Lesson 1 : Assertive Sentences

Look at the following conversation and follow the changes when some message is reported to others :

     Teacher : What did you eat?
     Sukumar : I ate bread and butter.
     Teacher : What did Sukumar say, Asif?
     Asif : Sukumar said that he had eaten bread and butter.
     Teacher : Asif, how can you convey the same message in a different way?
     Asif : Sukumar said, "I ate bread and butter."

Now discuss in pairs how the following two ways of reporting are different :
Sukumar said, "I ate bread and butter."
Sukumar said that he had eaten bread and butter.
When you finish talking, read the following text :

Now, read the following Direct and Indirect speech forms and notice what we need to consider in changing direct speech into indirect.

Direct Speech: He said, "I am ill."
Indirect speech: He said that he was ill. Now, work in pairs to identify the areas where changes have occurred in indirect speech. Then have a close look at the indirect speech to note the changes. The changes have been shown in italics.

Features :

• 'that' has been added as a linker
• first person 'I' in the Direct Speech has been changed to 'he', based on the subject of the reporting verb 'he'
• the verb 'am' has been changed to 'was', based on the verb 'said' and its tense.

Different parts of a direct speech have different names. Have a look at the following direct speech :

Although the changes occur differently in case of five different kinds of sentences (Assertive, Interrogative, Imperative, Optative, and Exclamatory) and tenses, some general rules apply to all of them. One thing should be kept in mind that there are some common things such as tenses, persons, and words indicating change in time and place.

Now, read the changes and discuss in pairs. 

Changing tenses

If the reporting verb is in the past tense, the tense of the verbs of the reported speech also become past tense, but if the reporting verb is in the present or future tenses, the tense of the verbs in the reported speech remain as it is.

The tense changes as follows:

Note: If the reporting verb is in the past tense, the modal verbs also change. For example: 'may' changes to 'might', 'will' changes to 'would', 'shall' changes to 'should' and so on.

Example : He said, "Bina may ask her". 

                 He said that Bina might ask her.

You will find the changes in modals later in this unit.

Now, look at the following examples :
Direct : Abonti said, "I have read the novel"
Indirect : Abonti said that she (Abonti) had read the novel.
Direct : My sister says, "It is good to get up early in the morning." Indirect: My sister says that it is good to get up early in the morning.
Direct : Bela said, "I will come back soon." Indirect: Bela said that she would go back soon.

Note: If the reported speech indicates habitual facts, historical events or talks about eternal (universal) truth, the tense of the verb in the reported speech does not change. Look at the following examples :

Direct : The Head Teacher said, "The sun rises in the east." 

Indirect : The Head Teacher said that the sun rises in the east. 

Direct : Atanu said to me, "I get up from bed at 6 in the morning every day." 

Indirect : Atanu said to me that he (Atanu) gets up from bed at 6 in the morning every day.

Changing Persons 

If you look at the indirect speech above, you will see that persons (nouns and pronouns) in the inverted commas have been changed in agreement with the subject and object of the reporting verbs.

Talk in pairs to find what rules have been followed in changing the persons. Now match your rules with the following :

1) The first person(s) of the reported speech is changed based on the person, number and gender of the subject of the reporting verb. 

2) The second person(s) of the reported speech is changed based on the person, number and gender of the object of the reporting verb. 

3) The third person(s) of the reported speech is not changed at all.

Have a look at the examples :

Indirect : He said to me that he respected me.

Direct : I said to him, "They have prepared their lessons." 

Indirect : I said to him that they had prepared their lessons.

Some words expressing time (now, today, etc.), place and things (here, this, etc.) change if the reporting verb is in the past tense. Look at the examples :

Direct : He said, "I am working now."
Indirect : He said that he was working then.

Direct : My friend said, "I am coming today."
Indirect : My friend said that he/she was going that day.

Direct : Nayon said, "I come here every day."
Indirect : Nayon said that he went there every day.

