Concept
Narration (or speech) refers to how we report what someone said. There are two types:
- Direct Speech: The exact words of the speaker, enclosed in quotation marks.
- Indirect Speech (Reported Speech): The speaker's words reported by someone else, without quotation marks.
- He said that he was happy.
BCS frequently asks you to convert Direct to Indirect (and occasionally Indirect to Direct). The conversion involves systematic changes to the reporting verb, tense, pronouns, and time/place words.
Key Rules
Step 1: Change the Reporting Verb
| Direct |
Indirect |
| said |
said (no object) / told (with object) |
| said to |
told |
| asked / said to (question) |
asked / inquired |
| said to (command) |
ordered / commanded / told |
| said to (request) |
requested / begged |
| said to (exclamation) |
exclaimed (with joy/sorrow/surprise) |
Step 2: Tense Back-Shift
When the reporting verb is in the past tense, shift the tense one step back:
| Direct (Original) |
Indirect (Back-shifted) |
| Simple Present ("I go") |
Simple Past (he went) |
| Present Continuous ("I am going") |
Past Continuous (he was going) |
| Present Perfect ("I have gone") |
Past Perfect (he had gone) |
| Simple Past ("I went") |
Past Perfect (he had gone) |
| Past Continuous ("I was going") |
Past Perfect Continuous (he had been going) |
| will |
would |
| can |
could |
| may |
might |
| shall |
should |
| must |
had to (or must — both accepted) |
Exceptions — NO Tense Change
These situations keep the original tense even when the reporting verb is past:
- Universal truth: He said, "The earth moves around the sun" → He said that the earth moves around the sun.
- Habitual fact: She said, "I always drink tea in the morning" → She said that she always drinks tea in the morning.
- Historical fact: The teacher said, "The Mughal Empire was founded in 1526" → The teacher said that the Mughal Empire was founded in 1526.
- Past Perfect stays Past Perfect: He said, "I had finished the work" → He said that he had finished the work. (No further back-shift possible.)
Step 3: Pronoun Changes
Follow the S-O-N rule:
- 1st person → changes to match the Subject of the reporting verb
- 2nd person → changes to match the Object of the reporting verb
- 3rd person → No change
Examples:
- He said to me, "I love your country." → He told me that he loved my country.
- I → he (1st person → subject "he")
- your → my (2nd person → object "me")
Step 4: Time & Place Word Changes
| Direct |
Indirect |
| this |
that |
| these |
those |
| here |
there |
| now |
then |
| today |
that day |
| tonight |
that night |
| tomorrow |
the next day / the following day |
| yesterday |
the previous day / the day before |
| ago |
before |
| last night |
the previous night |
| next week |
the following week |
| come |
go |
Special Sentence Types
Wh-Questions:
- Direct: He said to me, "Where do you live?"
- Indirect: He asked me where I lived.
- Rule: Keep the wh-word. Change to statement order (subject + verb). Remove the question mark.
Yes/No Questions:
- Direct: He said to me, "Are you happy?"
- Indirect: He asked me if/whether I was happy.
- Rule: Use if or whether as the connector. Statement order. No question mark.
Imperative (Commands/Requests):
- Direct: He said to me, "Please help me."
- Indirect: He requested me to help him.
- Direct: He said, "Don't go there."
- Indirect: He told me not to go there.
- Rule: Use to + base verb for commands. Use not to + base verb for negative commands.
Exclamatory:
- Direct: He said, "What a beautiful place!"
- Indirect: He exclaimed with wonder that it was a very beautiful place.
- Direct: She said, "Alas! I am ruined."
- Indirect: She exclaimed with sorrow that she was ruined.
BCS Shortcuts
- S-O-N for pronouns: 1st person → Subject, 2nd person → Object, 3rd person → No change. This covers 90% of pronoun questions.
- Back-shift one step: Just move one tense back. Present → Past. Past → Past Perfect. Will → Would.
