examples of exclamatory sentences in reported speech

Changing an Exclamatory Sentence into the Reported Speech

Exclamatory sentences express a sudden outburst of some emotions such as joy, sorrow, contempt, regret, surprise etc. Common explanatory phrases are given below:

Hurrah! Ha! (Express joy) Alas! Oh! (Express sorrow, regret, or loss) Bravo! (Express Applause) What! Oh! How! (Express surprise) Pooh! Pshaw! (Express contempt)

An exclamatory sentence has a sign of exclamation after it which changes into a full stop in the indirect speech.

In indirect speech, the exclamatory phrase or word (interjection) is replaced by ‘exclaimed with joy, sorrow, regret, surprise, contempt etc.’

The connective that has to be supplied in the indirect speech.

Examples are given below:

Direct: The boy said, ‘Hurrah! We have won the match.’ Indirect: The boy exclaimed with joy that they had won the match. Direct: The old man said, ‘Alas! I have lost my purse.’ Indirect: The old man exclaimed with sorrow that he had lost his purse. Direct: The child said, ‘What a beautiful sight!’ Indirect: The child exclaimed with delight that it was a very beautiful sight. OR The child exclaimed with delight that the sight was very beautiful. Direct: The girl said, ‘How beautiful the girl is!’ Indirect: The girl exclaimed with delight that the rainbow was very beautiful. Direct: The candidate said, ‘How difficult the problem is!’ Indirect: The candidate exclaimed with disapproval that the problem was very difficult. Direct: The students said to the teacher, ‘Good morning, Teacher!’ Indirect:  The students respectfully wished their teacher good morning. Direct: ‘How glad I am,’ said Alice, ‘to meet my friend here.’ Indirect: Alice exclaimed with delight that she was very glad to meet her friend there. Direct: The Emperor said, ‘Alas! Our foes are too strong!’ Indirect: The Emperor exclaimed with sorrow that their foes were too strong. Direct: ‘Hurrah!’ cried the boy, ‘I have won a prize.’ Indirect: The boy exclaimed with delight he had done a prize.

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Reported Speech: Exclamatory Sentences Practice Questions with Answers

• Post last modified: 10 April 2022
• Post category: Grammar Exercises / School Grammar

Learn how to change Exclamatory sentences into indirect speech. We are giving here rules of as well as some practice exercises to help learners master the direct and indirect transformation of sentences. watch the video tutorials also to learn how to change a direct speech exclamation into its indirect speech exclamation.

New exercises are added from time to time, so keep coming here .

Click here for rules of Reported Speech

Click here for more English Grammar Topics.

Narration: Exclamatory Sentences

Exclamatory sentences:.

Sentences which express some sudden feelings ( such as pleasure, anger, surprise ) about something which has been said or done, are called Exclamatory sentences.

Exclamatory sentences or expressions take a mark of exclamation (!) at their end.

• Hurrah! we have won.
• Alas! he is ruined.
• What a lovely flower!
• How foolish he is!

Exclamatory Sentences: General Rules

• Use ‘exclaimed’ in place of ‘said’ in the reporting verb in the indirect speech: Sometimes Exclamatory sentences contain exclamations like Hurrah! Alas! Oh! Heavens! Bravo, etc. Such exclamatory words are removed in the indirect speech and we use ‘ exclaimed with sorrow’, exclaimed with joy, exclaimed with surprise, applaud, pray etc. instead of ‘said’.
• Generally, Indirect speech begins with that the Conjunction ‘ that’
• Use ‘wish’ and ‘pray to God’ in sentences involving wish and prayer.
• Convert the exclamatory sentence to a statement i.e. end with a full stop dot ( . )
• Direct: Kohli said, “Hurrah! We won the match.” Indirect: Kohli exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
• Direct: Reena said, “Alas! Sheela’s mother is suffering from cancer.” Indirect: Reena exclaimed with sorrow that Sheela’s mother was suffering from cancer.
• Direct: My mother said, “May God bless you!” Indirect: My mother prayed to God for my wellbeing.
• Direct: He said, “What a pity!” Indirect: He exclaimed that it was a great pity.
• Direct: I said, “How stupid he is!” Indirect: I exclaimed that it was a very stupid of him.

Solved Exercises -1

Q. Change the following sentences into Indirect narration.

• He said, “Alas! I am undone.” 
• She said, “Hoe clever I am!” 
• He said, “Bravo! You have done well.” 
• “Oh, help me, Heaven!” he cried, “I will never steal again.” 
• She said, “May you succeed, my son.” 
• He said, “What a great misery!” 
• The captain said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.” 
• Sita said, “Goodbye, my friend!” 
• The spectators said, “Bravo! Well played, Rahul!” 
• The merchant said, “Alas! I am ruined.” 
• He exclaimed sadly (with sorrow) that he was undone. 
• She exclaimed that she was very clever. 
• He applauded him saying that he had done well. 
• He called upon Heaven to witness his resolve never to steal again. 
• She wished success for her son. OR She prayed for the success of her son.  
• He exclaimed that it was a great misery. 
• The captain exclaimed with joy that they had won. 
• She bade her friend goodbye.  
• The spectators applauded Rahul saying that he had played well. 
• The merchant exclaimed with sorrow that he was ruined. 

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Reported speech: dialogue writing practice questions cbse class 10 grammar, story writing class 10 english grammar, active and passive voice: english grammar school cbse/icse, subject verb agreement rules, this post has 7 comments.

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Home » English Grammar » Direct and Indirect Speech of Exclamatory Sentences

Direct and Indirect Speech of Exclamatory Sentences

Understand the art of expressing strong emotions with Direct and Indirect Speech of Exclamatory sentences. Learn how to use exclamation marks and the right grammar to convey surprise, emphasis, and strong feelings.

Discover the difference between Direct and Indirect Speech of exclamatory sentences, and see how they can be reported in different ways. Enhance your language skills and improve your communication with this comprehensive guide on Direct and Indirect Speech of Exclamatory sentences.

Exclamatory Sentences in English

An exclamatory sentence is a type of sentence that expresses strong emotion, surprise, or emphasis. It often ends with an exclamation mark (!). These sentences can express a wide range of emotions, including joy, amazement, anger, frustration, or sorrow.

They serve to add emphasis or express strong feelings and are often used to make a statement stand out in a conversation or text. For examples,

• “Wow, what a beautiful day!”,
• “What a terrible mistake!”,
• “How amazing!”.

Identify Exclamatory Sentences for Direct and Indirect Speech

An Exclamatory Sentence expresses some emotion . The emotion is conveyed through an interjection or an interjectional phrase or some idiomatic touches.

In this type of sentence, there is an exclamation mark (!) . This sentence also expresses some emotion or feeling.

• Direct: He said, “Alas! I am undone.”

Indirect: He cried out in sorrow that he was undone.

Let’s now consider Direct and Indirect Speech to understand the Rules of Exclamatory Sentences from Direct Narration to Indirect Narration.

More Direct & Indirect Speech Resources:

Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Rules of Exclamatory Sentences

First, try to explore which kind of sentence the reported speech is under Direct Narration.

In Indirect Narration, the Interjectional Words or Phrases are omitted, and the emotion is expressed through other words ( exclaim , cry out , pray , wish ,). But new words and phrases have often to be introduced to express the full meanings. In General, the Reporting Verbs in Indirect Narration can be like – exclaim (with/in) joy /sorrow , etc.

Rule 3:  

In Indirect Narration, the conjunction, “ that ”  is used before the Reported Speech.  

The Note of Exclamation ( ! ) is replaced by a Full Stop ( . ) in Indirect Narration.

The next rule is about the Changes in Persons in indirect narration. It is under the General Rule Category. Study and Explore the rules.

Changes in Reporting Verb in Indirect Narration and the Verb of the reported speech in indirect narration also have been discussed in the General Rules section on the previous page. Should be carefully studied.

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech of Exclamatory Sentences

Note carefully the Change of Exclamatory Sentences from Direct Speech to Indirect Speech.

Direct: He said, “Alas! I am undone !”

Direct: He said, “What a fool I am !”.

Indirect: He exclaimed with grief that he was a great fool.

Direct: He said, “Goodbye, my friends.”

Indirect: He bade his friends goodbye. (Or, He bade goodbye to his friends).

Direct: “Bless his kind heart !” they cried.

Indirect: They blessed him for his kind heart.

Direct: “Bravo ! well done !” they cried.

Indirect: They applauded him, for (or saying that) he had done well.

Direct: “So help me Heaven !” he cried, “I will never do so again.”

Indirect:  He prayed to Heaven to help him in his resolve not to do so again.

Direct: He said, “By Jove! What good news !”

Indirect: He swore by Jove that it was a piece of very good news.

Direct: The boys said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”

Indirect: The boys exclaimed in/withjoy that they had won the match.

Some Work Out Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech of Exclamatory Sentences

Direct: He said to me, “Alas! I could not save you.”

Indirect: He exclaimed in grief that he could not save me.

Direct: The boy said, “What a fool I am!”

Indirect: He exclaimed (cried out) that he was a great fool.

Direct: He said, “What a nice bird it is!”

Indirect: He exclaimed in wonder that it was a very nice bird.

Direct: He observed, “How dirty the house is!”

Indirect: He exclaimed that the house was very dirty.

Direct: “Help! Help!” shouted the woman.

Indirect: The woman shouted for help.

Direct: He said, “Goodbye, my friends!”

Indirect: He bade goodbye to his friends. / He bade his friends goodbye.

Direct: The teacher said, “Thank you, my boys!”

Indirect: The teacher thanked the boys.

Direct: He said, “By Jove! What good news.”

Direct: She said to me, “Happy Christmas.”

Indirect: She wished me a Happy Christmas.

Direct: He said to them, “Bravo! you have done well.”

Indirect: He applauded them saying that they had done well.

Important Examples of Exclamatory Sentences

Study the following workout examples of exclamatory sentences from Direct speech to Indirect Speech.

Direct: The old man said to him, “Fie! You are such a coward.”

Indirect: The old man exclaimed that it was shameful that he was such a coward.

Direct: He said, “Poor fellow! How changed you are.”

Indirect: He pitied the man and exclaimed that he was greatly changed .

Direct: “So help me Heaven!” he cried, “I’ll never do so again.”

Indirect : He prayed to Heaven to help him and resolved not to do so again.

Direct: He said, “Who knew that this would happen!”

Indirect: He said that none knew that (that) would happen.

Direct: He said, “Good Gracious! What a huge snake.”

Indirect: He exclaimed with wonder that it was a huge snake.

Direct: “Good Heavens! We have reached the station,” said the boys.

Indirect: The boys exclaimed with delight that they had reached the station.

Direct: He said to me, “How happy you are !”

Indirect: He told me that I was very happy.

Direct: He said, “What a nice thing it is !”

Indirect: He said (or exclaimed with joy) that it was a very nice thing.

Direct: He said, “What was my joy to see the thing !”

Indirect: He said that his joy to see the thing was very great.

Direct: I said, “Who knew that this would happen !”

Indirect: I said that none knew that that would happen.

Direct: He said, “Thank you.”

Indirect: He thanked me.

Direct: He said, “Curse the rain.”

Indirect: He cursed the rain.

Direct: He said, “Good morning.”

Indirect: He greeted me (or, wished me) a good morning.

Direct: He said, “Congratulations !”

Indirect: He congratulated me.

Exercise worksheet Exclamatory Sentence

Turn the following into a Reported Speech of Exclamatory sentence

1. She said, “Alas! my daughter is lost.”

2. The boys said, “Hurrah! our team has won.”

3. “How happy we were there!” they said.

4. Ram said, “What a beautiful bird I’ve seen!”

5. The poor woman said, “Alas! I’m ruined.”

6. “Good night to you all”. said he.

7. She said, “What a fool you’re!”

8. Puspen said, “How happy I am now!”

9. We all said, “May he live long!”

10. He said to me, “May you succeed.”

11. “What a lazy boy you are!” he angrily remarked.

12. She said, “What a pity you did not come.

13. “Bravo! You’ve played well,” the captain said.

14. He said to his friend, “May God save you.”

15. You said, “Alas! I am ruined.”

16. He said to me, “What a forgetful fellow you are!”

17. The old man said, “How soothing the sunshine is!”

18. She said, “What a disgraceful insult!”

19. The boys said, “Hurrah! Our school team has won the trophy.”

20. Rikta said to her friend, “How happy I am to meet you!”

21. The host said, “Thank you, my guest.”

22. The girl said, “How cruel the man is!”

23. The boy said to me, “Fie! you have stolen my book.”

24. He said to me, “Bravo! it is well done.”

25. Mother said, “How dirty the environment is!”

26. They said, “How glorious the death is!”

27. The soldiers said, “Goodbye, my friends!”

28. You said, “Good morning, Mr. Roy!”

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Reported Speech Requests Commands/Exclamations

Reported requests/commands, indirect speech exclamations, try our latest video quizzes.

