NARRATION - IMPERATIVE SENTENCES CHANGE FROM DIRECT TO INDIRECT FORMS

Change the Narration -Select the correct option.

The boy said , " Let me come in, sir."

1. The boy told that he be allowed to come in sir.

2. The boy respectfully requested that he might be allowed 

    to come in.

3. The boy requested sir to let him come in.

Change of Imperative sentences from Direct speech into Indirect speech                                                                              

IMPERATIVE  SENTENCES

In Imperative sentences, reported speech contains a  command, order, request, advice or proposal etc.  

While changing Narration --

-- Verb in the reporting speech is changed according to  the mood of the reported  sentence.

-- Imperative mood is changed into infinitive mood.

-- Comma and inverted commas are replaced by the word 'to'.

-- In negative sentences the word ‘Do not’ is removed and in its              place ‘not to’ is used.

-- The words ‘Sir or Madam’ in the reported speech are removed and      a word ‘respectfully’ is added to verb in the reporting speech.

-- The words ‘said to’ in reporting speech are changed into the words     given here under according to the sense contained in the reported       speech.

                                                              

TYPE I

ORDER

While changing Narration --

 In such sentences, the reported speech contains an order and mostly the reported  speech starts with first form of verb.

The words ‘said to’ in the reporting speech are replaced by the word ‘ordered’. 

Coma and inverted commas are replaced by word  'to’.  

For a negative sentence 'Do not' in the reported speech is removed and in place of inverted commas 'not to ' is used.

For Example:

The teacher said to the boys, “Leave the room at once.”

'Leave', being the first form of verb, shows the 'order' mood  of the sentence. 

Words 'said to' in reporting speech will change into 'ordered' .

Inverted commas will be replaced by 'to'.

The teacher ordered the boys to leave the room at once.

NEGATIVE SENTENCE :

The teacher said to the boys, “Do not make a noise.”

The teacher ordered the boys not to make a noise.

TYPE II

REQUEST

While changing Narration --

-- In such cases mostly the reported speech contains the word ‘Please/Kindly’.

-- As the reported speech contains a request, the words ‘said to’ in          the reporting speech are reolaced by 'requested'. 

-- Coma and inverted commas are replaced by word ‘to’.  

-- The word ‘Please/Kindly’ is removed without any word in its              place.

NEGATIVE SENTENCE :

In negative sentences Reported speech contains 'Please do not'.

In these sentences 'Do not' in the reported speech is removed and in place of inverted commas 'not to ' is used.

For Example:

The boy said to his friend, “Please lend me your book.”

The boy requested his friend to lend him his book.

The lady said to the boys," Please do not make a noise." 

The lady requested the boys not to make a noise. 

TYPE III

ADVICE

While changing Narration --

--If the Reported Speech contains an advice, the words ‘said to’ in the Reporting Speech are changed into 'advised'. 

--Coma and inverted commas are replaced by word ‘to’.

NEGATIVE SENTENCE :

For a negative sentence 'Do not' in the reported speech is removed and in place of inverted commas 'not to ' is used.

For Example:

His father said to John, “Work hard lest you should fail.”

His father advised John to work hard lest he should fail.

The teacher said to him," Do not waste your time."

The teacher advised him not to waste his time.




TYPE IV

PROPOSED/SUGGESTED

While changing Narration --

-- If the reported speech starts with the words ‘Let us’ the words            ‘said to’ in the reporting speech are changed into ‘proposed to’ or      ‘suggested to’.

-- Coma and inverted commas are replaced by the word ‘that’.

-- The words ‘Let us’ are replaced with the words ‘we should or they      should’ according to subject and object in the reporting speech.

-- If either of subject or object in reporting speech is first person, the      words ‘we should’ are used and if these are in third person, the            words ‘they should’ are used.

NEGATIVE SENTENCE :

For a negative sentence 'not'  is used in the sentence in indirect form.

For example:

She said to me, “Let us go out for a picnic.”

She proposed to me that we should go out for a picnic.

He said to his wife, “Let us go for shopping.”

He suggested to his wife that they should go for shopping.

