Direct & Indirect Speech
🔒 Log in to trackQuestions, commands and exclamations
🔒 Log in to trackEach sentence type has its own skeleton. A question becomes asked + if / wh-word + statement order. A command becomes told / ordered + person + to + verb. An exclamation becomes exclaimed with joy / sorrow that .... Pick the skeleton first. Then fill it with the tense, pronoun and time-word changes.
Four skeletons
- Yes/No question: asked + if / whether + statement order. "Do you like filter coffee?" becomes He asked me if I liked filter coffee. The do / does / did of the quote goes. Its tense lands on the main verb.
- Wh-question: asked + the wh-word + statement order. "Where are you going?" becomes She asked me where I was going. Never add if to a wh-question.
- Command: told / ordered + person + to + V1. "Shut the door." becomes He told me to shut the door. A negative command uses not to: "Do not shout." becomes told him not to shout.
- Request and advice: requested / advised + person + to + V1.
Rule: After the connector, write statement order. Say asked where he had gone, never asked where had he gone.
Suggestions and permission
- Let us (suggestion): suggested + V-ing. "Let us go for a walk" becomes He suggested going for a walk. Or use suggested that they should go.
- Let me (asking permission): "Let me sit here" becomes He requested that he might be allowed to sit there.
Exclamations
Read the emotion word first.
| Direct marker | Reported frame |
|---|---|
| Hurrah! | exclaimed with joy that |
| Alas! | exclaimed with sorrow that |
| Bravo! | applauded him, saying that |
| What a / How + adjective | exclaimed that it was a very + adjective |
| Good morning / Good night | wished him a good morning |
| Thank you | thanked him |
| May you ... (a blessing) | prayed / wished that |
"What a beautiful view!" becomes He exclaimed that it was a very beautiful view. The exclamation mark becomes a full stop. The strong feeling moves into the word very.
A full example, step by step
Rekha said to him, "What did you buy yesterday?"
- It is a wh-question, so the verb is asked and the connector is what.
- Use statement order: what he bought. Then step back: bought becomes had bought.
- You becomes he. Yesterday becomes the day before.
Result: Rekha asked him what he had bought the day before.
Punctuation
The question mark and the exclamation mark both become a full stop. An option that ends a reported question with a question mark is wrong, even if every word is right.
Watch: Two faults appear in most wrong options: the question order kept after the connector, and two connectors stacked. Look for them first.
Which verb goes with which type
asked (questions), ordered or told (commands), requested (please), advised (advice), suggested (let us), exclaimed (exclamations), wished or prayed (greetings and blessings).
Tip: If the stem is a please-sentence and the option says ordered, reject it. The tense inside does not matter.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Yes/No question becomes asked + if / whether
The quote can be answered by yes or no (Do you ...? Is there ...? Can you ...?). Options differ in if / that and in word order.
Spot the auxiliary or 'do' at the start of the quote.
Use asked + person + if / whether + statement order.
Remove do / does / did. Put the tense on the main verb.
Reject 'that', inverted order and a kept 'do'.
Only if / whether reports a yes/no question. Every other connector changes the meaning or breaks the order.
Select the indirect form: My aunt said to me, 'Do you like filter coffee?'
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The quote is a yes/no question, so use 'asked me if'.
'Do' goes; 'like' becomes 'liked'.
You becomes I.
My aunt asked me if I liked filter coffee.
Wh-question becomes asked + wh-word + statement order
The quote starts with why, where, when, what, who or how. Wrong options invert the helper (why did I) or put that before the wh-word.
Keep the wh-word as the connector. Put nothing before it.
Use statement order: wh-word + subject + verb.
Remove do / does / did. Step the tense back.
A reported wh-question is a clause in statement shape. Keeping question order is the most planted fault.
Select the indirect form: The interviewer asked me, 'Why do you want this job?'
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The wh-word 'why' stays.
'Do' goes; 'want' becomes 'wanted'.
You becomes I; this becomes that.
The interviewer asked me why I wanted that job.
Command becomes told / ordered + person + to + V1
The quote is a bare order, often negative (Do not ...). Options differ in where 'not' and 'to' sit.