Latest Video Exercises

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What is reported speech rules for reporting exclamatory sentences.

Rules for reporting exclamatory sentences

Exclamatory sentences express a sudden outburst of some emotions such as joy, sorrow, contempt, regret, surprise etc.

Common explanatory phrases are given below: Hurrah! Ha! (Express joy) Alas! Oh! (Express sorrow, regret, or loss) Bravo! (Express Applause) What! Oh! How! (Express surprise)

An exclamatory sentence has a sign of exclamation after it, which changes into a full stop in the indirect speech. In indirect speech, the exclamatory phrase or word (interjection) is replaced by �exclaimed with joy, sorrow, regret, surprise, contempt etc. The connective that has to be supplied in the indirect speech.

Let us take some examples The boy said, �Hurrah! We have won the match.� This sentence is in direct speech Its corresponding sentence in indirect speech would be The boy exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.

Let us see another example The candidate said, �How difficult the problem is!� This sentence is in direct speech Its corresponding sentence in indirect speech would be The candidate exclaimed with disapproval that the problem was very difficult.

Let us see another example

He said, �Hurrah! My friend has come�. This sentence is in direct speech Its corresponding sentence in indirect speech would be He exclaimed joyfully that his friend had come.

Here changes to there in the reported speech Now changes to then in the reported speech Last week changes to the week before in the reported speech

Next month changes to the coming month in the reported speech These changes to those in the reported speech

Last night changes to the previous in the reported speech ago changes to them before in the reported speech come changes to the go in the reported speech thus changes to the so in the reported speech

Let us now learn some more rules related to converting direct to reported speech.

In the case of modal verbs Can in the direct speech becomes could in the reported speech

For example Mahesh said, � I can solve this problem�. (Direct speech) Now in the reported speech, the sentence will become Mahesh said that he could solve this problem.

Similarly Modal verb Will in the direct speech becomes would in the reported speech Modal verb Shall in the direct speech becomes should in the reported speech The modal verb �May� in the direct speech becomes Might in the reported speech.

Let us now learn some more rules related to converting direct to reported speech. The verb in the reported speech does not change when we express a universal truth or a habitual fact.

For example My teacher said, �Honesty is the best policy�. My teacher said that honesty is the best policy.

Read More: Degrees of Comparison of Adjectives: English Grammar

• December,02 2021

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• English Grammar
• Reported Speech

Reported Speech - Definition, Rules and Usage with Examples

Reported speech or indirect speech is the form of speech used to convey what was said by someone at some point of time. This article will help you with all that you need to know about reported speech, its meaning, definition, how and when to use them along with examples. Furthermore, try out the practice questions given to check how far you have understood the topic.

Table of Contents

Definition of reported speech, rules to be followed when using reported speech, table 1 – change of pronouns, table 2 – change of adverbs of place and adverbs of time, table 3 – change of tense, table 4 – change of modal verbs, tips to practise reported speech, examples of reported speech, check your understanding of reported speech, frequently asked questions on reported speech in english, what is reported speech.

Reported speech is the form in which one can convey a message said by oneself or someone else, mostly in the past. It can also be said to be the third person view of what someone has said. In this form of speech, you need not use quotation marks as you are not quoting the exact words spoken by the speaker, but just conveying the message.

Now, take a look at the following dictionary definitions for a clearer idea of what it is.

Reported speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a report of what somebody has said that does not use their exact words.” The Collins Dictionary defines reported speech as “speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person’s actual words.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, reported speech is defined as “the act of reporting something that was said, but not using exactly the same words.” The Macmillan Dictionary defines reported speech as “the words that you use to report what someone else has said.”

Reported speech is a little different from direct speech . As it has been discussed already, reported speech is used to tell what someone said and does not use the exact words of the speaker. Take a look at the following rules so that you can make use of reported speech effectively.

• The first thing you have to keep in mind is that you need not use any quotation marks as you are not using the exact words of the speaker.
• You can use the following formula to construct a sentence in the reported speech.

• You can use verbs like said, asked, requested, ordered, complained, exclaimed, screamed, told, etc. If you are just reporting a declarative sentence , you can use verbs like told, said, etc. followed by ‘that’ and end the sentence with a full stop . When you are reporting interrogative sentences, you can use the verbs – enquired, inquired, asked, etc. and remove the question mark . In case you are reporting imperative sentences , you can use verbs like requested, commanded, pleaded, ordered, etc. If you are reporting exclamatory sentences , you can use the verb exclaimed and remove the exclamation mark . Remember that the structure of the sentences also changes accordingly.
• Furthermore, keep in mind that the sentence structure , tense , pronouns , modal verbs , some specific adverbs of place and adverbs of time change when a sentence is transformed into indirect/reported speech.

Transforming Direct Speech into Reported Speech

As discussed earlier, when transforming a sentence from direct speech into reported speech, you will have to change the pronouns, tense and adverbs of time and place used by the speaker. Let us look at the following tables to see how they work.

Here are some tips you can follow to become a pro in using reported speech.

• Select a play, a drama or a short story with dialogues and try transforming the sentences in direct speech into reported speech.
• Write about an incident or speak about a day in your life using reported speech.
• Develop a story by following prompts or on your own using reported speech.

Given below are a few examples to show you how reported speech can be written. Check them out.

• Santana said that she would be auditioning for the lead role in Funny Girl.
• Blaine requested us to help him with the algebraic equations.
• Karishma asked me if I knew where her car keys were.
• The judges announced that the Warblers were the winners of the annual acapella competition.
• Binsha assured that she would reach Bangalore by 8 p.m.
• Kumar said that he had gone to the doctor the previous day.
• Lakshmi asked Teena if she would accompany her to the railway station.
• Jibin told me that he would help me out after lunch.
• The police ordered everyone to leave from the bus stop immediately.
• Rahul said that he was drawing a caricature.

Transform the following sentences into reported speech by making the necessary changes.

1. Rachel said, “I have an interview tomorrow.”

2. Mahesh said, “What is he doing?”

3. Sherly said, “My daughter is playing the lead role in the skit.”

4. Dinesh said, “It is a wonderful movie!”

5. Suresh said, “My son is getting married next month.”

6. Preetha said, “Can you please help me with the invitations?”

7. Anna said, “I look forward to meeting you.”

8. The teacher said, “Make sure you complete the homework before tomorrow.”

9. Sylvester said, “I am not going to cry anymore.”

10. Jade said, “My sister is moving to Los Angeles.”

Now, find out if you have answered all of them correctly.

1. Rachel said that she had an interview the next day.

2. Mahesh asked what he was doing.

3. Sherly said that her daughter was playing the lead role in the skit.

4. Dinesh exclaimed that it was a wonderful movie.

5. Suresh said that his son was getting married the following month.

6. Preetha asked if I could help her with the invitations.

7. Anna said that she looked forward to meeting me.

8. The teacher told us to make sure we completed the homework before the next day.

9. Sylvester said that he was not going to cry anymore.

10. Jade said that his sister was moving to Los Angeles.

What is reported speech?

What is the definition of reported speech.

Reported speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a report of what somebody has said that does not use their exact words.” The Collins Dictionary defines reported speech as “speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person’s actual words.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, reported speech is defined as “the act of reporting something that was said, but not using exactly the same words.” The Macmillan Dictionary defines reported speech as “the words that you use to report what someone else has said.”

What is the formula of reported speech?

You can use the following formula to construct a sentence in the reported speech. Subject said that (report whatever the speaker said)

Give some examples of reported speech.

Given below are a few examples to show you how reported speech can be written.

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What is Reported Speech and how to use it? with Examples

Published by

Olivia Drake

Reported speech and indirect speech are two terms that refer to the same concept, which is the act of expressing what someone else has said.

On this page:

Reported speech is different from direct speech because it does not use the speaker’s exact words. Instead, the reporting verb is used to introduce the reported speech, and the tense and pronouns are changed to reflect the shift in perspective. There are two main types of reported speech: statements and questions.

1. Reported Statements: In reported statements, the reporting verb is usually “said.” The tense in the reported speech changes from the present simple to the past simple, and any pronouns referring to the speaker or listener are changed to reflect the shift in perspective. For example, “I am going to the store,” becomes “He said that he was going to the store.”

2. Reported Questions: In reported questions, the reporting verb is usually “asked.” The tense in the reported speech changes from the present simple to the past simple, and the word order changes from a question to a statement. For example, “What time is it?” becomes “She asked what time it was.”

It’s important to note that the tense shift in reported speech depends on the context and the time of the reported speech. Here are a few more examples:

• Direct speech: “I will call you later.”Reported speech: He said that he would call me later.
• Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?”Reported speech: She asked if I had finished my homework.
• Direct speech: “I love pizza.”Reported speech: They said that they loved pizza.

When do we use reported speech?

Reported speech is used to report what someone else has said, thought, or written. It is often used in situations where you want to relate what someone else has said without quoting them directly.

Reported speech can be used in a variety of contexts, such as in news reports, academic writing, and everyday conversation. Some common situations where reported speech is used include:

News reports:  Journalists often use reported speech to quote what someone said in an interview or press conference.

Business and professional communication:  In professional settings, reported speech can be used to summarize what was discussed in a meeting or to report feedback from a customer.

Conversational English:  In everyday conversations, reported speech is used to relate what someone else said. For example, “She told me that she was running late.”

Narration:  In written narratives or storytelling, reported speech can be used to convey what a character said or thought.

How to make reported speech?

1. Change the pronouns and adverbs of time and place: In reported speech, you need to change the pronouns, adverbs of time and place to reflect the new speaker or point of view. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “I’m going to the store now,” she said. Reported speech: She said she was going to the store then.

In this example, the pronoun “I” is changed to “she” and the adverb “now” is changed to “then.”

2. Change the tense: In reported speech, you usually need to change the tense of the verb to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “I will meet you at the park tomorrow,” he said. Reported speech: He said he would meet me at the park the next day.

In this example, the present tense “will” is changed to the past tense “would.”

3. Change reporting verbs: In reported speech, you can use different reporting verbs such as “say,” “tell,” “ask,” or “inquire” depending on the context of the speech. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?” she asked. Reported speech: She asked if I had finished my homework.

In this example, the reporting verb “asked” is changed to “said” and “did” is changed to “had.”

Overall, when making reported speech, it’s important to pay attention to the verb tense and the changes in pronouns, adverbs, and reporting verbs to convey the original speaker’s message accurately.

How do I change the pronouns and adverbs in reported speech?

1. Changing Pronouns: In reported speech, the pronouns in the original statement must be changed to reflect the perspective of the new speaker. Generally, the first person pronouns (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours) are changed according to the subject of the reporting verb, while the second and third person pronouns (you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, theirs) are changed according to the object of the reporting verb. For example:

Direct speech: “I love chocolate.” Reported speech: She said she loved chocolate.

Direct speech: “You should study harder.” Reported speech: He advised me to study harder.

Direct speech: “She is reading a book.” Reported speech: They noticed that she was reading a book.

2. Changing Adverbs: In reported speech, the adverbs and adverbial phrases that indicate time or place may need to be changed to reflect the perspective of the new speaker. For example:

Direct speech: “I’m going to the cinema tonight.” Reported speech: She said she was going to the cinema that night.

Direct speech: “He is here.” Reported speech: She said he was there.

Note that the adverb “now” usually changes to “then” or is omitted altogether in reported speech, depending on the context.

It’s important to keep in mind that the changes made to pronouns and adverbs in reported speech depend on the context and the perspective of the new speaker. With practice, you can become more comfortable with making these changes in reported speech.

How do I change the tense in reported speech?

In reported speech, the tense of the reported verb usually changes to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here are some guidelines on how to change the tense in reported speech:

Present simple in direct speech changes to past simple in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I like pizza.” Reported speech: She said she liked pizza.

Present continuous in direct speech changes to past continuous in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I am studying for my exam.” Reported speech: He said he was studying for his exam.

Present perfect in direct speech changes to past perfect in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I have finished my work.” Reported speech: She said she had finished her work.

Past simple in direct speech changes to past perfect in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I visited my grandparents last weekend.” Reported speech: She said she had visited her grandparents the previous weekend.

Will in direct speech changes to would in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I will help you with your project.” Reported speech: He said he would help me with my project.

Can in direct speech changes to could in reported speech. For example: Direct speech: “I can speak French.” Reported speech: She said she could speak French.

