Narration (Direct & Indirect Speech)

When direct speech becomes indirect, only the pronouns inside the inverted commas change. The pronouns in the reporting part stay as they are. Three questions settle every pronoun, and the short form for them is SON.

Why does the pronoun move at all? Because the person who said “I” is no longer the one speaking. Now someone else is telling the story, and the speaker has become a third person. Radhika said “I am happy”, but the reporter cannot say “Radhika said that I am happy”, because the reporter is not happy in that story. Radhika is. So I becomes she.

Worked example. Mohit said to Shivani, “You should not insult me.”

[[parse: S=Mohit | V=said | IO=to Shivani | X=“You should not insult me.”]]

• You is 2nd person, so it follows the object of the reporting verb. The object is Shivani, so you becomes she.
• me is 1st person, so it follows the subject. The subject is Mohit, so me becomes him.
• should not does not change here.

✔ Mohit told Shivani that she should not insult him.

Only the person changes. The case (I, me, my, mine) stays the same, so check every form.

When the reporting verb has no object. If it reads Radhika said, “I will help you”, the listener is not named. Take the listener as me (the person who is reporting) when the question needs a listener, unless the sentence says otherwise.

✔ Radhika said, “I will help you.” → Radhika said that she would help me.

The pronoun we. This is the one place where SON needs a second look, because we may or may not include the listener. SSC asks it rarely, but a clean concept exists.

✔ Pawan said to Rajat, “We are mortal.” → Pawan told Rajat that we are mortal. (Case 1)
✔ Radhika said to me, “We should complete it.” → Radhika told me that we should complete it. (Case 2, listener is me)
✔ Ravi said to you, “We should help this man.” → Ravi told you that you should help this man. (Case 2, listener is you)
✔ Pawan said to Saral, “We should help this man.” → Pawan told Saral that they should help that man. (Case 2, both are 3rd person)
✔ Rahul said to me, “We should help you.” → Rahul told me that they should help me. (Case 3, you in the quote is already me, so we is Rahul's group only)
✔ You said to him, “We will reach on time.” → You told him that you would reach on time. (Case 3)

✘ Pawan told Saral that he should help that man. (use they, because we is plural)

The concept in one line: the tense steps one step back. It happens only when the reporting verb is in the past (said, told, asked…).

Take Radhika saying “I am happy” on 1 January. Today is 10 January and someone is reporting it.

✔ Radhika said, “I am happy.” → Radhika told me that she was happy.

I became she, because Radhika is not the one speaking now. Am became was, because her being happy is now a thing of the past. Happy stays, because the feeling is the same. Every tense is moved one step further into the past in the same way.

Backshift is the normal concept after a past reporting verb. If the fact is still true at the time of reporting, the present tense may remain (She said that she lives in Delhi), but the exam usually expects backshift.

Examples from the table.

✔ Sohan said, “Mohan tells a lie.” → Sohan said that Mohan told a lie.
✔ Sonu said to me, “Monu is writing a book.” → Sonu told me that Monu was writing a book.
✔ Ravi said to me, “I will meet her.” → Ravi told me that he would meet her.
✔ He said, “I can drive a car.” → He said that he could drive a car.
✔ She said, “I may wash my shirt.” → She said that she might wash her shirt.
✔ She said, “I have finished my work.” → She said that she had finished her work.
✔ Rita said, “I have been trying to lose weight.” → Rita said that she had been trying to lose weight.
✔ Nelson said, “I was playing cricket.” → Nelson said that he had been playing cricket.

Why past perfect does not change. There is no tense earlier than the past perfect to step back into. So He said, “She had started the fight” becomes He said that she had started the fight.

Why would, could, should and might do not change. They are already the past-looking forms of will, can, shall and may. They have no separate past form left.

Shall. In a statement shall becomes would: *“I shall arrive before noon”* → She said she would arrive before noon. Only when shall asks for permission or advice does it become should.

Must has two meanings, so check the sense. If must shows a duty or a compulsion, it becomes had to. If it shows a guess or a conclusion, it stays must.

