What is Reported Speech?
When you repeat what someone said, you have two choices. Direct speech: quote the exact words in inverted commas. Indirect (reported) speech: report the meaning without quoting. The NIOS exam tests your ability to convert between these.
Key Points
- 1Direct: He said, "I am hungry." | Indirect: He said that he was hungry.
- 2Key changes in indirect: inverted commas removed, "that" added, pronouns change (I→he), tense goes back one step
- 3Tense backshift rule: Present→Past | Past→Past Perfect | will→would | can→could | may→might
- 4"Said to" (direct) → "told" (indirect) when there is a named person. "He said to me" → "He told me"
- 5Time/place words change: now→then, today→that day, tomorrow→the next day, here→there, this→that
Pro Tip
The most common mistake is forgetting to change the tense. If the reporting verb is in past tense (said/told), ALL verbs inside must shift back one tense. "am" → "was", "is" → "was", "was" → "had been".
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