Direct and Indirect Speech are an important part of English grammar. It teaches us how to report what someone has said. This topic is asked in school exams, board exams, and competitive exams. If the rules are clear, narration becomes easy and scoring.
Direct and Indirect Speech are an important part of English grammar. This topic is taught from Class 5 onwards and is frequently asked in CBSE, ICSE, WBBSE, and WBCHSE examinations. Students often lose marks because they do not apply the rules correctly.
On this page, you will find clear rules, solved examples, worksheets, and practice questions to help you understand and master Direct & Indirect Speech easily.
What Is Direct and Indirect Speech?
Direct speech is a form of reporting that presents someone’s exact words without any alterations. It is commonly enclosed in quotation marks, allowing readers to see the speaker’s statements precisely as they were uttered. For example:
Direct Speech: Mary said, “I love reading books.”
Indirect speech, on the other hand, involves paraphrasing someone’s words and reporting them indirectly, without using quotation marks. It requires a few changes in structure, such as tense and pronoun shifts. Let’s convert the previous example of direct speech into indirect speech:
Indirect Speech: Mary said that she loved reading books.
Difference Between Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech are two ways to report someone’s words. The main differences are explained below:
| Feature | Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|---|
| Quotation Marks | Uses quotation marks to show the exact words. | No quotation marks; the sentence is reported indirectly. |
| Reporting Verb | Usually “said” or “asked” is used without changing tense. | The reporting verb may change and is followed by a conjunction like that (e.g., He said that…). |
| Tense Change | No change in tense; original tense is retained. | Often the tense shifts back (present → past) when reporting. |
| Pronoun Change | Pronouns remain as in the speaker’s original words. | Often, the tense shifts back (present → past) when reporting. |
Direct Speech: She said, “I am going to school.”
Indirect Speech: She said that she was going to school.
Direct Speech: Rohan asked, “Are you coming tomorrow?”
Indirect Speech: Rohan asked if I was coming the next day.
Key Point for Students
- Direct Speech = exact words
- Indirect Speech = reported words
- Knowing the difference is essential for exams and writing clearly.
Relation Between Narration and Direct & Indirect Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech are the key parts of narration. Narration means telling or reporting what someone said, and Direct & Indirect Speech are the two ways to do this.
- Direct Speech reports the exact words of the speaker, usually inside quotation marks.
- Indirect Speech (also called Reported Speech) conveys the same message without quoting the speaker word-for-word, often with changes in pronouns, tense, and time expressions.
In short, narration is the purpose, and Direct & Indirect Speech are the tools we use to narrate someone’s words correctly. Mastering these tools helps students write clearly and score well in exams.
- Narration = reporting what someone said.
- Direct Speech = quotes the exact words.
- Indirect Speech = reports the meaning, not exact words.
- Using narration correctly improves writing, speaking, and exam performance.
Why is Narration Used?
Narration is used to report what someone has said without repeating their exact words. It helps us share information clearly and accurately, especially in writing and speaking.
Using narration allows us to explain conversations, events, or instructions to others in a simple and organized way. It is also important in exams because many questions ask students to change sentences from direct to indirect speech correctly.
- To report speech without quoting word-for-word.
- To organize conversations in writing or storytelling.
- To avoid the repetition of exact words unnecessarily.
- To follow grammar rules in exams and formal writing.
Rules of Direct & Indirect Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech follow specific rules to change a sentence from the speaker’s exact words to a reported form. These rules include changes in tense, pronouns, reporting verbs, and time or place expressions to make the narration correct and clear.
Change of Tense
Direct: Arnab says, “The room is dark.”
Indirect: Arnab says that the room is dark.
Direct: Sarah will say, “I am going to the store.”
Indirect: Sarah will say that she is going to the store.
Direct: Rohan said, “She works hard.”
Indirect: Rohan said that she worked hard.
Change of Pronouns
Direct: She said, “You should respect your elders.
Indirect: She said that I should respect my elders.
Change of Time & Place
Direct: “I will come tomorrow,” she said.
Indirect: She said that she would come the next day.
Types of Sentences in Narration
In Direct and Indirect Speech, different types of sentences are reported in specific ways. These include assertive (statements), interrogative (questions), imperative (commands), and exclamatory (expressions of strong feeling) sentences, each following its own rules for narration.
Assertive Sentences
To convert Assertive sentences into indirect speech the following rules are applied.
(a) No comma and Inverted comma in Indirect Speech, only full stop at the end.