✔ Everyone must attend the party. → He told me that everyone had to attend the party. (duty)
✔ It must be your fault. → He told me that it must be my fault. (guess)
✔ It must be raining outside. → He said it must be raining outside. (guess)

> The reporting verb decides everything. If it is says, will say or has said, none of this table is used. That case has its own unit, a little further on.

When the tense steps back, the time and place words step back with it. The reasoning is simple. The tense moved because the moment of speaking is now in the past. A word like today or now pointed at that moment, so it has to move too.

The same idea covers the other words of its kind.

✔ She said, “I am busy today.” → She said that she was busy that day.
✔ He said, “I like this car.” → He said that he liked that car.
✔ They said, “We saw a snake here.” → They said that they had seen a snake there.
✔ She said to me, “You will speak at the conference tomorrow.” → She told me that I would speak at the conference the next day.
✔ Riyaz said, “I will be there by tomorrow morning.” → Riyaz said that he would be there by the following morning.

Here usually becomes there. In the third example here was changed to there. If the quote already says there, it stays there in exam frames; it can become here only if the reporter is now at that place.

The time word moves when the reporting time differs from the original. In exam frames that means the reporting verb is past. A same-day report can keep today (She said that she was busy today). If the reporting verb is says or will say, the speaker is still speaking in the same present, so today, now and tomorrow stay exactly as they are.

✔ She says, “I am busy today.” → She says that she is busy today.

Time words that do not point at the moment of speaking do not change. On Friday, by Friday, in 1947, at 3 p.m. and the next day are fixed in the calendar, so they stay.

✔ The manager said, “We will make a decision by Friday.” → The manager said that they would make a decision by Friday.
✔ She said, “I will meet you at 3 p.m.” → She told me that she would meet me at 3 p.m.

> Do not change the time word and forget the tense, or the tense and forget the time word. In SSC options these two usually go together, and an option that changes only one of them is wrong.

The tense steps back only in one situation: the reporting verb is past. In the following three situations no change is made in the tense or in the time words of the reported speech. The pronouns still change by SON, and the inverted commas still go.

1. The reporting verb is in the present or the future tense. The speaker is still speaking in the same present, or has not spoken yet. So there is no past to step back from.

✔ Mohan will say, “Lata is very intelligent.” → Mohan will say that Lata is very intelligent.
✔ She says to me, “I love you.” → She tells me that she loves me.
✔ He has said to me, “Rohit will join the camp.” → He has told me that Rohit will join the camp.
✔ Roshan says, “I have completed my homework.” → Roshan says that he has completed his homework.
✔ Avika says, “I have completed the math assignment.” → Avika says that she has completed the math assignment.

Loves and has completed look different from the originals only because the pronoun changed from I to she. The tense is the same.

2. The reported speech is a universal truth, a habitual action, a historical fact, a proverb or an idiom. These are true at all times, so they are not pushed into the past, even when the reporting verb is past.

Look at the second last row. Got freedom in 1947 stays in the simple past. It does not become had got, because the date already fixes the event in history.

3. The reporting verb itself never changes. The tense and the pronouns of the part outside the inverted commas are left exactly as they are.

✘ He says, “I went out.” → He said that he went out. (the reporting verb must stay says)
✔ He says that he went out.
✘ He said to me, “I like it.” → He told him that he liked it. (me is part of the reporting verb, so it stays)
✔ He told me that he liked it.

[[say:radhika| In He says that he went out the verb went is past. Why did it not become had gone?]]

[[say:sir| Because the reporting verb is says, a present tense. The back-shift needs a past reporting verb. Went was already in the quote as went, so it stays went.]]

An assertive sentence is a plain statement, either affirmative or negative. This is the simplest type, and every other type borrows its concepts.

The steps.

• Say / says / said stays say / says / said.
• Say / says / said + to + object becomes tell / tells / told + object.
• The inverted commas go and the conjunction that is put in their place.
• Pronouns, tense and time words are changed by the concepts already learnt.

