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Sentence Types, Active-Passive Voice and Direct-Indirect Speech
Sentence Types, Active-Passive Voice and Direct-Indirect Speech
1. Recognise and understand the connotation/usage of given grammatical structures in written and
spoken form.
2. Analyse the grammatical structure of sentences, using grammatical terms correctly.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of grammatical structure of sentences contributing to the coherence of
paragraphs and texts.
4. Use grammatical structures meaningfully and accurately in oral and written work.
5. Identify and rectify errors when using grammatical structures.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
♦ Understand the importance of grammar in language learning.
INTRODUCTION
Grammar comprises rules of a language governing the sounds, words, sentences, and other elements, as well
as their combination and interpretation. In a restricted sense, the term refers only to the study of sentence and
word structure (syntax and morphology), excluding vocabulary and pronunciation. The systematic description of
the features of a language is also a grammar. These features are as follows-:
1. Phonetics- Phonetics is the branch of linguistics which deals with the production, transmission, and
reception of speech sounds.
2. Morphology- The study of formation of words (internal construction).
3. Syntax- The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
4. Semantics- is the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning. The two main areas are
logical semantics, concerned with matters such as sense and reference and presupposition and
implication, and lexical semantics, concerned with the analysis of word meanings and relations
between them.
5. Pragmatics- The branch of linguistics dealing with language in use and the contexts in which it is used.
Grammar is the system/structure of a language governed by rules. However, language development did not
begin with formation of rules. People started communicating through sounds. Gradually words, phrases and
sentences were evolved and language got developed. No language is static. It evolves and changes over time.
Likewise, the set of rules or grammar also undergo a change. Therefore, it can be simply defined as a set of
rules that people follow to interact at a particular time.
Knowledge of grammar of a language is not necessary to speak it. All of us speak a language or multiple
languages without any awareness of its rules and structures. On the other hand, if we want to learn a foreign
language, grammar helps to attain proficiency quickly and efficiently. Familiarity with grammatical rules is an
aid in building proficiency in the written and spoken formats.
COMPLEMENTS
A word or word group that completes the meaning of a subject, an object, or a verb is called a complement.
1. Subject complement: Follows a verb and modifies or refers to the subject. It may be a noun or an
adjective.
• Kamla is pretty. (The adjective pretty is a subject complement; it describes the subject,
Kamla.)
• Ms. Monica Sharma is an English teacher.(The noun phrase English teacher is also a subject
complement; it describes Monica Sharma.)
2. Object complement: Follows and modifies or refers to a direct object.
• I consider Indian television negative. (television is the direct object. Negative describes
television; it is the object complement.)
• The judges elected her Miss Universe, 2016. (Miss Universe is the object complement,
describing the direct object her.)
3. Verb complement: This is a direct or indirect object of a verb. It may be a noun, pronoun, or word or
word group acting as a noun.
• Sushma gave Shaily my chocolate. (Shaily is the indirect object, my chocolate is the direct
object of the verb gave. Both are considered verb complements)
TYPES OF SENTENCES
Sentences are classified according to function and structure.
1. Classification of Sentences according to Function:
There are four types of sentences based on function:
a. Declarative Sentences
b. Imperative Sentences
c. Interrogative Sentences
d. Exclamatory Sentences
a. Declarative sentences: Declarative sentences simply make a statement or express an opinion. In
other words, they make a declaration. These sentences can be positive or negative statements, a
proverb, a universal truth or a suggestion. These sentences end with a full stop (.).
Examples:
• It is raining. (declaration)
• The child is going to school. (simple statement)
• Honesty is the best policy. (universal truth)
b. Compound sentences
c. Complex sentences
d. Complex Compound sentences
Simple Sentences: A simple sentence structure consists of only one subject and one predicate. It
has just one finite verb. In other words, it consists of a single main clause. It expresses a single
complete thought that can stand on its own.
• I walk.
This two-word simple sentence has one main clause that consists of the subject ‘I’ and a
verb (the predicate) ‘walk’ that expresses a complete thought.
• Shyamalee ran after her little brother.
