Narration (Direct to Indirect) Change

Narration

            Narration refers to a speech. The word narration comes the Latin word ‘Narrat’ that means relating or telling something to somebody. Narration is of two types:

a) Direct Narration b) Indirect Narration

            a) Direct Narration: In Direct Narration, we just quote the exact words of a speaker without making any change in it. Here we use comma quotation for the Reported Speech.

Borney said, “I read the Holy Quran everyday.” (The Reported Speech)

Nancy said to me, “I am beautiful.” (The Reporting Verb)

Jennifer said, “I want a pen.”

Nancy said to Kona, “I must leave the place now.” (The Reported Verb)

            b) Indirect Narration: But in the Indirect Narration, we modify the speech of a speaker in our own way in order to report it to other person or people. Here we leave out the comma quotation (“….”) and use ‘that’ as conjunction and we must change the persons.

Borney said that she read the Holy Quran everyday.

            Nancy told me that she was beautiful.

Jennifer said that she wanted a pen. 
Nancy told Kona that she had to leave the place then.

Note: The use of ‘that’ as conjunction after the Reporting Verb in the Reported Speech is optional.

Necessary Changes in Tenses

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Present Indefinite Tense	Past Indefinite  Tense
Present Continuous Tense	Past Continuous Tense
Present Perfect Tense	Past Perfect Tense
Present Perfect Continuous Tense	Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Indefinite Tense	Past Perfect Tense
Past Continuous Tense	Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Note: ‘Past Perfect Tense’ and ‘Past Perfect Continuous’ Tense in the Reported Speech do not undergo any change with the exception of persons.

Necessary Changes in Words

Direct	Indirect	Direct	Indirect
Can	Could	Ago	Before
May	Might	Thus	So/ that way
Shall	Should / Would	Here	There
Will	Would	Today	That day / Yesterday
Come	Go	Tomorrow	The next day
Next week/year	The following week/year	Yesterday	The previous day
Last week/year	The previous week/year	Last night	The previous night
A year ago	A year before/ the previous year	The day before yesterday	Two days before
This	That	The day after tomorrow	In two days of time
These	Those	Hence	Thence
Tonight	That night	Now	Then
Must	Had to / Must (Factual Truth)

He said, “I went to the theatre last night.”

 He said that he had gone to the theatre the night before.

He said, “I am having a party next weekend.”

 He said that he was having a party the next weekend.

He said, “I am staying here until next week.”

 He said that he was staying there until the following week.

Rony said, “I came over from London 3 years ago.”

 Rony said that he had come over from London 3 years before.

The teacher said, “Students must obey their parents.”

The teacher said that students must obey their parents. (The verb is not changed because it is a factual truth.)

Narration includes these sentences as following:

a) Assertive Sentence b) Interrogative Sentence c) Imperative Sentence d) Optative Sentence e) Exclamatory Sentence

Assertive Sentence

Rule 1: If the Reported Speech is Universal Truth / Scientific Truth / Natural Truth / Habitual Truth / Factual Truth, we don’t make any change in the Reported Speech rather we change the person only.

The teacher said, “God is one.”

The teacher said that God is one. (Universal Truth) 

He said, “Fire burns.”

He said that fire burns. (Scientific Truth)

Nancy said, “It is hot in the summer.”

Nancy said that it is hot in the summer. (Natural Truth)

The teacher said, “Physical exercise is good for health.”

The teacher said that physical exercise is good for health. (Habitual Truth)

Mamun said, “Farah is my cousin.”

Mamun said that Farah is his cousin. (Factual Truth)

Rule 2: If the Reporting Verb is in the Present Tense / the Future Tense / the Present Perfect Tense, they don’t undergo any change.

Borney says or will say, “I am right.”

Borney says or will say that she is right.

Kona has said to me, “I have just taken my breakfast.” (First Person)

Kona has told me that she has just taken her breakfast. (Here we changed the persons only.)

He said to me, “You are a liar.” (Second Person)

He told me that I was a liar.

Note: ‘Said to’ is changed into ‘told’ but ‘said’ remains unchanged.

Note: ‘First Person’ in the Reported Speech indicates the ‘Subject’ of the Reporting Verb and the ‘Second Person’ in the Reported Speech indicates the ‘Object’ of the Reporting Verb.

Rule 3: Sometimes, introductory portion of the Reported Speech may remain absent. In such a situation, we should guess the possible speaker.