[[parse: S=Shivam | V=says | CONJ=that | X=Ram has gone to Agra]]

✔ Shivam says, “Ram has gone to Agra.” → Shivam says that Ram has gone to Agra.
✔ He said, “Sara is going to school.” → He said that Sara was going to school.
✔ He said to her, “Your shirt is nice.” → He told her that her shirt was nice.
✔ He said to me, “I am grateful to you.” → He told me that he was grateful to me.
✔ I said, “They never help anybody.” → I said that they never helped anybody.

Why said to usually becomes told. She said to me that she was tired is grammatical but old-fashioned; told me is the standard, shorter form and the one SSC options use. That can be omitted in speech (told me she was tired), but keep it in exam answers. A statement with a listener uses told, and told always needs its object.

✘ I said Amit that I was not participating. (use told Amit)
✘ I told to Amit that I was not participating. (no to after told)
✔ I told Amit that I was not participating in the annual function.

When the reporting part comes after the quote. The order does not change the method. Start with the reporting part and then add that.

✔ “I love the way you have decorated the room,” she said, smiling warmly. → Smiling warmly, she said that she loved the way I had decorated the room.

Sir, Madam, Your Honour. These words are used only in direct speech. In indirect speech they are dropped and respectfully is written instead.

✔ He said to the judge, “Your Honour, I am innocent.” → He told the judge respectfully that he was innocent.

Other reporting verbs for a statement. Said is the default. When the sense is clear, a stronger verb may be used: announced that, explained that, confirmed that, complained that, replied that, admitted that.

Answers to a yes/no question. If the direct speech has a yes/no question and its answer, the answer yes is reported as answered in the affirmative (or answered positively), and no as answered in the negative (or answered negatively).

✔ He said, “Can you come on Monday?” I said, “No.” → He asked if I could come on Monday and I answered negatively.

The preposition to after the reporting verb. Students often confuse which reporting verbs take to before the listener and which do not.

✘ They informed to me that they had lost the match. (drop to)
✘ He requested to me to help his friend. (drop to)
✘ Prashant advised to me to revise my notes properly. (drop to)
✘ The culprit pleaded the judge to have some mercy. (use pleaded with the judge)
✘ Radhika suggested me to dress well for the party. (use suggested to me)
✘ Abhishek described him the situation very well. (use described to him)
✘ Sagar explained him the topic properly. (use explained to him)

An interrogative sentence asks a question. In indirect speech the question is no longer asked. It is only reported, so it becomes a statement.

The steps.

• Said / said to becomes asked (also enquired of, questioned, wanted to know, demanded for a firm demand).
• The question mark (?) becomes a full stop (.).
• The question is turned into a statement: the subject comes before the verb again.
• Tense, pronouns and time words follow the concepts already learnt.
• The conjunction depends on the kind of question.

✔ I said to him, “Do you live in Delhi?” → I asked him if he lived in Delhi.
✔ My brother said to me, “Do you like horror movies?” → My brother asked me if I liked horror movies.
✔ He said to me, “Is it raining?” → He asked me whether it was raining.
✔ He said, “What can I do for you?” → He asked what he could do for me.
✔ He asked us, “When are you reaching?” → He asked us when we were reaching.

If or whether? For a plain yes/no question both can be used. But when or comes later in the sentence, whether is preferred, because whether… or is a pair.

✔ He said to me, “Can you do it?” → He asked me if / whether I could do it.
✔ He said to me, “Can you do it or not?” → He asked me whether I could do it or not.

Why the helping verb goes back. In a question, the helping verb jumps in front of the subject (Do you live…?). Once the question becomes a statement, the subject comes first again. So do / does / did is not needed. It was there only to make the question, and it now falls away.

✔ “Where do you live?” → She asked me where I lived.
✔ “Which car did you purchase yesterday?” → Mohan asked which car he had purchased the day before.
✔ “Have you done your homework?” → He asked me if I had done my homework.
✔ “Why is everybody leaving so early today?” → The manager asked why everybody was leaving so early that day.

When the wh-word is itself the subject. Who, what and which are sometimes the subject. In that case there is no do / does / did in the question, and the verb simply steps back.

