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Direct & Indirect Speech appears in school exams and competitive exams like SSC and Bank PO English sections. Practising with exam-style questions improves accuracy and speed.

Direct & Indirect Speech

Advanced Grammar upper_intermediate hard

Reporting what someone said, word-for-word or in your own words.

Advanced Grammar — Voice, narration, clauses and conditionals.

Rules

1. Direct: He said, "I am busy." 2. Indirect: He said that he was busy. 3. Tense backshift: present→past, past→past perfect: "I am going" → he said he was going. 4. Pronoun changes: I→he/she, we→they, you→him/her. 5. Time/place changes: today→that day, tomorrow→the next day, here→there, now→then. 6. Questions: no question mark, use if/whether or wh-word + statement order: He asked if I was coming. 7. Imperatives: He told me to close the door. 8. Universal truths stay unchanged: He said that the earth is round.

Explanation

Reported speech shifts tense, pronouns and time words. Questions become statements with "if/whether" or the wh-word.

हिंदी में

Direct speech में वक्ता के शब्द ज्यों के त्यों; indirect में काल, सर्वनाम और समय बदल जाते हैं।

Examples

She said that she was tired. — उसने कहा कि वह थकी हुई थी।
He asked if I had finished. — उसने पूछा कि क्या मैंने खत्म कर लिया था।

Common Mistakes

{"mistake":"He said that he is busy (if reported the same day).","correction":"He said that he was busy.","note":"Backshift tense in reported speech."}

Practice Questions

Q1. Fill in the blank: "He said, 'I met her yesterday'" → "He said that he ___ her the day before."

had met
met
meets
has met

Answer: had met

💡 Past simple shifts to past perfect; yesterday → the day before.

Q2. She said, "Are you coming?" → She asked ___ I was coming.

if
that
what
whether that

Answer: if

💡 Yes/no questions use if/whether in reported speech.

Q3. Translate into English: "उसने कहा कि वह अगले दिन आएगा।"

Answer: He said that he would come the next day.

💡 Will → would; tomorrow → the next day.

Practice & Test Yourself

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Topic	Level	What it covers
Active & Passive Voice	upper_intermediate	Who does the action (active) vs who receives it (passive).
Active Voice	intermediate	The subject performs the action.
Passive Voice	upper_intermediate	The object becomes the subject; the doer moves to "by".
Direct Speech	upper_intermediate	The speaker's exact words inside quotation marks.
Indirect Speech	upper_intermediate	Reporting the meaning of speech without quotes.
Question Formation	elementary	Building yes/no and wh- questions.