NARRATION --- INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES -- CHANGE FROM DIRECT TO INDIRECT SPEECH

NARRATION

Change of Different types of sentences from Direct speech into Indirect speech.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

Interrogative sentences are of two types.

TYPE A

Sentences starting with helping verbs like is, am, are, were, was, had, have, shall, will or would etc.

For example :
He said to her, "Are you going home?"
She said to me, "Will you help me?"

While changing from direct to indirect  form, in such sentences :

- In place of 'said to' asked is used.

- the sentence is changed from interrogative form to assertive sentence.

- The helping verb is shifted to its normal place as per assertive sentence and is further changed as required.

- Subject and object in the reported speech are changed according to rules.

- The sign of interrogation is removed and it is substituted by full stop.

Comma and Inverted commas are replaced by the word ‘if ’.

She said to me, " Will you go to your office today?"

She said to me
(Reporting Speech)

In the reporting speech

 Subject............  She      
  Verb................ said   
 Object.............. me

,"(Comma, Inverted Commas start)


Will you go to your office today?
(Reported Speech)

"(Inverted Commas Close)


The basic rule of Narration is :

---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.

- In place of said to 'asked' will be used.

- In place of inverted commas 'if or whether' will be used.

The sentence will be

She asked me if I would go to my office that day.

More examples explained : 

He said to her,"Do you know me?"

"Do you know me?" will change into "You know me."

'Said to' in the reporting speech will change into 'asked'.

Comma between reporting speech and reported speech will be removed. Inverted commas will change into 'if' or 'whether'.

All the other rules of simple sentences will be followed.

You (Second Person) in the reported speech will change according to object (her). It will change into 'She'.

Me (First Person) in the reported speech will change according to Subject (He). It will be 'him'.

Verb 'know' (first form ) will change into its second form 'knew'.

So the sentence written above will be-

He asked her if she knew him.

He said to me," Will you convey my message to her? "

'He' in Reporting speech is Subject. 'Me' in Reporting speech is Object.

'You' in reported speech is second person. It will change according to object in Reported speech 'me'.

'My' is First person It will change according to Subject 'He'.'Her' is third person It will not change.

The sentence in its Indirect form will be:
He asked me if I would convey his message to her.

A SENTENCE WITHOUT OBJECT

He said, “Are you well now?”

The sentence will change as:

Interrogative will change into assertive.
Interrogation mark (?) will change into (.) Full stop.

He said, “You are well now.”
Further , “” will change into if.

You is second person. It will change according to object of reporting speech. 

There is no object in reporting speech. So it will not change.

Are will change into were and now will change into then.

The sentence in its indirect for will be :

He said if you were well then.


He said, “ Am I not well now?”
He asked if he was not well then.

 Sentence with an object in reporting speech.

He said to me."Are you well now?"

'you' is a second person. It will change according to object i.e. 'me'.

Accordingly 'are' will change into 'was'.

He asked me if I was well then.

I said to him,"Are you well now?"

You is second person it will change according to object 'him'. Are will change into was (according to he).

I asked him if he was well then.



MORE SENTENCES IN DIFFERENT FORMS

She said to him. “Will you lend me your book?”

'Said to' will change into 'asked' " " =if Past tense of 'will' = 'would'.
'You' and 'your' are second person and will change according to object 'him'.
''Me' is first person and will change according to Subject in reporting speech 'She'.

So it will be : She asked him if he would lend her his book.


The doctor said to her, “Do you take any medicine?”

Here 'Do take ' in interrogative sentence = 'Take' in assertive sentence.Past tense of 'take' = 'took'.

'You' is second person and will change according to object in reporting speech 'her'.

The doctor asked her if she took any medicine.

The lady said to us, “ Did you attend the party yesterday?

'Did attend' in interrogative sentence = 'attended' in assertive sentence.
'Attended' will change into Had + Third form or 'Had attended'.
'You', Second person will change according to object in reporting speech 'us'.Yesterday = the previous day. So the sentence will be :


The lady asked us if we had attended the party the previous day.


Boys said to the teacher, “Are you not going to teach us today?”
Boys asked the teacher if he was not going to teach them that day.

The lady said to us, “ Will you attend the party today?"
The lady asked us if we would attend the party that day.

She said to me, “Is he an honest man?”
She asked me if he was an honest man.

The boy said to the shopkeeper, “Do you sell sweets?”
The boy asked the shopkeeper if he sold sweets.

