Reported Speech | English Grammar for Class 9 PDF Download

Summary

How to change Exclamatory Sentences into Indirect Speech? :

• Reporting verb SAID / SAID TO should be changed into EXCLAIMED.
• Use the conjunction word THAT.
• Change that into a Statement.
• When WHAT or HOW is followed by an adjective, use VERY but when WHAT is followed by a noun use GREAT.
• HOW is usually followed by an Adjective (not by a Noun).
• Change of Personal Pronoun, Tense and Special words.
• Remove commas, quotation marks and exclamation mark.

Formula : Subject + exclaimed + that + other subject (from Reported Speech) + verb (by changing the tense) + very + adjective (or great + noun)+ ….
Examples :

• They said, “Hurrah! We have won the match”.
  They exclaimed joyfully that they had won the match.
• She said, “What a tall building!”
  She exclaimed joyfully that it was a tall building.

Interrogative Sentences

When turning questions into indirect speech, we have to pay attention to the following points:

• As in a declarative sentence, we have to change the pronouns and the time and place information, and set back the tense (backshift).
• Instead of that (as in a declarative sentence), we use the question word. If there is no question word, we use whether/if instead.
• Besides this, we also need to use an indirect question in indirect speech. This means that after the question word or after whether/if, we simply write a declarative sentence (subject-verb etc.).
• The helping verb do etc., from the direct speech construction is removed.
  

Changing the Tense (backshift)

If the introductory verb is in the simple past (e.g. He said), the tense has to be set back by one degree . The term for this in English is backshift.

Example:

• He said, “I check my mail every day.”
  He said that he checked his mail every day.
• He said, “I saw a new film.”
  He said that he had seen a new film.
• He said, “She was studying when you were plaing.”
  He said that she had been studying where I was playing.

The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn’t, ought to, used to normally do not change.

Example:

• He said, “I could have asked her for an autograph.”
• He said that he could have asked her for an autograph.

No Change of Tenses

If the introductory verb is in the simple present, however (e.g. He says), then the tense remains unchanged, because the introductory clause already indicates that the statement is being immediately repeated (and not at a later point in time).
Example:

• He says, “I saw a new film.”
• He says that he saw a new film.

In some cases, however, we have to change the verb form.

Example:

• She says, “I read every day.”
• She says that she reads every day.
• He says, “She was reading when you are playing.”
• He says that she was reading when I was playing.