In the NDA English paper, Direct and Indirect Speech questions ask you to rewrite what a person said — either in their exact words or in your own reporting words. The good news is that this is a pure rule-based topic: once you learn the back-shift of tenses, pronouns and time words, you can solve almost every question mechanically. This guide from The Cavalier gives you that exact rule-set.
What Is Direct and Indirect Speech?
When we report what somebody said, we can do it in two ways. In Direct Speech, we quote the speaker’s exact words inside inverted commas. In Indirect Speech (also called Reported Speech), we report the sense of what was said in our own words, without quotation marks.
Look at the same idea written both ways:
- Direct: Rohan said, “I am tired.”
- Indirect: Rohan said that he was tired.
Notice three things that changed: the inverted commas vanished, the pronoun I became he, and the verb am became was. These three kinds of change — punctuation, pronouns and tense — are the heart of this entire topic.
Every sentence in narration has two parts: the reporting verb (said, told, asked) outside the quotes, and the reported speech (the actual message) inside the quotes. You change the reported speech; the reporting verb usually only changes when needed.
In the NDA exam you are typically given a sentence in one form and asked to choose the correct conversion into the other form from four options. So your job is to apply a fixed checklist and match it to exactly one option.
Why Narration Matters in the NDA Exam
The NDA English paper carries 200 marks (100 questions of 2 marks each), and grammar transformation — including direct and indirect speech — is a regular, predictable scoring block. Unlike vocabulary, which needs years of reading, narration can be mastered in a few focused days because it runs on rules.
- The answer is objective: only one option follows every rule correctly.
- Questions are quick once the checklist is automatic.
- The same trap patterns repeat year after year, so practice pays off fast.
Remember the negative marking: NDA deducts 0.83 marks (one-third of 2) for a wrong answer. In narration, eliminate options that get the pronoun or the tense wrong — usually two options fail on these alone.
Because the rules are mechanical, a trained student rarely loses these marks. That makes narration one of the safest investments of your preparation time.
The Reporting Verb: Say, Tell, Said To
The first decision is about the reporting verb. The two most common are say and tell, and they behave differently.
- Said to usually changes to told when an object (the listener) is mentioned.
- Said (with no listener named) stays as said.
Examples:
- Direct: He said to me, “You are late.” → Indirect: He told me that I was late.
- Direct: She said, “It is raining.” → Indirect: She said that it was raining.
Tell needs a listener; say does not. We say told me / told him, but we never write said me. With say, we simply use said that.
Also note that the conjunction that is normally added to introduce a reported statement, though it is sometimes left out in everyday English. For exam safety, include that for statements.
Back-Shifting the Tense
This is the single most important rule. When the reporting verb is in the past tense (said, told, asked), the tense of the reported speech shifts one step back into the past. This is called back-shift.
- Simple Present → Simple Past (eat → ate)
- Present Continuous → Past Continuous (is eating → was eating)
- Present Perfect → Past Perfect (has eaten → had eaten)
- Simple Past → Past Perfect (ate → had eaten)
- will → would, can → could, may → might, must → had to
- shall → should, am/is/are → was/were
Example: Direct: She said, “I have finished my work.” → Indirect: She said that she had finished her work.
If the reporting verb is in the present or future tense (says, will say), do not back-shift. Direct: He says, “I am busy.” → Indirect: He says that he is busy. Many students wrongly change is to was here.
There is also an exception for universal truths and habitual facts — these stay in the present even after a past reporting verb. Example: The teacher said, “The earth revolves around the sun.” → The teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun.
Changing the Pronouns
Pronouns inside the reported speech must change to match the point of view of the reporter. A handy memory aid is the SON rule:
- S — First person pronouns (I, we, my, our) change according to the Subject of the reporting verb.
- O — Second person pronouns (you, your) change according to the Object of the reporting verb.
- N — Third person pronouns (he, she, it, they) do Not change.
Example: He said to me, “I trust you.” → He told me that he trusted me. Here I (first person) follows the subject He, and you (second person) follows the object me.
Third-person pronouns are the easy ones — they almost never change. Spend your attention on the first and second person pronouns, which is where mistakes happen.
Changing Time and Place Words
Words that point to the ‘here and now’ of the speaker must be shifted to fit the reporter’s ‘there and then’. Learn this table well — the NDA loves to test it.
- now → then
- today → that day
- tonight → that night
- tomorrow → the next day / the following day
- yesterday → the previous day / the day before
- here → there
- this → that, these → those
- ago → before
- thus → so, hence → thence
Example: She said, “I will meet you here tomorrow.” → She said that she would meet me there the next day.
These changes apply only when there is a genuine shift in time or place. If the report is made on the same day and in the same place, words like today and here may stay unchanged. For exam questions, however, follow the standard table unless the question clearly states otherwise.
Reporting Questions (Interrogative Sentences)
Questions follow special rules. The reporting verb said changes to asked or enquired, the question becomes a statement order (subject before verb), and the question mark disappears.
Wh- questions
If the question starts with a question word (what, when, why, who, how), keep that word as the connector.
