Definition of Narration …

When a person speaks to another, he uses Direct

Speech
But if either of them reports to a third person what
has been said, he will not repeat the exact words he
has heard, but will reproduce it in Indirect Speech.
These speeches are called Narration or the reported
speech.
Examples….
Direct Speech:
 Mr. Mathur said," In most large firms all drawings are
prepared by a special staff of draughtsmen.”
Indirect Speech:
Mr Mathur said that in most large firms all drawings are
prepared by a special staff of draughtsmen.
Rules
Omit the “…” and introduce the sentence by that.
Observe the sequence of tenses in a complex sentence:

If the verb in the principal clause is in the

present/future tense, the verb in the subordinate
clause may be in any tense depending on the meaning.

if the verb in the principal clause is in the past tense,

the verb in the subordinate clause must also be in the
past tense
If the verb in the principal clause is in the past tense,
the verb in the subordinate clause may be in the present
tense if it conveys a natural law or an eternal truth
Person of a pronoun is suitably changed:
D- The minister said to the people, "I work for your
welfare”.
In- The minister told the people that he worked for
their welfare.
The minister told the people that I worked for your
welfare.
D- Robin said, “Lend me your pen, John, for a minute.
Will you?”
In- Robin asked John to lend him his pen for a minute.

D-Mr Sharma said, “I prefer death to dishonor.”

In- Mr Sharma declared that he preferred death to
dishonor.
Basic Rules: Tense Changes:
When the introductory verb is in the present,
present perfect or future, no change in tense is
necessary.
He says,” The train will be late”.
He says that the train will be late.
When the introductory verb is in the past,
following changes take place:
Direct Speech Chan Indirect Speech
ges
to
1 Simple present Simple past

2 Present continuous Past continuous

3 Simple past Past perfect

4 Present perfect Past perfect

5 Past continuous Past perfect continuous

6 future conditional
Examples

1. He said, “I am French.”
He said that he was French.
2. He said, “She is working in the garden.”
He said that she was working in the garden.
3.He said, “Tom took it.”
He said that Tom had taken it.
4.He said, “She has eaten it all.”
He said that she had eaten it all.
5. He said,” They were running when she saw them.”
He said that they had been running when she saw
them.
6.He said, “Mr Pitt will do it.”
He said that Mr Pitt would do it.
He said, “I shall expect her.”
He said that he would expect her.

Change of person:
shall changes into would
I said, “I shall be there.”
I said that I should be there.
No change of pronoun so shall becomes should.

He said, “I shall be there.”

He said that he would be there.
Change of pronoun, so shall becomes would.
If the introductory verb is in the present tense, shall becomes
will when there is a change of pronoun:
He says, “ I shall be there.”
He says that he will be there.

When the verb in the direct speech is in the past tense of an

auxiliary, no change is necessary:
He said, “I might stay a little longer.”
He said that he might stay a little longer.
She said, “I could lift it.”
She said that she could lift it.
Pronouns and possessive adjectives normally change from I or II person to
IIIperson:
He said, “I can’t find my new cap.”
He said that he couldn’t find his new cap.
They said, “We are going back to our own country.”
They said that they were going back to their own country.
The change of pronouns affects the verb also:
He says, “I shall come.” He says that he will come.
He said, “I shall come.” He said that he would come.
No change needed if someone is reporting his own
words:
I said, “I like my new house.”
I said that I liked my new house.
Demonstrative Adjectives and
pronouns also change

He sais, “I want this book.”

He said that he wanted that book.

This That
These Those
Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases of time and the
adverb ‘here’ also change as follows:
Direct Change Indirect
s to
today That day
Yesterday The day before
Tomorrow The next day, the following day
Next week/year etc The following week/year etc.
Last week/year etc. The previous week/year etc.
here there

Exceptions:
 If the speech is made and reported on the same day these time changes are not
necessary
 If the place is unchanged, ‘here’ can also be used in the indirect speech.
On Monday he said, “My son is coming today.”
On Monday he said that his son was coming that day.
Ten minutes ago he said, “My son is coming today.”
Ten minutes ago he said that his son was coming
today.

He said, “I saw her yesterday.”

He said that he had seen her the day before.

simple past to past perfect

I said, “I will do it tomorrow.”
I said that I would do it the next day.
They sais, “We did it yesterday.”
They said that they had done it the day before.
Mr Pitt said, “I will be going away next week.”
Mr Pitt said that he would be going away the following
week.
She said, “He visited France last year.”
She said that he had visited France the year before/
previous year.
He said, “It is very peaceful here.”
He said that it was very peaceful.
‘There’ may be omitted as it is not necessary to the sense.
 MUST: Three Possible Meanings
 Necessity to do something at the moment of speaking
 Necessity to do something in the future
 A prohibition

1. Present becomes Past:

“I must leave now.”
He said that he had to leave then.

2. Is a substitute for “shall have to”:

“I must leave this place next week.”
He said that he would have to leave that place the following week.

3. Prohibition (must not) remains unchanged:

You must not smoke in the bus.
He told us that we must not smoke in the bus.
Questions in Indirect Speech

He said, “Where is she going?’