The fox said to the crow. “Are the grapes sour?”
The fox asked the crow if the grapes were sour.

The father said to his son, “Do you hear a noise?”
The father asked his son if he heard a noise.

John said to his friend, “Did you not go to your office today?”
John asked his friend if he had not gone to his office that day.

He said to the passerby, “Do you need my help?”
He asked the passerby if he needed his help.

She said to me, “Has he invited you to dinner?”
She asked me if he had invited me to dinner.

You said to her, “Will you come to my house today?”
You asked her if she would come to your house that day.

The student said to the teacher, “Sir, May I go home?”
The student asked the teacher respectfully if he might go home.

She said to her, “Can you solve my problem?”
She asked her if she could solve her problem.

He said to you, “Is it not a surprise for me?”
He asked you if it was not a surprise for him.

She said to the boys, “Did you play a match yesterday?”
She asked the boys if they had played a match the previous day.

My mother said to him, “Will you help me in this matter?
My mother asked him if he would help her in that matter.

I said to her, “Will you keep quiet for some time?”
I asked her if she would keep quiet for some time.


NOTE : If the reporting speech does not have an object, "said" is not changed it remains as "said".

For example -

He said ," Can I stay here for sometime?"
He said if he could stay there for sometime.

TYPE B

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

What,Which,Why,Who,Whose,Where,When,how and whom etc.

These are also called 'Wh' Interrogative sentences.

FOR EXAMPLE :

He said to me, “Where are you going?”

In such sentences, ‘said to’ is changed to ‘asked’.

The sentence is changed according to assertive sentences.

The interrogative sentence is changed into an assertive sentence and the sign of interrogation is removed and are substituted by full stop.

Comma and Inverted commas are removed without using any word in their place.

For example:

The aforesaid sentence will be:

He asked me where I was going.



NOTE : If the reporting speech does not have an object, "said" is not changed it remains as "said".

For example -
He said ," Where will I stay today?"
He said where he would stay that day.

My mother said to her, “How do you feel now?”
My mother asked her how she felt then.

She said to the stranger, “Who are you?”
She asked the stranger who he was.

I said, “How long will you stay with us, Mary?”
I asked Mary how long she would stay with us.

She said to him, “Which is your book?”
She asked him which his book was.


MORE DETAILS AND EXERCISES ON TOPIC IN NEXT POST.

He said to me, “Where do you want to go?”
He asked me where I wanted to go.




The father said to the child, “Why don’t you speak the truth?”
The father asked the child why he did not speak the truth.




She said to me, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”
She asked me who I was and where I came from.

He said to me, "Who paid the bill yesterday?"
He asked me who had paid the bill the last day.

He said to me, "Who has paid the bill?"
He asked me who had paid the bill.


The policeman said to the thief, “What are you doing here?”
The police asked the thief what he was doing there.

The boy said to his friend,"Who broke this window-pane?"
The boy asked his friend who had broken that window-pane.


The mother said to her daughter,"Who has broken this jar?"
The mother asked her daughter who had broken that jar.

She said to her husband, “When will you leave for your office?”
She asked her husband when he would leave for his office.


He said to me," When are you leaving for Delhi? Will you take me along with you?"

He asked me when I was leaving for Delhi and if I would take him along with me.

The official said to the visitor," What do you want ? Do you not know that office is closed today?"

The official asked the visitor what he wanted and if he did not know that office was closed on that day.


His wife said to him," Are you leaving for your office now? When will you return home in the evening today?"

His wife asked him if he was leaving for his office then and when he would return home in the evening that day.


The old man said to the boy,"Why are you beating this child ? Do you not have any sense of shame ?" The old man asked the boy why he was beating that child and if he had not any sense of shame.

QUESTION OF THE DAY 

CHANGE THE NARRATION

(Reply in comment Box))

1.She said to her brother, "Why are you wasting your time?"

2. My brother said to her,"Who has spoilt the whole arrangement here?"

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Note Also view http://grammarenglisheasyway.blogspot.in/2015/09/narration-change-of-different-types-of.html  &chapter  Transformation or Conversion of Sentences for better understanding.It'll help further in understanding the topic.

 

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NARRATION - (1) BASICS EXPLAINED WITH EXAMPLES -CHANGE FROM DIRECT TO INDIRECT FORM & VICE VERSA

NARRATION

There are two different ways of expressing things. A statement given by the speaker himself is Direct Form of Speech whereas a version of the same statement conveyed by another person to someone is Indirect Form of Speech.