✔ The teacher said to the students, “Who broke the window pane?” → The teacher asked the students who had broken the window pane.

With a linking verb. The reported clause also takes normal order, so the subject comes before was.

✔ Vikram said, “Who is it?” → Vikram asked who it was.

Never two conjunctions together. The wh-word or if is the conjunction. Adding that before it is wrong.

✘ He asked me that when I would come back. (drop that)
✘ She asked me that if I could see her. (drop that)
✔ He asked me when I would come back.

The exception is a quote that has two clauses. There the second conjunction belongs to the clause inside, so both are allowed.

✔ He said to me, “When you come back, I will call her.” → He told me that when I came back he would call her.
✔ She said to me, “If you see it, you will love it.” → She told me that if I saw it, I would love it.

Shall in a question. Shall I…? asks for a decision or advice, so it becomes should, or would when it only looks ahead.

✔ He said, “Shall I open the window?” → He asked if he should open the window.

> Only a question gets asked. A statement with said never gets if or whether, and a question never gets that.

An exclamatory sentence shows a sudden feeling and ends with an exclamation mark (!). The feeling is the heart of the sentence, so the reporting verb is built from it.

The steps.

• The interjection (Alas!, Hurrah!, Wow!, Oh!) and the exclamation mark are used only in direct speech. Drop them, and close the sentence with a full stop.
• Said becomes exclaimed, or exclaimed with + the feeling (sorrow, joy, surprise…).
• The conjunction is that.
• The exclamatory form becomes an assertive (statement) form.
• Tense, pronouns and time words follow the concepts already learnt.

✔ They said, “Hurrah! We won the game.” → They exclaimed with joy that they had won the game.
✔ He said, “Alas! I failed the exam.” → He exclaimed with sorrow that he had failed the exam.
✔ The man said, “Alas, I have missed the opportunity.” → The man exclaimed with sorrow that he had missed the opportunity.
✔ She said, “Wow! The police have arrested the burglar.” → She exclaimed with joy that the police had arrested the burglar.

Which interjection shows which feeling. The reporting verb comes from this table.

Many interjections can carry more than one feeling. Oh! may be surprise, sorrow or disgust. So read the whole sentence, and choose the feeling the sense supports.

The words for the same feeling can be written in several ways. Sorrow: exclaimed with sorrow, exclaimed sorrowfully, exclaimed with great grief. Joy: exclaimed with great joy, exclaimed joyfully / happily. Surprise: exclaimed with surprise, exclaimed in surprise.

Exclamations with how and what. Drop how and what, make the sentence a statement, and add very or great where the meaning needs it.

✔ Everyone said, “How simple this man is!” → Everyone exclaimed that that man was very simple.
✔ They said, “What a match it was!” → They exclaimed that it had been a great match.
✔ “What an enormous pumpkin!” said the boy. → The boy exclaimed with surprise that it was an enormous pumpkin.
✔ “What a hopeless fellow you are!” said the teacher to the student. → The teacher exclaimed that he was a very hopeless fellow.
✔ Rohit said, “Oh, how tall you have grown!” → Rohit exclaimed that he had grown very tall.
✔ They said, “How foolish of him to say that!” → They exclaimed that it had been very foolish of him to say that.

In the last example to say that is an infinitive. An infinitive is not a tense, so it does not change.

Exclamations with where. These are really negative statements in disguise. Report them with nowhere or not… anywhere.

✔ Pawan said, “Where can this joy be found!” → Pawan exclaimed that that joy could be found nowhere.

An exclamatory sentence ends in (!). A sentence with an emotion word but a full stop is an ordinary statement and takes said.

✔ My son said with joy, “It is an attractive site.” → My son said with joy that it was an attractive site.

Two clauses in one quote. If the quote has an exclamation followed by a separate statement, report the exclamation first and the statement as a second clause.

✔ Reena said, “What a lovely scene! I wish I could stay here forever.” → Reena exclaimed that it was a lovely scene. She further wished that she could stay there forever.

