Narration change or change is speech is another important chapter of English language. Students have to learn narration in the early level of secondary education for understanding all topics in the upcoming future. From narration change students learn to use direct speech and indirect speech in appropriate places. It helps students to enhance their writing pattern by including proper narration in specific areas. When students have to write dialogues they need to put speech of other persons in both direct and indirect forms. So, it is require for them to learn basics to advance level of narration change for continuing their learning journey smooth and effective. Here we have provided the detail chapter of narration change with numerous examples from all rules which are described in easier way. In this article students will be guided in the right way of learning narration to the better level.
Narration:
There are two kinds of narration or speech which are direct speech and indirect speech.
Direct speech:
When a person says another person’s speech then keep that speech in quotation mark. That sentence contained quotation mark is called direct speech.
We use direct speech to repeat someone’s speech or words.
Indirect speech:
When a person present other person’s speech in indirect way without quotation mark then it is called indirect speech.
We use indirect speech to present other person’s speech in our own words.
A) General rules of changing into indirect speech:
1.) In indirect speech the speaker and the reporting verb are kept unchanged.
2.) The comma and quotation mark are replaced by that after reporting verb.
3.) Reported speech is changed according to the tenses.
Examples.
i) He says, “ I am well”
He says that he is well.
He- the speaker, says- reporting verb, I am well- reported speech
ii) He says, “The earth moves around the sun”.
He says that the earth moves around the sun.
He- the speaker, says- reporting verb, the earth moves around the sun- reported speech
B) Rules of tenses for indirect speech:
1.) If the reporting verb is in present tense or future tense then the reported verb of reported speech remain unchanged.
2.) If the reporting verb is in the past form then the tense within reported speech is changed according to the following rules:
|
Simple present |
Simple past |
| Present continuous |
Past continuous |
|
Present perfect |
Past perfect |
| Present perfect continuous |
Past perfect continuous |
|
Simple past |
Past perfect |
| Past continuous |
Past perfect continuous |
|
Past perfect |
No change |
| Past perfect continuous |
No change |
|
Simple future |
Future in the past |
3.) If the direct speech refers all time truth, habits and universal truth the tense of indirect speech remain unchanged.
Examples:
i) He says, “I am a writer.”
He says that he is a writer.
ii) He said, “I am writing a letter”.
He said that he was writing a letter.
iii) The boys said, “We are playing”.
The boys said that they were playing.
iv) He said, “Honesty is the best policy”.
He said that honesty is the best policy.
C) Rules for changing persons in indirect speech:
1.) First person in the direct speech like I, we, us, our is changed into the person of the speaker.
2.) Second person in indirect speech like you, yours is changed to to person according to the person spoken about.
3.) Third person of direct speech like he, she, they, it, his, her, there are remain unchanged in indirect speech.
4.) When there is uncertainty about the refereed pronoun in indirect speech then the person’s name of the pronoun should be kept in bracket.
Examples:
i) You said, “I am ill.”
You said that you were ill.
ii) You said to me, “I am fine”.
You said that you were fine.
iii) You said, “She protected herself”.
You said that she had protected herself.
iv) I said to you, “I am right.”
I told you that I was right.
D) Rules of changing time and place:
|
Direct |
Indirect |
| Now |
Then |
|
Here |
There |
| These |
Those |
|
This |
That |
| Today |
That day |
|
Yesterday |
The previous day |
| Tomorrow |
The next day |
|
Last night |
The previous night |
| Ago |
Before |
E) Rules for Assertive Sentence:
1.) Say, said, tell, told etc. are used as reporting verb.
2.) If there is said to then told will be used in indirect speech and said will be used for said.
3.) That will be used as linker in indirect speech.
Ex. i) he said to me, “you are honest”.
He told me that I was honest.
F) Rules for Interrogative Sentence:
1.) Ask, enquire, wanted to know etc. are used as reporting verb in interrogative sentence.
2.) After changing narration of interrogative sentence it becomes assertive sentence in indirect speech and full stop (.) is used in place of question mark.
3.) Wh word+ auxiliary verb+ sub = interrogative, direct speech
Wh word+ sub+ auxiliary verb = assertive, indirect speech
4.) In case of wh interrogative wh word remains in indirect speech for which no other linker is used.
5.) In case of auxiliary interrogative if/ whether are used as linker before indirect speech.
Ex.
i) The teacher said to me, “Why are you late?”
The teacher asked me why I was late.
ii) The doctor said to the patient, “what is your problem?
The doctor asked the patient what was his problem.
iii) Mother said to me, “will you go to the market?”
Mother asked me if I would go to the market.
iv) My father said to me, “where did you go last night?”
