words associated with time and place are changes according to the following rules:

Direct Speech Indirect Speech

Here

There

This

That

These

Those

Today

That day

Tonight

That night

Yesterday

The previous day

The day before

The previous day

Tomorrow

The following day

The next day

The following day

Next week

The following week

Last week

The previous week

A week ago

A week before

Next month

The following month

Last month

The previous month

A month ago

A month before

Next year

The following year

Last year

The previous year

A year ago

A year before

4. Rules to Convert Pronouns into indirect speech from direct speech

  1. If the pronoun in the direct speech (quoted statement) is in 1st person, while the subject of the sentence is in 3rd person, then the pronoun in quoted sentence will change as per the subject pronoun.

For Example:

Direct speech: She said, " I am working today."

Indirect Speech : She said that she was working that day.

  1. If the pronouns in the quoted statement and the subject of the sentence in direct speech are in 1st person or 3rd person, there will be no change.

For Example:

Direct Speech: We said, "We will eat here only."

Indirect Speech : We said that we would eat there only.

For Example:

Direct Speech: He said," He is very tired."

Indirect Speech: He said that he was very tired.

  1. If the pronouns in the quoted sentence is in second person, it will change according to the pronoun of the object or the original listener of the direct speech.

For Example:

Direct Speech: I told her ," You performed well."

Indirect Speech: I told her that she performed well.

You can change the pronouns from direct to indirect speech through the rules mentioned in the following table:

Person First Person Singular First Person Plural Second Person Singular Second Person Plural Third Person Singular Third Person Plural

Direct Speech Subject

I

We

You

You

He/She/ It

They

Direct Speech Object

Me

Us

You

You

Him/Her/It

Them

Direct Speech Possessive Adjective

My

Our

Your

Your

His/Her/Its

Their

Direct Speech Possessive Pronoun

Mine

Ours

Yours

Yours

His/Hers/Its

Theirs

Direct Speech Reflexive Pronoun

Myself

Ourselves

Yourself

Yourselves

Himself/Herself/ Itself

Themselves

Indirect Speech Subject

He/She/It

They

He/She/It

They

He/She/ It

They

Indirect Speech Object

Him/Her/It

Them

Him/Her/It

Them

Him/Her/It

Them

Indirect Speech Possessive Adjective

His/Hers/Its

Their

His/Hers/ Its

Their

His/Hers/Its

Their

Indirect Speech Possessive Pronoun

His/Hers/Its

Theirs

His/Hers/ Its

Theirs

His/Hers/Its

Theirs

Indirect Speech Reflexive Pronoun

Himself/Herself/Itself

Themselves

Himself/ Herself/ Itself

Themselves

Himself/Herself/ Itself

Themselves

5. Rules to Convert Imperatives into indirect speech from direct speech

Imperative sentences are those which are either experessiong a request, a command, instruction or invitation.

Here are the rules for converting imperative sentences into indirect speech:

  • If the sentence uses please or expresses a request, use requested as the reporting verb.
  • If the sentence gives a suggestion or advice, use suggested or advised as the reporting verb.
  • If the sentence is giving an order, command, instruction, or directions, use commanded, instructed, or directed respectively, as the reporting verb.
  • If the sentence intends to give a warning or forbidding, use warned or forbade as the reporting verb.
  • The emotion of the sentence in direct speech can be used as the reporting verb in the reported speech.

Let's understand these through examples:

Direct Speech (Imperative) Indirect Speech

Please open the window.

He/She requested to open the window.

Don't touch that.

He/She advised not to touch that.

Come here.

He/She asked to come there.

Be quiet.

He/She instructed to be quiet.

Help me, please.

He/She requested for help.

Read the book.

He/She instructed to read the book.

Don't be late.

He/She warned not to be late.

Give me your pen.

He/She requested to give the pen.

Stop talking.

He/She ordered to stop talking.

Do your homework.

He/She reminded to do the homework.

6. Rules to Convert Interrogatives into indirect speech from direct speech

Follow these rules to convert interrogative sentences from direct speech to indirect speech:

  1. To convert interrogative sentences in direct speech which starts with a helping or auxiliary verb (has, have, is, was, etc.) into reported speech, we use the conjunctions whether or if as the joining clause.

For Example:

Direct Speech: Ram said,"Has the letter arrived?"

Indirect Speech : Ram asked if the letter had arrived.

  1. When the question starts with wh- words, we start the reported sentence with it after adding words like questioned, enquired, demanded or asked as the reported verb.

For Example:

Direct Speech: She said," Where is my pencil?"

Indirect Speech: She asked where her pencil was.