Remember that the tense changes in reported speech depend on the tense of the verb in the direct speech, and the tense you use in reported speech should match the time frame of the new speaker’s perspective. With practice, you can become more comfortable with changing the tense in reported speech.

Do I always need to use a reporting verb in reported speech?

No, you do not always need to use a reporting verb in reported speech. However, using a reporting verb can help to clarify who is speaking and add more context to the reported speech.

In some cases, the reported speech can be introduced by phrases such as “I heard that” or “It seems that” without using a reporting verb. For example:

Direct speech: “I’m going to the cinema tonight.” Reported speech with a reporting verb: She said she was going to the cinema tonight. Reported speech without a reporting verb: It seems that she’s going to the cinema tonight.

However, it’s important to note that using a reporting verb can help to make the reported speech more formal and accurate. When using reported speech in academic writing or journalism, it’s generally recommended to use a reporting verb to make the reporting more clear and credible.

Some common reporting verbs include say, tell, explain, ask, suggest, and advise. For example:

Direct speech: “I think we should invest in renewable energy.” Reported speech with a reporting verb: She suggested that they invest in renewable energy.

Overall, while using a reporting verb is not always required, it can be helpful to make the reported speech more clear and accurate

How to use reported speech to report questions and commands?

1. Reporting Questions: When reporting questions, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “asked” or “wondered” followed by the question word (if applicable), subject, and verb. You also need to change the word order to make it a statement. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “What time is the meeting?” Reported speech: She asked what time the meeting was.

Note that the question mark is not used in reported speech.

2. Reporting Commands: When reporting commands, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “ordered” or “told” followed by the person, to + infinitive, and any additional information. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “Clean your room!” Reported speech: She ordered me to clean my room.

Note that the exclamation mark is not used in reported speech.

In both cases, the tense of the reported verb should be changed accordingly. For example, present simple changes to past simple, and future changes to conditional. Here are some examples:

Direct speech: “Will you go to the party with me?”Reported speech: She asked if I would go to the party with her. Direct speech: “Please bring me a glass of water.”Reported speech: She requested that I bring her a glass of water.

Remember that when using reported speech to report questions and commands, the introductory phrases and verb tenses are important to convey the intended meaning accurately.

How to make questions in reported speech?

To make questions in reported speech, you need to use an introductory phrase such as “asked” or “wondered” followed by the question word (if applicable), subject, and verb. You also need to change the word order to make it a statement. Here are the steps to make questions in reported speech:

Identify the reporting verb: The first step is to identify the reporting verb in the sentence. Common reporting verbs used to report questions include “asked,” “inquired,” “wondered,” and “wanted to know.”

Change the tense and pronouns: Next, you need to change the tense and pronouns in the sentence to reflect the shift from direct to reported speech. The tense of the verb is usually shifted back one tense (e.g. from present simple to past simple) in reported speech. The pronouns should also be changed as necessary to reflect the shift in perspective from the original speaker to the reporting speaker.

Use an appropriate question word: If the original question contained a question word (e.g. who, what, where, when, why, how), you should use the same question word in the reported question. If the original question did not contain a question word, you can use “if” or “whether” to introduce the reported question.

Change the word order: In reported speech, the word order of the question changes from the inverted form to a normal statement form. The subject usually comes before the verb, unless the original question started with a question word.

Here are some examples of reported questions:

Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?”Reported speech: He wanted to know if I had finished my homework. Direct speech: “Where are you going?”Reported speech: She wondered where I was going.

Remember that when making questions in reported speech, the introductory phrases and verb tenses are important to convey the intended meaning accurately.

Here you can find more examples of direct and indirect questions

What is the difference between reported speech an indirect speech?

In reported or indirect speech, you are retelling or reporting what someone said using your own words. The tense of the reported speech is usually shifted back one tense from the tense used in the original statement. For example, if someone said, “I am going to the store,” in reported speech you would say, “He/she said that he/she was going to the store.”

The main difference between reported speech and indirect speech is that reported speech usually refers to spoken language, while indirect speech can refer to both spoken and written language. Additionally, indirect speech is a broader term that includes reported speech as well as other ways of expressing what someone else has said, such as paraphrasing or summarizing.

Examples of direct speech to reported

• Direct speech: “I am hungry,” she said. Reported speech: She said she was hungry.
• Direct speech: “Can you pass the salt, please?” he asked. Reported speech: He asked her to pass the salt.
• Direct speech: “I will meet you at the cinema,” he said. Reported speech: He said he would meet her at the cinema.
• Direct speech: “I have been working on this project for hours,” she said. Reported speech: She said she had been working on the project for hours.
• Direct speech: “What time does the train leave?” he asked. Reported speech: He asked what time the train left.
• Direct speech: “I love playing the piano,” she said. Reported speech: She said she loved playing the piano.
• Direct speech: “I am going to the grocery store,” he said. Reported speech: He said he was going to the grocery store.
• Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?” the teacher asked. Reported speech: The teacher asked if he had finished his homework.
• Direct speech: “I want to go to the beach,” she said. Reported speech: She said she wanted to go to the beach.
• Direct speech: “Do you need help with that?” he asked. Reported speech: He asked if she needed help with that.
• Direct speech: “I can’t come to the party,” he said. Reported speech: He said he couldn’t come to the party.
• Direct speech: “Please don’t leave me,” she said. Reported speech: She begged him not to leave her.
• Direct speech: “I have never been to London before,” he said. Reported speech: He said he had never been to London before.
• Direct speech: “Where did you put my phone?” she asked. Reported speech: She asked where she had put her phone.
• Direct speech: “I’m sorry for being late,” he said. Reported speech: He apologized for being late.
• Direct speech: “I need some help with this math problem,” she said. Reported speech: She said she needed some help with the math problem.
• Direct speech: “I am going to study abroad next year,” he said. Reported speech: He said he was going to study abroad the following year.
• Direct speech: “Can you give me a ride to the airport?” she asked. Reported speech: She asked him to give her a ride to the airport.
• Direct speech: “I don’t know how to fix this,” he said. Reported speech: He said he didn’t know how to fix it.
• Direct speech: “I hate it when it rains,” she said. Reported speech: She said she hated it when it rained.

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Reported Speech – Rules, Examples

| Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

They say gossip is a natural part of human life. That’s why language has evolved to develop grammatical rules about the “he said” and “she said” statements. We call them reported speech.

Every time we use reported speech in English, we are talking about something said by someone else in the past. Thinking about it brings me back to high school, when reported speech was the main form of language!

Learn all about the definition, rules, and examples of reported speech as I go over everything. I also included a worksheet at the end of the article so you can test your knowledge of the topic.

What Does Reported Speech Mean?

Reported speech is a term we use when telling someone what another person said. You can do this while speaking or writing.

There are two kinds of reported speech you can use: direct speech and indirect speech. I’ll break each down for you.

A direct speech sentence mentions the exact words the other person said. For example:

• Kryz said, “These are all my necklaces.”

Indirect speech changes the original speaker’s words. For example:

• Kryz said those were all her necklaces.

When we tell someone what another individual said, we use reporting verbs like told, asked, convinced, persuaded, and said. We also change the first-person figure in the quotation into the third-person speaker.

Reported Speech Examples

We usually talk about the past every time we use reported speech. That’s because the time of speaking is already done. For example:

• Direct speech: The employer asked me, “Do you have experience with people in the corporate setting?”

Indirect speech: The employer asked me if I had experience with people in the corporate setting.

• Direct speech: “I’m working on my thesis,” I told James.

Indirect speech: I told James that I was working on my thesis.

Reported Speech Structure

A speech report has two parts: the reporting clause and the reported clause. Read the example below:

• Harry said, “You need to help me.”

The reporting clause here is William said. Meanwhile, the reported clause is the 2nd clause, which is I need your help.

What are the 4 Types of Reported Speech?

Aside from direct and indirect, reported speech can also be divided into four. The four types of reported speech are similar to the kinds of sentences: imperative, interrogative, exclamatory, and declarative.

Reported Speech Rules

The rules for reported speech can be complex. But with enough practice, you’ll be able to master them all.

Choose Whether to Use That or If

The most common conjunction in reported speech is that. You can say, “My aunt says she’s outside,” or “My aunt says that she’s outside.”

Use if when you’re reporting a yes-no question. For example:

• Direct speech: “Are you coming with us?”

Indirect speech: She asked if she was coming with them.

Verb Tense Changes

Change the reporting verb into its past form if the statement is irrelevant now. Remember that some of these words are irregular verbs, meaning they don’t follow the typical -d or -ed pattern. For example:

• Direct speech: I dislike fried chicken.

Reported speech: She said she disliked fried chicken.

Note how the main verb in the reported statement is also in the past tense verb form.

Use the simple present tense in your indirect speech if the initial words remain relevant at the time of reporting. This verb tense also works if the report is something someone would repeat. For example:

• Slater says they’re opening a restaurant soon.
• Maya says she likes dogs.

This rule proves that the choice of verb tense is not a black-and-white question. The reporter needs to analyze the context of the action.

Move the tense backward when the reporting verb is in the past tense. That means:

• Present simple becomes past simple.
• Present perfect becomes past perfect.
• Present continuous becomes past continuous.
• Past simple becomes past perfect.
• Past continuous becomes past perfect continuous.

Here are some examples:

• The singer has left the building. (present perfect)

He said that the singers had left the building. (past perfect)

• Her sister gave her new shows. (past simple)
• She said that her sister had given her new shoes. (past perfect)

If the original speaker is discussing the future, change the tense of the reporting verb into the past form. There’ll also be a change in the auxiliary verbs.

• Will or shall becomes would.
• Will be becomes would be.
• Will have been becomes would have been.
• Will have becomes would have.

For example:

• Direct speech: “I will be there in a moment.”

Indirect speech: She said that she would be there in a moment.

Do not change the verb tenses in indirect speech when the sentence has a time clause. This rule applies when the introductory verb is in the future, present, and present perfect. Here are other conditions where you must not change the tense:

• If the sentence is a fact or generally true.
• If the sentence’s verb is in the unreal past (using second or third conditional).
• If the original speaker reports something right away.
• Do not change had better, would, used to, could, might, etc.

Changes in Place and Time Reference

Changing the place and time adverb when using indirect speech is essential. For example, now becomes then and today becomes that day. Here are more transformations in adverbs of time and places.

• This – that.
• These – those.
• Now – then.
• Here – there.
• Tomorrow – the next/following day.
• Two weeks ago – two weeks before.
• Yesterday – the day before.

Here are some examples.

• Direct speech: “I am baking cookies now.”

Indirect speech: He said he was baking cookies then.

• Direct speech: “Myra went here yesterday.”

Indirect speech: She said Myra went there the day before.

• Direct speech: “I will go to the market tomorrow.”

Indirect speech: She said she would go to the market the next day.

Using Modals

If the direct speech contains a modal verb, make sure to change them accordingly.

• Will becomes would
• Can becomes could
• Shall becomes should or would.
• Direct speech: “Will you come to the ball with me?”

Indirect speech: He asked if he would come to the ball with me.

• Direct speech: “Gina can inspect the room tomorrow because she’s free.”

Indirect speech: He said Gina could inspect the room the next day because she’s free.

However, sometimes, the modal verb should does not change grammatically. For example:

• Direct speech: “He should go to the park.”

Indirect speech: She said that he should go to the park.

Imperative Sentences

To change an imperative sentence into a reported indirect sentence, use to for imperative and not to for negative sentences. Never use the word that in your indirect speech. Another rule is to remove the word please . Instead, say request or say. For example:

• “Please don’t interrupt the event,” said the host.

The host requested them not to interrupt the event.

• Jonah told her, “Be careful.”
• Jonah ordered her to be careful.

Reported Questions

When reporting a direct question, I would use verbs like inquire, wonder, ask, etc. Remember that we don’t use a question mark or exclamation mark for reports of questions. Below is an example I made of how to change question forms.

• Incorrect: He asked me where I live?

Correct: He asked me where I live.

Here’s another example. The first sentence uses direct speech in a present simple question form, while the second is the reported speech.

• Where do you live?

She asked me where I live.

Wrapping Up Reported Speech

My guide has shown you an explanation of reported statements in English. Do you have a better grasp on how to use it now?

Reported speech refers to something that someone else said. It contains a subject, reporting verb, and a reported cause.

Don’t forget my rules for using reported speech. Practice the correct verb tense, modal verbs, time expressions, and place references.

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English Saga

Exclamatory Sentences-Direct & Indirect speech

An Exclamatory Sentence is a type of Sentence that must have some strong feelings, e.g; joy, sorrow, grief, wonder, etc.

