Direct and Indirect Speech questions for Bank exams
- They said, “Madam, the time is over.”
A. They said respectfully that the time was over.
B. They respectfully said, Madam the time was over.
C. They said with respect that the time was over
D. It was said that the time was over respectfully.
Correct answer: (A) They said respectfully that the time was over.
Explanation:
This question involves converting direct speech with a polite address into reported speech.
The direct speech is: “They said, ‘Madam, the time is over.'”
Option (A) “They said respectfully that the time was over” is the most accurate reported speech conversion.
Why the other options are incorrect:
• Option (B) “They respectfully said, Madam the time was over.” This option keeps “Madam” directly in the reported speech, which is not the standard way to handle a respectful address. It also lacks “that” and proper punctuation.
• Option (C) “They said with respect that the time was over.” While “with respect” conveys a similar meaning, “respectfully” is a more common and concise adverbial phrase for this context.
• Option (D) “It was said that the time was over respectfully.” This option uses a passive construction (“It was said”), which is not the standard conversion, and places “respectfully” at the end, making it less clear who was being respectful.
Therefore, “They said respectfully that the time was over” is the most accurate reported speech conversion for the given sentence.
Grammar Rules:
• Respectful Address: Words like “Madam,” “Sir,” “Your Honour,” etc., are typically handled in reported speech by using an adverb or adverbial phrase that indicates the respect shown, such as “respectfully,” “politely,” etc.
• Reporting Verb: When the reporting verb is in the past tense (e.g., “said”), the tense of the verb in the reported speech changes (backshift).
• Tense Change: Simple Present in Direct Speech (“is”) changes to Simple Past in Reported Speech (“was”).
• Conjunction: “That” introduces the reported clause.
- He says that he wants to buy that pen.
A. He said, “He wants to buy this pen”.
B. He says, “He wants to buy this pen”.
C. He says, “He wants to buy that pen”
D. He said, “He wants to buy that pen”.
Correct answer: (C) He says, “He wants to buy that pen”.
Explanation:
This question involves converting reported speech back into direct speech. The reported speech sentence is: “He says that he wants to buy that pen.”
Option (C) “He says, ‘He wants to buy that pen'” is the correct direct speech form.
Why the other options are incorrect:
• Option (A) “He said, ‘He wants to buy this pen’.” This option incorrectly changes the reporting verb to the past tense (“said”).
• Option (B) “He says, ‘He wants to buy this pen’.” This option correctly uses the present tense reporting verb and maintains the reported verb tense, but the change from “that” to “this” might not be strictly necessary without further context of proximity. However, given the context, option C is a more direct reversal.
• Option (D) “He said, ‘He wants to buy that pen’.” This option incorrectly changes the reporting verb to the past tense (“said”).
Therefore, “He says, ‘He wants to buy that pen'” is the most accurate conversion back to direct speech.
Grammar Rules:
• Reporting Verb in Present Tense: When the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g., “says”), the tense of the verb in the reported speech does not change when converting back to direct speech.
• Tense: Simple Present in Reported Speech (“wants”) remains Simple Present in Direct Speech.
• Pronoun: The pronoun “he” remains “he” in this context.
• Demonstrative: “That” can sometimes change back to “this” depending on context, but maintaining “that” is also valid, especially in a reversal of reported speech where the context isn’t fully defined.
• Punctuation: Quotation marks are inserted around the direct speech.
• Conjunction: The conjunction “that” is removed when converting to direct speech.
- She says, “I shall go to Bombay”
A. She says that she will go to Bombay
B. That she will go to Bombay was said by her
C. She said that she will go to Bombay
D. Bombay will be gone to by her.
Correct answer: (A) She says that she will go to Bombay.
Explanation:
This question involves converting direct speech to reported speech.
The direct speech is: “She says, ‘I shall go to Bombay’.”
Option (A) “She says that she will go to Bombay” is the most accurate reported speech conversion.
The reporting verb “says” is in the simple present tense. According to grammatical rules, the verb tense in the reported speech does not change when the reporting verb is in the present tense.
The first-person pronoun “I” changes to the third-person pronoun “she”.
In reported speech, “shall” often changes to “will” to indicate future action when the subject is no longer “I” or “we”.
The conjunction “that” introduces the reported clause, and quotation marks are removed.