This simple sentence has one main clause.
The subject is ‘Shymalee’, and the predicate, ‘ran after her little brother. The predicate is
a verb phrase that consists of more than one word.
• In great anger, the man shouted and yelled at his lazy son.
This simple sentence has one main clause with a single subject, ‘man’, and single
predicate, ‘shouted and yelled at his lazy son’.
This predicate has two verbs, known as a compound verb: shouted and yelled.
Note: This compound verb should not be confused with a compound sentence. ‘In great
anger’ and ‘At his lazy son’ are prepositional phrases.
Compound Sentences: A compound sentence is composed of two or more main/independent
clauses. It does not have a dependent clause. The clauses are connected by a coordinating
conjunction, a comma, a semicolon and even a colon.
Basically, a compound sentence contains two simple sentences.
(Coordinating conjunctions such as for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so, connect grammatically
similar elements-two nouns, two verbs, two modifiers, two independent clauses).
Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join words and groups of words of equal weight in a
sentence. There are many different pairs of correlative conjunctions: either...or, not only...but (also),
neither...nor, both...and, whether...or, just as...so, no sooner...than, rather...than.)
Examples:
• The robber tried to escape but the police caught him.
• Both sides of the conjunction “but” are complete sentences. “The robber tried to escape” can
stand alone and so can “the police caught him.” Therefore, this is a compound sentence.
• I will decide what I must do; you are requested not to interfere.
• The law has been passed: from 1 July, all businesses will have to comply with GST
norms.
• The fire raged on for days; consequently, the whole forest was destroyed
• The night came on, the rain fell heavily and we all got very wet.
Complex Sentences: A Complex sentence has one main clause and one or more Dependent
clauses (also called subordinate clauses).
The subordinating conjunction performs two important functions within a sentence.
First, demonstrate the importance of the independent clause and second, provide a link between two
ideas in the same sentence by indicating a time, place, or cause and therefore affecting the
relationship between the clauses.
The subordinating conjunctions include the following:
Indicating Time: after, before, since, when, whenever, while, until, as, once, as long as.
Indicating Place: where, wherever.
Indicating Manner: as if, as though, how.
Indicating Reason: because, since, so that, why, in order that, now that, as, so.
Indicating Condition: if, unless, until, in case (that), provided that, only if/ if only, that
Indicating Concession: although, though, even though, while, whereas, rather than.
Examples:
• The boy ran away when he saw the lion.(one main clause+ one subordinate clause)
• When he saw the bear, he climbed the nearest tree, because he was terrified. (one main clause+ two
subordinate clauses)
• I think that you should ask him personally, if it is convenient for him, before you call on him.( one main
clause+ three subordinate clauses)
In complex sentences, subordinate clauses function within the sentence as adjectives, adverbs, or
nouns.
Complex compound sentences: A sentence with two or more independent clauses plus one or more
dependent clauses is called compound-complex or complex-compound.
In the following examples independent clauses have been underlined.
• He smiled brightly and laughed delightedly, when he saw his new bicycle.
• Although I like to watch movies, I haven't been able to see any lately, and there haven’t been any
interesting ones released recently.
• The door of the room was open as I crossed the hall and I saw the most beautiful arrangement of
flowers.
• I usually use a wooden spoon, whenever I cook in nonstick ware, but sometimes I prefer to use my
plastic spatula.
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
Subject-verb agreement is the correspondence of a verb withits subject in person (first, second, or third)
and number (singular or plural). It is also known as subject-verb concord.
The principle of subject-verb agreement applies to finite verbs in the present tense and, in a limited way, to the
past forms of the verb to be (was and were).
Rules to remember:
1. Basic Rule: Subject and verb must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the
background of the concept.
The lion roars when he is angry.
The lions roar when they are angry.
2. Subordinate clauses that come between the subject and verb do not affect their agreement.
The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, is usually very good.
3. A prepositional phrase cannot contain the subject of the sentence. Do not be confused when a
prepositional phrase (a phrase that begins with of, in, between, and so on) comes between the subject
and the verb. In such cases, the object of the preposition appears to be the subject of the sentence
when in reality it is not.
Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.
• The colours of the rainbow are beautiful.
• Food between the teeth results in decay.
• Water in the fuel lines causes an engine to stall.
4. When sentences start with "there" or "here," the subject will always be placed after the verb. Some
care needs to be taken to identify each part correctly.
• There is a problem with the balance sheet.
• Here are the papers you requested.
5. Subject does not always comes before verbs in questions. Make sure you accurately identify the
subject before deciding on the proper verb form to use.
Where are the pieces of this puzzle?
6. If two subjects are joined by ’and’, they typically require a plural verb form.
• The cow and the pig are jumping over the moon.
• My friend and his mother are in town.
7. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by ‘and’ refer to the same person or thing as
a whole.
Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish.
8. If one of the words ’each’, ’every’, or ’no’ comes before the subject, the verb is singular.
No smoking or drinking is allowed.
Every child has right to education.
9. If the subjects are both singular and are connected by the words ’or’ ’nor’, ’neither/nor’
’either/or’, or ’not only/but also’, the verb is singular.
Either Jessica or Christian is to blame for the accident.
10. The only time the object of the preposition decides plural or singular verb forms is when noun and
pronoun subjects like ’some’, ’half’, ’none’, ’more’, or ’al’" are followed by a prepositional phrase. Then
the object of the preposition determines the form of the verb.
• All of the chicken is gone.
• All of the chickens are gone.
Some of the books were missing.
All of the cookies were eaten.
11. The singular verb form is usually reserved for units of measurement of distance, periods of
time, sum of money, quantity etc.
• Four quarts of oil was required to get the car running.
• Three miles is too far to walk.
• Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
12. If the subjects are both plural and are connected by the words ’or’, ’nor’, ’neither/nor’, ’either/or’, or ’not
only/but also’, the verb is plural.
• Not only dogs but cats are also available at the animal shelter.
• Neither Riya nor Siya is available.
13. If one subject is singular and the other is plural, and the words are connected by the words ‘or’, ‘nor’
’neither/nor’, ‘either/or’ or ‘not only/but also’ use the verb form of the subject that is nearest the
verb.
• Either the bears or the lion has escaped from the zoo.
• Neither the lion nor the bears have escaped from the zoo.
14. Indefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs (with some exceptions).
• Everybody wants to be loved.
• Is anyone home?
15. The exceptions to the above rule include the pronouns ‘few’, ‘many’, ‘several’, ‘both’, ‘all’ " and
‘some’ These always take the plural form.
• Few were left alive after the flood.
• Many children are coming to Rohan’s birthday party.
16. If two infinitives are separated by ‘and’, they take the plural form of the verb.
To walk and to chew gum require great skill.
17. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence, they take the singular form of the verb. However,
when they are linked by ’and’, they take the plural form.
• Standing in the water was a bad idea.
• Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies.
18. A collective noun, such as ‘team’ or ‘staff ’ can be either singular or plural depending upon the rest of
the sentence. Typically, they take the singular form, as the collective noun is treated as a cohesive
single unit.
• The herd of cows is stampeding.
• The committee unanimously has taken the decision.
PRACTICE EXERCISE
Complete the editing exercise below. Several (but not all) of the following sentences contain errors in subject-
verb agreement. When you spot an error, correct it. If a sentence is free of errors, identify it as correct.
1. Music soothe me.
2. John bake brownies every Christmas.
3. Diana and Shrutiis arguing again.
4. Avantika never takes the bus to work.
5. The people who own that house has no insurance.
6. One of these mechanics have a set of jumper cables.
7. Richard and his brother is mending the wings of butterflies.
8. Both of my essays is brilliant.
9. The pulses emitted by a neutron star recurs at precise intervals.
10. One of my aunts dances at the Rainbow Cafe.
11. Mr. Bates and his friends has gone to the concert.
12. Both of my daughters are professional doctors.
13. Every one of the workers receive the same benefits.
14. There is two rodents in my bathroom.
15. This box of toys belong in the attic.
ANSWERS
Here are the answers below, with the corrected words in bold.