Characteristics of Exclamatory Sentences

• with a word that expresses some grief (ha, alas),
• with a word that expresses the joy (aha, hurrah),
• or it may have a word that expresses the wonder (what, how)
• After the Exclamatory Word, always places “Mark of Exclamation (!)”, e.g; Hurrah!
• An exclamatory Sentence is always ended with a full stop(.).
• The sentences that started with how and what have the Mark of Exclamation at the end.

Exclamatory Sentences- Direct & Indirect Narration

To convert the Direct Narration of Exclamatory Sentences into Indirect Narration, the following rules must be followed.

• The words of sorrow can be replaced with the words “exclaimed with sorrow, exclaimed with great grief, exclaimed sorrowfully”.
• The words of joy and happiness can be replaced with the words “exclaimed with great joy, exclaimed joyfully”.
• Exclamatory Sentences that have some wonderful feelings can be converted into Indirect Speech by replacing the words wonderful with the words “exclaimed in wonder, exclaimed in astonishment” and the words ” very” or “very great” would be added with the quality of wonder.
• Make the word arrangement as of Assertive Sentence that ends with a full stop (.).

Pronouns, other words, and tenses can be changed by following the following rules:

• General Rules for Changing Direct Speech into Indirect Speech
• Pronouns Changing Rules
• Other Words Changing Rules
• Rule # 1, Rule # 2, and Rule # 3 of Changes in the Tenses

Exclamatory Sentences with Sorrow feelings

Exclamatory Sentences that have some sorrowful feelings can be converted into Indirect Speech by replacing the words of sorrow with the words “exclaimed with sorrow, exclaimed with great grief, exclaimed sorrowfully”.

• He exclaimed with sorrow that his brother had met with an accident.
• She exclaimed with grief that you had failed in science by two marks only.
• She exclaimed with great sorrow that her cousin had died in a bus accident.
• They exclaimed with great grief that the house of their friends had caught fire.
• She exclaimed with great grief that her prize bonds had been stolen by her servant.
• She exclaimed with sorrow that she had lost her purse.
• They exclaimed with great sorrow that they had not been able to win the prize.
• The old man exclaimed with sorrow that he had no hut to protect himself from that rain.
• The poor man exclaimed with great grief that his only son had been kidnapped by somebody.
• They exclaimed with great grief that they had been ruined.
• He exclaimed with great sorrow that his watch had been stolen.
• He exclaimed with sorrow that he had failed in science by only two marks.
• The captain exclaimed with great grief that he had failed to kick the ball through the goalposts.
• They exclaimed with great sorrow that their shop had been looted by those bad characters.
• He exclaimed with great grief that his friends had cheated him.
• She exclaimed with great sorrow that her uncle’s car had met with an accident.
• He exclaimed with sorrow that he had lost his passport.
• She exclaimed with great grief that a plane carrying a group of tourists had crashed near Hyderabad.
• She exclaimed with sorrow that they had taken her servant to the police station.
• The little girl exclaimed with great sorrow that her doll had been stolen by her brother.
• She exclaimed with sorrow that she had missed the first bus for Rawalpindi that day.
• She exclaimed with sorrow that her brother had failed in English by five marks only.
• He exclaimed with great sorrow that her brother had been run over in a taxi.

Exclamatory Sentences with Joy feelings

Exclamatory Sentences that have some joyful feelings can be converted into Indirect Speech by replacing the words of joy and happiness with the words “exclaimed with great joy, exclaimed joyfully”.

Exclamatory Sentences with Wonder feelings:

• They exclaimed with great joy that they had defeated our team in that match.
• He exclaimed with great joy that his father had returned from Saudi Arabia.
• My sister exclaimed with great joy that she had won the first prize in sports.
• We exclaimed with great joy that father had bought a plot of land for us in Faisalabad.
• He exclaimed with great joy that his brother stood first in English.
• They exclaimed with great joy that they would go to Mecca the next day to perform the Hajj.
• The baby exclaimed with joy that the father would bring many toys for him the next day.
• These girls exclaimed with great joy that they had all been declared successful by the headmistress.
• She exclaimed with great joy that her father was taking her to Murree the next day.
• She exclaimed with great joy that her brother had won a scholarship.
• The boys exclaimed loudly that the question paper was very easy.
• Children exclaimed loudly that their school would remain closed for two days.
• She exclaimed with great joy that her father had bought a television set for her.
• They exclaimed with joy that their son had reached home quite safe and sound.
• I exclaimed with joy that the bullet did not hit him.
• He exclaimed with great joy that his brother would perform the Hajj the next day.
• He exclaimed with joy that he would leave for Madina the next day.
• He exclaimed with great joy that his college had won the match by two goals.
• They exclaimed with great joy that the thief had been arrested by the police.
• They exclaimed with great joy that their forces had defeated the enemy.
• The child exclaimed with great joy that his mother had returned from Iran.
• They exclaimed with great joy that their team had won the match.
• The child exclaimed with joy that his mother had come.
• They exclaimed with great joy that the case against their leader had been dismissed by the magistrate.
• The boys exclaimed with great joy that their school had won that match.

Exclamatory Sentences With Wonder feelings

If Reported Speech is started with the words “how” or “what”, then the Exclamatory Sentences would have wonderful feelings. And such Exclamatory Sentences that have some wonderful feelings can be converted into Indirect Speech by replacing the words wonderful with the words “exclaimed in wonder, exclaimed in astonishment” and the words ” very” or “very great” would be added with the quality of wonder.

• She exclaimed in wonder that her mother was very lucky to win that prize.
• We exclaimed in great astonishment that that woman was very old.
• I exclaimed in wonder that I had been very foolish.
• They exclaimed in great wonder that those mangoes were very sweet.
• He exclaimed in great wonder that he had bought a very beautiful horse.
• They exclaimed that that girl was very foolish.
• You exclaimed in wonder that he was telling you a very strange story that day.
• We exclaimed in wonder that you had told us a very strange story.
• She exclaimed in great wonder that those apples were very sweet.
• He exclaimed that those robbers had done a very cruel deed.
• They exclaimed in great wonder that it was very heavily raining there those days.
• She exclaimed in great wonder that that bird sang very sweetly.
• We exclaimed in great astonishment that our leader had been a very great man.
• The fox exclaimed loudly that that bird was very beautiful.
• The patient exclaimed that health is a very great blessing of Allah.
• She exclaimed with sorrow that she was in a very pitiable condition.
• He exclaimed in great wonder that that old man was running very fast.
• They exclaimed in great wonder that they had to deal with a big fool.
• She exclaimed that that doll was very beautiful.
• We exclaimed in wonder that that well was very deep.
• She exclaimed in great wonder that her servant was very brave.
• She exclaimed in wonder that those snakes were very poisonous.
• He exclaimed in great wonder that she had painted very beautiful scenery.
• She exclaimed that her wound was causing very great pain.
• He exclaimed in great wonder that the Minar-i-Pakistan was indeed very grand and majestic.
• She exclaimed in great wonder that you had bought a very beautiful carpet.
• She exclaimed in great wonder that their neighbor was a very notorious smuggler.
• Arif exclaimed that he was very glad to meet his old friends there in that exhibition.
• She exclaimed in wonder that those clothes were very beautiful.
• He exclaimed with great astonishment that it was a very big lie.
• Tim exclaimed in wonder that that painting was very beautiful.
• He exclaimed in great wonder that he had to deal with a very big fool.

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• Direct Indirect

Exclamatory Sentences

Definition:-  Sentences describing feelings of joy, surprise, disgust or contempt, regret, grief or sorrow and applause are called Exclamatory Sentences. Interjections like hurrah, alas, wow, sorry, bravo, ah, ouch, pooh, what (sometimes used as Interjection to show surprise), well done, nonsense, good god are mostly used to describe different feelings of joy, disgust, surprise or grief.

There are two types of exclamatory sentences.

• Sentences with joy, sorrow, regret, applause and contempt
• Sentences with surprise

Sentences with Joy and Sorrow

Replacement of 'said' in sentences with joy, sorrow etc.

Model Sentences

Rules of Conversion:-  To convert these sentences into indirect narration following instructions must be observed.

• Change said into exclaimed with joy or exclaimed joyfully , sorrow , regret , contempt or applause according to the sense of sentence.
• Replace inverted commas with conjunction that .
• Change pronouns of reported speech according to rules stated in change of pronouns lesson.
• Change tenses of reported speech according to rules stated in change of tenses lesson.
• Remove Hurrah, Alas, pooh etc from reported speech.

Exercise No.10

Change the voice..

• They said,"Hurrah!We have won the match."
• She said in Murree,"Hurrah!The weather is very pleasant."
• The spectator said,"Hurrah!Our team has scored a classical goal."
• She said,"Alas!I lost my mobile."
• Ali said,"Oh!Aayan has come from London."
• The principal said to him,"Pooh!You have failed again in the examination."
• Neha said,"Alas!I have lost my necklace."
• He said,"Good God!The fellow has come to life again."
• She said to her servant,"Alas!You have broken my window pane."
• The coach said,"Well done!boys."
• "Alas!The patient breathed his last."said the nurse.
• The young lady said,"Alas!My husband is no more."
• He said,Hurrah!My friend has come."
• The boy said,"Ah!I have received low grades in one subject."
• She said,"Alas!I am undone."

Sentences with Surprise or Wonder

Difference between exclamatory sentences with surprise and interrogative sentences.

Exclamatory sentences with wonder and some interrogative sentences start with What and How and students consider exclamatory sentences with wonder as interrogative sentences. So they apply conversion rules of interrogative sentences to exclamatory sentences and their learning does not work for them.

How to recognise difference:-   Both of these kinds of sentences start with 'how' 'what' but main verb or helping verb is always placed at the end of the sentence in exclamatory sentences with wonder and in interrogative sentences helping verb is placed just after question word.

• What a tall tree it is!     (Wonder)
• What is your name?     (Interrogative)
• How beautiful scene it is!     (Wonder)
• How are you?     (Interrogative)

So recognise the sentences and apply rules of conversion accordingly. Rules of conversion for exclamatory sentences with wonder are given below.

Replacement of 'Said' in sentences with surprise

• Change said into exclaimed with surprise or wonder .
• Replace inverted commas with that .
• Remove what, how etc from reported speech.
• Change reported speech in positive sense .
• Add very or great in reported speech.
• If there is no subject in reported speech we suppose it as a subject.    (sentence no.3)

Advance Exercise No.11

• She said,"What a happy ending!"
• He said to me,"How marvelous painting it is!"
• He said,"What a lovely fish is it!"
• They said to him,"How strange person you are!"
• The boy said,"How well does he listen!"
• I said to my brother,"What a tasty meal you have bought!"
• He said to us,"What a goal!"
• I said to him,"How intelligent you are!"
• Our master said,"What a fine picture you have bought!"
• She said,"What a lovely bouquet it was!"
• I said to my friend,"How fast you ran!"
• My sister said,"What an adorable girl she is!"
• His younger brother said to him,"What a long black car you have!"
• They said to me,"How beautifully she sings!"
• My father said,"What an exciting football match it is!"

Irritating Concepts of Grammar

• Why we don't add s or es in verbs with singular subjects in Present Indefinite Tense
• Why we use HAVE with I despite I is a singular subject
• What is difference between He-She and That, It and This, These-Those and They
• Strong and weak verbs
• Finite and non-finite verbs

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100 Reported Speech Examples: How To Change Direct Speech Into Indirect Speech

Reported speech, also known as indirect speech, is a way of communicating what someone else has said without quoting their exact words. For example, if your friend said, “ I am going to the store ,” in reported speech, you might convey this as, “ My friend said he was going to the store. ” Reported speech is common in both spoken and written language, especially in storytelling, news reporting, and everyday conversations.

Reported speech can be quite challenging for English language learners because in order to change direct speech into reported speech, one must change the perspective and tense of what was said by the original speaker or writer. In this guide, we will explain in detail how to change direct speech into indirect speech and provide lots of examples of reported speech to help you understand. Here are the key aspects of converting direct speech into reported speech.

Reported Speech: Changing Pronouns

Pronouns are usually changed to match the perspective of the person reporting the speech. For example, “I” in direct speech may become “he” or “she” in reported speech, depending on the context. Here are some example sentences:

Reported Speech: Reporting Verbs

Reported speech: tense shifts.

When converting direct speech into reported speech, the verb tense is often shifted back one step in time. This is known as the “backshift” of tenses. It’s essential to adjust the tense to reflect the time elapsed between the original speech and the reporting. Here are some examples to illustrate how different tenses in direct speech are transformed in reported speech:

Reported Speech: Changing Time and Place References

Reported speech: question format.