“I shall do my duty.”

He says or will say that he will do his duty.

He said that he would do his duty.

Note: ‘Reporting Verb’ is not always more than one.

Note: Subjective Case converted into Subjective Case, Possessive Case changed into Possessive One and Objective Case transformed into Objective One. 

Rule 4: Sometimes, the Reporting Verb is mentioned after the Reported Speech and it is possible.  

 “I am happy now.” – said Nancy.

Nancy said that she was happy then.

Note: When we change any Direct Speech into Indirect Speech, it becomes an Assertive Sentence. No matter, whether it is an Assertive Sentence or Optative Sentence or Imperative Sentence or Exclamatory Sentence or Interrogative Sentence.

Rule 5: ‘Yes’ – replied in the affirmative, ‘No’- replied in the negative, ‘Please’ - kindly and ‘Sir’ / ‘Madam’ – politely / respectfully / with respect.

The student said to me, “I am sorry, Sir.”

The student told me politely that he was sorry.

“Yes, sir,” the student replied. I have done my duty.”

The student respectfully replied in the affirmative that he had done his duty.

The students said to the teacher, “Please, explain the matter again, Sir.”

The students requested the teacher politely to explain the matter again.

Rule 6: If there are two or more than two Past Tenses in the Direct Speech, they do not undergo any change but we only change the persons.

George said, “I came home, took bath and ate my meal.”

George said that he came home, took bath and ate his meal.

Rule 7: Students often change ‘it’ into ‘that’ but that is wrong. It remains unchanged in the Indirect Speech.

He said to me, “I know it well.”

He told me that he knew it well.

Rule 8: Changes in the tag questions:

He said to me, “You are going to the play ground, aren’t you?

He asked me whether it was true that I was going to the playground.

Rule 9: All 3^rd Person Pronouns will remain unchanged. 

He said, “She is busy with her toy”

He said that she was busy with her toy.

Rule 10: ‘So’ = that is why, ‘But’ = with dissatisfaction

He said to me, “I am unwell. So I shall not go to school.”

He told me that he was unwell and that is why he would not go to school.

The boy said, “I have come to chop your wood. “But you are too small to chop wood,” said the woman.

The boy said that he had come to chop her wood. With dissatisfaction, the woman told him that he was too small to chop the wood.

Rule 11: Assertive Sentence with question mark: (Use ‘Being surprised’ with the reporting verb and follow the rules of doing interrogative sentence.)

He said to me “You are angry with me?”

Being surprised he asked me if I was angry with him.

Rule 12: Well, you see (if used with in inverted comma) Omit them and do in general way.

The teacher said, “Well Raven, I shall reward you.”

The teacher told Raven that he would reward him.

Note: ‘Vocative Case’ in the Reported Speech becomes the ‘Object’ of the Reporting Verb in the Indirect Speech. 

Rule 13: If we find any Complex Sentence in the Direct Speech, we may change one Clause or both the Clauses in the Indirect Speech.

Mita said to me, “You were my good friend when you were a student of Saint Joseph” (Complex Sentence)

Mita told me I had been her good friend when I had been a student of Saint Joseph.

He said to Ratul, “You were a mere a boy when I saw you last.” (Complex Sentence)

He told Ratul he had been a mere boy when he had seen him last.

Rule 14: When we report something that is still true:

Emma said, “People in Africa are starving.” (The fact is still true.)

Emma said that people in Africa are starving.

Unreal Past Tense

Rule 15: Unreal Past Tense after ‘wish’, ‘would rather / sooner’, ‘had better’, ‘used to’, ‘ought to’, ‘would’, ‘could’, ‘might’, ‘must not’, ‘need not’ and ‘it is time’ don’t change rather we change the person in the Indirect Speech.

“We wish we did not have to take exams”, said the children.

The children said they wished they did not have to take exams.

“It is time we began planning our holidays”, he said.

He said that it was time they began planning their holidays. 

They ought to widen this road”, I said. 

I said that they ought to widen the road.

He explained, “I know the place well because I used to live here.”

He explained that he knew the place well because he used to live there.

She said to her hubby, “You had better take warm water for gurgling.”

She told her bubby that he had better take warm water for gurgling.

He said, “You must not tell anyone.”

He said that she must not tell anyone.

(Alternatively): He told her not to tell anyone. 

He said, “You needn’t wait.”