1. Music soothes me.
2. John bakes brownies every Halloween.
3. Diana and Shruti are arguing again.
4. Correct
5. The people who own that house have no insurance.
6. One of these mechanics has a set of jumper cables.
7. Richard and his brother are mending the wings of butterflies.
8. Both of my essays are brilliant.
9. The pulses emitted by a neutron star recur at precise intervals.
10. Correct
11. Mr. Bates and his friends have gone to the concert.
12. Correct
13. Every one of the workers receives the same benefits.
14. There are two rodents in my bathroom.
15. This box of toys belongs in the attic.
TENSES
Grammar tenses refer to the state of the verb. The state, or tense, of the verb explains the time of the action.
The present tense is used to describe things that are happening right now, or things that are continuous.
The past is used to describe things that have already happened (e.g., earlier in the day, yesterday, last week,
three years ago).
The future tense describes things that have yet to happen (e.g., later, tomorrow, next week, next year, three
years from now).
Example:
♦ I dance. (Present)
♦ I danced. (Past)
♦ I will dance. (Future)
Perfect I had eaten the chocolate. I have eaten the I will have eaten the
chocolate. chocolate.
To indicate a completed action To indicate past action To indicate an action that
of the past that happened which is not defined by a will be complete before
before another event took time of occurrence. another event takes
place. place.
To indicate an action
which started in the past
and has continued up
until now.
Perfect continuous I had been eating the I have been eating the I will have been eating
chocolate. chocolate. the chocolate.
To indicate an action in the To indicate an action To indicate an action that
past that began before a which started at some will have happened for
certain point in the past and point in the past and may some time and will not be
continued up until that time. or may not be complete. complete yet at a certain
point in the future.
2) Passive Voice
A verb is said to be in passive voice when its form shows that the subject is acted on by the verb,
which means subject is the receiver of the action.
Though active voice is the preferred mode of communication, there are sometimes good reasons to
use the passive voice.
• To emphasise the action rather than the actor
The GST bill was passed in the parliament.
• To keep the subject and focus consistent throughout a passage
A new experimental liver transplant operation was performed successfully yesterday.
• The speaker is being discreet by not naming the person/persons responsible for any
deed/ action.
The message has been misinterpreted.
• To describe a condition in which the actor is unknown or unimportant
The public buildings were damaged in the riots.
• To create an authoritative tone
Entry into the restricted area is forbidden.
• In most newspaper headlines as the news/ action is more important than the doer.
Nagapada destroyed by cyclone fury.
Examples:
• A story was written on the wall by Rohit.
• A song was sung by Sanya.
• The boy was hit by Radha.
• The letter was read by Amit.
• Company targets are set every year.
• The factory was set up in 1985.
• Production targets were met by the workforce. (The focus is on the production targets, but at
the same time we mention who they were met by ,without emphasising it.)
Rules for changing active into passive:
a) Change of subject and object: The object of the active voice becomes the subject of the passive
voice and the subject becomes object of the passive voice.
Basic structure of the sentence
Active voice: Subject + Verb + Object
Passive Voice: Object + Verb +Subject
c) Change of Pronouns :
The nominative/subjective case is used for the subject of the verb, i.e. the word that denotes
who/what does what the verb says.
The accusative/objective case marks the object of the verb, i.e. the word that receives the action of
the verb (when there is such a receiver).
Active voice: I like T.V programmes with positive content.
Passive voice: T.V. programmes with positive content are liked by me.
d) Addition of the word ‘by’: The passive verb is followed by ‘by’+ ‘doer’. If the doer is not known or
irrelevant, it is omitted in the passive voice.
Active voice: Lalita teaches poor children every weekend.
Passive voice: Poor children are taught by Lalita very weekend.
Active voice: Someone broke all the pots.
Passive voice: All the pots were broken. (object not required)
e) When there are two objects in an active voice sentences, there are two possible passive
sentences.