When converting questions from direct speech into reported speech, the format changes significantly. Unlike statements, questions require rephrasing into a statement format and often involve the use of introductory verbs like ‘asked’ or ‘inquired’. Here are some examples to demonstrate how questions in direct speech are converted into statements in reported speech:

Reported Speech: Omitting Quotation Marks

Reported speech quiz.

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Direct and indirect speech: Exclamatory sentences

Sentences that express sudden emotions of joy, surprise, pain and sorrow are called exclamatory sentences.

In order to convert them into indirect speech just follow the directions below.

All the rules we have read in the previous chapter of simple sentences are applies, e.g.

Changes in the tense of reported speech. Changes in the modal operators. Changes in time and place.

If you want to read again you must go to direct and indirect: simple sentences.

Other changes

Since exclamatory are the different sentences in function than simple affirmative and negative sentences so there will be some extra changes in them as explained below.

Change in the verb of reporting speech

It is important that the verb of reporting speech is changes in accordance with the nature of reported speech.

See the table below for more details.

He said, “Oh! It’s a bad news.” He exclaimed with sorrow that it was a bad news.

She said; “Alas! Those days are no more.” She exclaimed with sorrow that those days were no more.

Use our direct and indirect speech converter and try converting sentences here.

Direct to Indirect Speech Converter

For Universal truth sentences

Write your sentence: Reporting speech of your sentence: Reported speech of your sentence:

Interjection and sign of exclamation

Interjection and sign of exclamation is replaced in indirect speech because the verb of reporting speech is doing the same function and there is no need to use it now.

Above examples may be considered.

Conjunction

When commas are removed in indirect speech two clauses are joined by the conjunction [that].

That is also called demonstrative but here it functions as conjunction because it joins dependent clause (reporting speech) with independent clause (reported speech).

Note: Remember, when [that] acts like demonstrative, like; that book, that house, it is called determiner (as already explained in parts of speech section).

She said, “What a wonderful weather is this.” She exclaimed with joy that the weather was wonderful.

He said to me, “Wow! You too are here.” He exclaimed with joy that I too was there.

Jones said, “Oh God! I cannot expect this.” Jones exclaimed with sorrow that he could not expect that.

He said, “What a wonderful painting is this.” He exclaimed with wonder that the painting was wonderful.

Peter said, “Wow! Where have you been for ten long years?” Peter exclaimed with wonder that where had he been for ten long years.

Watch the video

• Direct and Indirect speech
• Direct and indirect narrations: Introduction
• Direct and indirect narrations: Kinds
• Direct and indirect narrations: Simple sentences
• Direct and indirect narrations: Interrogatives
• Direct and indirect narrations: Exclamatory sentences
• Direct and indirect narrations: Imperative sentences
• Direct and indirect narrations: Optative sentences
• Direct and Indirect Narrations: Universal Truths

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Exclamatory Sentence

Definition and examples.

Exclamatory Sentences are the sentences those express a strong emotion, which could be anger, joy, sorrow, excitement, surprise etc. The emotional zeal in the sentences is represented by the exclamation mark (!); without it, any exclamatory sentence is only a Declarative Sentence. To represent a greater degree of emotion, exclamatory sentences may be terminated with more than one exclamation mark.

Do you remember texting your friend- “My father allowed me to go on picnic!” By putting an exclamation mark at the end of your statement you conveyed your level of excitement (happiness) to your friend. Now, what if you had texted- “My father allowed me to go on picnic”, to your friend.

Does it sounds similar to the previous sentence, or does it lack something? The latter sentence is just a Declarative Statement simply delivering a message, without any excitement or emotion; while the former reflects that the sender is happy and excited.

When conversing vocally, your tone decides whether the sentence is exclamatory or not. If you walked into a restaurant and said -“I need hot coffee!” said in a higher tone or raised voice it indicates your urgency; otherwise, you could have just stated “I need hot coffee” and waited for it to be delivered to you.

We will go through few exclamatory sentences below, also identifying the emotions they represent-

• What have you done! (Anger)
• Hurrah! The trophy is ours!! (Joy)
• I lost my purse! (Sorrow)
• I like ice creams! (Excitement)
• Wonderful house you have got! (Excitement)
• What a beautiful day!! (Excitement)
• What is this!! (Surprise)
• This is the last time I am warning you! (Anger)
• We are going for a movie tonight! (Excitement/Joy)
• Wish he had been with us!! (Sorrow)
• What a beautiful house! (Excitement)
• Ronny, we are selected for the tournament! (Excitement/Happiness)

Further we will go through the rules of forming and identifying Exclamatory Sentences and identifying the emotions they represent.

There are certain rules to be followed while forming or even identifying exclamatory sentences. Below we will go through the rules of Exclamatory Sentences-

Rule 1 – An Exclamatory Sentence Never Delivers a Command

Do keep in mind that exclamatory sentences cannot give command; as only imperative sentences give command. Therefore sentences like-

• Get off my way! (Command)
• Watch out your steps! (Instruction)
• Do the work I gave you! (Instruction)

are not Exclamatory Sentences, even though they seem to deliver emotions of anger and frustration.

Rule 2 – An Exclamatory Sentence always has a subject

Given to the situation an Exclamatory Sentence always has a subject and a predicate.

Go through the following statement-

• What a beautiful day!
• Hurray, we won the match!
• I love you!
• There is a snake in the backyard!
• I saw my favorite movie!
• Oh No! He is not coming to the party!

All of the above sentences are exclamatory and have clear subjects.

Some sentences at first sight do look like exclamatory sentences but they are not.

Go through the below sentences-

• Happy Birthday!
• Merry Christmas!

The above sentences are not exclamatory, but imperative; it is making a wish and the subject (you) is not mentioned. Therefore, special care must be taken before deciding on whether the sentence is Exclamatory or not.

Rule 3 – Don’t over-use the Exclamatory Sentences

While it is ok to use more than one exclamation mark to express a strong emotion but the overuse of exclamation marks should be avoided in case of grouped statements.

For Example, go through the statement below-

• I was late! I hurried up! I reached on time!

The above set of sentences seems a little inappropriate as the exclamation mark after every sentence makes the speaker looks like less serious. The most appropriate version of the above sentences should be-

• I was late. I hurried up. I reached on time!

Therefore, while dealing with a set of statements, we must avoid the over formation of Exclamatory Sentences.

Exclamatory Sentences Beginning with Interrogative Clause (What/How)

It must be kept in mind that even though if the exclamatory sentence begins with What/How, it is not a question and is always terminated with an Exclamation (!).

Kindly go through the below examples-

• What a precise plan!
• What a gentle man he is!
• What a lovely flower!
• What a cute baby!
• How beautiful it is!
• How fast it went!
• How slow the ship sailed!
• How easy it was!
• How interesting the match was!

Practice forming more Exclamatory Sentences beginning with interrogative clauses- Why/How.

Exclamatory Sentences with So/Such

‘So’ is an adverb and ‘Such’ is a determiner; also, in exclamatory sentences ‘so’ is paired with an adjective and ‘such’ is paired with a noun.

Go through the examples given below-

• He is so cute!
• The man was so huge!
• It was so big!
• I was so late!
• It had been so tiring!
• He is such a gentleman!
• He was such a jerk!
• It was such a beautiful day!
• She is such a spoiler!

Use of Interjections in Exclamatory Sentences (Wow! /Alas! /Hurray! /Wow!/Ouch!)

The Exclamatory Sentences may begin with interjections- Alas! (Sorrow), Hurray! (Joy), Wow! (Surprise), Ouch! (Pain) etc, to provide more strength to the emotion, though, the interjection must also be terminated with an Exclamation (!).

Go through the below examples-

• Alas! I forgot the keys! (Sorrow)
• Hurray! We won the match! (Joy)
• Wow! He presented me a watch! (Surprise)
• Ouch! This chair hurts! (Pain)
• Wow! What a beautiful tree! (Surprise)

Direct – Indirect Exclamatory Sentences

Converting Direct Exclamatory Sentences into Indirect Exclamatory Sentences

We will begin with converting a direct Exclamatory Sentence into an Indirect Exclamatory Sentence; and, further analyze the changes we made to define the set of rules for the conversion.

Let us begin with below give Direct Exclamatory Sentence-

• She said, “We are going to the party!”

Now try converting the above sentence into an Indirect Sentence; try to form a sentence without comma (,) and an Exclamation (!). The best possible representation is the sentence given below-

• She exclaimed that they were going to the party.

Note the changes that have been made-

1) Reporting verb ‘Said’ is replaced with ‘Exclaimed’.

2) Conjunction word ‘That’ is used.

3) Change the tense of the exclamatory verb to past tense i.e. ‘are’ changes to ‘were’.

4) Remove the commas (,), quotation marks (“ “) and exclamation marks (!).

We will further go through some more direct exclamatory sentences and their indirect forms given below-

Direct:  She said,” What a wonderful surprise!”

Indirect:  She exclaimed excitedly that the surprise was wonderful.

Direct:  He said in the stadium,” Hurray! We won the match!”

Indirect:  He exclaimed joyfully in stadium that they had won the match.

Direct:  She said,” What! I don’t believe it!

Indirect:    She exclaimed surprisingly that she didn’t believe it.

Direct:  They said,” How Did it happen!”

Indirect:  They exclaimed surprisingly that how did it happened.

Direct:  The spectators said,” What a great movie!”

Indirect:   The spectators applauded the movie by saying that it was great.

Direct:    She said,” What! He is not coming.”

Indirect: She exclaimed with surprise that he is not coming.

Exclamatory Sentences to Assertive Sentences

An Assertive Sentence is a declarative sentence with a subject and a predicate. Therefore, while converting from Exclamatory to Assertive Sentences, the subject and the verbs remains the same with few changes as mentioned below-

1) Interrogative Clauses How/What are replaced by Very/Great.

Go through the following examples-

Exclamatory:   How beautiful the flower is!

Assertive:   The flower is very beautiful.

In the above transformation we note that the subject (flower) remains the same as well as the adjective (beautiful); but ‘how’ is replaced by ‘very’.

Now, go through a sentences beginning with What-

Exclamatory:   What a king he is!

Assertive:   He is a great king.

2) The interjections are replaced by – “It is a matter of + emotions that they represent”

While converting from Exclamatory to Assertive Sentences, the interjections are replaced by the sentence- “It is a matter of + emotion that the interjection represents”; as given below-

Alas! – “It is a matter of sorrow”

Hurray! – “It is a matter of joy”

Bravo! – “It is a matter of joy”

Please go through the examples given below-

Exclamatory:   Hurray! We won the match!

Assertive:   It is a matter of joy that we won the match.

Exclamatory:   Bravo! He is up again!

Assertive: It is a matter of joy that he is up again!

Despite the above stated rules, the punch line to change any given exclamatory sentence into an assertive sentence is that you just have to use your basic grammatical knowledge of forming a sentence.

True/False Exercises with Answers

Determine whether the following rules about the exclamatory sentences are true or false. Also cross check your answers with those provided at the end of the exercise-

1) An exclamatory sentence always ends with an exclamation (!).

2) An exclamatory sentence may give command sometimes.

3) Use of more than one exclamation mark is prohibited.

4) “Happy Birthday” is the shortest exclamatory sentence.

5) “Get off my way!” is an exclamatory sentence representing anger.

6) In a group of statements; the more the exclamations the better.

7) We should avoid the over use of exclamation (!) in a group of sentences.

8) Exclamatory sentences don’t begin with an interrogative clause.

9) Exclamatory sentences may use interjections to amplify emotions.

10) “Exclaimed” is used while converting a direct exclamatory sentence into an indirect one.

Answer- 1) True, 2) False, 3) False, 4) False – It is Imperative, 5) False, 6) False, 7) True, 8) False, 9) True, 10) True

Direct–Indirect Exclamatory Sentences Transformation Exercises/Worksheet/Activities with Answers:

Convert the given Direct Exclamatory Sentences into Indirect Exclamatory Sentences; also, verify your answer with those provided at the end of the exercise-

1) He said,” Bravo! Ronny is getting through!”

2) She said,” Hurray! We are going for the movie!”

3) They said,” Bravo! A wonderful performance!”

4) He said in the hotel,” Wow! They are offering my favorite complementary dish!

5) Ronny said,” Alas! I lost my purse!”

6) He said,” Nonsense! I didn’t believe that”.

7) He said, “Oh! It was you!”

8) She said, “Sorry! I didn’t intend to hurt you.”

9) He said, “Alas! I lost my watch.”

10) Ronny said,” Oh! The school is open!”

11) The officer said to the thief,” Pooh! You are caught again.”

12) He said,” Good Lord! The boy is saved again.”

