Narration Rules by Rupjyoti Goswami

 

Direct and Indirect Speech and their rules । Rules of Narration

Prepared by Sri Rupjyoti Goswami, PGT ( ENGLISH), Bhogeswar Hazarika Girls' HS School, Bebejia Nagaon.

Direct Speech: If the words spoken or written by somebody, are presented exactly in the same manner without making any change,then it comes under the category of 'Direct Speech'. The use of punctuation marks (,  :  ;   !  ?  "") is a salient feature of Direct Speech. (কাৰোবাৰ লিখিত বা কথিত শব্দসমূহক কোনো পৰিৱৰ্তন নকৰাকৈ যদি  অবিকল তেওঁৰ ভাষাতে উপস্থাপন কৰা হয়, তেতিয়া তাক প্ৰত্যক্ষ উক্তি বুলি কোৱা হয়। প্ৰত্যক্ষ উক্তিত যতিচিহ্নৰ ব্যৱহাৰ হোৱাটোৱেই ইয়াৰ মৌলিক বৈশিষ্ট্য।)

Indirect Speech: If the words spoken or written by somebody, are presented by making changes in words denoting time, tense, place, person and action, then it is called 'Indirect Speech'. In Indirect Speech, a full stop (.) is always placed at the end of a sentence. (অন্যহাতেদি যদি কাৰোবাৰ লিখিত বা কথিত শব্দসমূহৰ পৰিবৰ্তন কৰি অন্য এজন ব্যক্তিয়ে নিজৰ ভাষাত উপস্থাপন কৰে, তেতিয়া তাক পৰোক্ষ উক্তি বুলি কোৱা হয়।)

Example through an Assertive Sentence

(i) She said , "I am very hungry." (Direct)

(ii) She said that she was very hungry. (Indirect)

    In sentence (i) above, the verb outside the inverted commas ("_") is ''said" and it is called "Reporting Verb". The part of sentence within the inverted commas- "I am very hungry"- is called Reported Speech. If the Reporting Verb is written in the Past Tense, the following changes occur in four(4) types of sentences, namely Assertive, Interrogative, Optative and Exclamatory. However these changes will not affect the Imperative Sentence (Order, Advice, Request). ওপৰৰ উৰ্ধকমাৰ বাহিৰত থকা Verb টোক Reporting verb আৰু উৰ্ধকমাৰ ভিতৰত থকা ব্যাকাংশক Reported Speech বুলি কোৱা হয়। Reporting Verb টো Past Tense ত থাকিলে সকলোধৰনৰ বাক্যতেই নিম্নলিখিত ধৰনৰ পৰিবৰ্তন সমূহ হয়, কেবল Imperative বাক্যক বাদ দি।

1. The Tense of the sentence changes if the Reporting Verb is in the Past Tense.

Reporting Verb টো Past Tense ত থাকিলে নিম্নলিখিত ধৰণেৰে বাক্যবোৰৰ Tense ৰ পৰিৱৰ্তন হয়।

Direct Speech-----------------Indirect Speech

Am/Is/Are--------------------was/were

Was/were----------------------had been

Had been----------------------No change

Has/have----------------------had

Do/does--------------------did (It is sometimes not used in some Interrogative sentence).

Did (as an indicator of Past Tense)------had

Did (as a main verb)-----------------had done

Had done--------------------------No Change

Will/Shall---------------------Would ('Shall' becomes 'should' in certain cases)

May/Can------------------------Might/Could

Would/should/might /could/ought to/used to-------No Change

Must--------------Must/Had to/would have to (according to the nature of obligations).

2. Words denoting time and place get changed in Indirect Speech.

পৰোক্ষ উক্তিলৈ নিওতে সময় আৰু স্থানবাচক শব্দবোৰৰো নিম্নলিখিত ধৰণেৰে পৰিবৰ্তন হয়।

Direct Speech----------Indirect Speech

This/These-------------That/Those.

Here/hither-------------There/Thither.

Now---------------------Then.

Ago---------------------before.

Last---------------------the previous/the......before.

Next--------------------the next/the following/the........after.

Today/Tonight----------that day/that night.

Yesterday--------------the day before/the previous day.

Tomorrow---------------the next day/the following day/the day after.

The day before yesterday-----------two days before/the day before the previous day.

The day after tomorrow-----------in two days' time/the day after the next day.

Thus--------------------- (in) that way/so.