He said to them," Let us not quarrel with each other."

He suggested to them that they should not quarrel with each other.



'DO NOT' SENTENCES'

While changing Narration --

-- If the reported speech starts with the words ‘Do not’ the words            ‘said to’ in the reporting speech are replaced by ‘forbade’ . 

-- Coma and inverted commas are replaced by the word ‘to’. 

--The words ‘Do not’ are removed.

For Example:

He said to me, “Do not make haste.”

He forbade me to make haste.

The word ‘forbade’ itself contains the meaning of 'not' so the words ‘not or do not’ are not used thereafter in the sentence.


Sometimes both the words 'Please and Do not' are used in a single sentence e.g.

The old man said to the boys, “Please do not disturb me.”

In such sentences ‘said to’ is changed into ‘requested’ and inverted commas into 'to' but it is preceded by 'not'.

The old man requested the boys not to disturb him.

The shopkeeper said to the customer, “Please do not eat raw and overripe fruit.”

The shopkeeper requested the customer not to eat raw and overripe fruit.

The host said to the guests, "Please do not stand on ceremony."

The host requested the guests not to stand on ceremony.

TYPE V

IMPERATIVE SENTENCES -- starting with the word "Let"

While changing Narration --

-- If the reported speech starts with the word 'Let' the words 'said to'

in the reporting speech are changed into "told or asked" . 

-- Coma and inverted commas are replaced by the word 'to'.

For Example:

He said to the peon, “Let the boys come in.”

He told the peon to let the boys come in.

The host said to the boy, “Let the guests start their dinner.”

The host told the boy to let the guests start their dinner.

The shopkeeper said to the customer, “Let me finish my work first.”

The shopkeeper told the customer to let him finish his work first.

The nurse said to the visitors ,“Let the patient take rest for some time now.”

The nurse told the visitors to let the patient take rest for some time then.

ALTERNATE METHOD

These sentences are attempted in another way also as follows:

The words “said to” are replaced by “told” and ,“ ” by that and words “ might be allowed to" after the subject are used in Indirect form of speech.

 For example the sentence written above will be:

The nurse told his relatives that the patient might be allowed to take rest for some time then.

The Manager said to him” Let the visitor come in.”

The Manager told him that the visitor might be allowed to come in.

EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE

(Sentences on the above pattern) 

ONE

Change the following passage into indirect form of speech.

The teacher said to the students in the class," Let us start studying a new lesson today which is very important from the point of view of the examination." 

One of the students said to him," Please explain the lesson in brief to us before you start teaching." 

The teacher said to them," Let me explain the importance of this lesson to you first. Please listen to me carefully. Do not interrupt me while I am speaking."

After sometime he said to the students,"Open your books at page forty." 

He said to one of the students, "Stand up and read out the lesson to all the students in the class." He said to him, "Read the lesson carefully. Do not make a haste." 

He said to the other students in the class, "Listen to him carefully. Do not disturb him when he is reading. Ask me questions if there is any after he completes reading the lesson. Let him complete his reading first." 

ANSWER

ONE

Change the following passage into indirect form of speech.

The teacher proposed to the students in the class that they should start studying a new lesson that day which was very important from the point of view of the examination. 

One of the students requested him to explain the lesson in brief to them before he started teaching. 

The teacher told them to let him explain the importance of that lesson to them first. He requested them to listen to him carefully and forbade them to interrupt him while he was speaking.

 After sometime he ordered the students to open their books at page forty. 

He ordered one of the students to stand up and read out the lesson to all the students in the class. He advised him to read the lesson carefully and not to make a haste. 

He advised the other students in the class to listen to him carefully and forbade them to disturb him when he was reading. He ordered them to ask him questions if there was any after he completed reading the lesson. He told them to let him complete his reading first.

TWO

Change the following passage into indirect form of speech.

A crow said to a hen," Please sing a song for me as you sing very sweet songs. Let us sit together in a garden and enjoy ourselves." 

The hen said to the crow, " Do not disturb me as I am busy in doing my work at this time. Go and have fun somewhere else." 

He said to her," Do not make lame excuses. Get ready and accompany me to the garden." 