Now talk in pairs to find more words that express time and place like now, today, here, this, etc. When you have finished, compare your list with the following :

Note: If the time and the place of reporting remain the same, we do not need to change the words as shown above. Look at the following examples :

Direct : The English teacher said, "The Inspector of schools will come today."

Indirect : The English teacher said that the Inspector of Schools will come today.

(The reporter is reporting at the time when they hear the news and they are reporting from the same place. So 'will', 'come' and 'today' are not changed.)

Direct : My maternal uncle said, "I was born here in Dhaka."

Indirect : My maternal uncle said that he was born here in Dhaka (reporter is in Dhaka).

Exercise 1

Change the following direct sentences into indirect in pairs.

     1. Jenny said, "Two and two make four."
     2. Mother said to the son, "You will come back tomorrow."
     3. The farmer said, "I grew the vegetables in my farm."
     4. The teacher said to the boys, "I love you all."
     5. The man said, "The sun is hot."
     6. The shopper said, "I bought flour from this shop."
     7. The visitors said to me, "We like your art work."
     8. The player said, "I kicked the ball forcibly."
     9. The teacher said to the student, "You have forgotten the lesson."
     10. I said to my mother, "I go to bed at 11 every night."

Lesson 2 : Interrogative sentences

You read and practised how to change the Assertive direct sentences to indirect in the previous lessons. Now, have a look at the following direct and indirect speech forms.

Then work in pairs and make a list of rules how they have been changed.

Direct : He said to me, "What did you eat in the morning?" 

Indirect : He asked me what I had eaten in the morning.

Direct : He said to her, “When will you come?”

Indirect : He asked her when she would go.

Direct : My father said to me, “Are you going to school today?”

Indirect : My father asked me if (whether) I was going to school that day.

Now compare your rules with the following :
If the reported speech is an interrogative sentence,

     1) The reporting verb changes to ask/demand/enquire of/want to know, etc.
     2) If the question starts with Wh-words, the Wh-words act as connectors.
     3) If the question can be answered with 'yes' or 'no', 'if'/'whether' is used as a linker.
     4) When an interrogative direct speech is changed to indirect, it becomes an assertive sentence.
     5) Other rules mentioned earlier are applicable here, too.

Exercise 2

Change the following direct sentences to indirect individually and then compare your answers in pairs :

     1. The student said to me, "Did you call me?"
     2. I said to my mother, "Will you come to collect me from school?"
     3. The teacher said to Abonti, "How do you come to school?"
     4. He says to me, "Do you know me?" 5. The bus conductor said, “Have you paid the fare?”

Lesson 3 : Imperative Sentences

Read the direct and indirect speech forms and identify the rules which have been applied to change them to indirect.

Direct : The poor man said, “Please, give me a piece of bread.”

Indirect : The poor man requested to give him a piece of bread.

Direct : The father said to the son, "Do not eat junk food?"

Indirect : The father forbade the son to eat junk food.

Direct : The teacher said to the students, "Go to your classroom." 

Indirect : The teacher asked students to go to their classroom.

Direct : The boy said to the man, "Sir, give me your pen, please." 

Indirect : Addressing the man as Sir, the boy requested him (the man) to give him (the boy) his pen.

Now, compare the rules you prepared with those given below :

1. As per the sense of the reported speech, the reporting verb changes to tell/order/command/request/beg/forbid/ask, etc.

2. 'to' is used as a connector and if the reported speech is negative, 'not to' is used as a linker.

When there is 'let us' in direct speech, it indicates proposal or suggestion. In case of such sentences, reporting verb is changed to propose or suggest. 'Let' is replaced by 'should'.

Look at the following examples :

Direct : Atanu said, "Let us play cricket." 

Indirect : Atanu proposed/suggested that they should play cricket.

Direct : The chairperson said, "Let us drop the matter." 

Indirect : The chairperson proposed that they should drop the matter.