13) She said,” Ouch! This seat hurts.”

14) The Principal said to Ronny,” Pooh! You have failed again!”

15) The man said to the officer,” What a gentleman you are!”

16) He said,” Oh! What a pleasant sunrise.”

17) She said in the bus,” Hurray! The school declared holiday.”

18) Ronny said,” Ha! I am going to party!”

19) She said,” Hurrah! I am selected in the dance.”

20) He said,” Ah! What a beautiful car it is.”

1) He applauded that Ronny was getting through. Or, He applauded Ronny for getting through.

2) She exclaimed joyfully that they were going for the movie. Or, She exclaimed with joy that they were going for the movie.

3) They applauded the performance as wonderful.

4) He exclaimed excitedly in the hotel that he was being offered his favorite complementary dish.

5) Ronny exclaimed with sorrow that he had lost his purse.

6) He exclaimed with contempt that he didn’t believed it.

7) He exclaimed with surprise that it was me.

8) She exclaimed regretfully that she didn’t intend to hurt me.

9) He exclaimed with sorrow that he had lost his watch.

10) Ronny exclaimed surprisingly that the school was open.

11) The officer exclaimed with contempt that the thief was caught again.

12) He exclaimed with surprise that the boy was saved again.

13) She exclaimed with pain that the seat was hurting.

14) The principal exclaimed with disgust that Ronny had failed again.

15) The man exclaimed with appreciation that the officer was a gentleman.

16) He exclaimed with surprise that the sunrise was pleasant.

17)  She exclaimed with joy in the bus that the school had declared a holiday.

18) Ronny exclaimed joyfully that he was going to the party.

19) She exclaimed joyfully that she was selected in the dance.

20) He exclaimed with surprise that the car was beautiful.

Exclamatory to Assertive Sentences Exercise with Answers

Convert the given Exclamatory Sentences into Assertive Sentences and also verify your progress with the answers provided at the end of the exercise.

1) Well done Captain!

2) Oh! It was him.

3) How big the building is!

4) What a car it is!

5) Alas! I lost my best watch.

6) Oh! He won again.

7) Pooh! He lost his watch again!

8) What an entertaining movie!

9) What a beautiful sunset!

10) Bravo! We won the match again.

11) What! He came back.

12) Well done! You scored well!

13) What a strange fellow!

14) How secretly he walks into the class!

15) How well she talks!

16) How well he dances!

17) What a beautiful house they have!

18) What a great leader he was!

19) Sorry! I hurt your feelings.

20) What a delicious cake!

1) The captain did well.

2) It is a matter of surprise that it was him.

3) The building is very big.

4) It is a great car.

5) It is a matter of sorrow that I lost my best watch.

6) It is a matter of surprise that he won again.

7) It is a matter of contempt that he again lost his watch.

8) The movie is very entertaining.

9) The sunset is very beautiful.

10) It is a matter of joy that we won the match again.

11) It is a matter of surprise that he came back.

12) It is a matter of applause that you scored well.

13) The fellow is very strange.

14) He walks very secretly into the class.

15) She talks very well.

16) He dances very well.

17) They have a very beautiful house/Their house is very beautiful.

18) He was a great leader.

19) It is a matter or regret that I hurt your feelings.

20) The cake is very delicious.

Related links:

Sentence Negative Sentence Declarative Sentence Interrogative Sentence Imperative Sentence

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50 Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

In this useful lesson, we’ll explore direct and indirect speech through 50 simple examples. These two ways of speaking help us share what someone else said. Think of direct speech as using the speaker’s exact words, like quoting a friend. Indirect speech , on the other hand, involves changing the original words a bit, as if you’re telling a story about what was said. This lesson is great for anyone looking to get better at English, offering clear examples to make learning easier.

Rules to Make Direct and Indirect Speech

When converting direct speech into indirect speech, it’s important to follow specific rules to ensure the sentence still conveys the original meaning. Here are the key rules:

• Change in Pronouns : Pronouns often need to be changed according to the context and the point of view of the reporting verb. For example, “ I am going ” (direct) might become “ He said he was going ” (indirect).
• Tense Shifts : The tense of the verb in direct speech usually changes when converting to indirect speech. If the reporting verb is in the past tense , the tense in the reported speech shifts back as well. For instance, “ She said, ‘I am eating ‘” changes to “ She said she was eating “.
• Time and Place Words : Words indicating time and place in direct speech are often adjusted in indirect speech. “Here” may change to “there,” “today” to “ that day ,” “tomorrow” to “ the next day ,” etc.
• Question Form : If the direct speech is a question, the indirect form does not use a question format. Instead, it integrates the question into a statement, often using “if” or “whether” for yes/no questions, and ‘wh’ words ( what, when, where, why, who ) for questions that require more detailed answers. For example, “ He asked, ‘Are you coming? ‘” becomes “ He asked if I was coming .”
• No Quotes : In indirect speech, quotation marks are not used. The sentence is integrated into a larger statement, which often starts with verbs like said, asked, or told.
• Exclamations and Commands : Exclamatory sentences and commands in direct speech are transformed into statements or requests in indirect speech. For instance, “He said, ‘How beautiful!'” becomes “He exclaimed that it was beautiful.” Commands like “He said, ‘Sit down!'” change to “He ordered me to sit down.”
• Modal Verbs : Modal verbs can also change in indirect speech, especially might, could, would, and should, depending on the context and the necessity to maintain the original sentence’s meaning.

Remember, the goal of these changes is to maintain the essence of the original statement while adapting it to the grammatical and contextual framework of indirect speech.

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

1. Direct: “I am busy,” she said.

Indirect: She said that she was busy.

2. Direct: “We will go tomorrow,” they said.

Indirect: They said that they would go the next day.

3. Direct: “He can play the guitar,” Mike said.

Indirect: Mike said that he could play the guitar.

4. Direct: “Do you like chocolate?” she asked me.

Indirect: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

5. Direct: “Please open the window,” John requested.

Indirect: John requested that the window be opened.

6. Direct: “I have finished my homework,” he announced.

Indirect: He announced that he had finished his homework.

7. Direct: “Don’t touch that,” she warned.

Indirect: She warned not to touch that.

8. Direct: “How are you?” he inquired.

Indirect: He inquired how I was.

9. Direct: “I will help you,” she promised.

Indirect: She promised that she would help me.

10. Direct: “I didn’t see him yesterday,” Tom confessed.

Indirect: Tom confessed that he hadn’t seen him the day before.

11. Direct: “I am going to the market,” Alex said.

Indirect: Alex said that he was going to the market.

12. Direct: “We saw a movie last night,” they told me.

Indirect: They told me that they had seen a movie the night before.

13. Direct: “Can you drive a car?” she questioned.

Indirect: She questioned whether I could drive a car.

14. Direct: “Please pass the salt,” he requested.

Indirect: He requested that the salt be passed.

15. Direct: “I have been to Spain,” she mentioned.

Indirect: She mentioned that she had been to Spain.

16. Direct: “Stay away from the dog,” he cautioned.

Indirect: He cautioned to stay away from the dog.

17. Direct: “Where did you buy this?” she inquired.

Indirect: She inquired where I had bought that.

18. Direct: “I’ll call you tonight,” he promised.

Indirect: He promised that he would call me that night.

19. Direct: “I didn’t take your book,” Sarah insisted.

Indirect: Sarah insisted that she hadn’t taken my book.

20. Direct: “Let’s meet at the café,” they suggested.

Indirect: They suggested meeting at the café.

21. Direct: “I’m feeling sick,” he said.

Indirect: He said that he was feeling sick.

22. Direct: “I won the match,” she exclaimed.

Indirect: She exclaimed that she had won the match.

23. Direct: “Could you please help me?” he asked.

Indirect: He asked if I could please help him.

24. Direct: “Turn off the lights,” she commanded.

Indirect: She commanded that the lights be turned off.

25. Direct: “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.

Indirect: He said that he would see me the next day.

26. Direct: “We’re moving to a new city,” they announced.

Indirect: They announced that they were moving to a new city.

27. Direct: “Do not disturb me,” she warned.

Indirect: She warned not to disturb her.

28. Direct: “Why are you late?” he questioned.

Indirect: He questioned why I was late.

29. Direct: “I’ll handle the situation,” she assured.

Indirect: She assured that she would handle the situation.

30. Direct: “I’ve never been to Asia,” he stated.

Indirect: He stated that he had never been to Asia.

31. Direct: “Let’s go for a walk,” she proposed.

Indirect: She proposed going for a walk.

32. Direct: “I am learning Spanish,” he mentioned.

Indirect: He mentioned that he was learning Spanish.

33. Direct: “Please close the door,” she asked.

Indirect: She asked that the door be closed.

34. Direct: “I will join you later,” he promised.

Indirect: He promised that he would join me later.

35. Direct: “I lost my wallet,” she declared.

Indirect: She declared that she had lost her wallet.

36. Direct: “Keep the secret,” he urged.

Indirect: He urged to keep the secret.

37. Direct: “Where is the nearest bank?” she inquired.

Indirect: She inquired where the nearest bank was.

38. Direct: “I might go to the concert,” he speculated.

Indirect: He speculated that he might go to the concert.

39. Direct: “Please be quiet,” she implored.

Indirect: She implored to be quiet.

40. Direct: “I will finish the project by Monday,” he assured.

Indirect: He assured that he would finish the project by Monday.

41. Direct: “Don’t forget to lock the door,” she reminded.

Indirect: She reminded to not forget to lock the door.

42. Direct: “How do you solve this problem?” he pondered.

Indirect: He pondered how to solve that problem.

43. Direct: “I can’t believe I won!” he exclaimed.

Indirect: He exclaimed that he couldn’t believe he had won.

44. Direct: “Would you like some coffee?” she offered.

Indirect: She offered if I would like some coffee.

45. Direct: “I must leave now,” he stated.

Indirect: He stated that he must leave then.

46. Direct: “We’re adopting a puppy,” they shared.

Indirect: They shared that they were adopting a puppy.

47. Direct: “Never speak to me again,” she commanded.

Indirect: She commanded never to speak to her again.

48. Direct: “When will you return the book?” he asked.

Indirect: He asked when I would return the book.

49. Direct: “I’ll think about your offer,” she considered.

Indirect: She considered that she would think about the offer.

50. Direct: “Please bring me a glass of water,” he requested.

Indirect: He requested that a glass of water be brought to him.

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Direct and Indirect Speech: Useful Rules and Examples

Are you having trouble understanding the difference between direct and indirect speech? Direct speech is when you quote someone’s exact words, while indirect speech is when you report what someone said without using their exact words. This can be a tricky concept to grasp, but with a little practice, you’ll be able to use both forms of speech with ease.

Direct and Indirect Speech

When someone speaks, we can report what they said in two ways: direct speech and indirect speech. Direct speech is when we quote the exact words that were spoken, while indirect speech is when we report what was said without using the speaker’s exact words. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “I love pizza,” said John. Indirect speech: John said that he loved pizza.

Using direct speech can make your writing more engaging and can help to convey the speaker’s tone and emotion. However, indirect speech can be useful when you want to summarize what someone said or when you don’t have the exact words that were spoken.

To change direct speech to indirect speech, you need to follow some rules. Firstly, you need to change the tense of the verb in the reported speech to match the tense of the reporting verb. Secondly, you need to change the pronouns and adverbs in the reported speech to match the new speaker. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “I will go to the park,” said Sarah. Indirect speech: Sarah said that she would go to the park.

It’s important to note that when you use indirect speech, you need to use reporting verbs such as “said,” “told,” or “asked” to indicate who is speaking. Here’s an example:

Direct speech: “What time is it?” asked Tom. Indirect speech: Tom asked what time it was.

In summary, understanding direct and indirect speech is crucial for effective communication and writing. Direct speech can be used to convey the speaker’s tone and emotion, while indirect speech can be useful when summarizing what someone said. By following the rules for changing direct speech to indirect speech, you can accurately report what was said while maintaining clarity and readability in your writing.

Differences between Direct and Indirect Speech

When it comes to reporting speech, there are two ways to go about it: direct and indirect speech. Direct speech is when you report someone’s exact words, while indirect speech is when you report what someone said without using their exact words. Here are some of the key differences between direct and indirect speech:

Change of Pronouns

In direct speech, the pronouns used are those of the original speaker. However, in indirect speech, the pronouns have to be changed to reflect the perspective of the reporter. For example:

• Direct speech: “I am going to the store,” said John.
• Indirect speech: John said he was going to the store.

In the above example, the pronoun “I” changes to “he” in indirect speech.