She said to him," Please do not waste my time. Go and take rest as it is very hot outside." 

He said to her, "Let us go to the bank of the river and sit on a tree there." 

She said to him,"Go and enjoy yourself as I shall not go anywhere at this time." 

He said to her, "Let me help you finish your work." 

She said to him, "Do not make a noise here as my children will get scared." "Do not go on harping on your point. Go and do some work." said she to him."It is not good to sit idle without doing any work." she said further.

The crow got her point and said to her, "Please come to my place when you finish your work and I shall be waiting for you." Saying so he flew away. 

ANSWER


TWO

Change the following passage into indirect form of speech.

A crow requested a hen to sing a song for him as she sang very sweet songs.

He proposed to her that they should sit together in a garden and enjoy themselves. 

The hen forbade the crow to disturb her as she was busy in doing her work at that time. She ordered him to go and have fun somewhere else. 

He forbade her to make lame excuses.He ordered her to get ready and accompany him to the garden. 

She requested him not to waste her time. She advised him to go and take rest as it was very hot outside. 

He proposed to her that they should go to the bank of the river and sit on a tree there. 

She ordered him to go and enjoy himself as she would not go anywhere at that time. 

He told her to let him help her finish her work. 

She advised him not to make a noise there as her children would get scared.

She advised him further not to go on harping on his point. 

She ordered him to go and do some work. She further advised him that it was not good to sit idle without doing any work.

The crow got her point and requested her to come to his place when she finished her work and told her that he would be waiting for her. Saying so he flew away.





(Note The purpose of writing such sentences is to bring home the point of understanding the basic rules of making changes though this may not make any sense of the passage)

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NARRATION- COMBINED INTERROGATIVE AND OTHER SENTENCES - SOLVED EXAMPLES

 (Continued from Previous Chapter)

Generally, there is a single sentence for change of narration but many times more than one sentences are there  in a conversation. These sentences may be of same or different types.  So every sentence is required to be changed in the manner applicable to its type. For example --

There may be two or more simple sentences. i.e.

The son said to his mother," I am going to see my friend at his house. He did not attend the school today as he is sick.  I shall return late in the evening."

All the three sentences written above are simple sentences. These all will be changed in the same manner. These sentences after change will be -

The son told his mother that he was going to see his friend at his house.  He told her that he had not attended the school that day as he was sick. He further told her that he would return late in the evening.

Similarly more than one interrogative sentences can be put together. 

For example --

The shopkeeper said to his servant," Have you not started your work yet? Are you not  slow in doing work?  Will you take more time to start it?"

These sentences are of interrogative type starting with a helping verb. 

These all will be changed in the same manner. i.e.

The shopkeeper asked the servant if he had not started his work yet and if he was not slow in doing work. He further asked him if he would take more time to start that.

Similarly interrogative sentences of 'wh' type are joined together. 

The old man said to the boy,"What are you doing here? Why are you shouting so loud? Why are you disturbing me like this?" 

These sentences after change will be--

The old man asked the boy what he was doing there and why he was shouting so loud. He further asked him why he was disturbing him like that. 

The sentences of three different types referred to above also can be joined together.

For changing these sentences their respective methods are used.

Some examples of such sentences are given here under for practice.

1. My friend said to me, “Are you coming to us today in the evening? Why don’t you join us over dinner  tonight?”

These two sentences in the reported speech are of interrogative nature. So ‘said to’ in the reporting speech will change according to interrogative sentence. It will change into ‘asked’. 

Further both of these sentences will be changed separately as required under rules for them.

My friend asked me if I was coming to them that day in the evening  and enquired further why I did not join them over dinner that night.

2. The inn keeper said to the traveler, “Why have you come so late? Do you not know that I do not allow late entry to anybody   at night?

These both sentences are of interrogative nature but first starts with ‘Why’ and the second with ‘Do’. 

Both these  sentences will be changed differently in their own ways. 

‘said to’ will change into ‘asked’.

 In case of first sentence, no word is required to replace inverted commas but for the second these will be replaced by ‘if’. 