He said that I needn’t wait.

He said to me, “I used to meet him in the afternoon.”

­He told me that he used to meet him in the afternoon. (With that)

He told me he used to meet him in the afternoon. (Without that)

Rule 16: The 2^nd and the 3^rd Conditional Sentences remain unchanged rather we change the persons. 

“If I had a permit, I could get a job”, he said.

 He said that if he had a permit, he could get a job. (The 2^nd Conditional Sentence)

“If she had loved Wilson”, he said, “She would not have left him.”

He said that if she had loved Wilson, she would not have left him. (The 3rd Conditional Sentence)

Rule 17: When there is uncertainty as to the particular person to whom the pronoun in the Indirect Speech refers, the name of the person should be mentioned in the brackets.

He said to the Ram, “You are wrong.”

He told Ram that he (Ram) was wrong

Harry sait to Jatin, “You will pass.”

Harry told Jatin that he (Jatin) would pass.

Interrogative Sentence (?)

Rule 1: We use ask(ed) / want(ed) to know / enquire(ed) in the Indirect Speech in the place of ‘said’ / ‘said to’ and we don’t change the Interrogative Pronouns / the Interrogative Adjectives / the Interrogative Adverbs for transformation. 

My mother said to me, “How are you now?”

My mother asked me how I was then.

“Where are you staying next week?”, my friend said to me.

My friend wanted to know where I was staying the following week.

Note: Who, where, which, when, how, why, what, whom, whose and the rest are the Interrogative Pronouns / Interrogative Adjectives / Interrogative Adverbs.   

Rule 2: If any Interrogative Sentence commences with just an Auxiliary Verb rather than the Interrogative Pronouns / Adjectives / Adverbs, we use if / whether.

My teacher said to me, “Are you making a noise?”

My teacher asked me if or whether I was making a noise.

The noble man said to the poor man, “Have you taken anything for lunch?”

The noble man asked the poor man if he had taken anything for lunch.

Borney said to me, “Do you want to help me?”

Borney asked me if I wanted to help her.

Note: ‘Whether’ is more formal than ‘If’. Either of them can be used but ‘whether’ is preferable when there is a matter of choice.

Note: ‘Do’, ‘Does’ and ‘Did’ are removed in the Indirect Speech if they are used as Auxiliary.

Rule 3: If there is a Present participle phrase with the reporting verb, it will come in front of the reporting verb in doing the indirect speech. But if it is not present participle phrase then the position of it will remain unchanged.

“Are you brothers?” asked the mistress of the house turning to the Dervishes.

Turning to the Dervishes the Mistress of the house asked if they were brothers.

Note: Here in it, we don’t use that in the Indirect Speech when we leave out comma quotations.

Imperative Sentence

We use tell, beg, implore (to ask sb to do sth in an anxious way because you want or need it very much), entreat (formal) : to ask sb to do sth in a serious and often emotional way), encourage, forbid, recommend, remind, urge, warn, ask, told and the rest in the place of ‘said’ or ‘said to’ in the Indirect Speech in the sentence.

Rule 1: We use the Infinitive (to + verb present form)

The teacher said to his boys, “Do it at once.”

The teacher advised his boys to do it at once. (The Infinitive)

Khona said to her teacher, “Grant me my prayer, Sir.”

Khona politely requested her teacher to grant her prayer.

He said, “Lie down, Tom.” 

He told Tom to lie down.

She said, “You had better hurry, Bill.”

She advised Bill to hurry.

He said to his friends, “Please wait for me till I return.”

He requested his friend kindly to wait for him till he returned.

Rule 2: If the Reported Speech starts with ‘Do not / Never’, we use ‘not to + verb’ in the Indirect Speech in the time of leaving out the comma quotations.

My father said to me, “Do not run in the sun.”

My father advised me not to run in the sun.

My father forbade me to run in the sun.  

My teacher said, “Never tell a lie.”

My teacher advised me not to tell a lie.

Rule 3: The Modals must, would and could are not normally changed in the Indirect Speech. You should also note that some sentences with would and could are Interrogative in form but Imperative in nature.

He said to me, “You must leave the place.”

He told me I must leave the place. (Assertive Sentence)

He said to me, “Would you help me to do the sum?”

He requested me to help him to do the sum. (Imperative Sentence)

I said to her, “Could you give me a cup of tea?”                               