  1. In case of the question in direct speech starting with do/does, then it is removed from the sentence if the sentence is in positive tone.

For Example:

Direct Speech: Ravi said," Do you like ice-cream?"

Indirect Speech : Ravi asked if I liked ice-cream.

  1. In case of a negative question starting with do/does, it is converted into did in reported speech.

For Example:

Direct Speech: Ram said,"Don't you want chocolate?"

Indirect Speech : Ram asked if I did not want chocolate.

7. Rules to Convert Exclamatory Statements into indirect speech from direct speech

Here are the rules to convert exclamatory sentences from direct to indirect speech:

  • The exclamatory sentence is changed into an affirmative sentence, 'that' is used as the joining clause and the exclamation mark is replaced with a full stop.
  • If the sentence uses interjections like Hurrah!, Oh!, Alas! Etc. are removed. Instead, the mood/emotion they convey (happines, joy, sorrow, surprise, etc.) are used along with 'exclaimed' in the reported speech to convey the meaning.

For Example:

Direct Speech: She said,"Yay! We won the match."

Indirect Speech: She exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.

  • Even without the interjections, we use exclaimed with [the mood/emotion of the sentence] to convey the exclamation.
  • If the exclamation starts with wh- words or how, it's replaced in the reported speech by adding 'very' before the adjective.

For Example:

Direct Speech: Arun said, "What a delightful movie!"

Indirect Speech: Arun exclaimed that the movie was very delightful.

Tips and Tricks to Solve Change of Speech Questions

Change of speech questions can be easily solved by learning a few tips and tricks for change of speech. These tips and tricks are very useful in finding the correct answer quickly and effectively, saving a lot of time.

Follow these tips and tricks while solving change of speech questions:

1. Understand Tense Changes

Pay attention to verb tense changes while converting from direct to indirect speech.

2. Adjust Pronouns

Modify pronouns to match the subject and object of the reported speech.

3. Change Time and Place References

Adjust time and place words to reflect the context of the reported speech.

4. Modify Reporting Verbs

Use appropriate reporting verbs (e.g., said, asked, told) to accurately convey the speaker's words.

5. Handle Imperative Sentences

Transform commands or requests into indirect speech while maintaining the intended meaning.

6. Practice Regularly

Solve plenty of practice exercises to enhance your understanding and proficiency in change of speech concepts.

ad vertical
ad

FAQsFAQs

How knowing rules will be effective in answering change of speech questions?

Knowing rules will be effective in answering change of speech questions in the following ways:

  • Promotes consistency and clarity while addressing questions.
  • Ensures accuracy and efficiency.
  • Helps eliminate incorrect options quickly.
  • Boosts confidence and contextual understanding.
  • Enables self-correction and improves language proficiency.
  • Facilitates learning other language skills.

How many rules are there in change of speech?

There are many important change of speech rules that help you solve verbal ability questions quickly in placement exams, interviews, etc.

Most of the rules used in the verbal ability section revolve around contextual understanding, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and general grammatical rules like sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, and the placement of various parts of speech such as pronouns, verbs, tenses, etc.

How to remember change of speech rules for a longer time?

To remember the rules for change of speech for a longer time, you must consistently practice, understand, and actively engage with the topic.

Here are some steps to remember change of speech rules for a longer time:

  • Understand the logic behind each rule.
  • Break them into smaller chunks.
  • Practice regularly and apply the rules in context.
  • Create visual associations like flowcharts or tables
  • Make mnemonic devices.
  • Review and revise the rules periodically.
  • Use study aids like flashcards or summaries.
  • Teach or explain the rules to someone else.
  • Relate the rules to real-life examples.

How do understanding examples assist in solving change of speech questions more effectively?

Understanding examples is a powerful tool for effectively solving change of speech questions. Examples of change of speech often illustrate how to apply the change in tense, verbs, pronouns, punctuation along with sentence structure when converting direct speech into reported speech.

By studying the examples in the change of speech topic, learners can work on strengthening their foundation in grammar, punctuation, verb-tense agreement, and the concept of sentence structure. This helps them find the correct version of direct/indirect speech sentence in exams easily.

What are some of the helpful tips for learning change of speech?

Here are some tips to improve and learn change of speech:

  • Study direct and indirect speech rules.
  • Practice converting sentences regularly.
  • Analyze examples for better comprehension.
  • Understand pronoun changes in reported speech.
  • Focus on verb tense conversions.
  • Pay attention to reporting verbs.
  • Practice changing time and place references.
  • Learn rules for imperative sentences.
  • Review common mistakes and their corrections.
  • Solve practice exercises to reinforce learning.
ad vertical