Sentence 1: The farmer gave the cows some hay and oats. (Active Voice)
Sentence 1: The cows were given some hay and oats by the farmer. (Passive voice)
Sentence 2: The farmer gave some hay and oats to the cows. (Active Voice)
Sentence 2: Some hay and oats were given to the cows by the farmer. (Passive voice)
There are two objects in each of the above sentences:
Object 1 = indirect object → the cows
Object 2 = direct object → some hay and oats
h) Modals: Can, could, should etc. do not change when changing active into passive.
• The rich should help the poor. (Active voice)
The poor should be helped by the rich. (Passive voice)
• Students ought to listen to their teacher. (Active voice)
The teacher ought to be listened to by the students. (Passive voice)
i) Only transitive verbs can be changed into passive form, intransitive verbs remain in the active
form only.
Explanation:
Transitive verbs are action verbs that have an object to receive the action.
Example:
I baked a cake. (Active).
A cake was baked by me. (Passive)
Varun hit the ball. (Active)
The ball was hit by Varun. (Passive)
Intransitive verbs are action verbs that do not have an object to receive the action.
Example:
The Sun rises in the east.
Water flows under the bridge.
(No passive voice possible for the above sentences)
2. Passive Voice: Changing Passive to Active Voice
When you change a sentence from passive to active voice, reverse the position of the subject and
object.
You can identify the doer by locating the ‘by the’ phrase.
Appropriate changes in the form of the verb must be made.
At times, the ‘doer’ is not identified in the sentence. In such cases, you have to presume a doer from
the context.
The rules applied to change active voice into passive have to be inverted to change passive
into active voice.
Passive Voice: The book (object on which action is performed; subject in this sentence) is being
read (verb) by most of the class. (subject who performs the action; object in this sentence)
Active Voice: Most of the class (subject) is reading (verb) the book. (object)
Passive Voice: Results (object on which action is performed; subject in this sentence) will be
published (verb) by? in the next journal.
Active Voice: The researchers (subject) will publish (verb) the results (object) in the next journal.
Passive Voice: A policy of whitewashing and cover-up (object on which action is performed;
subject in this sentence) has been pursued (verb) by the CIA director and his close advisors.
(subject who performs the action; object in this sentence)
Active Voice: The CIA director and his close advisors (subject) have pursued (verb) a policy of
whitewashing and cover-up. (object)
Passive Voice: Mistakes (object on which action is performed; subject in this sentence) were
made (verb) by? Agent is not specified.
Active Voice: We (subject) made (verb) mistakes (object). The agent ‘We’ is made the ‘subject’ of
the sentence.
5. Generally, reports of speeches during Annual General Meetings/ other meetings are noted in indirect
speech.
6. Newspaper reports use the indirect speech format most often to report who said what, when and
where.
Examples of direct and indirect speech:
She said, “I am busy tomorrow”. (Direct )
She said that she was busy the next day. (Indirect )
Note the changes in the sentence when direct speech is changed to indirect speech:
1. Notice that in direct speech inverted commas or speech marks are used to mark off the exact words of
the speaker. In indirect speech, we do not use them.
2. The conjunction ‘that’ is used before the indirect statement.
3. The pronoun ‘I’ is changed to ‘she’.
4. The verb ‘am’ is changed to ‘was’.
5. The adverb ‘tomorrow’ is changed to ‘the next day’.
Rules for changing Direct Speech into Indirect speech
Certain rules need to be followed while changing direct to indirect speech. Below is a list of rules for the same:
1. When the reporting or principal verb is in the past tense, all present tenses of the direct words are
changed into the corresponding past tenses.
Note the changes in the table below:
Rule Direct speech Indirect speech
Simple present changes to "I always drink coffee", she She said that she always drank
simple past said. coffee.
Present continuous changes to "I am reading a book", he He explained that he was
past continuous explained. reading a book.
Present perfect changes to past She said, "He has finished his She said that he had finished
perfect work". his work.
Present perfect continuous "I have been to Spain", he told He told me that he had been to
changes to past perfect me. Spain.
continuous
Simple past changes to past "Bill arrived on Saturday", he He said that Bill had arrived on
perfect said. Saturday.