Last night--------------the previous night/the night before.

Next week-------------the following week/the week after.

3.Changes in Pronoun and Possessives also take place in the following manner according to the rules illustrated thereafter.

Direct ------------Indirect

I-----------------He/She/I.

We-------------We/They.

My-----------His/Her/My.

Our-------------their/our.

Us------------them/us.

Me----------him/her

4. If there is no Object to a Reporting Verb, the Pronouns and Possessives get changed according to the Subject of the Reporting Verb. (Reporting Verbৰ কোনো Object নাথাকিলে Reporting Verb ৰ Subject অনুসৰি Pronoun আৰু Possessive বোৰৰ পৰিবৰ্তন হয়।)

For Example,

He said, "I have done my duty for my family, friends and myself." (Direct)

Answer: He said that he had done his duty for his family, friends and himself. (Indirect)

5. If there is an Object to a Reporting Verb, the Pronouns and Possessives get changed  according to the Object of the Reporting Verb.

For Example,

She said to me, "You have finished your task much ahead of time." (Direct)

Answer: She told me that I had finished my task much ahead of time. (Indirect)

 

6. If the Reported Speech refers to a universal truth, scientific/mathematical fact and a habitual action, the Tense remains unchanged. (প্ৰত্যক্ষ উক্তিটোৱে যদি চিৰসত্য ঘটনা, বৈজ্ঞানিক/গাণিতিক তথ্য আৰু অভ্যাসবশত কৰা কামক বুজাই, তেতিয়া ক্ৰিয়াৰ সময়ৰ বা কালৰ কোনো পৰিবৰ্তন নহয়।)

For example,

He said, "Water boils at 100°C". (Direct) = He said that water boils at 100°C. (Indirect)

7. The following changes occur while changing the Narration of an Assertive Sentence 

(from Direct into Indirect):

(a) The Reporting Verb "said"should be changed into "told" if there is an Object after it.

(b) The conjunction "that" is used.

(c) Tense, Pronouns and words denoting time and place get changed according to rules stated above.

(d) There are some words which can be used in place of the Reporting Verb "said" according to the meaning conveyed by the Reported Speech. Some of these words are: explain, remark, reply, remind, assure, promise, insist, boast, answer, complain, agree, admit, deny etc.

Examples: She said,"I have made a great mistake." (Direct)

                She said that she had made a great mistake. (Indirect)

He said to me, "Your performance is not upto the level of my expectations." (Direct)

He told me that my performance was not upto the level of his expectations. (Indirect)

Ramen said to me, "I will surely help you." (Direct)

Ramen promised me that he would surely help me. (Indirect)

8. The Rules for changing Narration of Interrogative Sentences are stated below:

(a)The Reporting Verb "said" is replaced by "asked","enquired of","demanded of" or "wanted to know".

(b) The Interrogative form of the sentence is changed by making it Assertive or Statement. A full stop(.) is used at the end of the sentence instead of the question mark(?).

(c) If the Reported Speech begins with a Question Word like "who", "where", "which", "why", "when", "what", "whose", "how", "how many", "how much" etc, no conjunction is used. Instead, the Wh-word is used immediately after the Reporting Verb "asked/ asked + Object", "enquired/ enquired of + Object" and other necessary changes are made.

For example,   He said to me, "What are you doing now?" (Direct)

                         He asked me what I was doing then. (Indirect)

(d) If the Reported Speech begins with Question Words like "Am, Is, Are, Was, Were, Do, Does, Did, Have, Has, Had, Can, Could, May, Might, Shall, Will, Should, Would" etc., then "if/whether" is used immediately after the Reporting Verb or Reporting Verb+Object.

For example,    He said to me, "Is your father at home?" (Direct)

                          He asked me if my father was at home. (Indirect)

9. The following rules should be kept in mind while changing the Narration of an Imperative Sentence (sentences that denote 'order', 'advice' and 'request').

(a)The Reporting Verb is replaced by words like 'order',' request', 'advise', 'command', 'tell', 'ask', 'beg', 'implore', 'entreat', 'desire', 'urge', 'exhort', 'forbid', 'persuade'etc., according to the sense conveyed by the sentence.

(b) The Reporting Verb is replaced by Infinitive (to+1st form of the verb).

(C) Do not is replaced by not to+1st form of the verb.