- Direct: He said to her, “Where are you going?”
- Indirect: He asked her where she was going.
Yes/No questions
If the question can be answered with yes or no, use if or whether as the connector.
- Direct: She said to me, “Do you like tea?”
- Indirect: She asked me whether I liked tea.
Do not keep the helping verb at the front. Do you like becomes I liked, not did I like. The auxiliary do/does/did is absorbed into the main verb’s tense, and the word order becomes that of a normal statement.
Reporting Commands, Requests and Advice
Imperative sentences (orders, requests, advice) drop the inverted commas and use an infinitive (to + verb). The reporting verb changes to suit the tone of the sentence.
- Order → ordered / commanded
- Request → requested
- Advice → advised
- Negative command → use not to + verb (or forbade)
Examples:
- Direct: The officer said to the cadet, “Stand up.” → Indirect: The officer ordered the cadet to stand up.
- Direct: She said to him, “Please help me.” → Indirect: She requested him to help her.
- Direct: He said to me, “Do not waste time.” → Indirect: He advised me not to waste time.
For imperatives, there is no tense back-shift and no conjunction that. You simply turn the command into an infinitive after the right reporting verb.
Reporting Exclamations and Wishes
Exclamatory sentences express strong feeling — joy, sorrow, surprise. In indirect speech, the exclamation is turned into a statement, and the reporting verb shows the emotion, often with exclaimed, cried out, or wished.
- Direct: She said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”
- Indirect: She exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
- Direct: He said, “Alas! I have failed.”
- Indirect: He exclaimed with sorrow that he had failed.
Words like Hurrah, Alas, Bravo, Oh and the exclamation mark are removed, and the feeling is expressed through phrases such as with joy, with sorrow, or with surprise. Wishes use wished or prayed: Direct: He said, “May you live long!” → Indirect: He prayed that I might live long.
The key skill here is to read the emotion behind the sentence and choose the matching reporting verb. A sentence of praise takes applauded, a sentence of regret takes regretted, and a sentence of blessing takes blessed. So narration of exclamations is partly about grammar and partly about correctly naming the speaker’s feeling, which is why the NDA sometimes hides the trap in the choice of reporting verb rather than in the tense.
A Worked Example
Let us convert a slightly longer sentence step by step, applying the full checklist.
Convert into indirect speech: Ravi said to Meena, “I will return your book here tomorrow.”
Every change came from a fixed rule — nothing was guessed. That is exactly how you should solve narration in the exam: run the checklist in order and the correct option reveals itself.
Common Traps to Avoid
Examiners design wrong options around predictable slips. Watch for these:
- Forgetting back-shift: leaving the verb in the present when the reporting verb is past.
- Wrong reporting verb: using said for a question (should be asked) or for a command (should be ordered/requested).
- Keeping the question word order: writing where was she going instead of where she was going.
- Wrong connector: using that in a yes/no question instead of if/whether.
- Over-changing: back-shifting a universal truth, or changing third-person pronouns that should stay.
Scan the four options for the reporting verb and the tense first. These two checks usually eliminate two options instantly, leaving an easy final choice.
Previous-Year Practice and Quick Recap
Q. Choose the correct indirect form: The teacher said to the students, “Do not make noise in the class.”
(a) The teacher said the students that they should not make noise.
(b) The teacher told the students do not make noise in the class.
(c) The teacher ordered the students not to make noise in the class.
(d) The teacher asked the students that they do not make noise.
Answer: (c). It is a negative command, so the reporting verb becomes ordered, the message becomes an infinitive with not to make, and the class stays as the place is general. Options (a), (b) and (d) all break a rule — wrong verb form or wrong connector.
- Direct quotes exact words in inverted commas; indirect reports the sense without them.
- Past reporting verb → back-shift the tense one step (is→was, has→had, will→would).
- Pronouns follow the SON rule; third person does not change.
- Shift time/place words: now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day.
- Questions → asked + statement order (use if/whether for yes-no); commands → reporting verb + to + verb.
- Universal truths stay in the present; present/future reporting verbs do not back-shift.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between direct and indirect speech?
Direct speech quotes the speaker's exact words inside inverted commas, while indirect speech reports the meaning in your own words without quotation marks, usually with changes to tense, pronouns and time words.
When does the tense not back-shift in indirect speech?
The tense does not back-shift when the reporting verb is in the present or future tense, or when the reported statement is a universal truth or a habitual fact, which stays in the present tense.
How do I convert a question into indirect speech?
Change the reporting verb to 'asked' or 'enquired', use the question word for Wh- questions or 'if/whether' for yes-no questions, change the word order to that of a statement, and remove the question mark.
What is the SON rule for pronouns?
SON means: first-person pronouns change according to the Subject of the reporting verb, second-person pronouns change according to the Object, and third-person pronouns do Not change.
How are commands and requests reported?
Imperative sentences use an infinitive (to + verb) after a suitable reporting verb such as ordered, requested or advised. Negative commands use 'not to' + verb, and there is no tense back-shift or 'that' connector.
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