English Language

Direct and Indirect Speech

290 Questions
All Interrogative Sentences 64 Imperative Sentences 63 Tense Sequence Shift 30 Assertive Sentences 23 Exclamatory Sentences 23 Universal Truths and Habits 22 Modal Auxiliary Shift 19 Time and Place Expressions 19 Pronoun Shifts 18 Mixed Sentence Types 5 Question Tags 1

Direct and Indirect Speech Questions

Multiple choice

Directions: Select the correct change of narration.

The boy said, ''I am not feeling well.''

  1. The boy said that he was not feeling well.

  2. The boy says that he was not feeling well.

  3. The boy said that he is not feeling well.

  4. The boy told that he was not feeling well.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

In assertive sentences (like this one), 'said' remains unchanged. Pronoun for the first person 'I' is 'he'. 'He' takes auxiliary 'is/was', but here we need past auxiliary, so 'was'. Hence, option (1) is the correct answer.

Multiple choice

Directions: Select the correct change of narration.

He said, ''If it rains tomorrow, I shall not come.''

  1. He said that if it rained the next day, he would not come.

  2. He said that it would rain the next day if he did not come.

  3. He told that if it rains tomorrow, he will not come.

  4. He said that if it rains the next day, he will not come.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Tomorrow gets changed to the next day. Since the reporting verb is in the past tense, the reported speech gets changed to past.

Multiple choice

Directions: Select the correct change of narration.

He said to her, ''Are you coming to the party?''

  1. He told her whether she was coming to the party.

  2. He told her if she was coming to the party.

  3. He asked her if she was coming to the party.

  4. He asked her if she will be coming to the party?
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Rule 1: Indirect speech never takes question mark. Rule 2: If reported verb is in the past, reported speech (in indirect form) becomes past. Past of 'are' is 'was/were' (depending on the situation). Hence, option 3.

Multiple choice

Directions: Select the correct change of narration.

The officer said to the peon, ''Do not leave.''

  1. The officer ordered the peon not to leave.

  2. The officer said to the peon not to leave.

  3. The officer asked the peon that he should not leave.

  4. The officer asked the peon never to leave.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Imperative sentence. A command is given. Option 1 best explains the same. Option 4 is incorrect as there is difference between 'not' and 'never'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Select the correct change of narration.

I said to him, ''Why are you late?''

  1. I said to him why are you late?

  2. I asked him why he was late.

  3. I asked him why you are late?

  4. I told him why he is he late.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

In interrogative sentences like this, 'said to' becomes 'asked' or 'enquired'. If the reported verb is in the past tense and the reported verb is in the present, reported speech (while change of narration) converts into the past. Moreover, indirect speech never takes question mark. Hence, option 2.

Multiple choice

Directions: Select the correct change of narration.

Gopal said to me, ''Earth is a planet."

  1. Gopal told me that Earth is a planet.

  2. Gopal asked me that Earth was a planet.

  3. Gopal told me that Earth was a planet.

  4. Gopal asked me if Earth had been a planet.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

'Said to' in the reported speech becomes 'told'. But in cases of 'universal truths', the tense of the reported speech remains unchanged. Hence, option (1) is correct.

Multiple choice

Directions: Change the narration.

Kiran said to him, ''Why don't you go today?''

  1. Kiran told to him that why he don't go today.

  2. Kiran asked him if he was going that day?

  3. Kiran asked him why he did not go today?

  4. Kiran asked him why he did not go that day.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

In interrogative sentences like this, 'said to' becomes 'asked' or 'enquired'. If the reporting verb is in the past tense and the reported verb is in the present, reported speech (while change of narration) converts into the past. Moreover, indirect speech never takes question mark. Hence, option 4.

Multiple choice

Directions: Change the following sentence into reported speech.

The father advised the boys, “Don’t go swimming in the water. There are sharks in it”.

  1. The father advised the boys not to go swimming in the water. He told them that there are sharks in it.

  2. The father advised the boys, “Don’t go swimming in the water. There were sharks in it”

  3. The father is advising the boys not to go swimming in the water. He told them that there were sharks in it.

  4. The father advised the boys not to go swimming in the water. He told them that there were sharks in it.

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct option as in this sentence, the tense of the verbs have been changed from the present form to the past form.