Past perfect remains past "I had just turned out the light," He explained that he had just
perfect he explained. turned out the light.
Past continuous changes to “We were living in Paris", they They told me that they had
past perfect continuous told me. been living in Paris.
Future changes to present "I will be in Geneva on He said that he would be in
conditional Monday", he said. Geneva on Monday.
Future continuous changes to She said, "I'll be using the car She said that she would be
conditional continuous next Friday." using the car next Friday.
Exception:
1. If the reported speech contains a universal fact, or a scientific truth, the tense of the
verb does not change even if the reporting verb is in the past tense.
a. He said, “Honesty is the best policy.” (Direct)
He said that honesty is the best policy. (Indirect)
b. The teacher said, “The earth revolves around the sun.” (Direct)
The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun. (Indirect)
2. If a statement is still relevant, we can choose whether to keep the original tense or
change it.
Sheila said, “French is easy to learn.” (Direct)
Sheila said that French is / was easy to learn. (Indirect)
3. If the reporting verb is in the present tense, the tenses of the Direct Speech do not
change.
He says, “I like classical music.” (Direct)
He says he likes classical music. (Indirect)
Rohit says, “I watched a movie at night.” (Direct)
Rohit says he watched a movie at night. (Indirect)
2. Words expressing nearness in time or place are generally changed into words expressing
distance.
Study the table to understand the changes.
Direct speech Indirect speech
Here There
Today That day
Yesterday The day before
Tomorrow The next day
Next week The following week
Next month The following month
Now Then
Ago Before
Thus So
Last night The night before
This That
These Those
Come Go
3. The pronouns of the direct speech are generally changed from first person and second person to
the third person in the indirect speech.
a) First person pronouns in the direct speech change according to the subject.
Rahul says, ‘I am going to Thailand’. (Direct)
Rahul says that he is going to Thailand. (Indirect)
Priya says, ‘I will leave soon’. (Direct)
Priya said she will leave soon. (Indirect)
b) Second person pronouns change according to the nouns or pronouns coming after the
reporting verb.
I said to Sachin, “You will have to play cricket”. (Direct)
I said to Sachin that he would have to play cricket. (Indirect)
Teacher said to you, “You are wrong”. (Direct)
Teacher said to you that you were wrong. (Indirect)
c) Third person pronouns of the direct speech in the nominative case, that is, as the subject,
remain unchanged when converted to indirect.
Kapil said to me, ‘‘They will win”. (Direct)
Kapil said to me that they would win. (Indirect)
He said, “They will accompany us to the monastery.” (Direct)
He said that they would accompany them to the monastery. (Indirect)
d) The pronouns of the direct speech are changed, where necessary, so that their relations with
the reporter and the hearer are indicated, rather than the original speaker, are indicated.
He said to me, “I don’t believe you.”
He said to me that he didn’t believe me.
She said to him, “I don’t like you.”
She said to him that she didn’t like him.
Modals like would, should, ought to, and might do not change during the conversion.
Examples:
They said, "We would apply for a visa". (Direct)
They said that they would apply for a visa. (Indirect)
He said, "I could run faster". (Direct)
He said that he could run faster. (Indirect)
He said, "I should avail the opportunity. (Direct)
He said that he should avail the opportunity. (Indirect)
He said to me, "You ought to wait for him". (Direct)
He said to me that I ought to wait for him. (Indirect)
4. Changes for imperative sentences from direct to indirect:
a) In reporting commands, advice, suggestions and requests, the indirect speech begins with a
verb expressing the sentiment indicated in the sentence, e.g. order, request etc.
b) The verb is followed by the personal object and the ‘to’ infinitive.
a) For negative imperative sentences, don’t or do not are substituted by ‘not to’.
b) For Imperative sentences starting with ‘let’ and expressing a proposal or suggestion, ‘said’
should be changed to ‘proposed to’ or ‘suggested to’
Examples:
The master said to the servant, “Finish the work at once”. (Direct)
The master ordered the servant to finish the work at once.(Indirect)
The teacher said to the student, “Please study properly”. (Direct)
The reporter said, “Alas! Many lives have been lost due to tsunami”. (Direct)
The reporter exclaimed sadly that many lives had been lost due to tsunami. (Indirect)
The grandmother said, “May you meet with success wherever you go”. (Direct)
The grandmother blessed her grandson that he should meet with success wherever he goes. (Indirect)
The foreigner said, “What a man Obama is!”. (Direct)
The foreigner exclaimed in wonder that Obama was a great man. (Indirect)
7. ‘Said’ is changed to ‘wish’ in case of greetings like good morning, good afternoon, good evening.
