Direct and Indirect Speech — Revision Notes
ICSE · Class 8 · English Language: Grammar and Composition
Direct and Indirect Speech revision notes for ICSE Class 8 English Language: Grammar and Composition: 4 topics in quick points.
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Key Topics to Revise
Core Ideas
- Direct speech reproduces the exact words of the speaker, set off by inverted commas.
- Indirect speech expresses the speech in the reporter's own words.
- Direct speech is set off by inverted commas.
Tense Changes in Indirect Speech
- With a past reporting verb, is/are/am changes to was/were.
- was/were changes to had been.
- had been has no change.
Pronoun and Time Place Changes
- First person pronouns change according to who the speaker is.
- Second person pronouns change according to the person being addressed.
- Third person pronouns remain unchanged in indirect speech.
Reporting Statements
- Say is used without a personal object, and tell is used with a personal object.
- Say may be retained or changed to tell when reporting statements.
- That is used as a conjunction for reporting statements and can sometimes be omitted.
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