Rules for changing Direct into Indirect Speech:

A. When the reporting or principal verb is in the Past Tense, all the Present Tenses in the Direct Speech are changed into Past Tense.



a. A simple present tense becomes simple past tense.

Example:

• Direct : He said, “I am unwell.”
• Indirect: He said that he was unwell.

b. A present continuous tense becomes a past continuous.

Example:

• Direct : He said, “ my mother is writing letter.”
• Indirect: He said that his mother was writing letter.

c. A present perfect becomes a past perfect:

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Example:

• Direct: He said, “I have passed the examination.”
• Indirect: he said that he had passed the examination.

d. As a rule the simple past tense in the Direct Speech becomes the past perfect tense in Indirect Speech.

Example:

• Direct: He said, “His horse died in the night.”
• Indirect: he said that his horse had died in the night.

NOTE:

The shall of the future is changed into should.
The will of the future is changed into would.
The can and may of the future are changed into could and might respectively.


B. The tenses will not change if the statement is still relevant or if it is a universal truth. We can often choose whether to keep The original tenses or change them.


Examples:

• Direct: “I know her address”, said John.
• Indirect: John said that he knows/knew her address.

In this Indirect Speech, both the past tense and the present tense make the sentence a correct one.

• Direct: The teacher said, “The earth goes round the sun.”
• Indirect: The teacher said that the earth goes/went round the sun.

• Direct: She said, “German is easy to learn.”
• Indirect: She said that German was/is easy to learn.

The past tense is often used when it is uncertain if the statement is true or when we are reporting objectively.

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C. If the reporting verb is in present tense, the tenses of the Direct Speech do not change. For example, we may rewrite the above examples, putting the reporting verb in the present tense.

Examples:

• Direct : He says, “I am unwell.”
• Indirect: He says that he is unwell.

• Direct : He says, “ my mother is writing letter.”
• Indirect: He says that his mother is writing letter.

• Direct: He says, “I have passed the examination.”
• Indirect: he says that he has passed the examination.

• Direct: He says, “His horse died in the night.”
• Indirect: he says that his horse died in the night.



D. The pronouns of the Direct Speech are changed where necessary, so that their relations with the reporter and his hearer, Rather than with the original speaker are indicated.


Examples:

• Direct: He said to me, “I do not believe you.”
• Indirect: He said that he did not believe me.

• Direct: She said to him, “I do not believe you.”
• Indirect: She said to him that she did not believe him.

• Direct: I said to him, “I did not believe you.”
• Indirect: I said to him that I did not believe him.

• Direct: I said to you, “I do not believe you.”
• Indirect: I said to you that I do not believe you.

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E. Words expressing nearness in time or places are generally changed into words expressing distance.

Examples:

• Direct: He said, “I am glad to be here this evening.”
• Indirect: he said that he was glad to be there that evening.

• Direct: He said, “I was here yesterday.”
• Indirect: He said that he was there the day before.