Positive order: ordered / told + person + to + V1.
Negative order: put 'not' before 'to' (not to make).
Change this / these to that / those.
Match the verb to the tone: an order, not a request.
The to-infinitive is the frame for an order. The negative sits outside the 'to'.
Select the indirect form: The teacher said to the boys, 'Do not make a noise in the library.'
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It is a negative order: 'ordered the boys'.
Put 'not to' before the verb.
'Make' stays as a base verb.
The teacher ordered the boys not to make a noise in the library.
Request and advice frames
The quote has 'please' or 'kindly' (request), or it gives advice (Give up ..., Always speak ...). Options switch between requested, advised and ordered.
Please or kindly: requested + person + to + V1.
Advice: advised + person + to + V1.
Put always and never before the verb: advised him always to speak the truth.
The listener follows the verb directly: requested the doctor, never requested to the doctor.
Requests, advice and orders all use to + V1. Only the reporting verb tells them apart.
Select the indirect form: The patient said to the doctor, 'Please prescribe a milder tablet.'
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'Please' shows a request.
Use 'requested the doctor to prescribe'.
'Ordered' would turn the request into a command.
The patient requested the doctor to prescribe a milder tablet.
Exclamation becomes exclaimed with joy / sorrow that
The quote has Hurrah, Alas, What a or How. Options differ in joy / sorrow, in exclaimed / said, and in the 'very' change.
Read the emotion: Hurrah is joy; Alas is sorrow; Bravo is applauded.
Use exclaimed with joy / sorrow + that + a statement, one step back.
What a / How + adjective becomes 'it was a very + adjective'.
The exclamation mark becomes a full stop.
The reported verb must carry the same feeling as the quote. Swapping joy and sorrow is the classic trap.
Select the indirect form: The players said, 'Hurrah! We have clinched the series.'
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Hurrah shows joy: 'exclaimed with joy'.
We becomes they.
Have clinched becomes had clinched.
The players exclaimed with joy that they had clinched the series.
Greetings, thanks and blessings
The quote is a greeting (Good morning), thanks (Thank you) or a blessing (May you succeed).
Greeting: wished + person + the greeting.
Thanks: thanked + person.
Blessing: wished / prayed + that + person + might + V1.
These short quotes have fixed reporting verbs and no tense to shift.
Select the indirect form: The guest said to the host, 'Thank you.'
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'Thank you' is thanks.
The verb is 'thanked'.
The host is the object of the verb.
The guest thanked the host.
Shortcuts that save time
Name the type of the quote. Then write its skeleton: asked if ... / told ... to ... / exclaimed with joy that ... Pour the tense, pronoun and time-word changes into the skeleton.
In a direct question, do / does / did is only a helper. It vanishes in indirect speech. 'Do you know' becomes 'if I knew', never 'if I did know'.
Select the indirect form: The clerk said to me, 'Do you know the way?'
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It is a yes/no question, so use 'asked me if'.
'Do' goes. 'Know' becomes 'knew'.
You becomes I.
The clerk asked me if I knew the way.
Hurrah: exclaimed with joy. Alas: exclaimed with sorrow. Bravo: applauded. Good morning: wished. Thank you: thanked.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Keeping question order in a reported question: 'asked where was I going'.
Use statement order: asked where I was going.
Using 'if' with a wh-question.
A wh-question uses its wh-word alone.
Writing 'He ordered that I go' for a command.
Use person + to + V1: He ordered me to go.
Using 'exclaimed with joy' for an Alas! sentence.
Match the emotion: Alas means sorrow.
Ending a reported question with a question mark.
A reported question ends with a full stop.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Yes/No: asked + if or whether + statement order. Wh: asked + wh-word + statement order.
Never use that with a question, never both if and a wh-word, and drop do / does / did.
Command: told or ordered + person + to + V1. Negative: not to + V1.
Request: requested. Advice: advised. Let us: suggested + V-ing.
Hurrah: exclaimed with joy. Alas: exclaimed with sorrow. What a: exclaimed that it was a very ...
Reported questions and exclamations end with a full stop.
Practice: 18 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.