- Universal truth = no change: If the quoted sentence is a scientific or eternal fact, do NOT change the tense.
- Questions lose their question mark: Both wh-questions and yes/no questions become statements in indirect speech. No question mark at the end.
- "if/whether" for yes/no: If the direct question can be answered with yes or no, use "if" or "whether" in indirect.
Solved Examples (5 BCS-style MCQ)
Q1. He said, "I am writing a letter." (Change to indirect speech)
- (a) He said that he was writing a letter
- (b) He said that I am writing a letter
- (c) He said that he is writing a letter
- (d) He said that he has been writing a letter
- Answer: (a) He said that he was writing a letter
- Explanation: "I" → "he" (1st person → subject). Present Continuous → Past Continuous (am writing → was writing). Reporting verb "said" is past, so tense back-shifts.
Q2. The teacher said, "The sun rises in the east." (Indirect)
- (a) The teacher said that the sun rose in the east
- (b) The teacher said that the sun rises in the east
- (c) The teacher said that the sun has risen in the east
- (d) The teacher said that the sun had risen in the east
- Answer: (b) The teacher said that the sun rises in the east
- Explanation: Universal truth — no tense change. "The sun rises" stays as "rises" even though the reporting verb is past.
Q3. She said to me, "Do you know my father?" (Indirect)
- (a) She asked me if I knew her father
- (b) She asked me that did I know her father
- (c) She asked me whether do I know her father
- (d) She told me if I knew her father
- Answer: (a) She asked me if I knew her father
- Explanation: Yes/No question → use "if/whether". Change to statement order (I knew, not did I know). "you" → "I" (2nd person → object). "my" → "her" (1st person → subject "she").
Q4. He said to me, "Please lend me your pen." (Indirect)
- (a) He ordered me to lend him my pen
- (b) He requested me to lend him my pen
- (c) He told me to lend him my pen
- (d) He suggested me to lend him my pen
- Answer: (b) He requested me to lend him my pen
- Explanation: "Please" indicates a request → reporting verb becomes "requested". Command → to + base verb. "me" → "him", "your" → "my".
Q5. He said, "I went to Dhaka yesterday." (Indirect)
- (a) He said that he went to Dhaka the day before
- (b) He said that he had gone to Dhaka the previous day
- (c) He said that he has gone to Dhaka yesterday
- (d) He said that he had gone to Dhaka yesterday
- Answer: (b) He said that he had gone to Dhaka the previous day
- Explanation: Simple Past → Past Perfect (went → had gone). "yesterday" → "the previous day" or "the day before". "I" → "he".
Common Mistakes — Watch Out!
- Universal truth tense change: Students often back-shift "The earth moves" to "moved". Do NOT change the tense for universal truths, habitual facts, or historical facts.
- Question mark in indirect speech: The indirect version of a question is a statement. There should be no question mark at the end.
- "Said" vs "Told": "Said" does not take an indirect object directly. "He said me" is WRONG. Use "He told me" or "He said to me."
- "If" word order: "He asked if I was happy" — NOT "He asked if was I happy." Indirect questions use statement order.
- Forgetting time/place word changes: "Yesterday" must become "the previous day." "Tomorrow" must become "the next day." These small changes cost marks.
Question Pattern Recognition
Pattern 1 — "Change the narration":
Follow the 4 steps: Change reporting verb → Back-shift tense → Change pronouns (S-O-N) → Change time/place words.
Pattern 2 — "Which is the correct indirect form?":
Eliminate options with wrong tense, wrong pronoun, or retained question mark. The correct option will have all four changes done properly.
Pattern 3 — Universal truth detection:
If the quoted sentence contains a fact (scientific, mathematical, geographical), the tense will NOT change. Look for this trap.
Pattern 4 — Question narration:
Wh-question → keeps the wh-word + statement order. Yes/No → if/whether + statement order. No question mark.
Pattern 5 — Imperative narration:
"Please" → requested. "Don't" → told/ordered + not to. The verb becomes "to + base form".