I requested her to give me a cup of tea. (Imperative Sentence)   

Rule 4: Calling in the name of person (The name will be added as object of reporting verb)

He said, “Raven, don’t misbehave with anyone.”

He advised Raven not to misbehave with anyone.

Rule 5: Calling in the name of relations

The student said, “Sir, please forgive me.” (Addressing as brother/sister/friend/sir)

Addressing as sir the student requested kindly to forgive him.

Rule 6: By Allah/by God/by Jove/by my love/by my life (Swearing by Allah/God/Jove/Life/Love)

“By Allah,” she replied, “I will not forget you.”

Swearing by Allah, she replied that she would not forget me.

Rule 7: Imperative sentence with tag question

He told me, “Shut the door, will you?” (Tag question will be omitted and rules of imperative sentence will be followed.)

He asked/requested me to shut the door.

Rule 8: When ‘let’ denotes a proposal, the Reporting Verb should be changed in to ‘propose’ or ‘suggest’ and ‘let’ be replaced by ‘should’.

Borney said, “Let’s have a walk.”

Borney proposed that we should have a walk.

He said to me, “Let’s go home.”

He suggested to me that we should go home.

Rule 9: But when ‘Let’ does not express a proposal, the Reporting Verb does not change, only ‘let’ is changed into ‘may’ or ‘might’ or ‘might be allowed’ or any other verb as per the relevant meaning.

He said, “Let me have a glass of milk.”

He wished that he might have a class of milk.

Rule 10: It is often safer for the students to use ‘tell’ in the Indirect Speech, when there be any doubt about the proper word to introduce the Reported Speech.

I said to him angrily, “Leave me alone.”

I told him angrily to leave me alone. 

Optative Sentence

We use ‘wish’ or ‘pray’ in the Optative Sentence in the place of ‘said to’ or ‘said’.

My grandfather said, “May you live long.”

My grandfather wished that I might live long. 

The teacher said to the boy, “God bless you.” (Optative Sentence without May)

The teacher prayed for the boy that God might bless him.

He said, “Would that I were here.”

He wished that he had been there.

They said,” O that! We had won the match.”

They wished that they had won the match.
Note:  “Would that” and “O that” are removed in the Indirect Speech.

Exclamatory Sentence (!)

We use hurrah - exclaim with joy, alas - exclaim with sorrow, fie - exclaim with shame, wow - exclaimed with wonder/surprise, cry out, ‘wish’ or ‘pray’ in the place of ‘said’ / ‘said to’

The boy said, “What a piece of good news it is!”

The boy exclaimed with joy that it was a piece of very good news.

She said, “Had I the wings of a bird!”

She strongly wished that she had the wings of a bird.

Farhad said, “Good-bye, my friends!”

Farhad said good-bye to his friends.

Farhad bade his friends good-bye.

The poor boy cried, “Alas! I am undone.”

The poor boy exclaimed with sorrow that he was done.

The maidservant said, “By Allah! I know nothing about the stolen purse.”

The maidservant swore by Allah that she knew nothing about the stolen purse.

I said to them,” Bravo! You played very well.”

I applauded them that they had played very well. (Bravo – applauded)

My friend said to me, “Thanks! / Congratulations!”

My friend thanked/congratulated me.

The girl said, “Help! Help!”- The girl cried out for help. 

