Indirect Speech for all Tenses – Rules
DIRECT SPEECH CHANGES – INTO INDIRECT SPEECH
- Present Simple Tense into Past Simple Tense
- Present Progressive Tense into Past Progressive Tense
- Present Perfect Tense into Past Perfect Tense
- Present Perfect Progressive Tense into Past Perfect Tense
- Past Simple Tense into Past Perfect Tense
- Past Progressive Tense into Perfect Continuous Tense
- Past Perfect Tense (The tense remains unchanged)
- Past Perfect Progressive Tense (The tense remains unchanged)
- Future Simple Tense (e.g. will) into “would”
- Future Progressive Tense (e.g. will be) into “would be”
- Future Perfect Tense (e.g. will have) into “would have”
- Future Perfect Progressive Tense (e.g. will have been) into “would have been”
Examples:
DIRECT SPEECH | INDIRECT SPEECH | |
---|---|---|
PRESENT TENSE
|
||
PRESENT SIMPLE changes into PAST SIMPLE | ||
She said, “I work in a hospital”. | She said that she worked in a hospital. | |
They said, “We play Football”. | They said that they played Football. | |
He said, “I love my parents”. | He said that he loved his parents. | |
She said, “I don’t waste time”. | She said that she didn’t waste time. | |
PRESENT PROGRESSIVE changes into PAST PROGRESSIVE | ||
He said, “I am waiting for someone”. | He said that he was waiting for someone. | |
I said, “She is driving a car”. | I said that she was driving a car. | |
She said, “They are enjoying the music”. | She said that they were enjoying the music. | |
David said, “I am not going to College”. | David said that he was not going to College. | |
PRESENT PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT | ||
She said, “ I have completed the work” | She said that she had completed the work. | |
John said, “I have won a prize”. | John said that he had won a prize. | |
He said, “She has washed the shirts” | He said that she had washed the shirts. | |
David said, “I have not met her”. | David said that he had not met her. | |
PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE changes into PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE | ||
She said, “I have been working in a factory for two years. | She said that she had been working in a factory for two years. | |
David said, “he has been waiting for his brother for three hours” | David said that he had been waiting for his brother for three hours. | |
They said, “We have been living in America since 2013”. | They said that they had been living in America since 2013. | |
PAST TENSE
|
||
PAST SIMPLE changes into PAST PERFECT | ||
He said, “I started a Job”. | He said that he had started a job. | |
She said, “I bought a new car”. | She said that she had bought a new car. | |
They said, “We went to a market” | They that they had gone to a market. | |
He said to me, “You didn’t help me” | He said to me that I had not helped him. | |
PAST PROGRESSIVE changes into PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE | ||
He said, “I was writing a poem” | He said that he had been writing a poem. | |
The kids said, “We were playing a game”. | The kids said they had been playing a game. | |
They said, “We were watching a movie”. | They said they had been watching a movie. | |
She said, “I was not making a noise”. | She said that she had not been making a noise. | |
PAST PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT (No change in tense) | ||
They said, “We had won the game” | They said that they had won the game. | |
He said, “I had gone to home”. | He said that he had gone to home. | |
David said, “I had passed the exam”. | David said that he had passed the exam. | |
She said, “I had not received the letter”. | She said that she had not received the letter. |
FUTURE TENSE
|
||
FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE WILL changes into WOULD |
||
---|---|---|
She said, “I will go to London”. | She said that she would go to London. | |
He said, “I will start a new job”. | He said that he would start a new job. | |
They said to me, “We will help you”. | They said to me that they would help me. | |
She said, “I will not waste time”. | She said that she would not waste time. | |
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE WILL BE changes into WOULD BE |
||
He said to me, “I will be waiting for you”. | He said to me that he would be waiting for me. | |
David said, “I will be making tea”. | David said that he would be making tea. | |
She said, “I will be feeding my kids”. | She said that she would be feeding her kids. | |
They said, “We will not be driving a car. | They said that they would not be driving a car. | |
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE WILL HAVE changes into WOULD HAVE |
||
She said, “I will have cooked the food”. | She said that she would have cooked the food. | |
He said, “I will have cleaned the room”. | He said that he would have cleaned the room. | |
David said, “I will have called a Doctor”. | David said that he would have called a Doctor. |
Indirect Speech Rules for Interrogative Sentences
Indirect Speech for Imperative & Exclamatory Sentences
Indirect Speech – Change In Pronoun – Rules