(b) Reporting Verbs changed from Direct Speech to Indirect Speech; ‘say – say’, ‘says – says’, ‘said – said’, ‘said to – told’, ‘say to – tell’, ‘says to – tells’.
(c) Connective ‘that’ added before Reported Speech in indirect Narration.
Direct: He said to me, “I am ill.”
Indirect: He told me that he was ill.
Direct: Mary said, “I am happy with my results.”
Indirect: Mary said that she was happy with her results.
Interrogative Sentences
For reporting wh-questions, maintain the question word and adjust the word order in indirect speech.
(a) ‘Tell’ and ‘say’ in Direct Narration are changed to ‘ask’, ‘enquire of’, ‘question’, ‘want to know’ etc. in Indirect Narration.
(b) In place of introductory ‘that’. ‘if’ or ‘whether’ should be used.
(c) In Indirect Narration a full stop (.) must be put in place of a question mark(?) at the end of the sentence.
(d) In Direct Narration the Reported Speech begins with W-word or how, in Indirect Narration the same Wh-word or how is retained.
Direct: Lisa asked, “Where are you going?”
Indirect: Lisa asked where I was going.
Direct: Mark asked, “What time does the movie start?”
Indirect: Mark asked what time the movie started.
Imperative Sentences
The indirect speech also involves reporting imperatives, which are commands, requests, or advice:
(a) Reporting verbs of Direct Speech changed into order or command, advise, or request according to sense in Indirect Speech.
(b) ‘To’ is placed before Reported speech in Indirect Narration; for the negative imperative sentence ‘not to’ is used.
(c) ‘not to’ can also be replaced by ‘forbid’, or ‘prohibit’.
(d) ‘Let’ implies ‘suggestion’ or ‘proposal’; Reporting verb will be ‘suggest’ or ‘propose’ in Indirect Speech. ‘that’ is used before Reported speech in Indirect Narration
(e) ‘Let’ without ‘suggestion’ or ‘proposal’; Reporting verb will be ‘tell’, or ‘wish’ according to sense in Indirect Speech. ‘that’ is used before Reported speech in Indirect Narration.
Direct: The teacher said, “Open your books.”
Indirect: The teacher told the students to open their books.
Direct: She said, “Please help me with this.”
Indirect: She asked for help with that.
Optative Sentences
The following rules are used to change an optative sentence from direct speech to indirect speech
(a) Reporting verbs changed to ‘wish’, ‘pray’, and ‘bless’ in Indirect Speech.
(b) Linker, ‘that’ is placed before Reported speech in Indirect Narration.
Direct: The monk said to me, “ May God bless you.”
Indirect: The monk wished that God might bless me.
Exclamatory Sentences
(a) The reporting verb is changed into exclaim (in joy), exclaim (in grief), cried out (in sorrow), pray, wish, etc.
(b) Examinations are turned into statements.
(c) Interjections (Alas, Oh, Hurrah) are omitted.
(d) ‘What’, and ‘How’ used in exclamation should be replaced by great, great, very, very much, and big.
Direct: The boys said, “Hurrah! we have won the match.”
Indirect: The boy exclaimed in joy that they had won the match.
Common Mistakes Students Make
Students often lose marks in narration because they do not follow the rules of Direct and Indirect Speech carefully.
Common mistakes include:
- Not changing the tense correctly while converting into indirect speech
- Using wrong pronouns and ignoring the speaker–listener relationship
- Forgetting to change words showing time and place (now, today, here, etc.)
- Using incorrect reporting verbs for questions, commands, or exclamations
- Keeping quotation marks in indirect speech
Direct & Indirect Speech Examples (Level-wise)
To make the rules of Direct and Indirect Speech easier to understand, examples are given at different levels. These examples are arranged from easy to advanced so that students of various classes can practice narration step by step.
Easy (Class 5–6)
Direct: He said, “I am going to the market.”
Indirect: He said that he was going to the market
Direct: Mother says, “I love my child very much.”
Indirect: The mother says that she loves her child very much.
Direct: The Prisoner said, “I shall break the jai.”l
Indirect: The Prisoner said that he would break the jail.
Direct Speech: Jayant and Harish said, ‘We love football.’
Indirect Speech: Jayant and Harish said that they loved football.
Direct Speech: Maya said to him, ‘You are handsome.’
Indirect Speech: Maya said to him that he was handsome.
Medium (Class 7–9)
Direct: He said, “The dog died last night.”