10 Rules of Changing Passage Narration
Passage Narration পরিবর্তনের ১০ টি নিয়ম
Rule-01: (নিয়মঃ০১)
Read the passage narration from first to last and try to understand the speakers and their speeches. You have to differentiate each speech and its speaker. You may not get the name of speaker in each speech. But observing the context of speeches, you have to mark that.
Passage narration টি প্রথম হতে শেষ পর্যন্ত মনোযোগ সহকারে পড় এবং বোঝার চেষ্টা করো কোন কথাটি কে বলেছে। তোমাকে প্রতিটি উক্তির বক্তা এবং শ্রোতা আলাদা করতে হবে। তুমি প্রশ্নে প্রতিটি উক্তির পরে বক্তার নাম উল্লেখিত নাও পেতে পারো। কিন্তু অনুচ্ছেদের বিষয়বস্তু এবং অর্থের উপর নির্ভর করে, তোমাকে সেটা চিহ্নিত করতে হবে।
Example and Explanation:
“You have lost my new bag today. Why have you gone outside leaving it then?”, asked the Master. “I went outside for drinking a glass of water sir”, said the Servant. “But you could go after my coming. Now pay for the bag.” “Yes, I am guilty for my carelessness but now I have no money”, replied the servant.
In this passage, notice the sentences “But you could go after my coming. Now pay for the bag.” And you will get that there is no speaker mentioned after the speeches. But because of context, we get that it is the speeches of the master.
এই অনুচ্ছেদে, লক্ষ্য করো “But you could go after my coming. Now pay for the bag.” বাক্যটি। তুমি দেখতে পাবে যে উক্তির পরে কোন বক্তার নাম উল্লেখ নেই। কিন্তু বিষয়বস্তুর উপর নির্ভর করে আমরা বুঝতে পারি যে এটা master এর উক্তি।
Rule-02: (নিয়মঃ০২)
You have to write the name of speaker and listener of each speech before the speech during changing. In question, you may not get the name with each sentence and you may get the name of speaker at first or last. But during the changing into indirect, you have to put the name of speaker and listener at first.
তোমাকে speech পরিবর্তনের সময় প্রতিটি বাক্যের শুরুতে বক্তার নাম এবং শ্রোতার নাম উল্লেখ করতে হবে। তুমি প্রশ্নে প্রতিটি উক্তির শুরুতে বা শেষে বক্তার নাম উল্লেখিত পাবেনা কিন্তু তোমাকে নিজে হতে বারেবার প্রতিটি বাক্যের শুরুতে তা লিখতে হবে।
Example and Explanation:
Direct: “I have called you today. Were you so much busy?”, he said. “I was busy with some official works”, said I.
Indirect: He said to me that he had called me that day. He asked me if I was so much busy. I replied that I had been busy with some official works.
So, you have seen that I have mentioned the name of speaker and listener before each sentence and though it is not mentioned before each speech in direct passage. Yes, it is your duty to put the part reporting verb before each speech in the passage.
সুতুরাং, তুমি দেখছ যে আমি প্রতিটি বাক্যের শুরুতে বক্তা এবং শ্রোতার নাম উল্লেখ করেছি।
Rule-03: (নিয়মঃ০৩)
You will mention the name of both speaker and listener for the first time. Next, you have to address them by pronoun word such as: “he, she, and they,”. If the pronoun of the two persons become same, you will mark the pronoun words with the first alphabet in a bracket after it such as: “He (M)/ He (S)”. but if there is the name mentioned after any speech, you will also mention the name again.
তুমি প্রথমবারের জন্য বক্তা এবং শ্রোতার নাম উল্লেখ করবে। কিন্তু পরের বার হতে তুমি তাদেরকে pronoun শব্দ “he, she, and they” দিয়ে চিহ্নিত করবে। যদি দুজন ব্যক্তির pronoun শব্দ একই হয় তবে তাদের pronoun শব্দের পরে ব্রাকেটের মধ্যে তাদের নামের প্রথম অক্ষর দিয়ে চিহ্নিত করতে হবে “He (M)/ He (S)”। কিন্তু যদি প্রশ্নে নির্দিষ্ট কোন উক্তির পরে বক্তার নাম উল্লেখ থাকে তবে তোমাকেও পুনরায় নাম উল্লেখ করতে হবে।
Example and Explanation:
Direct: “You have lost my new bag today. Why have you gone outside leaving it then?”, asked the Master. “I went outside for drinking a glass of water sir”, said the Servant.
Indirect: The master told the servant that he(S) had lost his (M) new bag that day. He (M) asked him (S) why he(S) had gone outside leaving it then. The Servant respectfully replied that he(S) had gone outside for drinking a glass of water.
So, you have seen that I have mentioned the name of speaker and listener for the first time. Then, I have mentioned them with pronoun words and marker: He (M) or He(S). Here, I have used the word ‘respectfully’ for the word ‘sir’.
সুতুরাং, তুমি দেখছ যে আমি প্রথমবার বক্তা এবং শ্রোতার নাম উল্লেখ করেছি। কিন্তু পরের বার হতে তাদেরকে pronoun শব্দ দিয়ে চিহ্নিত করেছি। পাশাপাশি, pronoun শব্দ এর পর তাদের নামের প্রথম অক্ষর He (M) or He(S) উল্লেখ করেছি। এখানে আমি ‘respectfully’ শব্দটি ব্যবহার করেছি ‘sir’ শব্দটির জন্য।
Rule-04: (নিয়মঃ০৪)