Examples:

The doctor said to the patient, "Do not drink alcohol during your treatment." (Direct)

The doctor advised the patient not to drink alcohol during his treatment. (Indirect)

The Army officer said to his soldiers, "March forward." (Direct)

The Army officer ordered his soldiers to march forward. (Indirect)

10. There is one more category of Imperative Sentence which is written with Let us/Let us not/Let me at the beginning. Such types of sentences are changed into Indirect Speech in the following ways:

(a) "Let us" at the beginning of a sentence generally means suggestion or advice and hence the Reporting Verb is replaced by "suggested/proposed to" followed by "that" (after an Object if it is there). "Let us" is replaced by "We should/They should" depending on the Object. In short the sentence structure in Indirect Speech may appear as stated below: (বাক্যৰ আৰম্ভণিতে থকা Let Us শব্দদুটাই সাধাৰণতে পৰামৰ্শ বা উপদেশ বুজায়।এনে বাক্যত Reporting Verb ৰ স্থানত Suggested to/Proposed to বহুৱাই Let us ৰ স্থানত we/they should ৰ ব্যৱহাৰ কৰা হয়।)

Subject+suggested to/proposed to+Object+that+we/they should+1st form of the verb.

For Example,

She said to her husband, "Let us spend the evening in the park today".

She proposed to her husband that they should spend the evening in the park that day.

He said to me, "Let us go for morning walk." (Direct)

He proposed to me that we should go for morning walk. (Indirect)

(b) Sentences beginning with "Let me" means seeking permission to do something and these are changed into Indirect Speech in the following manner:

He said to his senior students, "Let me concentrate on my studies" (Direct)

He requested his senior students to allow him to concentrate on his studies. (Indirect) 

(Or) He requested his senior students that he might be allowed to concentrate on his studies.(Indirect)

11. There is one type of Imperative Sentence that looks like a question, but it expresses an advice/order or a request. Such types of sentences are converted into Indirect Speech by making use of the rules applicable to Imperative Sentences. (এনেকুৱা কিছুমান আদেশ, উপদেশ, অনুৰোধ বুজোৱা বাক্য আছে যিবোৰ দেখাত প্ৰশ্নবোধক বাক্যৰ নিচিনা, কিন্তু অৰ্থগত দিশৰকথাৰ পৰা বিচাৰ কৰি ইহতক আদেশ, অনুৰোধ বা উপদেশসূচক বাক্য বুলি বিবেচনা কৰি সেইধৰনেৰেই ইহতক পৰোক্ষ উক্তিলৈ পৰিবৰ্তন কৰাঢ়হয়।). For example,

Arnab said to me, "Why don't you see a doctor?" (Direct)

Arnab advised me to see a doctor. (Indirect)

The librarian said to the students, "Will you stop making noise?" (Direct)

The librarian advised/told the students to stop making noise. (Indirect)

My sister said to me, "Close the window, won't you?" (Direct)

My sister asked/requested/told me to close the door. (Indirect)

12. There are specific rules for changing Narration of Exclamatory Sentences. This type of sentence expresses sudden feelings of emotions like surprise, sorrow, praise, anger etc. and two types of Exclamatory Sentences are normally seen in use. These are illustrated below:

(a) There is one type of Exclamatory Sentence which begins with words of exclamation like, "Alas", "Hurrah", "Bravo" which respectively suggests sorrow, joy, surprise or praise. In such sentences, the Reporting Verb "said to" is replaced by "exclaimed with joy/ sorrow/ fear/ anger" depending on the meaning conveyed by the words of exclamation. Some other verbs that are used in such situations are: applauded, cried out, cursed, regretted etc. For example,

The boys said, "Hurrah! India have won the final." (Direct)

The boys exclaimed with joy that India had won the final. (Indirect)

He said, "Alas! My father is dead." (Direct)

He exclaimed with sorrow that his father was dead. (Indirect)

Rohit Sharma said to Virat Kohli, "Bravo! Well done!" (Direct)

Rohit Sharma applauded Virat Kohli. (Indirect)

(b) There is another type of Exclamatory Sentence which doesn't begin with the above-mentioned words of exclamation (Alas, Hurrah, Bravo). Such type of sentences begins with "How" or "What". These sentences are required to be transformed into an Assertive Sentence before changing them into Indirect Speech. The Reporting Verb is replaced by "exclaimed that". The expressions like "exclaimed with sorrow/joy" etc. are avoided. For example,