Change of Tenses

Another major difference between direct and indirect speech is the change of tenses. In direct speech, the verb tense used is the same as that used by the original speaker. However, in indirect speech, the verb tense may change depending on the context. For example:

• Direct speech: “I am studying for my exams,” said Sarah.
• Indirect speech: Sarah said she was studying for her exams.

In the above example, the present continuous tense “am studying” changes to the past continuous tense “was studying” in indirect speech.

Change of Time and Place References

When reporting indirect speech, the time and place references may also change. For example:

• Direct speech: “I will meet you at the park tomorrow,” said Tom.
• Indirect speech: Tom said he would meet you at the park the next day.

In the above example, “tomorrow” changes to “the next day” in indirect speech.

Overall, it is important to understand the differences between direct and indirect speech to report speech accurately and effectively. By following the rules of direct and indirect speech, you can convey the intended message of the original speaker.

Converting Direct Speech Into Indirect Speech

When you need to report what someone said in your own words, you can use indirect speech. To convert direct speech into indirect speech, you need to follow a few rules.

Step 1: Remove the Quotation Marks

The first step is to remove the quotation marks that enclose the relayed text. This is because indirect speech does not use the exact words of the speaker.

Step 2: Use a Reporting Verb and a Linker

To indicate that you are reporting what someone said, you need to use a reporting verb such as “said,” “asked,” “told,” or “exclaimed.” You also need to use a linker such as “that” or “whether” to connect the reporting verb to the reported speech.

For example:

• Direct speech: “I love ice cream,” said Mary.
• Indirect speech: Mary said that she loved ice cream.

Step 3: Change the Tense of the Verb

When you use indirect speech, you need to change the tense of the verb in the reported speech to match the tense of the reporting verb.

• Indirect speech: John said that he was going to the store.

Step 4: Change the Pronouns

You also need to change the pronouns in the reported speech to match the subject of the reporting verb.

• Direct speech: “Are you busy now?” Tina asked me.
• Indirect speech: Tina asked whether I was busy then.

By following these rules, you can convert direct speech into indirect speech and report what someone said in your own words.

Converting Indirect Speech Into Direct Speech

Converting indirect speech into direct speech involves changing the reported speech to its original form as spoken by the speaker. Here are the steps to follow when converting indirect speech into direct speech:

• Identify the reporting verb: The first step is to identify the reporting verb used in the indirect speech. This will help you determine the tense of the direct speech.
• Change the pronouns: The next step is to change the pronouns in the indirect speech to match the person speaking in the direct speech. For example, if the indirect speech is “She said that she was going to the store,” the direct speech would be “I am going to the store,” if you are the person speaking.
• Change the tense: Change the tense of the verbs in the indirect speech to match the tense of the direct speech. For example, if the indirect speech is “He said that he would visit tomorrow,” the direct speech would be “He says he will visit tomorrow.”
• Remove the reporting verb and conjunction: In direct speech, there is no need for a reporting verb or conjunction. Simply remove them from the indirect speech to get the direct speech.

Here is an example to illustrate the process:

Indirect Speech: John said that he was tired and wanted to go home.

Direct Speech: “I am tired and want to go home,” John said.

By following these steps, you can easily convert indirect speech into direct speech.

Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct and indirect speech are two ways to report what someone has said. Direct speech reports the exact words spoken by a person, while indirect speech reports the meaning of what was said. Here are some examples of both types of speech:

Direct Speech Examples

Direct speech is used when you want to report the exact words spoken by someone. It is usually enclosed in quotation marks and is often used in dialogue.

• “I am going to the store,” said Sarah.
• “It’s a beautiful day,” exclaimed John.
• “Please turn off the lights,” Mom told me.
• “I will meet you at the library,” said Tom.
• “We are going to the beach tomorrow,” announced Mary.

Indirect Speech Examples

Indirect speech, also known as reported speech, is used to report what someone said without using their exact words. It is often used in news reports, academic writing, and in situations where you want to paraphrase what someone said.

Here are some examples of indirect speech:

• Sarah said that she was going to the store.
• John exclaimed that it was a beautiful day.
• Mom told me to turn off the lights.
• Tom said that he would meet me at the library.
• Mary announced that they were going to the beach tomorrow.

In indirect speech, the verb tense may change to reflect the time of the reported speech. For example, “I am going to the store” becomes “Sarah said that she was going to the store.” Additionally, the pronouns and possessive adjectives may also change to reflect the speaker and the person being spoken about.

Overall, both direct and indirect speech are important tools for reporting what someone has said. By using these techniques, you can accurately convey the meaning of what was said while also adding your own interpretation and analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is direct and indirect speech?

Direct and indirect speech refer to the ways in which we communicate what someone has said. Direct speech involves repeating the exact words spoken, using quotation marks to indicate that you are quoting someone. Indirect speech, on the other hand, involves reporting what someone has said without using their exact words.

How do you convert direct speech to indirect speech?

To convert direct speech to indirect speech, you need to change the tense of the verbs, pronouns, and time expressions. You also need to introduce a reporting verb, such as “said,” “told,” or “asked.” For example, “I love ice cream,” said Mary (direct speech) can be converted to “Mary said that she loved ice cream” (indirect speech).

What is the difference between direct speech and indirect speech?

The main difference between direct speech and indirect speech is that direct speech uses the exact words spoken, while indirect speech reports what someone has said without using their exact words. Direct speech is usually enclosed in quotation marks, while indirect speech is not.

What are some examples of direct and indirect speech?

Some examples of direct speech include “I am going to the store,” said John and “I love pizza,” exclaimed Sarah. Some examples of indirect speech include John said that he was going to the store and Sarah exclaimed that she loved pizza .

What are the rules for converting direct speech to indirect speech?

The rules for converting direct speech to indirect speech include changing the tense of the verbs, pronouns, and time expressions. You also need to introduce a reporting verb and use appropriate reporting verbs such as “said,” “told,” or “asked.”

What is a summary of direct and indirect speech?

Direct and indirect speech are two ways of reporting what someone has said. Direct speech involves repeating the exact words spoken, while indirect speech reports what someone has said without using their exact words. To convert direct speech to indirect speech, you need to change the tense of the verbs, pronouns, and time expressions and introduce a reporting verb.

You might also like:

• List of Adjectives
• Predicate Adjective
• Superlative Adjectives

This website is AMNAZING

MY NAAMEE IS KISHU AND I WANTED TO TELL THERE ARE NO EXERCISES AVAILLABLEE BY YOUR WEBSITE PLEASE ADD THEM SSOON FOR OUR STUDENTS CONVIENCE IM A EIGHT GRADER LOVED YOUR EXPLABATIO

sure cries l miss my friend

he saiad,” we are all sinners”. convert into indirect speech

He said that they were all sinners.

Exclamatory Sentence

What is an exclamatory sentence.

Table of Contents

Examples of Exclamatory Sentences

Exclamatory sentences starting with "what" and "how", real-life examples of exclamatory sentences, video lesson, why exclamatory sentences are important, other sentence types.

• You were meant to be back yesterday!
• Jeepers! You scared the life out of me!
• This puzzle is driving me up the wall!
• You're adorable!
• It's a boy!
• I'm really going to miss this place!
• What a goal that was!
• How wonderful she is!
• What big eyes you have!
• How sharp your teeth are, grandma!
• What is the dog doing?
• How are you?
• You make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again. I hate housework! (Comedian Joan Rivers)
• It's alive! It's alive! (Dr Frankenstein)
• Jeepers , you're actually up before lunch!
• Wow! That's amazing!
• Oh! Most miserable wretch that I am! Why have I not learnt how to swim? (Alexander the Great, aka Alexander III of Macedon)
• Shut the front door!
• Where's the dog!

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos .

• Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind. (Author Terry Pratchett)
• I can't believe it's not butter!
• Use exclamatory sentences sparingly, and, when you do, don't use more than one exclamation mark.

Declarative Sentence

• Lee has never caught a decent bass.

Imperative Sentence

• Fish somewhere else!
• Please fish in your own area.

Interrogative Sentence

• Will you stop trying to fish in my water?

This page was written by Craig Shrives .

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Direct and Indirect Speech

Table of Contents

What is Speech (Narration):

If we want to describe the speech of some other people with other people in our own words, that speech is called a Reported speech or Narration.

Types of Speech

In the English language, there are certain ways to express the spoken words between two people.

The speech has two main types, Direct speech , and Indirect speech , respectively.

These two ways of narration of spoken words are also called Direct and Indirect speech, also known as Direct and Indirect narrations. 

Direct and indirect speech is majorly used in any conversations, scripts, or any biographies, etc. where one or more than one person converses with each other.

Direct speech:

It is also called straight speech or quoted speech, which is spoken or written directly in the text by the speaker, writer, or the first person, who is going to speak with anyone with him.

The spoken statements of the speaker normally come under the inverted commas notation, and a speaker who speaks these sentences may come like “he said/he said that.”

The speaker’s words or statements are mentioned in a single phrase pattern or direct discussion.

Indirect speech:

An Indirect speech is also called a reported speech, or secondary speech means the speech, which has spoken indirectly.

It is simply an overlook statement that is used to say about the incident that has happened in the past time.

The actual words of the speaker changed into the past tense and the sentence, and hence the reported speech of the direct speech does not come inside the inverted commas.

Reporting speech:

A person who is going to report the speech or a speech that comes in the first part of the direct speech is called a reporting speech.

• He says , “He cooks food”.

Reported speech:

Reported speech is a speech that is always in an inverted comma or quotation marks.

It is a second part of the direct speech sentence.

• He says,  “He cooks food.”

Reporting verb:

The verb, which is used in a reporting speech to report something in a direct speech, is called a reporting verb.

• Zoya  said , “I want to go there.”

Reported verb:

The verb which comes inside the reported speech is called reported verb, respectively.

• Zoya said, “I  want  to go there.”

As we start writing any direct and indirect conversation, we often use reported verbs like  “say, tell, ask, inform, instruct, claim, suggest, enquire, etc.”

These reported verbs, whenever used in direct or indirect speech, change into the past simple form like  said, told, asked, informed, instructed, claimed, suggested, enquired, etc.

But the verbs used in a speech between the inverted commas will remain as it is.

Examples of direct and indirect speech:

• Indirect speech: John said that she was looking so beautiful.
• Indirect : He said that he was not a culprit.
• Indirect : He said that she was working on that project.
• Indirect : The teacher asked if he completed his homework. 
• Indirect : She says that she is an artist.
• Indirect : Sam told me that he was not coming with me.
• Indirect : He says that she is working on that project.

Some basic rules for converting direct speech into indirect speech:

Rule 1 : “no inverted commas.”.

The reported speech does not come into inverted commas or quotation in an indirect speech.

Example: Direct: He said, “I have completed my assignments yesterday.”

    Indirect: He said that he had completed his assignments the previous day.

Rule 2: use of “that” conjunction

Using the conjunction word “that” in-between the reporting speech and reported speech in an indirect speech.

Example: 

• He said, “I have completed my assignment yesterday.”
• He said  that  he had completed his assignment the previous day.

Rule 3: Change of tense

While writing a direct speech into an indirect speech, we have to change the tense of the reported speech because whatever we are writing in indirect speech has already happened in the past timing.

• If the tense of a reporting speech of direct speech is in the present tense or future tense , then the tense of the reported speech in indirect speech will not change. It may be in the present tense, past tense, or future tense, respectively.
• Indirect : He says that he is going to school. (no change in tense)
• Indirect : She says that she  will not come  with me. (no change in tense)
• Indirect : He says that he  wrote  a letter. (no change in tense)

If the tense of the reporting verb of direct speech is in the past tense, then the tense will change according to these criteria.

For the present tense:

Simple present tense will change into simple past tense..

Direct: He said, “They come to meet me.”

Indirect: He said that they came to meet him.

Present continuous tense will change into past continuous tense.

Direct: She said, “They are coming to meet me.”

Indirect: She said that they were coming to meet her.

Present perfect tense will change into past perfect tense.

Direct: He said, “They have come to meet me.”

Indirect: He said that they had come to meet him. 

Present perfect continuous tense will change into past perfect continuous tense.

Direct: She said, “They have been coming to meet me.”

Indirect: She said that they had been coming to meet her. 

For the past tense:

Simple past tense will change into the past perfect tense.

Direct: He said, “They came to meet me.”

Indirect: He said that they had come to meet him.

Past continuous tense will change into past perfect continuous tense.

Direct: She said, “They were coming to meet me.”

Indirect: She said that they had been coming to meet her.

Past perfect tense and past perfect continuous tense will remain the same.

Direct: He said, “They had come to meet me.”

Direct: She said, “They had been coming to meet me.”

For the future tense:

There are no changes in the future tense sentences; only shall/will may change into would, can change into could.