These sentences will be as under:

The innkeeper asked the traveler why he had come  so late and if he did not know that he did not allow late entry to any body at night.

3. The mother said to her son, “What is the matter? “Why are you crying? Are you feeling unwell?”

These sentences are of interrogative nature. So  ‘said to’ will change into ‘asked’ and no word is required while removing inverted commas in case of first two sentences but for the third sentence 'if ' will be used.

 The mother asked her son what the matter was  and why he was crying and if he was feeling unwell.

4. The old man said to the children, “Why are you making a noise here? Do you not know that I am taking rest?”

The old man asked the children why they were making a noise there and asked  if they did not know that he was taking rest.

5. The owner of the house said to the beggar, “Why are you knocking at my door? Do you need any help?”

The owner of the house asked the beggar why he was knocking at his door.He further asked him if he needed any help.

6. The villager said to the minister, “The prices of all the essential commodities are getting higher and higher. Can you explain the reason for this?”

Out of these two sentences, one is a simple assertive sentence and the second is an interrogative sentence starting with word ‘Can’. 

For the first, ‘said to’ will change into ‘told’ or ‘informed’ and for the second sentence it will change into ‘asked’. 

Inverted commas for the first will change into ‘that’ and for second ‘if’.

The villager told the minister that the prices of all the essential  commodities were  getting higher and higher and asked  if he could explain the reason for that.

7. His daughter said to her, “You have travelled a long distance during the day. Will you not take rest for a while?”

These two sentences are of assertive and interrogative nature respectively.

 ‘said to’ will change for the first into told and for the second into  asked.

 Inverted commas for the first will change into ‘that’ and for the second into ‘if’ .

His daughter told her that she had travelled a long distance during the day and asked if she would not take rest for a while.   

8. His mother said to him, “I have been waiting for you since morning. Why are you so late today?”

For the first sentence ‘said to’ will change into ‘told’ and for the second into ‘asked’. 

Inverted commas for the first sentence will change into ‘that’ and for the second no word is required in place of commas.

His mother told him that she had been waiting for him since morning and asked why he was so late that day.

9. The merchant said to the customer, “Do you need goods of a good quality? I shall  supply you with very good quality goods.”

The merchant asked the customer if he needed goods of a good quality and told that he would supply him with very good quality goods.

10. His friend said to him, “You are looking unwell today. Why don’t you take any medicine?” 

His friend told him that he was looking unwell that day and asked why he did not take any medicine.

11.The official said to the boss," Can I go home early today ? Shall I have to submit an application for this purpose?'

The official asked the boss if he could go home early that day and if he would have to submit an application for this purpose.


12.The crane said to the fox, " Where do you live ? Will you like to have your dinner with me tonight?"

The crane asked the fox where she lived and if she would like to have her dinner with him that night.


13.The priest said to the bridegroom, " Where do you come from ? Will you marry this girl? "

The priest asked the bridegroom where he came from and if he would marry that girl.

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NARRATION --- Change of Interrogative sentences from Direct to indirect form of speech with examples--Part II

NARRATION          

  (Continued from previous post)

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

There are two types of Interrogative sentences:

-Interrogative sentences starting with helping verbs like is,am,are,was,were, do, does, did, shall,will,would,can,could etc.

- Interrogative sentences staring with 'wh' words like which,why,when,where,who, whose, whom etc.

In Direct form of speech there are two parts i.e. one prior to inverted commas and the other within inverted commas. The former is called 'the Reporting Speech' and the latter 'the Reported Speech'.

 The Reporting speech generally contains a Subject Verb and an Object. Sometimes Object is missing. 

A Subject or an Object is formed of a Noun or a Pronoun. 

A Pronoun has three types of Persons i.e. 
First Person, Second Person & Third Person.

First Person is the person who is speaking or is making the statement.

Second Person is the person to whom the speaker is addressing or to whom the statement is being told.


Third Person is the person, except above two categories referred to in the statement, about whom reference is made in the speech.


First Person
   
                     
Singular ---     
     I                 
  My                 
  Me.


Plural -----         
   We              
  Our                 
   Us

Second Person Singular & Plural ----- 
You 
Your 
You .

