Reported speech: direct and indirect

English · Unit II · Topic 11 of 16 · 5 min read

Changes of tense, pronoun and time words, reporting statements, questions, commands and exclamations, converting indirect speech back to direct, and every item from the 2025 and 2026 papers worked out.

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On this page

1. The four changes
2. Each type with examples
3. Indirect back to direct
4. The papers items, answered
How this is examined

Cases checked to exist. Read the judgment before quoting a holding.

Every case cited here has been checked to exist — the citation resolves and names the right parties. The propositions attributed to each case have not been verified line by line against the judgment. Case names link through to the full judgment: read it before quoting a holding in an examination answer, and never carry a proposition from notes into court on trust.

The examinable core. “Change any 5 into direct/indirect speech” is Q.8(B)(ii) in the 80-mark paper and Q.9(A)(ii) in the 100-mark paper. Each set has statements, a yes/no question, a wh-question, a command, often an exclamation, and one or two sentences already in indirect speech to be turned back to direct. Learn four changes: reporting verb, conjunction, tense and pronouns/time words.

1. The four changes

(a) Reporting verb and conjunction

Kind of sentence	Reporting verb	Joining word
Statement	said, told (+ person)	that
Yes/no question	asked, enquired	if / whether
Wh-question	asked, enquired	the wh-word itself
Command / request	ordered, told, commanded, requested, advised, warned	to + verb (not to + verb)
Exclamation / wish	exclaimed (with joy, sorrow, surprise), wished, prayed	that

(b) Tense: one step back when the reporting verb is past

Direct	Indirect
is / am / are	was / were
writes	wrote
is writing	was writing
has written / wrote	had written
will / shall / can / may	would / should / could / might
must	must or had to

Exceptions: no change when the reporting verb is in the present (He says, “I am busy” → He says that he is busy), and none for a universal truth or proverb: He said, “Honesty is the best policy” → He said that honesty is the best policy.

(c) Pronouns

First person changes to agree with the speaker, second person with the person spoken to, third person does not change. She said to him, “I like you” → She told him that she liked him.

(d) Words of time and place

now → then; today → that day; tonight → that night; tomorrow → the next day; yesterday → the previous day; ago → before; this → that; these → those; here → there; this evening → that evening.

2. Each type with examples

Statement: Suma said to him, “I have written a novel.” → Suma told him that she had written a novel.
Yes/no question: The chairman asked, “Will you attend the meeting?” → The chairman asked whether I would attend the meeting. The question becomes a statement in word order: no question mark, no do/did.
Wh-question: She said to him, “How are you?” → She asked him how he was.
Command: The teacher said, “Boys, work hard.” → The teacher told (advised) the boys to work hard. “Stand up, girls,” said the teacher → The teacher ordered the girls to stand up.
Request: The gentleman said, “Can you please lend me your pen?” → The gentleman requested me to lend him my pen.
Exclamation: She said, “Wow! What a stunning sunset.” → She exclaimed with delight that it was a stunning sunset.

3. Indirect back to direct

Reverse each step: put the words in inverted commas, restore the person, move the tense one step forward, restore now, here, tomorrow, and add the right punctuation.

Rama asked her if she found it. → Rama said to her, “Did you find it?” (or “Have you found it?”)
She warned him not to smoke there. → She said to him, “Do not smoke here.”
He exclaimed with sorrow that he was undone. → He said, “Alas! I am undone.”
She asked him if he could do it. → She said to him, “Can you do it?”
She said that she was a lawyer. → She said, “I am a lawyer.”
Raman said that he had lived for many years in America. → Raman said, “I have lived for many years in America.”
The policeman enquired the man where he was going. → The policeman said to the man, “Where are you going?”
He requested me to call him the next day. → He said to me, “Please call me tomorrow.”
He said that all athletes must train regularly. → He said, “All athletes must train regularly.”

Trap. Do not keep the question form in indirect speech. “She asked him how was he” is wrong; it is “how he was”. And use told (not said) when the listener is named: “Suma told him that …”, not “Suma said him that …”.

4. The papers’ items, answered

January 2026 (80): She said to him, “How are you?” → She asked him how he was. Suma said to him, “I have written a novel.” → Suma told him that she had written a novel. Rama asked her if she found it → Rama said to her, “Did you find it?” She warned him not to smoke there → She said to him, “Don’t smoke here.” The accused said, “I am innocent.” → The accused said that he was innocent. He said, “Honesty is the best policy.” → He said that honesty is the best policy.

January 2026 (100): “Stand up, girls,” said the teacher → The teacher ordered the girls to stand up. He said, “I am glad to be here, this evening.” → He said that he was glad to be there that evening. The gentleman said, “Can you please lend me your pen?” → The gentleman requested me to lend him my pen. Raman and the policeman: see section 3.

June 2025 (80): He said, “I’ve lost my bag.” → He said that he had lost his bag. He said to her, “What are you reading?” → He asked her what she was reading. The teacher said, “Boys, work hard.” → The teacher advised the boys to work hard. The other three (undone, could do it, lawyer): see section 3.

June 2025 (100): They said, “We are going to the film tonight.” → They said that they were going to the film that night. The chairman asked, “Will you attend the meeting?” → The chairman asked whether I would attend the meeting. “Wow! What a stunning sunset”: section 2. The last two: section 3.

How this is examined

Five or six items, one mark each. Write the full converted sentence, with inverted commas, capital letter and end punctuation when converting to direct speech. The marks go on the tense shift, the pronoun and the time word; one of the three wrong usually costs the mark.

Now try the real questions: English past question papers.