An imperative sentence gives a request, an offer, advice, a command or an instruction. It generally starts with V1, with the subject you hidden.

The steps.

• Said (to) becomes a verb that fits the sense: requested, ordered, advised, forbade, warned, suggested… Choose it from the clue in the quote.
• No conjunction is used.
• The reported speech starts with to + V1.
• The imperative becomes an assertive (statement-like) phrase, and the pronouns and time words change as usual.

[[parse: S=She | V=advised | O=the boy | X=never to waste his time]]

✔ She said to the boy, “Never waste your time.” → She advised the boy never to waste his time.
✔ The man said to the boys, “Work hard.” → The man advised the boys to work hard.
✔ Mother said to Navin, “Board the train now.” → Mother told Navin to board the train then.

Choosing the reporting verb from the sense. The same sentence can be an order, a request or advice. Look at who is speaking and at the words in the quote.

> Forbade and prohibited already carry the meaning of not. Do not write not again with them.

Please is dropped. The word please only shows politeness, and requested already shows that. It is not written again.

✔ I said to him, “Please stay here tonight.” → I requested him to stay there that night.
✔ Rohit said to Meena, “Please give me your book today.” → Rohit requested Meena to give him her book that day.

Negative orders. Don't / Never is reported with not to + V1, and not comes just before to. Or use forbade, which has the not inside it.

✔ They said to him, “Do not jump into the pond today.” → They told him not to jump into the pond that day.
✔ Sunny's parents said to her, “Do not take anything from strangers.” → Sunny's parents advised her not to take anything from strangers.
✔ Mina said, “Do not touch the cable.” → Mina forbade them to touch the cable.

✘ He told me to not shout. (use not to shout)
✘ He forbade me not to shout. (forbade already means not)

A special case: *Don't forget to…* This is a reminder, not a prohibition. It is reported with reminded.

✔ “Don't forget to bring your umbrella,” he said to her. → He reminded her to bring her umbrella.

Let. Let in an imperative has two senses, and each is reported in its own way.

• Let us / Let's (a suggestion, an order or an instruction) becomes suggested that… should. The verb suggest never takes to + V1.
• Let me / Let him (permission or a request) becomes requested that… might be allowed to.

✔ I said to Reena, “Let us play a game.” → I suggested to Reena that we should play a game.
✔ He said to his friend, “Let us leave for the trek tomorrow.” → He suggested to his friend that they should leave for the trek the next day.
✔ Aravind said, “Let us wait for the cab.” → Aravind proposed that they should wait for the cab.
✔ Mohit said, “Let me finish this work.” → Mohit requested that he might be allowed to finish that work.

✘ He suggested his friend to leave. (suggest never takes to + V1)
✘ He suggested to his friend to leave. (still wrong; use that they should leave)

[[say:radhika| If suggest cannot take to + V1, how do we report “Let's go”?]]

[[say:sir| Always with that… should. “Let's go out for dinner” becomes Ana suggested that we should go out for dinner. Remember it as: suggest + that + should + V1.]]

An optative sentence expresses a prayer, a wish or a curse. It often begins with May, Long live, Would that or O that. Greetings and good wishes (Good morning, Good night, Happy Birthday) belong to the same family, because they too wish something for the listener.

The steps.

• Said (to) becomes wished, prayed, blessed or cursed, according to the feeling.
• The conjunction is that.
• May becomes might, and the rest of the verb is kept in the past form.
• The exclamation mark is dropped and a full stop is put.

Direct: May / Wish / Would that + subject + verb…!
Indirect: Subject + reporting verb + that + subject + might / past verb

✔ They said, “Long live the king!” → They prayed that the king might live long.
✔ He said, “May God bless you.” → He prayed that God might bless me.
✔ The general said, “May our nation always remain free.” → The general prayed that their nation might always remain free.
✔ Radhika said, “May he fail.” → Radhika wished that he might fail.

If only and O that. A longing for something unreal is also reported with wished. The verb is kept as the past form it already has.

✔ She said, “If only I could relive my past!” → She wished that she could relive her past.
✔ She said, “O that I were a bird!” → She said that she wished she were a bird.

