Grade 6 | English | Direct and Indirect, Narration: Direct and Indirect, Olympiad, CBSE, ICSE, Maths Olympiad, Science Olympiad, English Olympiad
NARRATION
There are two ways of reporting the words of a speaker:
1. We may quote his actual words. This is called Direct Speech.
2. We may report what he said without actually quoting him. This is called Indirect Speech.
Example:
Direct: Alice said, "It is a great opportunity."
Indirect: Alice said that it was a great opportunity.
Rule:
· In the case of Direct Speech, we use inverted commas to mark the exact words of the speaker. In case of Indirect Speech, we do not.
Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
Simple Present Tense | Simple Past Tense |
Present Continuous Tense | Past Continuous Tense |
Present Perfect | Past Perfect |
Shall | Should |
Will | Would |
Now | Then |
Here | There |
Ago | Before |
Thus | So |
Today | That day |
Tomorrow | The next day |
Yesterday | The day before |
Last night | The night before |
Examples:
Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
He says, "I am glad to be here this evening." | He said that he was glad to be there that evening. |
He said to me, "What are you doing?" | He asked me what I was doing. |
Rex said to Alice, "Go away." | Rex ordered Alice to go away. |
He said, "Alas! I am undone." | He exclaimed sadly that he was undone. |
Gopi said, "I know her address." | Gopi said that he knew her address. |
