Direct & Indirect Speech
🔒 Log in to trackPronouns, and the time/place word table
🔒 Log in to trackPronouns change by who is speaking to whom. This is the SONA rule. Subject-side words (first person) follow the reporter, Object-side words (second person) follow the listener, and No change for the third person. Words tied to the speaker's now and here also change. Tomorrow becomes the next day and here becomes there.
Pronouns: the SONA rule
- First person (I, we, my, our) follows the reporter. The reporter is the subject outside the quotes.
- Second person (you, your) follows the listener. The listener is the person spoken to, usually the object of the reporting verb.
- Third person (he, she, it, they) never changes.
Example: He said to me, "I will explain the sum to you." becomes He told me that he would explain the sum to me. The I is the speaker (he). The you is the listener (me).
More examples:
- Sita said to Gita, "You are late." becomes Sita told Gita that she was late. The you is Gita.
- The guests said, "We enjoyed it." becomes The guests said that they had enjoyed it.
Tip: Say the two anchors aloud first: who is the reporter, who is the listener. Check the speaker's gender too. A woman's I becomes she.
Time words
Learn this as one block.
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| now | then |
| today | that day |
| tonight | that night |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| yesterday | the previous day / the day before |
| last week / last night | the previous week / the previous night |
| next month / next Monday | the following month / the following Monday |
| ago | before |
| hence | thence |
| thus | so |
Place words and pointing words
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| this | that |
| these | those |
| here | there |
| come | go |
| bring | take |
Meet me here tomorrow morning becomes he asked me to meet him there the next morning.
Come becomes go only when the reporter stands in a different place from the speaker.
Tense and time words move together
Watch: Would visit ... tomorrow is wrong. The modal moved but the time word did not. Will visit ... the next day is wrong too.
In a well-set item, one option shifts only the verb, one shifts only the time word, and one shifts both. The one that shifts both is the answer.
Present reporting verb
If the reporting verb is present, neither the tense nor the time words change.
He says, "I am busy today." becomes He says that he is busy today.
A full example, step by step
Anil said to Beena, "I will bring your book here tomorrow."
- Reporter: Anil. Listener: Beena.
- I becomes he. Your becomes her.
- Will bring becomes would bring. Here becomes there.
- Tomorrow becomes the next day.
Result: Anil told Beena that he would bring her book there the next day.
Pronoun faults planted in options
- Keeping you or your in a told-me sentence. The listener was ignored.
- Wrong person: he instead of she, or her instead of me.
- Wrong number: we becomes he instead of they.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
SONA pronoun mapping
The quote has I, we, you, my or your. Options differ mainly in the pronouns (to me / to you / to him).
Name the reporter, the subject outside the quotes. First-person words follow it.
Name the listener, the object of said to / told. Second-person words follow it.
Copy third-person words. Check gender and number.
Every pronoun in the quote has one anchor, so the mapping is mechanical.
Select the indirect form: He said to me, 'I will explain the sum to you.'
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I is the speaker, so it becomes 'he'.
You is the listener, so it becomes 'me'.
will becomes would.
He told me that he would explain the sum to me.
tomorrow / next becomes the next / the following
The quote says tomorrow, next week or next Monday. Options keep the word or change it.
Scan for forward words: tomorrow, next + a unit of time.
Change: tomorrow to the next day; next Monday to the following Monday.
Check that the verb moved too (will to would).
These words are measured from the day of speaking. When the report is made later, the anchor moves.
Select the indirect form: Mother said, 'I will prepare your favourite dish tomorrow.'
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Will becomes would.
Tomorrow becomes the next day.
Mother is the reporter, so 'I' becomes 'she'. 'Your' becomes 'my'.
Mother said that she would prepare my favourite dish the next day.
yesterday / ago / last becomes the previous / before
The quote says yesterday, ago or last night / week. Options keep ago or last, or use the previous / the day before.
Scan for backward words: yesterday, ago, last + a unit of time.
Change: yesterday to the previous day; two years ago to two years before; last Sunday to the previous Sunday.
Check the verb: V2 becomes had + V3.
Backward words also count from the day of speaking. Later, the same gap reads as 'before'.
Select the indirect form: The old man said, 'I bought this house forty years ago.'
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Bought becomes had bought.
Ago becomes before.
This becomes that.
The old man said that he had bought that house forty years before.
here / this / come becomes there / that / go
The quote has place words or pointing words (here, this, these, come, bring). Options differ in whether they moved.
Underline this, these, here, come and bring.
Change: this to that; these to those; here to there; come to go; bring to take.
'Said that that' is correct English when the second 'that' points at something.
The reporter stands in a different place, so near words become far words.
Select the indirect form: Grandmother said, 'This mango tree was planted by my grandfather.'
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This becomes that.
Was planted becomes had been planted.
My becomes her.
Grandmother said that that mango tree had been planted by her grandfather.
Third person stays and gender check
The quote names a third person (he, she, they). Options change these pronouns or give the speaker the wrong gender.
Copy every third-person pronoun as it is.
Change only I / we and you / your.
Check the gender of the speaker for I and my.
Third-person words already point to someone outside the conversation, so the reporter's view makes no difference.
Select the indirect form: Kavita said to Rohan, 'I have met your brother, and he is very helpful.'
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I is Kavita, so it becomes 'she'.
Your is Rohan's, so it becomes 'his'.
He stays 'he'. Have met becomes had met.
Kavita told Rohan that she had met his brother and he was very helpful.
Shortcuts that save time
Mark the three anchors before you change anything. First person goes to the reporter. Second person goes to the listener. Third person stays. Most wrong options break exactly one of these.
Select the indirect form: Ravi said to Sunil, 'You must bring your notes.'
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The listener is Sunil, so 'you' becomes 'he'.
'Your' becomes 'his'.
must (duty) becomes had to.
Ravi told Sunil that he had to bring his notes.
Yesterday becomes the previous day. Tomorrow becomes the next day. If the option shifts the verb but keeps the old time word, it is wrong.
If the reporting verb is 'says' (present), nothing shifts: not the tense, not the time words. Only the pronouns follow SONA.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Leaving 'you' unchanged when the listener is named.
Second person becomes the listener: Ram becomes he.
Keeping 'yesterday' or 'tomorrow' inside reported speech.
Write the previous day and the next day.
Changing 'this' to 'the'.
This becomes that, and these becomes those.
Shifting tenses when the reporting verb is present.
With says or asks, tense and time words stay as spoken.
Changing a third-person pronoun.
He, she, it and they never change.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
SONA: first person follows the reporter, second person follows the listener, third person stays.
now to then; today to that day; tomorrow to the next day; yesterday to the previous day.
ago to before; last to the previous; next to the following.
this to that; these to those; here to there; come to go; bring to take.
Tense and time word move together. If only one moved, the option is wrong.
Check the speaker's gender before writing his or her.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 7 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.