Change of Speech

Direct to indirect speech

98 practice questionsPage updated 27 Mar 2026Review metadata pendingPractice questions

Change of Speech, also known as Reported Speech, involves converting statements from Direct Speech (exact words spoken) to Indirect Speech (reported words) and vice versa. This transformation requires careful attention to tense changes, pronoun adjustments, time and place expressions, and appropriate reporting verbs. Mastery of these rules is essential for accurate communication and sentence correction in competitive exams.

Key formulas and rules

Direct: He said, 'I am tired.' -> Indirect: He said that he was tired.

Present Indefinite -> Past Indefinite (e.g., am/is/are -> was/were; do/does -> did)

Present Continuous -> Past Continuous (e.g., is doing -> was doing)

Present Perfect -> Past Perfect (e.g., has done -> had done)

Past Indefinite -> Past Perfect (e.g., did -> had done)

Past Continuous -> Past Perfect Continuous (e.g., was doing -> had been doing)

Shall -> Should; Will -> Would; Can -> Could; May -> Might

This -> That; These -> Those; Now -> Then; Here -> There; Today -> That day; Tomorrow -> The next day; Yesterday -> The day before

Say/says -> Said; Say to -> Tell/tells -> Told; Ask/asks -> Asked

Key concepts

Reporting Verbs and Their Usage

The choice of reporting verb determines the structure of indirect speech. 'Say' is used without an object (He said that...), while 'tell' requires an object (He told me that...). 'Ask' is used for questions (He asked if/whether...), 'request' for polite requests (He requested me to...), 'order' for commands (He ordered them to...), 'advise' for suggestions (He advised me to...), and 'exclaim' for exclamations (He exclaimed that...). The reporting verb often changes based on the mood and context of the original statement.

Representative solved questions

See the kind of question in this topic before opening the full practice set.

Question 1

Direct: He said, 'I am going to the market.'
Indirect: ?

He said that he was going to the market.
He said that he is going to the market.
He said that he had been going to the market.
He told that he was going to the market.

Answer: A. He said that he was going to the market.

Explanation

Step 1: Remove quotation marks and use 'that' as conjunction.
Step 2: Change 'I' to 'he' (first person changes according to subject).
Step 3: Change present continuous 'am going' to past continuous 'was going'.
Step 4: 'Said' remains 'said' (no object needed before 'that').
Answer: He said that he was going to the market.

Sources and review notes

This is an AISEA-authored practice question.

Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening

Question 2

Direct: She said, 'I have finished my work.'
Indirect: ?

She said that she has finished her work.
She said that she had finished her work.
She said that she finished her work.
She told that she had finished her work.

Answer: B. She said that she had finished her work.

Explanation

Step 1: Present perfect 'have finished' changes to past perfect 'had finished'.
Step 2: 'I' changes to 'she'.
Step 3: 'My' changes to 'her' (possessive adjective changes).
Step 4: Use 'that' after 'said'.
Answer: She said that she had finished her work.

Sources and review notes

This is an AISEA-authored practice question.

Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening

Question 3

Direct: They said, 'We will go to London tomorrow.'
Indirect: ?

They said that they will go to London tomorrow.
They said that they would go to London tomorrow.
They said that they would go to London the next day.
They told that they would go to London the next day.

Answer: C. They said that they would go to London the next day.

Explanation

Step 1: 'Will' changes to 'would' (future in past).
Step 2: 'We' changes to 'they'.
Step 3: 'Tomorrow' changes to 'the next day' (time expression changes).
Step 4: Use 'said that'.
Answer: They said that they would go to London the next day.

Sources and review notes

This is an AISEA-authored practice question.

Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening

Change of Speech

Key formulas and rules

Key concepts

Reporting Verbs and Their Usage

Tense Changes in Indirect Speech

Pronoun Changes

Handling Questions in Indirect Speech

Commands, Requests, and Exclamations

Converting Indirect to Direct Speech

Worked examples

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Representative solved questions

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Common mistakes and useful habits

Ready to test your understanding?

Key formulas and rules

Key concepts

Reporting Verbs and Their Usage

Tense Changes in Indirect Speech

Pronoun Changes

Handling Questions in Indirect Speech

Commands, Requests, and Exclamations

Converting Indirect to Direct Speech

Worked examples

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Representative solved questions

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Common mistakes and useful habits

Ready to test your understanding?

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