REMEDIAL GRAMMAR – Narration Change – Unit 5

Unit V

Remedial Grammar

NARRATION CHANGE

Rules for Narration Change – Changing Direct to Indirect Speech

There are certain rules to follow when changing direct speech to indirect speech. Here are some of the most important ones:

Tense changes: The tense of the verb in the reported speech changes depending on the tense in the reporting verb. If the reporting verb is in the past tense, the tense in the reported speech will usually change to the past tense. For example, “He said, ‘I am going to the store'” would become “He said that he was going to the store.”

Pronoun changes: Pronouns in the reported speech may need to be changed to reflect the change in perspective from the speaker to the reported speaker. For example, “She said, ‘I love you'” would become “She said that she loved him.”

Time and place changes: Time and place expressions in the reported speech may need to be changed to reflect the new context. For example, “He said, ‘I will meet you tomorrow at 3 pm at the park'” would become “He said that he would meet her the next day at 3 pm in the park.”

Reporting verbs: The choice of reporting verb can change the meaning or tone of the sentence. For example, “She admitted, ‘I stole the money'” would become “She confessed that she had stolen the money.”

Punctuation changes: Punctuation marks, such as quotation marks and exclamation marks, may need to be changed or removed altogether in indirect speech.

Imperatives and questions: When changing a command or request from direct to indirect speech, the reporting verb will need to be changed to a suitable one. For example, “He said, ‘Please come here'” would become “He asked her to come there.”

Modals and auxiliary verbs: Modal verbs and auxiliary verbs may need to be changed to reflect the change in tense. For example, “He said, ‘I can swim'” would become “He said that he could swim.”

These are some of the basic rules for changing direct speech to indirect speech. It’s important to pay attention to the context and meaning of the original sentence to make sure that the indirect speech accurately reflects the intended message.

Narration Change exercise with answers

(1) Original: “I am going to the store,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she was going to the store.

(2) Original: “I will meet you at the park,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he would meet me at the park.

(3) Original: “I am so tired,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she was so tired.

(4) Original: “I love chocolate,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he loved chocolate.

(5) Original: “I don’t want to go to the party,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she didn’t want to go to the party.

(6) Original: “I have never been to Europe,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he had never been to Europe.

(7) Original: “I am going to cook dinner,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she was going to cook dinner.

(8) Original: “I can’t believe I passed the test,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he couldn’t believe he had passed the test.

(9) Original: “I want to go to the beach,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she wanted to go to the beach.

(10) Original: “I am leaving tomorrow,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he was leaving the next day.

(11) Original: “I will be back in an hour,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she would be back in an hour.

(12) Original: “I saw a movie last night,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he had seen a movie the previous night.

(13) Original: “I have been studying all day,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she had been studying all day.

(14) Original: “I don’t like pizza,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he didn’t like pizza.

(15) Original: “I am going to visit my parents this weekend,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she was going to visit her parents that weekend.

(16) Original: “I have never tried sushi before,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he had never tried sushi before.

(17) Original: “I am going to buy a new car,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she was going to buy a new car.

(18) Original: “I can’t wait to go on vacation,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he couldn’t wait to go on vacation.

(19) Original: “I want to learn how to play guitar,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she wanted to learn how to play guitar.

(20) Original: “I am going to the gym,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he was going to the gym.

(21) Original: “I forgot to bring my keys,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she had forgotten to bring her keys.

(22) Original: “I am reading a book,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he was reading a book.

(23) Original: “I need to go to the dentist,” she said.
Change to indirect: She said that she needed to go to the dentist.

(24) Original: “I hate spiders,” he said.
Change to indirect: He said that he hated spiders.

(25) Original: “I am going to the library,” she said.
Change to indirect : She said that she was going to library.

Read More:

Unit 1: Communication: Therory & Practice

Unit 2: Soft Skills for Professional Excellence

Unit 3: Reading Comprehension

Unit 4: Professional Writing

Unit 5: Vocabulary and Grammar