My father asked me where I had gone the previous night.
v) My cousin brother said to me, “are you prepared for your examination?”
My cousin brother asked me if I was prepared for my examination.
vi) My friend said to me, “can you buy groceries for me?”
My friend asked me if I could buy groceries for her.
vii) Mother said to her daughter, “where are you going today?”
Mother asked her daughter where she was going that day.
viii) The girl said to the boy, “what did you say about me yesterday?”
The girl asked the boy what he had said about her the previous day.
ix) Father said to his son, “why have you not done your homework?”
Father asked his son why he had not done his homework.
x) The traveller said to the person, “Can you tell me the nearest way to the station?”
The traveller asked the person if he could tell the nearest way to the station.
G) Rules for Imperative Sentence:
1.) Advise/ request/ order/ asked/ told are used as reporting verb in indirect speech of imperative sentence.
2.) Imperative sentence becomes simple sentence after narration change for that to is used before reported speech as verb.
Ex.
i) The father said to his son, “don’t go near the river”
The father advised his son not to go near the river.
Or,
The father forbade his son to go near the river.
Or,
Father prohibited his son from going near the river.
3.) Imperative with let: proposal/ suggest, prayed
Propose/ suggest: if propose or suggest is addressed through let then propse/suggest is used as reporting verb. That is used as linker in indirect speech and should will definitely be used.
To is not used after propose but it is used after suggest.
Ex. I said to my friend, “let’s go for a picnic”.
I proposed my friend that we should go for a picnic.
Prayer: if prayer is addressed in by let then prayed is used as reporting verb. Linker that is used before reported speech and might be allowed to+ v1/ might+ v1 is used to as verb of reported speech.
Ex. the servant said to his master, “let me go home for a few days”.
The servant prayed his master that he might be allowed to go home/ might go home for a few days.
H) Rules for Optative Sentence:
1.) Wish/ pray is used as reporting verb in optative sentence. Linker that is used before reported speech and optative sentence is changed into assertive sentence after narration change. For that ‘may’ comes after subject.
Ex. i) the mother said to her son, “may you live long”.
The mother prayed that her son might live long.
ii) The minister said, “long live the king”
The minister wished that the king might live long.
I) Rules for Exclamatory Sentence:
1.) Reporting verbs like exclaimed in joy, anger, grief, sorrow, disgust, surprise, wonder, contempt etc. are used in indirect speech of exclamatory sentence.
2.) Linker that is used before reported speech. Exclamatory sentence is changed into assertive sentence. For that full stop (.) is used in place of exclamation mark.
3.) Wh words are changed into big, great, very etc. in indirect speech.
Ex.
i) He said to me, “what a fool you are!”
He exclaimed in disgust that I was a big/great fool.
ii) He said, “what a pleasant atmosphere this place has!”
He exclaimed in wonder that that place had a very pleasant atmosphere.
Practice set:
1.) The boys said, “we were playing in the park”.
2.) Anshu said to Bina, “I gave you a pen”.
3.) I said to him, “the sky is blue today”.
4.) He said to me, “you shall obey your parents.”
5.) I said to him, “did you go there?”
6.) The boy said to me, “why did you hurt me?”
7.) My aunt asked, “will you help me to move the piano?”
8.) You said to them, “have you seen the girl?”
9.) He said, “let us go on a tour”.
10.) He said, “let me have a cup of coffee”.
11.) He said, “let us go for a walk”.
12.) He said to his son, “may god bless you”.
13.) You said, “had I won a lottery.”
14.) He said to me, “may you be happy”.
15.) He said, “what a big surprise!”
16.) They said, “hurrah! We have won the match.”
17.) She said, “alas! He is no more”
18.) He asked her, “can you sing a song?”
19.) She said to me, “when will you go home?”
20.) She said, “I am going out now.”
Solutions:
1.) The boys said that they were playing in the park.
2.) Anshu told Bina that she had given her a pen.
3.) I told him that the sky was blue that day.
4.) She told me that I should obey my parents.
5.) I asked him if he had gone there.
6.) The boy asked me why I had hurt him.
7.) My aunt asked if I would help her to move the piano.
8.) You asked them if they had seen the girl.
9.) He suggested that they should go on a tour.
10.) He wished that he might have a cup of coffee.
11.) He suggested that they should go for a walk.
12.) He prayed that god might bless his son.
13.) You wished that you had won a lottery.
14.) He wished that I might be happy.
15.) He exclaimed in wonder that it was a very big surprise.
16.) They exclaimed in joy that they had won the match.
17.) She exclaimed in grief that he was no more.
18.) He asked her if she could sing a song.
19.) She asked me when I would go home.
20.) She said that she was going out then.