There are two forms of speech :- Direct form of speech & Indirect form of speech.

Direct form of speech -----

Howard said to his brother, “I am going to the market.”

Indirect form of speech-----

Howard told his brother that he was going to the market.

When the actual form and words of the speaker are used, it is direct speech but when one gives the substance of speech of the speaker it is indirect speech.

                                                                   

Direct speech consists of two parts:-

1. Reporting speech 2. Reported speech

These two parts, Reporting Speech and Reported Speech

 are separated from each other by a comma (,) and 

inverted commas (“ ”).

The part outside the inverted commas forms Reporting Speech (i.e. who is reporting and to whom) and the statement enclosed within the inverted commas is Reported Speech (i.e. the matter that is being reported). The first word of the reported speech begins with a capital letter.

He said to me, " I learn my lesson."

He said to me --- Reporting Speech.
I learn my lesson --- Reported Speech

DIRECT FORM OF SPEECH

He said to me, " I am reading a book."

He said to me ," Reporting Speech 

 Comma Inverted commas start

I am reading a book. "Reported Speech 

 Inverted commas close

INDIRECT SPEECH

In Indirect Speech
- inverted commas are not used, but generally reporting speech and reported speech are joined together by the conjunction like ‘that’, ‘if’ or ‘whether’ etc.

-the comma between reporting speech and reported speech is removed.

- The signs of question mark and exclamation are not used. Instead full stop sign is used.

- The tense of reporting speech is not changed.

-The forms of interrogative, imperative, exclamatory and optative sentences are changed to assertive sentence.

- The tense of reported speech is changed according to the tense of reporting speech.

He said to me, " I learn my lesson."    ......... DIRECT FORM

He told me that he learnt his lesson.  ........INDIRECT FORM



Change of direct speech to indirect speech is explained in detail in the following paragraphs.

While changing Direct speech into Indirect speech, following rules are followed.



A. If the reporting verb is in the Present or Future Tenses, the tense of verb in the reported speech is not changed at all while changing from direct speech to indirect speech i.e.

1.Direct – He says, “ John paints a picture.”
Indirect –He says that John paints a picture.

2. Direct – He says, “ John painted a picture.”
Indirect –He says that John painted a picture.

3.Direct – He says, “ John will paint a picture.”
Indirect –He says that John will paint a picture.

4.Direct – He will say, “ John likes this picture.”
Indirect –He will say that John likes that picture.

5.Direct – He will say, “ John liked this picture.”
Indirect –He will say that John liked that picture.

6.Direct – He will say, “ John will like this picture.”
Indirect –He will say that John will like that picture.



B. If the reporting verb is in the Past Tense the tense of the verb in the Reported speech is changed to one or the other of the four forms of the past tense ; thus :

1. Present Indefinite Tense changes into Past Indefinite Tense: First form of verb-- Go or Goes-changes to Second form 

of verb i.e. Went.

2.Present Continuous Tense changes into Past Continuous Tense: Am,is or are + first form of verb +ing i.e. am, is or are going are changed to -- was or were + first form of verb +ing i.e. was or were going.

3. Present Perfect Tense changes into Past Perfect Tense:
Has or Have + third form of verb changes to Had + third form of verb Has or Have + gone changes to Had + gone.

4.Present Perfect Continuous Tense changes into Past Perfect Continuous Tense: Has or Have been + first form of verb + ing- are changed to Had been + first form of verb +ing
Has been going changes to Had been going

5. Past Indefinite Tense changes into Past Perfect Tense: Second form of verb i.e. Went changes to Had + third form of verb i.e. Had gone

6.Past Continuous Tense changes into Past Perfect Continuous Tense: Was or were + first form of verb +ing i.e. was or were going changes to Had been + first form of verb +ing i. e. Had been going

7. Past Perfect Tense & Past Perfect continuous tense remain unchanged. Had + third form of verb & Had been + first form of verb + ing Had gone & Had been going.

8. Shall & will change into would, Can into Could & May into might.

                                               

         

                                                             

                                                 

                   

                                                                  

C. But if the Reported Speech expresses some universal truth or habitual fact, then the tense of verb in the reported speech is not changed into the corresponding Past but remains exactly as it is.


He said, “Man is mortal.” 

 He said that man is mortal.

