Page 128 - English Grammar - 7

8. We told her, “We are leaving for work at 9 a.m.”

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9. Julie said, “I am reading Gulliver’s Travels.”

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10. Vikram proudly said, “I am a manager.”

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If the reporting verb is in present or future tense, then we do not change the tenses. Other
changes are made as discussed before.
1. Anil says, “I work in this office.” (direct speech)

Anil says that he works in this office. (indirect speech)

2. My sister will say, “I am very busy.” (direct speech)

My sister will say that she is very busy. (indirect speech)

Practice Time 2

Rewrite the given sentences into indirect speech.
1. Deepa will say to the audience, “I am not feeling good.”

2. The servant says, “I can run very fast.”
Direct and Indirect Speech
3. My neighbours say, “We need to hire a new watchman.”
4. The manager is going to say, “There is no off this month.”

Let’s Learn Reporting Questions

Read the following examples.
1. My friend said to me, “Are you going to school,” (direct speech)

My friend asked me if I was going to school. (indirect speech)

2. He said to me, “Where do you work?” (direct speech)
He asked me where I worked. (indirect speech)

The reporting verb is changed to asked, inquired, etc. If the question sentence begins with
an auxiliary verb, we use if/whether. If the question sentence begins with a question word,
then we used the same word in indirect speech. Other changes are made as discussed above.

Practice Time 3

Change the speech of these sentences from direct to indirect

1. The stranger said to me, “Do you live in this locality?”
2. He said to his sister, “Why are you so upset today?”
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