Third Person 
 Singular ----
He 
His
Him OR
She  
Her
Her

Third Person  
Plural -----  
They
Their 
Them .

First Person	Singular	I	My	Me
	Plural	We	Our	Us
Second Person	Singular & Plural	You	Your	You
Third Person	Singular	He/She	His/Her	Him/Her
	Plural	They	Their	Them

While changing direct form of speech into Indirect form of speech :

• First Person in reported speech changes according to Subject in reporting speech. 

• Second Person in reported speech changes according to Object in reporting speech.  

• Third  Person in reported speech  does not change.  

First Person	Second Person	Third Person
Subject	Object	No Change

The teacher said to the student,"What is your name?"

Subject        Verb      Object
The teacher said to the student
         ( Reporting Speech)

            ,"
(Comma, Inverted commas start)

What is your name ?                
 (Reported Speech)    

               "
 (Inverted commas close)

As already explained above, Interrogative sentences are of two types.

A. First starting with helping verbs like --

is, am, are, were, was, had, have, shall, will or would etc.

B. The second  type of interrogative sentences are which start with words like – 

What,Which,Why,Who,Whose,Where,When, How and Whom etc.

While changing direct form of speech into Indirect form in both types of interrogative sentences, 'said to' is replaced by 'asked or inquired of '

In case of First Type (A) -

'Inverted commas' are replaced by 'if  or whether' .

In case of second type of (B)-

No word is written in place of inverted commas.

For Example :

First Form :  

The stranger said to us," Have you ever been to our village?"

In this case 

 "said to "  =  asked or inquired of .  

"     "  = if or whether

The interrogative sentence in the reported speech will be changed into simple or assertive form of sentence.

It will be -- 'You have ever been to our village'  

 'You' is  second person and   it will change according to the subject i.e. 'us'.

It will be 'We'.

'Have' is first form of verb and it will change into second form of verb i.e. 'had'. '

'Our' is the first person and it will change according to Subject i.e.'the stranger' which is third person singular i.e. equivalent to 'He'.  But 'Our' is plural so its equivalent in third person will be 'their'.

The Indirect form of the sentence-- 

The stranger said to us," Have you ever been to our village?" 
will be

The stranger asked us if  we had  ever been to their village.    OR
The stranger inquired of us whether we had ever been to their village.

Second Form :

The patient said to the doctor, "Why is it so that I am feeling dizzy ? What is the reason that I cannot walk even ? "

In indirect form of this sentence-- 

'said to' = asked or inquired of   
 Inverted commas will be removed without substituting any word.

The two sentences in positive form or assertive form will be

Why it is so that I am feeling dizzy. & 
What the reason is that I cannot walk even.

Other changes in respect of person or tense etc in the sentence will be -

Is = was, am = was   is = was cannot = could not.  I is first person It will  change according to subject 'the patient' i.e. third person singular = He.

 The sentence in its indirect form will be :

The patient asked the doctor why it was so that he was feeling dizzy  and what the reason was that he could not walk even.

OR

The patient inquired of the doctor why it was so that he was feeling dizzy  and what the reason was that he could not walk even.

Here are some sentences of this type for practice.

EXERCISE NO. 1

1. All the players said to the captain,"Are you not satisfied with the 
performance of the team? Do you feel that we should do more practice to acieve
better results? What do you suggest in this regard ?  "

Ans. All the players asked the captain if he was not satisfied with the performance of the team and if  he felt that they should do more practice to achieve better results and what he suggested in that regard .


2. The inspector  said to the boy," Why did you disobey my orders? Do you not deserve to be punished ? Do you accept your fault and are you ready to appologise ? "

Ans. The inspector  asked the boy why he disobeyed his orders and if he did not deserve to be punished and if he accepted his fault and he was ready to appologise. 


3. The father  said to his daughter," Where had you been for such a long time ? Why do you come home so late at night? When does your office close in the evening?  Can't you return home in time ? "


The father  asked his daughter where she had been for such a long time and why she came home so late at night, He asked her further when her office closed in the evening and if she couldn't  return home in time.

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