Direct : Ria said, “Please let me go now.” 

Indirect : Ria requested that she might/might be allowed to go then.

When 'let' indicates permission, 'let' changes to 'might' or 'might be allowed to'. The reporting verb may remain the same or can be changed to 'request/might/might be allowed to' based on the sense of the sentence.

Look at the examples :

Direct : He said, “Let me go.” 

Indirect : He said that he might/might be allowed to go.

Direct : My brother said, "Let me watch television." 

Indirect : My brother said/requested that he might/might be allowed to watch television.

Exercise

Change the following imperative sentences into indirect speech and then compare your answers in pairs :

1. The father said, "Do not tell a lie."
2. He said, "Let me help you."
3. Mother said to me, "Go to bed at once."
4. The farmer said, "Let us dig the soil."
5. The teacher said to the students, "Let us finish today."
6. The teacher said, “Do not laugh at the poor.”
7. The student said to the Headmaster, "Sir, grant me a full free studentship, please."
8. The Headmaster said to the students, "Always speak the truth.”
9. The police said to the agitating people, "Stop shouting!"
10. Asfaq said to the boys, “Speak in English, please.”

Lesson 4 : Optative sentences

Read the following sentences individually and then work in pairs to find the rules followed to change them to indirect speech forms :

Direct : She said to me, "May you prosper in life." 

Indirect : She wished that I might prosper in life.

Direct : Mother said to her daughter, "May God help you." 

Indirect : Mother prayed that God might help her daughter.

Direct : They said, "Long live our Prime Minister." 

Indirect : They wished that their Prime Minister should live long.

Direct : The English teacher said, "Good morning, my students." 

Indirect : The English teacher wished his/her students good morning.

Now, compare the rules you have identified with the following :

1. The reporting verb changes to 'wish'or 'pray'.
2. 'That' is used as a connector
3. The optative sentence becomes a statement when made indirect.
4. Although 'may' is not there in the reported speech, its past form 'might' is used in the indirect speech.
5. Sentences that indicate greetings, farewell, goodbye, etc., do not need to use 'that' as a connector. After 'wish'/'bid', the greetings are used to change the direct to indirect speech forms.

Exercise

Change the following direct sentences to indirect speech in pairs :

1. Father said to me, "May you get a good grade in the JSC examinations!"
2. The saint said to the students, "May God bless you all!"
3. Mother said to Kajol, "May you live healthy!"
4. Ponkoj said to Amin, "Goodbye my friend."
5. Atanu said to his mother, "Good night."

Lesson 5 : Exclamatory Sentences

Read the following direct and indirect speech forms and try to guess the rules followed to change the direct to indirect.

Discuss in pairs and make a list of the rules.

Direct : The players said, "Hurrah! Our team has won the match." 

Indirect : The players exclaimed (cried out/shouted) with joy that their team had won the match.

Direct : The boy said, "Alas! My father is no more alive." 

Indirect : The boy exclaimed with sorrow that his father was no more alive.

Direct : Faridul said to Fahim, "What a nice bird it is!" 

Indirect : Faridul exclaimed with joy to Fahim that it was a very nice bird.

Direct : He said to me, "What a funny boy you are!" Indirect: He cried out in joy that I was a very funny boy.

Now, compare your rules with the following :

1. Based on the sense of the reported speech, the reporting verb changes to exclaim, cry out in/with joy/sorrow/grief/wonder/surprise, shout in joy/sorrow/grief/wonder/surprise.

2. 'That' is used as connector

3. The indirect speech becomes an assertive sentence.

Exercise

Now, change the following sentences to indirect speech in pairs :

1. The boy said, "What a stupid boy I am!"
2. The man said, "What a sad story it is!"
3. The doctor said, "What a terrible wound it is!"
4. The boy said, "Hurrah! Our school team has won the debate competition."
5. My class teacher said to me, "How brilliant you are!