In passage, if there are two or more sentences of the same speaker together, you have to use the expression: “said to/told” for the first speech. But for the second speech, you will use the expression: “again said/told/asked, added, and further said/told/asked”. But remember, if the sentences are of similar categories, you will do it. If one sentence is assertive and another one is interrogative or imperative, you need not apply this method.
অনুচ্ছেদে, যদি তুমি দেখ যে একই ব্যক্তি পরপর দুইবার দুটি বাক্য বলছে তবে তুমি প্রথমবার “said to/told” ব্যবহার করবে আর দ্বিতীয়বার “again said/told/asked, added, and further said/told/asked” ব্যবহার করবে। মনে রাখবে এক্ষেত্রে, দুটি বাক্য একই শ্রেণীর হতে হবে। কিন্তু যদি দুটি বাক্য দুই শ্রেণীর হয় তবে যেমন একটি বাক্য assertive এবং অপরটি interrogative বাক্য তবে এই নিওম প্রযোজ্য নয়।
Example and Explanation:
Direct: “You have selected the boy for the job. You will take his responsibility from now”, said the Officer.
Indirect: The officer said to me that I had selected the boy for the job. He again said that I would take his responsibility from then.
Here, the speaker ‘the officer’ has spoken for two times and the sentence category of these two sentences is assertive. So, I have used the expression ‘again said’ before the second speech.
এখানে, বক্তা ‘the officer’ পরপর দুইবার দুটি বাক্য বলেছে এবং দুটি বাক্য assertive । এইজন্য, আমি দ্বিতীয় বাক্যের শুরুতে ‘again said’ ব্যবহার করেছি।
Rule-05: (নিয়মঃ০৫)
There are some certain words or phrases in direct speeches which will be changed in indirect speeches. Now, I will show you a chart of those phrases. Here it is:
কিছু নির্দিষ্ট শব্দ বা শব্দাংশ রয়েছে যেগুলো indirect speeches এ পরিবর্তন করে বসাতে হয়। এখন, আমি তোমাকে সেই শব্দগুলোর একটি তালিকা দেখাবোঃ
Forms in Direct Speech
Forms in Indirect Speech
Sir
Respectfully said/asked…….
Yes
Replied in the affirmative that……
No
Replied in the negative that……
Thanks
Subject+ thanked+ object
Good morning/evening/night
Subject+ wished+ object+ good morning/evening/night
Good bye
Subject+ bade+ object+ good bye
By Allah/God/Jove/my life..
Swearing by by Allah/God/Jove/my life..
Ok
Subject+ agreed that……
Hello/hi
Subject+ greeted that…
Replied/asked/cried/uttered/muttered
No change
Examples:
Direct: The boy said, “Sir, I will attend the classes regularly.”
Indirect: The boy respectfully said that he would attend the classes regularly.
Direct: You said, “Yes, it is my lost bag.”
Indirect: You said in the affirmative that it was your lost bag.
Direct: He said to me, “No, I cannot help you now.”
Indirect: He said to me in the negative that he could not help me then.
Direct: You said to me, “Thanks, you have done the job.”
Indirect: You thanked me and said that I had done the job.
Direct: He said to you, “Good morning, how are you?”
Indirect: He wished you good morning and asked how you were.
Direct: He said to me, “Good bye, meet me tomorrow”
Indirect: He bade me good bye and told to meet him the next day.
Direct: She said to me, “By Allah, I will meet you.”
Indirect: Swearing by Allah he said to me that he would meet me.
Direct: Rajib said to me, “Ok, I am going there now.”
Indirect: Rajib agreed with me and said that he was going there then.
Direct: He said to her, “Hello, how are you?”
Indirect: He greeted her and asked how she was.
Direct: He uttered silently, “No one is here now.”
Indirect: He uttered silently that no one was there then.
Rule-06: (নিয়মঃ০৬)
If there is any addressing word in a sentence such as “friend/father/brother/sister/mother/king/comrades/viewers”, you will use a different structure during changing into indirect. Here is the structure:
Addressing+ object+ as+ friend+ subject+ verb……………….
যদি কোন বাক্যে কেও কাওকে “friend/father/brother/sister/mother/king/comrades/viewers” বলে সম্বোধন করে কোন কথা বলে তবে পরিবর্তনের সময় একটি ভিন্ন গঠন অনুসরন করতে হবে। এখানে গঠনটি দেওয়া হলঃ
Addressing+ object+ as+ friend+ subject+ verb……………….
Example:
Direct: He said to me, “Friend, give me this book for reading.”
Indirect: Addressing me as friend he told me to give him that book for reading.
Rule-07: (নিয়মঃ০৭)
If there is any phrase out of inverted commas (“ ”), you will not change it. You will rewrite the same form of phrase at the beginning of the reporting verb of indirect speech.
যদি ইনভারটেড কমার (“ ”) বাইরে কোন শব্দাংশ দেওয়া থাকে তবে পরিবর্তনের সময় সেটি reporting verb এর শুরুতে নিয়ে এসে বসাতে হবে।
See the example:
Direct: He said to me moving beside the Indian boarder, “I am visiting the historical place.”