Greetings and wishes. These have their own verbs.

✔ She said to her teacher, “Good morning.” → She greeted her teacher (by) saying good morning.
✔ He said, “Good night, brother.” → He bade good night to his brother.
✔ He said to me, “Happy Birthday.” → He wished me Happy Birthday.
✔ He said to me, “Merry Christmas.” → He wished me Merry Christmas.
✔ My friend said, “Hello! What are you doing here?” → My friend greeted me and asked me what I was doing there.

Bade is the past of bid. It is used with a farewell, never with a greeting.

Two clauses in one quote. When the quote has a wish and a statement, report them in two parts. The wish takes wished / prayed. The statement takes said that and follows the usual concepts.

✔ He said to me, “Happy Birthday, I have a surprise for you.” → He wished me Happy Birthday and said that he had a surprise for me.
✔ My grandfather said to me, “May God give you success in your new venture. My prayers will always be with you.” → My grandfather wished that God might give me success in my new venture. He further said that his prayers would always be with me.

Reverse check. When the wish is already in the indirect form, the direct speech brings back the wish words.

✔ Bidding farewell to me, my juniors wished me a bright and successful career ahead. → Bidding farewell to me, my juniors said to me, “Wish you a bright and successful career ahead.”

> A wish is never said to. “He said to me that God might bless me” is wrong, because the feeling is lost. The verb must be prayed, wished, blessed or cursed.

A noun used to address someone is in the vocative case: Children, drink milk. Meena, will you help me? Pardon me, sir. In indirect speech the vocative is not kept as a call. It is treated as the object of the reporting verb, that is, as the person who is being told, asked or requested.

Compare two sentences that look almost the same.

✔ He says, “Children drink milk.” → He says that children drink milk.
✔ He says, “Children, drink milk.” → He tells the children to drink milk.

In the first sentence children is the subject of drink, a plain statement about children. In the second sentence children is being spoken to, and the quote is an order. The comma is the signal.

How to test it. Remove the noun and read what is left. If the sentence still stands on its own, the noun was a vocative.

• “Children, drink milk.” → “Drink milk.” stands on its own, so children is a vocative.
• “Children drink milk.” → “Drink milk.” has lost its subject, so children is the subject.

The same test settles the pair below.

✔ The man said, “Boys, work hard!” → The man advised the boys to work hard. (vocative, imperative)
✔ The man said, “Boys work hard!” → The man said that boys worked hard. (subject, assertive)

What the vocative becomes in each sentence type.

• Statement or order: it becomes the object of told / advised / requested…
• Question: it becomes the object of asked.
• Sir, Madam and Your Honour are dropped, and respectfully may be added.

✔ Tom's father said, “What time do you have class tomorrow, Tom?” → Tom's father asked him what time he had class the next day.
✔ Raghu said, “Meena! Why were you running in the field yesterday?” → Raghu asked Meena why she had been running in the field the day before.
✔ The young man said to his father, “Pardon me, sir.” → The young man begged of his father to pardon him.
✔ The guard said, “Children, stay away from the flower beds.” → The guard told the children to stay away from the flower beds.

> If the reporting verb has no object in the direct sentence, the vocative supplies it. That is why Tom's father asked him… and Raghu asked Meena… carry the name or pronoun of the person addressed.

Two special cases sit inside the quote. In both of them the back-shift concept meets a tense that is already in the past, and it must be decided how far to move.

Part 1: two past actions in one quote. The quote often has a main clause and a time clause joined by when, while, till, until, before, after or as soon as. Both verbs may be past.

(a) The actions happened at the same time. The tense is generally not changed.

✔ He said to her, “You were cooking when I was watching TV.” → He told her that she was cooking when he was watching TV.

(b) One action clearly happened before the other. The earlier action goes into the past perfect, and the later one stays in the past indefinite.

✔ Ravi said, “The patient had died before the doctor arrived.” → Ravi said that the patient had died before the doctor arrived.
✔ Dev said, “The man got angry when Ravi cheated him.” → Dev said that the man got angry when Ravi had cheated him. (first Ravi cheated, then the man got angry)

In the first example the quote is already in the right form, so nothing changes. In the second, the earlier action is the one in the when clause, so only that verb takes had.