He said, "How happy I am here!" (Direct) - He said, "I am very happy here." - He exclaimed that he was very happy there. (Indirect)

She said, "How beautiful the rain is!" (Direct) - She said, "The rain is very beautiful." - She exclaimed that the rain was very beautiful. (Indirect)

He said, "What a big snake it is!" (Direct) - He said, "It is a very  big snake." - He exclaimed that that was a very big snake." (Indirect)

13. Change of Narration in Optative Sentences: Optative Sentences are those sentences which express a desire, a wish, a prayer, a blessing and a goodwill. Such types of sentences are changed into Indirect Speech by replacing the Reporting Verb with verbs like wished, prayed, yearned, longed for, congratulated, thanked, desired, earnestly desired, bade, etc.

Examples:

He said to me, "Good morning." (Direct) = He wished me good morning. (Indirect)

She said to me, "Congratulations." (Direct) = She congratulated me. (Indirect)

My friends said to me, "Happy Birthday." (Direct) = My friends wished me happy birthday.(Indirect)

The priest said to me, "May God bless you". (Direct) = The priest prayed that God might bless me.

He said to her, "Thank you for your help." (Direct) = He thanked her for her help. (Indirect)

14. Change of Narration in Combined Reported Speeches: Sometimes several sentences are combined in a Reported Speech and these require a very careful consideration. The sentences may be a combination of Assertive, Interrogative, Exclamatory, Imperative and Optative types of sentences and the following rules are prescribed for changing those into Indirect Speech.

(a) If there are two sentences in a Reported Speech and both are Interrogative and both sentences have only one Subject and one Reporting Verb, then there should not be any difficulty in changing it into Indirect Speech. The Reporting Verb should be replaced by "asked/enquired of" and the conjunction "and" should be used at the end of each sentence. For example,

The woman said to me, "Who are you? What do you want?" (Direct)

The woman asked me who I was and what I wanted. (Indirect)

The teacher said to the girl, "Why are you crying? Has anyone scolded you?" (Direct)

The teacher asked the girl why she was crying and if anyone had scolded her. (Indirect)

The traveller said to him, "Where is the Post Office? Can you show me the way?" (Direct)

The traveller asked him where the Post Office was and if he could show him the way. (Indirect)

(b) If two sentences in a Reported Speech are different, then the procedure for changing them into Indirect Speech will be according to rules prescribed for different types of sentences. For Example,

He said to me, "Why are you disturbing me? Go away" (Direct)

He asked me why I was disturbing him and told/asked/advised me to go away. (Indirect)

The class teacher said to me, "Why were you absent? The Principal is angry. Go to him at once." (Direct)

The class teacher asked me why I had been absent and said  that the Principal was angry and advised/asked /told  me to go to him at once. (Indirect)

She said to her husband, "Are you going to the market? Please buy some vegetables and a little mustard oil". She said to him, "Will you forget to buy these items?" (Direct)

She asked her husband if he was going to the market and requested him to buy some vegetables and a little mustard oil. She further asked him if he would forget to buy those items. (Indirect)

(c) If there are three sentences in a Reported Speech and two of these are Assertive Sentences and there is a different type of sentence in the middle of these Assertive Sentences, the Reporting Verb of the last Assertive Sentence will be replaced by "further said that/added that". For Example,

She said to her husband, "You have arrived at the right moment. Please wait for some time. I have a surprise for you." (Direct)

She told her husband that he had arrived at the right moment and requested him to wait for some time. She added that/further said that she had a surprise for him. (Indirect)

(d) If there are three sentences in a Reported Speech and two of these are Interrogative and there is a different type of sentence in the middle of these Interrogative Sentences, the Reporting Verb of the last Interrogative sentence will be replaced by "further asked".

For example:

His father said to him, "Where are you going? I have given you some homework. Have you done these?" (Direct)

His father asked him where he was going and told him that he had given him some homework. He further asked him if he had done those. (Indirect)

Mr. Rupjyoti Goswami
Post Graduate Teacher (English)
Bhogeswar Hazarika Girls' Higher Secondary School, Bebejia, Nagaon, Assam.
Email: rupjyotigoswami983@gmail.com
Mobile: 9864425896.
Contact us (whatsapp no-7020477396) for free notes on English, Political Science, Logic & Philosophy, MIL Assamese, Advanced Assamese, Swadesh Adhyayan, Economics, Education, History.

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