He asked where she was going.
Interrogative form changes into affirmative, therefore
the question mark ? is omitted.
The introductory verb say is changed to a verb of
inquiry:
ask, inquire, wonder, want to know etc.
Eg. – D- He said, “ Where is the station?’
In -He asked where the station was.
Retain all rules +
In questions introduced by a question-word
(who, how, where, what, when etc.)
put the subject before the verb
and omit the auxiliary verb (do, does etc.) if any.

 “Why did she come?” he asked.

He asked why she had come.
 He said, “How will you do it?”

He asked how she would do it.

If there is no question word, the word “If” or “whether” is
placed after the main verb in the indirect:

He said, “Is anyone here?”

He asked if anyone was there.

 “Will the taxi be here at 8 o’ clock?

He asked whether/if the taxi would be there at 8 o’ clock.
He asked, “ When did she arrive?”
He asked when she had arrived.

“Who did it?” they asked.

They asked who had done it.

They said, “Where are you going next week?”

They wanted to know where he was going the following week.

“Will he come if it rains?” they wondered.

They wondered if/whether he would come if it rained.

He said, “Did she go yesterday?”

He inquired whether she had gone the day before.
 Questions beginning shall I/we
1.Speculations
2.Requests for instructions

“Where shall we be in November next year?” he said.

He wondered where they would be in the November of
the coming year.

He said, “ Where shall I put it?”

He asked where he should put it.
Indirect Commands
He said, “Lie down, Tom.”
He told Tom to lie down.
Changes –
Introductory verb say changes to a verb of command
or request:
Tell, order, command, ask etc.
Introductory verb of the indirect command must be
followed by the person addressed and the indefinite :
He said, “Get your coat, Tom.”
He asked Tom to get his coat.
In direct commands the person addressed is often not
mentioned:
He said, “Go away.”
But in indirect commands the person addressed must
be included when it is necessary to add a noun or
pronoun:
He told me (him, her, the children, etc.) to
go away.
“Take this dog out.”
She ordered him to take the dog out.
Negative Commands
Negative imperative is reported by a negative
infinitive.
Expressed by placing not before the indefinite:
1. He said, “Don’t move boys.”
He told the boys not to move.

2.“Don’t speak until you are spoken to.”

He asked me not to speak until I am spoken to.
Two other ways to express indirect commands

He said, “Open your book.”

1. He told us to open our books.
2. He said that we were to open our books.
He says, “Meet me at the station.”
1. He tells that we are to meet him at the station.
2. He tells us to meet him at the station.

This construction is used with say (that) but not with tell.
Less formal.
 Requests

Interjections, exclamations and such words as please,

thanks, drop out in indirect speech, but the feeling
behind them is expressed by a suitable word:
“Have a cup of coffee, please.”
She requested him to have a cup of coffee.
 When reported speech begins with “Let us”, it
indicates proposal or suggestion.
Hence ‘should’ is used after the subject for “let”
Example….

Nayan said to me, “Let us do it.” 

Nayan proposed/suggested to me that we should
do it.
He said, “Let us do it.”
He proposed that they should do it.
Mina said, “Let me finish the talk.” 
Mina said that she might/might be allowed to
finish the talk.                   
Exclamatory tone…
An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that
expresses strong feelings by making an
exclamation.
 In exclamatory sentence reporting verb changes
into exclaim, cry out, shout according to the sense.
We have to add some new words or phrases like
with joy, in joy, with sorrow, in sorrow, in wonder
etc. to express the meaning of exclamation.
Examples….
Monu said, “Alas! I am undone.”
Monu exclaimed with sorrow that he was undone.
Lubna said, “Hurrah! We have won the game.”
Lubna exclaimed with joy that they had won the game.
She said to me, “What a funny person you are!”
She exclaimed with wonder that I was a very funny person.
He said, “Had I the wings of a bird!”
He wished that he had the wings of a bird.
Optative sentence
He said, “Good morning, my friend.”
He wished good morning to his friend.

The man said, “Farewell my friend.”

The man bade farewell to his friend.

Riya said, “Good bye, friend.”

Riya bade her friend good bye.
He said to me, “May you be happy.”
He wished that I might be happy.

Father said to his son, “May God bless you.”

Father prayed that God might bless his son.

The Children sang, “Long live the country.”

The children wished singing that the country might live
long.
Reporting Mixed Speech

Each section must be introduced by an appropriate

Verb:
1. “What time is it? My watch has stopped.” 
He wanted to know what time it was. He said that his
watch has stopped.

2. “I have headache. Can I have an aspirin?”

He said that he had headache and enquired if he
could have an aspirin.
Types of Sentences
Assertive
Interrogative
Imperative
Optative
Exclamatory
Simple- sentence has only one finite verb:
This coffee is too hot to drink.
Complex- When a sentence contains a simple sentence
together with one or more subordinate clauses:
This coffee is so hot that I can’t drink it.
Compound-Contains two or more simple sentences
with or without subordinate clauses:
This coffee is very hot and so I cant drink it.