Direct and Indirect Speech — Rules, Tense Changes & Examples
1
Reporting Verb Present/Future হলে
Reporting Verb-টি Present Tense বা
Future Tense-এ থাকলে Reported Speech-এর
Tense-এর কোনো পরিবর্তন হয় না।
তবে Reported Speech-এর Person-এর পরিবর্তন হতে পারে।
Example
Direct Speech
Karim says/will say, “I did not go.”
Indirect Speech
Karim says/will say that he did not go.
2
Person পরিবর্তনের নিয়ম
Reported Speech-এর অন্তর্গত Pronoun-এর Person সাধারণত
নিম্নলিখিত নিয়ম অনুযায়ী পরিবর্তিত হয়:
1st Person
Reporting Speech-এর অন্তর্গত First Person সবসময়
Reporting Verb-এর Subject-এর Person অনুযায়ী পরিবর্তিত হয়।
2nd Person
Reporting Speech-এর অন্তর্গত Second Person সবসময়
Reporting Verb-এর Object-এর Person অনুযায়ী পরিবর্তিত হয়।
3rd Person
Reporting Speech-এর অন্তর্গত Third Person-এর সাধারণত
কোনো পরিবর্তন হয় না।
3
“We” ব্যবহারের বিশেষ নিয়ম
ব্যতিক্রম
“We” দ্বারা মানবজাতি (mankind) বোঝালে First Person হওয়া সত্ত্বেও
Indirect Speech-এ এর কোনো পরিবর্তন হয় না।
Example 01
Direct Speech
He said, “We are all sinners.”
Indirect Speech
He said that we are all sinners.
আরেকটি বিশেষ ব্যবহার:
“We” দ্বারা বক্তা এবং যাকে উদ্দেশ্য করে বলা হচ্ছে—উভয়কে বোঝালে
Indirect Speech-এ “we” অপরিবর্তিত থাকতে পারে।
Example 02
Direct Speech
He said to me, “We could do it.”
Indirect Speech
He told me that we could do it.
4
Reporting Verb Past Tense হলে Tense পরিবর্তন
Reporting Verb-টি Past Tense-এ থাকলে
Reported Speech-এর Tense সাধারণত নিম্নলিখিত নিয়মে পরিবর্তিত হয়:
Reporting Verb হিসেবে say Direct এবং Indirect
উভয় Speech-এ ব্যবহৃত হতে পারে। অন্যদিকে tell
সাধারণত Indirect Speech-এ ব্যবহৃত হয় এবং এর পরে অবশ্যই একটি
Object থাকে।
মনে রাখুন:
say + to + person
tell + person
Example
Direct Speech
Meena said to me, “I want to go to Dhaka now.”
Indirect Speech
Meena told me that she wanted to go to Dhaka then.
6
একাধিক Past Indefinite Verb
Direct Speech-এর Reported Speech-এ দুই বা ততোধিক Verb
Past Indefinite Tense-এ থাকলে এবং বাক্যের
ঘটনাক্রম অনুযায়ী তা একই অতীত সময়কে নির্দেশ করলে Indirect Narration-এ
সেই Verb-গুলোর Tense অপরিবর্তিত থাকতে পারে।
Example
Direct Speech
“When I got home, I found I had lost my umbrella,” Laila said.
Indirect Speech
Laila said that when she got home, she found she had lost her umbrella.
7
চিরন্তন সত্য ও বৈজ্ঞানিক সত্য
Reporting Verb Past Tense-এ থাকলেও Direct Narration-এর
Reported Speech যদি চিরন্তন সত্য (universal truth),
বৈজ্ঞানিক সত্য অথবা কোনো
সাধারণ/অভ্যাসগত সত্য প্রকাশ করে, তাহলে
Reported Speech-এর Verb-এর Tense সাধারণত পরিবর্তন করা হয় না।
Example 01
Direct Speech
He said, “I take a bath in the Padma every morning.”
Indirect Speech
He said that he takes a bath in the Padma every morning.
Example 02
Direct Speech
He said to me, “Regular exercise is good for health.”
Indirect Speech
He told me that regular exercise is good for health.
Quick Revision
Present/Future Reporting Verb → সাধারণত Tense পরিবর্তন হয় না।
Narration is the process of changing a speaker’s words from direct speech into indirect speech or from indirect speech into direct speech while maintaining the original meaning.
What is direct speech and indirect speech?
Direct speech reports the exact words of a speaker within quotation marks. Indirect speech reports the speaker’s words without using the exact quotation and usually requires changes in tense, pronouns, and other words.
What are the rules of narration in English grammar?
The main rules of narration include changing the reporting verb when necessary, changing pronouns, adjusting tense, changing words indicating time and place, and removing quotation marks when converting direct speech into indirect speech.
How do you change direct speech into indirect speech?
To change direct speech into indirect speech, remove the quotation marks, use an appropriate conjunction or reporting structure, change the pronouns and tense when required, and adjust words related to time and place.
How does tense change in narration?
When the reporting verb is in the past tense, the tense of the reported speech generally changes according to the sequence of tense. For example, the simple present may change to the simple past, and the present continuous may change to the past continuous.
When does the tense not change in narration?
The tense generally does not change when the reporting verb is in the present or future tense. Tense may also remain unchanged when the reported statement expresses a universal truth or an established fact.
How do pronouns change in narration?
Pronouns change according to the person speaking, the person being spoken to, and the person being spoken about. The exact change depends on the relationship between the reporting verb and the reported speech.
How do you change interrogative sentences into indirect speech?
In indirect speech, an interrogative sentence is generally changed into a statement structure. Yes/no questions usually take if or whether, while Wh-questions retain their question words such as what, where, when, why, and how.
How do you change imperative sentences into indirect speech?
Imperative sentences are generally changed using reporting verbs such as ordered, requested, advised, told, or forbade, followed by an appropriate infinitive structure such as to + verb or not to + verb.
How do you change exclamatory sentences into indirect speech?
Exclamatory sentences are changed by using suitable reporting verbs such as exclaimed with joy, exclaimed with sorrow, or exclaimed with surprise, depending on the meaning of the sentence. The exclamation mark is removed in indirect speech.
Comments