Incorrect options:
• Option (B) “That she will go to Bombay was said by her” uses passive construction, which is not the standard way to convert to reported speech, and it also changes the reporting verb to the past tense (“said”).
• Option (C) “She said that she will go to Bombay” incorrectly changes the reporting verb to the past tense (“said”) while keeping the reported verb in the future tense (“will go”).
• Option (D) “Bombay will be gone to by her” changes the entire sentence structure to passive voice, which is not the correct conversion from direct speech.
Therefore, “She says that she will go to Bombay” is the most accurate reported speech conversion.
Grammar Rules:
• Reporting Verb in Present Tense: When the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g., “says”), the tense of the verb in the reported speech remains unchanged.
• Pronoun Change: The first-person pronoun “I” changes to the third-person pronoun “she” to match the subject of the reporting verb.
• Modal Verb Change: “Shall” changes to “will” when the subject of the reported clause changes from a first-person pronoun (“I/we”) to a third-person pronoun (“she/he/it/they”) to express future action.
• Conjunction: “That” introduces the reported clause, and quotation marks are removed.
- Teacher said to the students, “The sun rises in the East.”
A. Teacher said that the Sun rises in the East.
B. Teacher told the students that the sun rose in the East.
C. Teacher told the students that the sun rises in the East.
D. The students were told by the teacher that they rise in the East.
Answer: C. Teacher told the students that the sun rises in the East.
Direct Speech:
Teacher said to the students, “The sun rises in the East.”
Conversion to Indirect Speech – Key Rules in Points:
• The reporting verb “said to” changes to “told” when the listener is specified (“the students”).
• When the reported speech states a universal truth, scientific fact, or habitual action, the tense does not change even if the reporting verb is in the past.
• The present simple “rises” remains “rises” in indirect speech.
• The conjunction “that” is used to introduce the reported statement.
• Capitalization of “sun” or “east” is not grammatically required, though “Sun” can be stylistic; the important point is tense consistency.
• The passive transformation in Option D changes meaning and structure unnecessarily.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:
• Option A: “Teacher said that the Sun rises in the East.”
This keeps the tense correct but changes “said to the students” to simply “said,” removing the listener. It is less precise than Option C.
• Option B: “Teacher told the students that the sun rose in the East.”
Incorrect because it changes the present simple “rises” to past simple “rose.” Universal facts do not change tense in reported speech.
• Option D: “The students were told by the teacher that they rise in the East.”
This changes the sentence into the passive voice and alters meaning: “they rise” incorrectly refers to the students, not the sun.
Key Rule for Universal Truths in Indirect Speech:
If the direct speech expresses a permanent truth, the tense remains unchanged in indirect speech even when the reporting verb is in the past tense.
Example:
Direct: She said, “Water boils at 100°C.”
Indirect: She said that water boils at 100°C.
- He said to me, “While she was eating, he was playing.”
A. He told me that while she was eating, he was playing.
B. He said that she was eating while he was playing.
C. It was said by him that, while she was eating he was playing.
D. I was told by him that she had been eating while he had been playing.
Answer: A. He told me that while she was eating, he was playing.
Direct Speech:
He said to me, “While she was eating, he was playing.”
Conversion to Indirect Speech – Key Rules in Points:
• The reporting verb “said to me” changes to “told me” in indirect speech.
• Since both actions (was eating, was playing) were happening at the same time in the past, and the reporting verb is in the past tense (“said”), the past continuous tense can remain unchanged in indirect speech to preserve the simultaneity.
• Alternatively, past continuous can shift to past perfect continuous, but it is not necessary unless clarity about an earlier past is required — which is not the case here.
• The conjunction “while” remains the same to show the simultaneous nature of the actions.
• The conjunction “that” is added after the reporting verb.
• The pronoun “she” and “he” remain unchanged since they refer to third persons already specified in context.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:
• Option B: “He said that she was eating while he was playing.”
This is grammatically correct in terms of tense, but it changes “said to me” (which includes the listener) to only “said,” removing reference to “me.” It is less exact than Option A.
• Option C: “It was said by him that, while she was eating he was playing.”
This uses unnecessary passive voice (“It was said by him”) and omits “me” as the listener. The punctuation (comma after “that”) is awkward and not standard in indirect speech.
• Option D: “I was told by him that she had been eating while he had been playing.”