• Direct: She said, “Can you come tomorrow.”

Indirect: She said that could he come on the next day

• Direct: He said, “I will never forgive you.”

Indirect: He said that he would never forgive me.

Rule 4: Changing the pronoun

The pronoun used as an indirect subject speech sometimes needs to be changed accordingly in indirect speech as of the reported verb of the direct speech.

• The pronoun used for representing the first person in reported speech changes based on the subject of the reporting speech in a direct speech.
• The pronoun used for representing the second person in reported speech changes based on the report’s object in a direct speech.
• The pronoun used for representing the third person remains the same in the reported speech.
• Direct: He said, “ I  am going to school.”
• Indirect: He said that  he  is going to school.
• Direct: She says, “ I  will not come with  you .”
• Indirect: She says that  she  will not come with  me .
• Direct: They said, “ we  are eating our tiffin box.”
• Indirect: They said that  they  were eating  their  tiffin box.

Rule 5: Changing the time

The mentioned time (not the timing) in a direct speech sentence will have to change in indirect speech like   now  becomes  then, tomorrow  becomes  the next day, yesterday  becomes  the previous day, today  becomes  that day, later  becomes  soon. 

• Direct: He told, “He is coming from Tokyo  today .”
• Indirect: He told me that he was coming from Tokyo  that day .
• Direct: She asked, “Will the parcel reach by  tomorrow  or not?”
• Indirect: She asked whether the parcel will reach by  the next day  or not.
• Direct: “The teacher has given some assignments  yesterday ”, he reminds me.
• Indirect: He reminds me that the teacher had given some assignments on  the previous day.

Conversion of statements from direct speech into Indirect speech:

Assertive sentences:.

Assertive sentences are simple statements that may be affirmative or negative.

If we are going to convert assertive sentences from direct speech into indirect speech, we have to replace “said” with “told” sometimes.

Here, the subject in direct speech refers to someone in his talk.

• Direct: He said to me, “she is working on this project.”

Indirect: He told me that she was working on that project.

• Direct: She said to me, “I’m going for a long drive.”

Indirect: She told me that she was going for a long drive.

Imperative sentences:

Imperative sentences are statements that deliver a command, order, request, appeal, or advice.

It depends on the speaker, how he delivers the message to the other person.

• Sit properly!
• Stand by my side!
• Come closer!

While converting these types of sentences cum statements from direct speech to indirect speech, we have to check the type of sentence, whether it is a command, order, request, or else.

• Direct: The teacher said to me, “Sit properly!”

Indirect: The teacher ordered me to sit properly.

• Direct: The Boss said to an office boy, “Bring one coffee for me.”

Indirect: The Boss commanded an office boy to bring a coffee for him.

Indirect: The teacher requested me to sit properly.

• Direct: The bartender said to me, “try this drink.”

Indirect: The bartender advised me to try that drink.

Interrogative sentences:

An interrogative sentence is a sentence which interrogates or ask questions.

Each interrogative sentence ends with an interrogative sign or a question mark sign “?”.

• What is your name?
• Can you do me a favor?
• Why are you laughing in the classroom?

While writing interrogative sentences from direct speech into indirect speech,

• the reporting verb “said” in the direct speech is changed into “asked” in the indirect speech because it asks the question to another person.
• If any reporting verb comes first in the reporting speech, then “If” is used despite “that.”
• In a reporting speech, if any wh-type question words are present, then no other words will be used, and the sentence ends with a full stop sign instead of a question mark.
• Indirect: He asked me what was my name.
• Indirect: She asked if he could do her a favor.
• Indirect: The teacher asked him why he was laughing in the classroom.

Exclamatory sentences:

Exclamatory sentences are those sentences that show emotions, feelings and ends with an exclamation mark!

• Congratulations! You have a baby girl.
• I am extremely sorry for your loss!
• Most welcome!

If any interjection comes in an exclamation sentence, then the exclamation sign removes in an indirect speech, and an exclamatory sentence gets converted into an assertive sentence.

The replacement of reporting verb “said” with  exclaimed with (great wonder, sorrow, joy) exclaimed (joyfully, sorrowfully)

Replace with  very  or  very great , if words like  how  or  what  comes at the beginning of the reported speech.

• Indirect: He exclaimed with joy that I had a baby girl.
• Indirect: She exclaimed with sorrow that she felt sorry for my loss.
• Indirect: They exclaimed with joy that most welcome.

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Narration Change of Assertive Sentences

Back to: Direct and Indirect Speech (Narration)

In narration change different types of sentences – assertive, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory, optative have their own set of rules of conversion. Among them assertive sentence is the most common and easiest. 

Today we are going to learn what is assertive sentence? How to identify this type of sentence and the rules of converting them. 

What is assertive sentence?

Assertive sentence makes or declares a statement, gives information about something. Assertive sentence simply gives basic statement. Assertive sentence is also called declarative sentence. 

Examples of Narration Change in Assertive Sentences

Direct Speech

Indirect Speech

Rabi said, “I am not feeling well today.”

494 IMAGES Exclamatory Sentence 10 Examples 20 Examples of Exclamatory Sentence » Onlymyenglish.com 50 Exclamatory Sentences Examples in English Exclamatory Sentence: Definition and Examples Reported Speech Exclamatory Sentences Exercises With Answers Class 8 20 Examples of Exclamatory Sentences COMMENTS Changing an Exclamatory Sentence into the Reported Speech An exclamatory sentence has a sign of exclamation after it which changes into a full stop in the indirect speech. In indirect speech, the exclamatory phrase or word (interjection) is replaced by 'exclaimed with joy, sorrow, regret, surprise, contempt etc.' The connective that has to be supplied in the indirect speech. Examples are given below: Reported Speech: Exclamatory Sentences Practice Questions with Answers Use 'wish' and 'pray to God' in sentences involving wish and prayer. Convert the exclamatory sentence to a statement i.e. end with a full stop dot (.) Examples. Direct: Kohli said, "Hurrah! We won the match.". Indirect: Kohli exclaimed with joy that they had won the match. Direct: Reena said, "Alas! Sheela's mother is suffering ... Direct and Indirect Speech of Exclamatory Sentences Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Rules of Exclamatory Sentences. Rule 1: First, try to explore which kind of sentence the reported speech is under Direct Narration. Rule 2: In Indirect Narration, the Interjectional Words or Phrases are omitted, and the emotion is expressed through other words ( exclaim, cry out, pray, wish ,). But new words and ... Direct and Indirect Speech Exclamatory Sentences Rules & Examples In direct speech of exclamatory sentence an exclamation mark is used after the interjection or at the end of the sentence. This mark is replaced by a full stop after narration change from direct to indirect speech. The reporting verb changes to exclaimed with joy/happiness or exclaimed with sorrow or disgust depending on the mood of the sentence. Reported Speech Requests Commands/Exclamations When we put direct commands or requests into indirect speech we usually follow the below structure: a. We use introductory verbs: order, ask, tell, want and request, etc. b. We use indirect objects after those introductory verbs. c. The command or request in direct speech takes the infinitive form. Examples: What is Reported Speech? Rules For Reporting Exclamatory Sentences An exclamatory sentence has a sign of exclamation after it, which changes into a full stop in the indirect speech. In indirect speech, the exclamatory phrase or word (interjection) is replaced by exclaimed with joy, sorrow, regret, surprise, contempt etc. The connective that has to be supplied in the indirect speech. Let us take some examples. Reported Speech Reported speech is the form in which one can convey a message said by oneself or someone else, mostly in the past. It can also be said to be the third person view of what someone has said. In this form of speech, you need not use quotation marks as you are not quoting the exact words spoken by the speaker, but just conveying the message. Q2. What is Reported Speech and How to Use It? with Examples Reported speech: She said she was going to the store then. In this example, the pronoun "I" is changed to "she" and the adverb "now" is changed to "then.". 2. Change the tense: In reported speech, you usually need to change the tense of the verb to reflect the change from direct to indirect speech. Here's an example: Reported Speech There are two kinds of reported speech you can use: direct speech and indirect speech. I'll break each down for you. A direct speech sentence mentions the exact words the other person said. For example: Kryz said, "These are all my necklaces.". Indirect speech changes the original speaker's words. For example: Kryz said those were all ... Exclamatory Sentences-Direct & Indirect speech Exclamatory Sentences that have some wonderful feelings can be converted into Indirect Speech by replacing the words wonderful with the words "exclaimed in wonder, exclaimed in astonishment" and the words " very" or "very great" would be added with the quality of wonder. Make the word arrangement as of Assertive Sentence that ends ... Exclamatory Sentences with Practice Exercise- Phenomenal English Model Sentences. Direct Speech. Indirect Speech. 1. The players said."Hurrah!We have won the match." The players exclaimed with joy or exclaimed joyfully that they had won the match. (Joy) 2.The machinic said to me,"Sorry!I have broken your mirror." The machinic exclaimed with regret to me that he had broken my mirror. Exclamatory Sentences CBSE Exam, class 10. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket 100 Reported Speech Examples: How To Change Direct Speech ... Direct: "I will help you," she promised. Reported: She promised that she would help me. Direct: "You should study harder," he advised. Reported: He advised that I should study harder. Direct: "I didn't take your book," he denied. Reported: He denied taking my book. Direct: "Let's go to the cinema," she suggested. Direct and indirect speech: Exclamatory sentences Sentences that express sudden emotions of joy, surprise, pain and sorrow are called exclamatory sentences. In order to convert them into indirect speech just follow the directions below. All the rules we have read in the previous chapter of simple sentences are applies, e.g. Changes in the tense of reported speech. Changes in the modal operators. Exclamatory Sentence 1) An exclamatory sentence always ends with an exclamation (!). 2) An exclamatory sentence may give command sometimes. 3) Use of more than one exclamation mark is prohibited. 4) "Happy Birthday" is the shortest exclamatory sentence. 5) "Get off my way!" is an exclamatory sentence representing anger. 50 Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech No Quotes: In indirect speech, quotation marks are not used. The sentence is integrated into a larger statement, which often starts with verbs like said, asked, or told. Exclamations and Commands: Exclamatory sentences and commands in direct speech are transformed into statements or requests in indirect speech. For instance, "He said, 'How ... Direct and Indirect Speech: Useful Rules and Examples Differences between Direct and Indirect Speech. Change of Pronouns. Change of Tenses. Change of Time and Place References. Converting Direct Speech Into Indirect Speech. Step 1: Remove the Quotation Marks. Step 2: Use a Reporting Verb and a Linker. Step 3: Change the Tense of the Verb. Step 4: Change the Pronouns. Indirect Speech for Imperative & Exclamatory Sentences The exclamatory sentence expresses state of joy, sorrow or wonder. Therefore, to convert them into indirect speech, some specific words (e.g., exclaimed with joy, exclaimed with sorrow, exclaimed with wonder) are used as the reporting verb. The usage of these words depends on the state of emotion expressed in the exclamatory sentence. Examples: Exclamatory Sentence: Explanation and Examples Exclamatory sentences are common in adverts and informal correspondence (e.g., emails, texts). They are quite rare in business correspondence, where a level head usually needs to be portrayed. Examples of Exclamatory Sentences Here are some examples of exclamatory sentences: You were meant to be back yesterday! (expresses anger) Jeepers! Direct and Indirect Speech Rules and Examples The reported speech does not come into inverted commas or quotation in an indirect speech. Example: Direct: He said, "I have completed my assignments yesterday." ... then the exclamation sign removes in an indirect speech, and an exclamatory sentence gets converted into an assertive sentence. The replacement of reporting verb "said ... English Grammar Direct and Indirect Sentences: Identify, Rules, Tips To change exclamatory sentences into Indirect Speech using direct indirect rules, follow the following rules along with the above-mentioned rules: In case, there is an interjection i.e., alas, aha, hurray, aha etc in the reported speech, then they are omitted along with the sign of exclamation using reported speech rules. Direct and Indirect Speech Rules for Optative Sentences & Examples Direct Speech. Indirect Speech. The man said to the old man, "May you live a longer life.". The man wished that the old man might live a longer live. The priest said, "May the god bless you.". The priest prayed that the god might bless him/her. She said to me, "Wish you a happy life ahead.". She wished me a happy life ahead. Direct and Indirect Speech Assertive Sentences Rules and Examples Examples of Narration Change in Assertive Sentences. Direct Speech. Indirect Speech. Rabi said, "I am not feeling well today.". Rabi said that he was not feeling well that day. Madhu said to Mita, "we are going to be late.". Madhu told Mita that they are going to be late. They said, "We are participating in the competition.". assignment essay homework phd report resume review speech thesis