Indirect: He said that that dog had died the previous night.
Direct: “I know her home”, said Hena.
Indirect: Hena said that she knew her home.
Direct: He said that Hindi was easy to learn.
Indirect: “Hindi is easy to learn.” said he.
Direct: The preceptor said to the disciple, “Lead a peaceful and truthful life.
Indirect: The preceptor advised the disciple to lead a peaceful and truthful life.
Direct: Father said to me, “Take care of your health and mind your lessons.
Indirect: Father advised me to take care of my health and to mind my lessons.
Direct: The Convict said to the Bishop, “Give me food and drink.
Indirect: The convict told the Bishop to give him food and drink.
Advanced (Class 10–12 & Competitive)
Direct: The newspaper reported, “The company profits have increased.”
Indirect: The newspaper reported that the company profits had increased.
Direct: “Have you brought a pen for me?” the girl said to her father.
Indirect: The girl asked her father if he had brought a pen for her.
Direct: He said, “Friends, lend me your ears.”
Indirect: Addressing them as friends, he requested them to lend him their ears.
Direct: The hermit said, “May God bless you.”
Indirect: The hermit wished that God might bless him.
Direct: He said, “By Jove! What good news !”
Indirect: He swore by Jove that it was a piece of very good news.
Practice Section – Test Yourself
Fill in the blanks
a. “I have finished my homework,” she said.
Ans: She said that _ her homework.
b. “He is reading a book,” Mary observed.
Ans: Mary observed _________reading a book.
c. “We will visit the museum next week,” they promised.
Ans: They promised that __ visit the museum the following week.
d. “The train arrives at 9 AM,” he informed me.
Ans: He informed __ the train arrived at 9 AM.
e. “I can speak French fluently,” she claimed.
Ans: She claimed that __ French fluently.
Change the narration
a. She said, ‘You must be careful.”
b. Mamta said, ‘I have forgotten your name.’
c. Jayant and Harish said, ‘We love football.’
d. Maya said to him, ‘You are handsome.’
e. The Principal said, ‘Prasant, I want to meet your father.’
Direct & Indirect Speech Articles & Worksheets
Direct and Indirect Speech: Learn Rules & Practice Worksheets
Understand how to change sentences from direct to indirect speech using clear rules. Practice with examples and worksheets designed for school and exam preparation. Master Direct and Indirect Speech with easy rules and clear explanations. Improve accuracy through practice worksheets and solved examples.
Class-Wise Narration Change Practice for Exams
Practice narration change with class-wise questions from Class 5 to Class 10. Improve accuracy and confidence for school and board examinations.
Class-wise narration change exercises for easy understanding. Useful for revision and exam preparation from Class 5 onwards.
Exam Tips for Narration
Narration questions in exams are usually framed by asking students to change sentences from direct to indirect speech or vice versa. To score full marks, students must correctly identify the sentence type and apply the appropriate rules without missing any changes. Accuracy in tense, pronoun, and time or place words is essential for high scores. Regular practice helps students answer narration questions quickly and confidently.
Important tips:
- Read the reporting verb carefully to understand the sentence type
- Identify whether the sentence is assertive, interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory
- Apply tense changes correctly while converting into indirect speech
- Change pronouns according to the speaker and listener
- Practice common narration patterns to save time in exams
FAQ – Direct & Indirect Speech
Q1. What is Direct Speech?
Direct Speech reports the exact words spoken by a speaker and is written within quotation marks.
Q2. What is Indirect Speech?
Indirect Speech reports the meaning of what someone said without using quotation marks and usually requires changes in tense, pronouns, and time expressions.
Q3. Why do tense changes occur in indirect speech?
Tense changes occur because the reporting verb is often in the past, which requires shifting the tense to maintain grammatical correctness.
Q4. How can I improve in narration for exams?
Regular practice, clear understanding of rules, and careful identification of sentence types help students improve accuracy and score better marks.
Conclusion
Direct and Indirect Speech becomes easy when the rules are understood clearly and practised regularly. Students should revise narration rules step by step to avoid common exam mistakes. Solved examples and worksheets help in strengthening accuracy and confidence. Regular practice ensures better performance in school and board examinations.
To improve further, students should:
- Use revision notes before examinations
- Practise narration change exercises daily
- Revise tense, pronoun, and time-change rules regularly
- Solve the worksheets provided in the linked articles
- Attempt class-wise practice sets for better understanding