This changes both past continuous actions to past perfect continuous (“had been eating,” “had been playing”), which would imply these actions happened before another past event, altering the meaning of simultaneous past actions.
Key Rule for Simultaneous Past Actions in Indirect Speech:
When the direct speech uses past continuous for two simultaneous actions and the reporting verb is in the past, the past continuous can remain unchanged to keep the original meaning intact.
Changing to past perfect continuous is optional but not required unless sequence of past events needs emphasis.
- She said that she was going to the market that day.
A. She said that, “I am going to the market today.”
B. She said, “I am going to the market that day.”
C. She said, “I am going to the market this day.”
D. She said, “I am going to the market today.”
Answer: D. She said, “I am going to the market today.”
Indirect Speech Given:
She said that she was going to the market that day.
Converting to Direct Speech – Key Rules in Points:
• In indirect speech, the past continuous “was going” changes back to the present continuous “am going” in direct speech when converting a reported present/future plan.
• The pronoun “she” in indirect speech becomes “I” in direct speech.
• The reporting verb “said that” becomes simply “said,” followed by a comma and the quoted speech.
• The time expression “that day” in indirect speech becomes “today” in direct speech.
• Quotation marks are added, and the reported speech starts with a capital letter.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:
• Option A: She said that, “I am going to the market today.”
Incorrect because it mixes indirect and direct speech structures. It uses both “that” and quotation marks, which is not grammatically standard.
• Option B: She said, “I am going to the market that day.”
Incorrect because “that day” should revert to “today” in direct speech. Using “that day” in direct speech would be unnatural here.
• Option C: She said, “I am going to the market this day.”
Incorrect. Although “this day” can sometimes mean “today,” it is overly formal and unnatural in everyday conversation. The natural word is “today.”
Key Changes for This Example (Indirect to Direct):
• was going → am going
• she → I
• that day → today
• “said that” becomes “said,” followed by a comma and the direct quote in quotation marks.
- He said he was going to call Maria.
A. He said, “I am going to call Maria.”
B. He said that, “I am going to call Maria.”
C. He said, “I was going to call Maria.”
D. He said, “I had called Maria.”
Correct answer: (A) He said, “I am going to call Maria.”
Indirect Speech Given:
He said he was going to call Maria.
Converting to Direct Speech – Key Rules in Points:
• The past continuous “was going to call” in indirect speech (reporting a future intention) changes back to the present continuous “am going to call” in direct speech.
• The pronoun “he” in indirect speech changes to “I” in direct speech.
• The reporting verb “said” remains “said” in direct speech.
• Quotation marks are added around the reported speech.
• No comma is needed after “that” in this case because the original indirect sentence omitted “that” (He said he was…). In direct speech, the format is: [Subject] + said, “Direct quote.”
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:
• Option B: He said that, “I am going to call Maria.”
Incorrect because it mixes indirect and direct speech structures. Using “that” before a direct quote is grammatically incorrect in standard English.
• Option C: He said, “I was going to call Maria.”
Incorrect because it keeps the past continuous “was going,” which would mean the intention was in the past relative to the time of speaking, changing the original future-intention meaning.
• Option D: He said, “I had called Maria.”
Incorrect because it changes the meaning from a future intention (to call) to a past completed action (had called).
Key Changes for This Example (Indirect to Direct):
• was going to call → am going to call
• he → I
• Remove “that” (implied in indirect form), use comma and quotation marks for direct speech.
- She said, “I can help you tomorrow.”
A. She said that she could help me tomorrow.
B. She said that she would help me the next day.
C. She said that she could help me the next day.
D. She said that she will help me tomorrow.
Correct answer: (C) She said that she could help me the next day.
Direct Speech:
She said, “I can help you tomorrow.”
Conversion to Indirect Speech – Key Rules in Points:
• The reporting verb is in past tense (“said”), so the tense in the reported speech usually shifts back.
• “Can” changes to “could” in indirect speech.
• “I” changes to “she”.
• “You” changes to “me” (since the speaker is addressing the listener).
• “Tomorrow” changes to “the next day” or “the following day”.
• The conjunction “that” is used to introduce the reported clause.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:
• Option A: She said that she could help me tomorrow.