Indirect: Moving beside the Indian boarder, He said to me that he was visiting the historical place.
Rule-08: (নিয়মঃ০৮)
If there is a name of a person in the speech and inverted commas (“ ”), you will use that name in reporting verb during changing the speech.
যদি ইনভারটেড কমার (“ ”) ভেতরে কোন ব্যক্তির নাম উল্লেখ থাকে তবে পরিবর্তনের সময় সেই নামটি reporting verb এর মধ্যে object রূপে চলে আসবে।
Example:
Direct: He said, “Where are you going Robin?”
Indirect: He asked Robin where he was going.
Rule-09: (নিয়মঃ০৯)
If the sentence in inverted commas (“ ”), is in assertive but with an interrogation sign (?) at last, you will use the expression: “Being surprised” at the beginning of indirect speech. Besides, you have to transform the direct speech into indirect following the structure of interrogative sentence.
যদি ইনভারটেড কমার (“ ”) ভেতরে বাক্যটি assertive বাক্য হয় এবং তার শেষে প্রশ্নবোধক চিহ্ন (?) দেওয়া থাকে তবে তুমি পরিবর্তনের সময় প্রথমে “Being surprised” কথাটি লিখবে এবং পরে উক্তিটিকে প্রশ্নবোধক বাক্য পরিবর্তনের নিয়ম অনুযায়ী পরিবর্তন করবে।
Example:
Direct: He said to me, “You know where he lives now?”
Indirect: Being surprised, he asked me if I knew where he lived then.
Rule-10: (নিয়মঃ১০)
Sometimes, we do not get any object of reporting verb in direct speech. In that case, we can use the expression: “the person spoken to…” or “me” as the object of reporting verb in indirect speech.
কিছু সময় আমরা কোন কোন উক্তির ক্ষেত্রে কাকে কথাটি বলা হচ্ছে বা কে শুনছে তার নাম পাইনা। সেই ক্ষেত্রে, আমরা শ্রোতার স্থানে “the person spoken to…” বা “me” শব্দ বসাতে পারি।
Example:
Direct: He said, “I will tell you the incident tomorrow.”
Indirect: He said to the person spoken to that he would tell him the incident the next day.
Or,
Indirect: He said to me that he would tell him the incident the next day.
Now see the example of a passage narration and its transformation from direct to indirect.
Direct: “You have lost my new bag today. Why have you gone outside leaving it then?”, asked the Master. “By Allah, I went outside for drinking a glass of water sir”, said the Servant. “you could go after my coming. You could wait for someone else. Now pay for the bag.” “Yes, I am guilty for my carelessness but now I have no money”, cried the servant.
Indirect: The Master said to the Servant that he(S) had lost his(M) new bag that day. He(M) asked him(S) why he(S) had gone outside leaving it then. Swearing by Allah, the servant respectfully replied that he(S) had gone outside for drinking a glass of water. He(M) said to him(S) that he(S) could go after his(M) coming. He(M) again said that he(S) could wait for someone else. He(M) ordered him(S) to pay for the bag then. The servant cried and said in the affirmative that he(S) was guilty for his(S) carelessness but then he(S) had no money.
Explanation:
Here, the first two sentences “You have lost my new bag today. Why have you gone outside leaving it then?” are spoken by the speaker ‘The Master’. So, before the both sentences, I have mentioned the name of speaker ‘master’ and listener ‘servant’ in reporting verb. The 1st sentence is an assertive sentence. So, I have used the verb ‘told’. But the 2nd sentence is interrogative. So, I have used the verb ‘asked’. After that, I have used the phrases ‘Swearing by Allah’ for the part ‘By Allah’ and ‘respectfully’ for the word ‘sir’.
Besides, I have used the verb ‘replied’ here because the servant is answering the question of the master. Then, there are 3 sentences without mentioning the name of speaker before or after. But from the conversation and its context, we can assume that these speeches are spoken by the master. Among these 3 sentences, the first 2 sentences are in assertive but the last one is in imperative. So, I have used the verb ‘again said’ in second speech. Finally, there is a sentence-“Yes, I am guilty for my carelessness but now I have no money” told by the servant. As there is the name of speaker mentioned, I have used the name also. The word ‘cried’ is unchanged. The expression ‘said in the affirmative’ is used for the word ‘yes’.
You have noticed that throughout the whole passage, I have used the pronoun form ‘he’ for the subject and I have put the marker (M) or (S) after the pronoun. The other elements of reported speeches such as persons, tenses of verbs, and adverbials have been changed according to the general rules following the structure of sentence categories such as assertive, interrogative, and imperative. You have to remember and notice all the things I have explained here.

