Master reported speech — tense backshift, pronoun changes, time expressions, question transformations, and every pattern that appears in SSC, IBPS and other competitive exams.
1
Section 1 of 7
💬 Direct vs Indirect Speech
Direct Speech reports the exact words of the speaker, enclosed in inverted commas (quotation marks). The reporting clause (e.g. He said) and the reported clause (the actual words) are separated by a comma. Example: He said, “I am happy.”
Indirect Speech (Reported Speech) conveys the meaning of the speaker's words without quoting them exactly. The inverted commas are removed and the conjunction “that” is added (for statements). Example: He said that he was happy.
Reporting ClauseHe said / She told meThe part that identifies the speaker. Contains the reporting verb (said, told, asked, ordered, etc.). Never changes tense.
Reported Clause“I am very tired.”The part inside inverted commas in direct speech. In indirect speech, this becomes a subordinate clause (tense, pronoun and time words change).
said vs toldsaid (no object) · told (needs object)“said to me” → “told me”. You can say “He told me” but NOT “He told that...” without an object.
Three Things That ChangeTense · Pronoun · Time/PlaceThese three always need checking in every conversion. An exam error-spotting question will test exactly one of these three.
Inverted Comma Rule: When converting to indirect speech — (1) Remove all inverted commas and exclamation/question marks from the reported part. (2) Add “that” for statements. (3) Add “if/whether” for Yes/No questions. (4) Retain the wh-word for Wh-questions. (5) Use “to + infinitive” for commands and requests.