He said to me, “good morning”. (Direct)
He wished me good morning. (Indirect)
8. ‘May’ or ‘May God’……..’ kind of blessings change into wished or prayed.
She said to her friend, “May God grant you success in your examination”. (Direct)
She prayed that God might grant her friend success in her examination. (Indirect)
Rules for changing indirect to direct speech
To change from Indirect to Direct Speech, the rules of the Direct Speech are applied in the reverse order.
♦ Use the reporting verb, ’ say’ or ‘said to’ in its correct tense.
♦ Remove the conjunctions ‘that, to, if or whether etc’ wherever necessary.
♦ Insert quotation marks, question mark, exclamation and full stop, wherever necessary.
♦ Put a comma before the statement.
♦ Write the first word of the statement with capital letter.
♦ Change the past tense into present tense wherever the reporting verb is in the past tense.
♦ Convert the past perfect either into past tense or present perfect as required.
♦ Change the pronouns as per the context of the sentence.
He asked me what I was doing. (Indirect)
He said to me, “What are you doing?” (Direct)
He asked if that was his pen. (Indirect)
He said, “Is this your pen?” (Direct)
PRACTICE EXERCISES
1. Classify the following sentences as Simple, Compound, Complex, or Compound-Complex.
a. We decided to go fishing and camping out at the lake.
b. This summer our vacation should be both exciting and restful.
c. After the tornado hit, my house was completed destroyed.
d. Since we had only one plate, we had to take turns to eat our dinner.
e. Lata and Suman cooked and served people through the day.
f. I wanted to go to the market today, but the thunderstorm prevented me from doing so.
g. The boys have completed the job as promised, so we should give them credit and pay them
accordingly.
h. The earlier mobile phones were bulky; the latest models, which are sleek, have many more
features.
i. Taxation without representation was a common complaint two hundred years ago.
j. Snowboarding looks like fun, but it requires a lot of practice which is boring and dangerous.
k. Before I was born, my mother worked as a receptionist.
l. Go to the store and get some milk, as I must have your cake baked in time for the party.
m. Don’t tell me you can’t find your backpack!
n. When you were renovating, did you hire contractors or did you do the work yourself.
o. Mr. Jones has a lot of books, he is well informed about current events.
2. State which of the following are compound and which are complex sentences. In every sentence,
identify the dependent and independent clauses.
a. The flash floods wiped out the town but luckily, there were no casualties.
b. He swam across the channel in five hours and set a new record with his achievement.
c. If you cannot do this job, I will ask someone else to do it for me.
d. He said that he was so unwell that he could not even get up from his bed.
e. A man who serves his fellow human beings personally is more virtuous than a man who only
donates money for a noble cause.
f. The soldiers were asked to carry out the orders which their commander had given them.
g. It is a stitch in time that saves nine.
h. Neither is the architecture of the house appealing nor is the interior of the house done well.
i. He will come when it suits him.
j. Anil not only did his own work, but also helped others complete theirs.
3. Change the following sentences to indirect speech.
a. He says, “Kashmir is the heaven on earth.”
b. The Shopkeeper says, “Prices are shooting up alarmingly.”
c. She said, “Nobody can solve the problem.”
d. Antony said, “Martin has gone home.”
e. She said, “I shall be taking a test.”
f. The man said, “Is your father at home?”
g. The clerk asked his manager, “Shall I email this letter again, Sir?”
h. She said, “Will you tell me what it means, David?”
i. She said to me, “How have you done this sum?
j. The policeman said to the stranger, “Who are you?”