The past perfect belongs only to the earlier action. Never put it on the later action.

✔ You said, “Priya kept watching television till her mother exploded at her.” → You said that Priya kept watching television till her mother exploded at her.
✘ You said that Priya kept watching television till her mother had exploded at her. (the explosion came last, so it cannot take had)

When several options look possible. A full back-shift of both clauses makes a heavy sentence with a double past perfect. So SSC answers follow this order of preference. Use it only when the options really offer these choices. It is a ranking of SSC keys, not a grammar law; the real test is chronology: only the earlier action gets had + V3.

✔ Ruhi said, “I slipped when I was trying to board the bus.” → Ruhi said that she slipped when she was trying to board the bus. (priority 1)

Sometimes a question is made by mechanically back-shifting both clauses. If, after everything else has been cancelled, that is the only option left, mark it.

Part 2: conditional sentences in the quote. A conditional already shows whether the situation is real or unreal, so the back-shift depends on its type.

✔ She said to me, “If you see it, you will love it.” → She told me that if I saw it, I would love it.
✔ His son thought, “If my father keeps grieving like this, the crops will die.” → His son thought that if his father kept grieving like that, the crops would die.
✔ Rima said, “If I had wings, I would fly in the sky.” → Rima said that if she had wings, she would fly in the sky.
✔ The analyst said, “Had market liquidity vanished entirely, the exchange would have suspended trading.” → The analyst said that, had market liquidity vanished entirely, the exchange would have suspended trading.

Two cautions.

• A real condition stays real. In “Unless the humidity controls are recalibrated…”, are does not become were just because the sentence is reported.
• An inverted conditional (Had…, Were…, Should…) keeps its inverted form. It is not turned into an if clause.

If only is reported with wished: *“If only I hadn't trusted him”* → She wished she hadn't trusted him. The unit on wishes has more on this.

Some questions give the sentence in indirect speech and ask for the direct form. The work is the same journey made backwards. Take the steps one by one.

• The reporting verb goes back: told → said to, asked → said to (with a question), requested → said, “Please…”, exclaimed with joy → said, “Hurrah!…”, suggested that we should → said, “Let us…”.
• Pronouns go back: the speaker's he / she becomes I, the listener becomes you.
• The tense steps forward.
• The time words go back to the speaker's own moment.

✔ Manya said that she didn't want any breakfast. → Manya said, “I don't want any breakfast.”
✔ The official predicted that there would be heavy fog in Delhi the next day. → The official said, “There will be heavy fog in Delhi tomorrow.”
✔ They said that they had completed the project. → They said, “We have completed the project.”

Past perfect needs one more look. In direct-to-indirect we turn the present perfect, the past indefinite and the past perfect into the same past perfect. So when we go back, the past perfect can have come from two places. Decide by the time word.

• No time word: it came from the present perfect.
• A finished time word (yesterday, last night, ago, in 2019): it came from the past indefinite.

✔ He told me that he had completed the work. → He said to me, “I have completed the work.”
✘ He said to me, “I had completed the work.” (the past perfect does not come back)
✘ He said to me, “I completed the work.” (no time word, so the present perfect is the better source)
✔ He told me that he had completed the work the day before. → He said to me, “I completed the work yesterday.”
✘ He said to me, “I have completed the work yesterday.” (a present perfect never sits with yesterday)

✔ You told me that you had not slept the previous night and could not work then. → You said to me, “I did not sleep last night and cannot work now.”

Going back from indirect to direct is not unique. She said she had finished can come from *“I finished”* or *“I have finished”*. The exam gives a time word or a clue; use it. If no clue is given, either is acceptable.

Where nothing goes back. The back-shift was never done in these cases, so none is undone.

• A present or future reporting verb: Netra says that the flowers look beautiful → Netra says, “The flowers look beautiful.”
• A universal truth: The teacher said that plants have life in them → The teacher said, “Plants have life in them.”
• Second and third conditionals and must: The judge said that justice must be served at any cost → The judge said, “Justice must be served at any cost.”