Incorrect because it retains “tomorrow” without changing it to “the next day”. Although sometimes accepted in informal contexts if the time reference is still the same, in formal grammar rules, “tomorrow” should change.
• Option B: She said that she would help me the next day.
Incorrect because it changes “can” (ability) to “would” (willingness/future). “Can” should become “could” to retain the meaning of ability.
• Option D: She said that she will help me tomorrow.
Incorrect because it fails to change “can” to “could” and also does not change “tomorrow” to “the next day”. Additionally, “will” would incorrectly imply a future promise rather than ability.
Grammar Rules:
• When the reporting verb is in the past tense (e.g., “said”), the tense of the verb in the reported speech changes.
• “Can” in Direct Speech changes to “could” in Reported Speech.
• “I” changes to “she”; “you” changes to “me”.
• “Tomorrow” changes to “the next day” or “the following day”.
• “That” is typically used to introduce the reported clause, and quotation marks are removed.
- Radhika said, “I am very busy now.”
A. Radhika said that she was very busy then.
B. Radhika said that she had been very busy then.
C. Radhika said that she was very busy.
D. Radhika said that she had been very busy.
Correct answer: (A) Radhika said that she was very busy then.
Direct Speech:
Radhika said, “I am very busy now.”
Conversion to Indirect Speech – Key Rules in Points:
• The reporting verb “said” is in past tense, so the reported speech shifts back in time.
• “I” changes to “she” in indirect speech.
• Present simple “am” changes to past simple “was”.
• “Now” changes to “then” in indirect speech when the reporting is done later.
• The conjunction “that” is used to connect the reported clause.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:
• Option B: Radhika said that she had been very busy then.
Incorrect. The past perfect “had been” is used for an action completed before another past action, but here the original is “am busy” (present), showing current state at that time. The simple past “was” is correct.
• Option C: Radhika said that she was very busy.
While this is grammatically acceptable in informal contexts, it omits the time marker “then.” Option A is more complete because it includes the changed time expression (“then”) from “now.”
• Option D: Radhika said that she had been very busy.
Incorrect for the same reason as Option B — unnecessary use of past perfect, which would imply she was busy before the time of speaking, not at that moment.
Key Rules Applied Here:
• Pronoun change: First person “I” changes according to the subject (Radhika → she).
• Tense change: Present simple → Past simple.
• Time word change: “Now” → “Then”.
• Structure: Subject + said + that + reported clause (with tense and pronoun adjustments).
- “I am reading a novel”, he explained.
A. He explained that he was reading a novel.
B. He explained that he had been reading a novel.
C. He explained that he is reading novel.
D. He said that he was reading a novel.
Correct answer: (A) He explained that he was reading a novel.
Direct Speech:
“I am reading a novel”, he explained.
Conversion to Indirect Speech – Key Rules in Points:
• The reporting verb “explained” is in the past tense, so the tense of the reported speech shifts back.
• The pronoun “I” changes to “he” in indirect speech.
• The present continuous tense “am reading” changes to the past continuous tense “was reading”.
• The conjunction “that” is used to introduce the reported clause.
• The reporting verb “explained” is retained as it is specific to the manner of speaking.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:
• Option B: He explained that he had been reading a novel.
Incorrect because it changes the tense to past perfect continuous (“had been reading”), which would imply the reading started before another past event, altering the original meaning of a current ongoing action at that time.
• Option C: He explained that he is reading novel.
Incorrect because it does not shift the tense from present to past after a past reporting verb. Additionally, it omits the article “a” before “novel,” which is grammatically incorrect.
• Option D: He said that he was reading a novel.
While this is grammatically correct in terms of tense and structure, it changes the reporting verb from “explained” to “said,” which is less precise because the original specifically used “explained.” Option A preserves the exact reporting verb.
Key Rules for This Conversion:
• Reporting verb retained (“explained”).
• Present continuous → Past continuous.
• First-person pronoun → Third-person pronoun.
• Add “that” and adjust word order to form an indirect statement.
Grammar Rules:
• Reporting Verb: The reporting verb (“explained”) is in the past tense and should be maintained.
• Tense Change: Present Continuous in Direct Speech (“am reading”) changes to Past Continuous in Reported Speech (“was reading”).
• Pronoun Change: “I” changes to “he”.
• Conjunction: “That” introduces the reported clause, and quotation marks are removed.