4. Rewrite the following sentences in passive voice
a. Sue changed the flat tyre.
b. We are going to watch a movie tonight.
c. I ran the obstacle course in record time.
d. The crew paved the entire stretch of highway.
e. Mom read the novel in one day.
f. The critic wrote a scathing review.
g. I will clean the house every Saturday.
h. The staff is required to watch a safety video every year.
i. She faxed her application for a new job.
j. Tom painted the entire house.
ANSWER KEY
Q.1.
a. Simple
b. Simple
c. Simple
d. Complex
e. Simple
f. Compound
g. Compound
h. Compound-Complex
i. Compound-Complex
j. Compound-Complex
k. Complex
l. Compound-Complex
m. Complex
n. Compound-Complex
o. Compound
Q.2.
a. Compound Sentence Independent Clause-1 :The flash floods wiped out the town, Independent Clause-
2: luckily there were no casualties.
b. Compound sentence -Independent clause 1- He swam across the channel in five hours - Independent
clause 2- (he) set a new record with his achievement.
c. Complex sentence - dependent clause --If you cannot do this job, independent clause-I will ask
someone else to do it for me.
d. Complex sentence - independent clause -He said that he was so unwell –dependent clause-that he
could not even get up from his bed.
e. Complex sentence - independent clause- A man who serves his fellow human beings personally is
more virtuous-dependent clause than a man who only donates money for a noble cause.
f. Complex sentence - independent clause -The soldiers were asked to carry out the orders dependent
clause- which their commander had given them.
g. Complex sentence -independent clause- It is a stitch in time –dependent clause-that saves nine.
h. Compound sentence -independent clause - Neither is the architecture of the house appealing –
independent clause-nor is the interior of the house done well.
i. Complex sentence - independent clause- He will come – dependent clause-when it suits him.
j. Compound sentence - independent clause Anil did his own work,-independent clause- (he) helped
others complete theirs.
Q.3.
a. He says that Kashmir is heaven on earth.
b. The shopkeeper says that prices are shooting up.
c. She said that nobody could solve the problem.
d. Anthony said that Martin had gone home.
e. She said that she would be taking a test.
f. The man asked me if my father was home.
g. The asked his manager if he should email that letter again.
h. She enquired/asked of David if he would tell her what it meant.
i. She asked me how I had done the sum.
j. The policeman asked the stranger who he was.
Q.4.
a. The flat tyre was changed by Sue.
b. A movie is going to be watched by us tonight.
c. The obstacle course was run by me in record time.
d. The entire stretch of the highway was paved by the crew.
e. The novel was read by mom in one day.
f. A scathing review was written by the critic.
g. The house will be cleaned by me every Saturday.
h. A safety video is required to be watched by the staff every year.
i. Her application for a new job was faxed by her.
j. The entire house was painted by Tom.
k. The country is covered by the corporation’s sales and service organisation.
l. Payment is enclosed together with our order by us.
m. The delivery should be received by the customer by Friday.
n. He may have been notified by them before the invoice arrived.
o. Their new dental equipment is only being marketed by FCS in Europe.
p. Costs would be reduced by us if we use less paper.
Q.5.
a. The crowd cheered the captain of the Indian cricket team.
b. The critics have praised his painting.
c. The farmer is purchasing the horse.
d. The government will implement the new tax reforms by July.
e. We should not eat food from toad side vendors.
f. Who has vandalised this building?
g. What did you eat for lunch?
h. The cyclone destroyed the entire district.
i. The police officer will give him a ticket for over speeding.
j. They were going to cut down the forest for the new hydroelectric project.
k. The reception committee will welcome them.
l. Where did the hunter shoot down the ferocious man eating tiger?
m. The crowd was cheering the man who saved the child from the burning house.
n. The trustees had converted the place where he lived into a hotel.
o. They installed the first fax machines in 1958.
p. Ordinary office staff can easily operate the systems.
q. People can easily master the new software in a couple of days.
r. SASTRA provides software for head count.
s. Injury cannot stop Thapa.
t. The police booked seven movie goers in the city for disrespecting the national anthem.