A question goes back to question form. The helping verb returns before the subject, and if / whether disappears. The question mark returns.

✔ The judge asked the prisoner if he had anything to say for himself. → The judge said to the prisoner, “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
✔ The coach asked us when we were planning to begin practice. → The coach asked us, “When are you planning to begin practice?”
✔ He inquired whether the boy's name was Ahmed. → He asked, “Is the boy's name Ahmed?”

Commands, requests and suggestions return in their imperative form.

✔ Rina told Suman to leave the city immediately. → Rina said to Suman, “Leave the city immediately.”
✔ My sister requested me to bring her a watch. → My sister said, “Please bring me a watch.”
✔ Mrs. Lisa suggested that we should purchase the property. → Mrs. Lisa said, “Let us purchase the property.”

Exclamations return with their interjection.

✔ He exclaimed with delight that he had won the first prize. → He said, “Hurrah! I have won the first prize.”
✔ She exclaimed with regret that she had acted very foolishly. → She said, “Alas! How foolishly I have acted.”

> To check an answer, run the forward conversion on it. If it gives back the sentence in the question, the direct speech is right.

The newer Narration questions give a quotation of two or three sentences, and the sentences are of different kinds: an exclamation, then a question, then an order, all in one quote. A single said will not do. Each sentence gets its own reporting verb and its own structure, and the pieces are joined with commas and and.

Step 1: split the quote and name each sentence.

She said to him, “How kind you are! Will you help me with this form? Please come tomorrow.”

Step 2: join the pieces.

✔ She exclaimed with admiration that he was very kind, asked him if he would help her with that form and requested him to come the next day.

Step 3: apply the changes to every sentence in the same way. Pronouns follow SON, tenses step back, and this, here, tomorrow change in all the sentences, not only in the first. A slip in the last sentence is as costly as a slip in the first.

Concepts for the joining.

• Each sentence has its own verb: exclaimed, asked, requested. Do not say said three times.
• The conjunction depends on the kind of sentence: that for a statement or an exclamation, if / whether for a yes / no question, a wh-word for a wh-question, and no conjunction for an order or a request (to + V1).
• A question loses its question order and its question mark: asked him if he would help, not asked him would he help.
• If all the sentences are statements, use said that once and and that for the next.

The context line. Some stems add a line such as Assume the narrator is not part of the team or reported on a later day, away from the venue. This removes doubt about the pronouns and the time and place words.

“I shall meet you here tomorrow,” she told him.

• Reported by a third person, on a later day, in another place: She told him that she would meet him there the next day.
• Reported by the same person who was addressed, at the same place, on the same day: She told me that she would meet me here tomorrow.

If a stem does not give a context line, use the usual SON and distance concepts. If it does, the context line decides. Our questions put such a line wherever pronouns or time words could be read in two ways.

Slip-hunting works here too. Read option A fully, then read only the words that differ in B, C and D. In a mixed quote the slip is nearly always in one of three places: the word order of the question, the to before a negative order, or an unchanged tomorrow or this.

Narration is mostly a matter of choosing the right reporting verb and the right structure after it. This unit puts them on one page, and then lists the slips that SSC builds its wrong options from.

Reporting verb + structure.

Suggest never takes an object and to + V1. Requested always takes the person it is addressed to, before to.

The six slips. These are the ones that make the wrong options.

A few more points on these slips.

• Let's … shall we? The tag is dropped, and the sense is a suggestion: suggested that we should go. What a…! becomes exclaimed that it was a very…; Alas! becomes exclaimed with sorrow.
• Slip 3 and 4 happen only when the reporting is on a later day or in another place. If the context line says the report is made on the same day and in the same place, today and this may stay. Read the context line.
• Forbade already has not in it. Forbade him not to is wrong.

> Read the stem for a reporting verb that can be trusted, then look at what comes after it. If the verb is suggested, that … should must follow. If it is requested, object + to must follow.