He said, “Two and two make four”

He said that two and two make four.


D. As a general rule words showing nearness of time or place are changed into words showing distance as follows :

Now changes into Then , 

This changes into That
Here ----There, 

Today-------That day,

Tonight---That night 

These-------Those,
Yesterday----the previous day, 

Come--Go Hence----Thence, 

Last night-----The previous night,
Thus----So 

Hither----Thither,
Tomorrow – the next day,

Ago –before.

                                                            

E. The verb in reporting speech is changed into told, asked, ordered, requested, advised, exclaimed or some other such word according to the form or sense of the sentence.


F. If the reported speech contains different kinds of sentences all of these are changed according to their form with help of suitable words.

Change of Different types of sentences from Direct speech into Indirect speech
A sentence generally comprises of Subject, verb and object.

He sings a song. 

He-Subject, 

sings-verb and

 a song-object.


Sentences with intransitive verbs do not have an object.

He sleeps. The child weeps.

 Here sleeps and weeps are intransitive verbs. 

These sentences have no object.

In similar way, sentences in reporting and reported speech generally have these three parts- subject, verb and object.

Simple Sentence :
If reporting speech does not have any object, its verb is not changed i.e.

He said, “ ” will be... 
He said that…

If reporting speech has an object, ‘says’ in it changes into ‘tells’ and ‘said’ changes into ‘told’. 

According to the meaning or sense of the reported speech ‘said to’ in the reporting speech also changes into words like stated, informed, asserted, reported or complained etc.

Inverted commas in the sentence are removed and after reporting speech the word ‘that’ is used.

In the indirect speech, First person used in the reported speech changes according to subject in the reporting speech. Second person in the reported speech changes according to object in the reporting speech. Third person in the reported speech does not change.

First Person (1)
Subject

Second Person (2)
Object

Third Person (3)
No change


1     2      3
S    O     N

For example :


1. He said, “ I like him very much ”

In this sentence as there is no object in reporting speech ‘said’ will not change. 
Comma and inverted commas will change into ‘that’.
 ‘I’ is first person and it will change into subject which is ‘he’. ‘I’ will change into ‘he’. 

‘like’ will change into ‘liked’. 
Him is third person, so it will not change.

He said that he liked him very much.


2. He said to her, “I like you very much.”

‘Said to’ will change into ‘told’. 
Comma and inverted commas will change into ‘that’.
 ‘I’ (First Person) will change into (Subject = He) ‘he’. 
‘You’ is second person, it will change according to object ‘her’.

He told her that he liked her very much.

3. She said to him, “Your sister is my friend.”

‘Said’ to will change into ‘told’. 
‘Your’, second person, will change according to object ‘him’.
 It will be ‘his’. ‘Is’ = ‘was’. 

‘My’, first person, will
change according to subject ‘She’. It will be ‘her’.

She told him that his sister was her friend.



Some More Examples:

He said to me, “I did not tell a lie to your brother.”
He told me that he had not told a lie to my brother.

They said to the stranger, “You cannot enter our house like this.”
They told the stranger that he could not enter their house like that.

The boy said to me, “You have not stolen my books”
The boy told me that I had not stolen his books.

The girl said, “Mother, I shall wait for you here tomorrow.”
The girl told her mother that she would wait for her there the next day.

The doctor said to the patient, “You will get well  soon if you take this medicine regularly.”
The doctor told the patient that he would get well soon if he took that medicine regularly.

You said to me, “I was not witnessing the match yesterday.”
You told me that you were not witnessing the match the previous day.


Just see the following sentences and identify subject and object in the reported and reporting speeches and co-relate them with each other to change the sentence into indirect speech.

The teacher said to your mother," I observe that your son is the most brilliant student in my class."


Reporting speech----The teacher (subject)  is --third person. your mother{object) is also a third person.
Reported speech ----- I (subject) is first person and your is second person and my is first person.

The sentence will be after change----- 
The teacher told your mother that he observed that her son was the most brilliant student in his class.


Your mother said to him," I agree with you but I want that my son should also stand first in the class."

Reporting speech----Your mother (subject) is --third person. him (object) is also a third person. 
Reported speech ----- I (subject) is first person and you is second person and my is first person.

The sentence after change will be------

Your mother told him that she agreed with him but she wanted that her son should also stand first in the class.



MORE ON TOPIC CONTINUED IN NEXT POST

EXERCISES ON TOPIC ON NEXT POST