এখানে, প্রথম দুটি বাক্য sentences “You have lost my new bag today. Why have you gone outside leaving it then?” হচ্ছে ‘The Master’ এর কথা। সুতুরাং, উভয় বাক্যের শুরুতে আমি বক্তার নাম ‘The Master’ এবং শ্রোতার নাম ‘servant’ উল্লেখ করেছি। ১ম বাক্যটি হচ্ছে assertive sentence বাক্য। সুতুরাং, আমি ‘told’ শব্দটি ব্যবহার করেছি। ২য় বাক্যটি হচ্ছে প্রশ্নবোধক বাক্য তাই আমি ‘asked’ শব্দটি ব্যবহার করেছি।
এরপর আমি শব্দাংশ ‘Swearing by Allah’ ব্যবহার করেছি ‘By Allah’ এর পরিবর্তে এবং ‘respectfully’ শব্দটি ‘sir’ এর পরিবর্তে। পাশাপাশি, আমি ‘replied’ শব্দটি ব্যবহার করেছি কারন এখানে ‘servant’ তার ‘The Master’ এর প্রশ্নের উত্তর প্রদান করছে। তারপর ৩ টি বাক্য রয়েছে কোন বক্তার নাম ছাড়াই। কিন্তু আমরা অনুচ্ছেদ পড়ে বুঝতে পারছি যে এগুলো ‘The Master’ এর কথা। এই ৩ টি বাক্যের মধ্যে প্রথম ২ টি বাক্য হচ্ছে assertive এবং শেষের বাক্যটি হচ্ছে imperative । সুতুরাং, আমি দ্বিতীয় বাক্যে ‘again said’ শব্দটি ব্যবহার করেছি। সবশেষে একটি বাক্য আছে “Yes, I am guilty for my carelessness but now I have no money” যা ‘servant’ এর কথা। যেহেতু এখানে বক্তার নাম উল্লেখ আছে তাই আমিও নাম উল্লেখ করেছি। ‘cried’ শব্দটি অপরিবর্তিত আছে। ‘said in the affirmative’ শব্দাংশটি বসানো হয়েছে ‘yes’এর পরিবর্তে।
তুমি পুরো অনুচ্ছেদটিতে লক্ষ্য করলে দেখতে পাবে যে আমি বক্তার এবং শ্রোতার স্থানে pronoun শব্দ ‘he’ ব্যবহার করেছি এবং প্রতিটি শব্দের পরে ব্রাকেটের মধ্যে নামের প্রথম অক্ষর (M) or (S) বসিয়েছি। অন্যান্য উপদানগুলো যেমন persons, tenses of verbs, and adverbials আগের মতই পরিবর্তন হয়েছে। এখানে আমি যে কৌশল গুলো বর্ণনা করলাম তার সবকিছুই তোমাকে মনে রাখতে হবে।

Passage Narration এর পরিবর্তনের কৌশলের উপর আর কোন আলোচনা অবশিষ্ট নেই। তুমি এই ১০ টি নিয়ম অনুসরন করে সফলতার সাথে Passage Narration পরিবর্তন করতে পারবে। সুতুরাং, এই নিয়মগুলো পড় আর তোমার প্রস্তুতি নিয়ে নাও। ধন্যবাদ।