Changes in Indirect Speech
We make changes in time, places, determiners, etc when reporting the direct speech.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| now | then |
| today | that day |
| tonight | that night |
| last night | the previous night, the night before |
| yesterday | the previous day, the day before |
| tomorrow | the next day, the day after |
| next week | the following week |
| here | there |
| this/these | that/those |
| this (determiner) | the |
Modal verbs in indirect speech.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| will | would |
| can | could |
| may | might |
| shall | should |
| must | must |
| ought to | ought to |
| used to | used to |
Examples:
- "I will be a vegetarian from next year."
- She said (that) she would be a vegetarian from next year.
- "I can swim like a fish."
- He said he (that) could swim like a fish.
- "We may start a new religion."
- They said they might start a new religion.
- "I shall be judged only by God."
- My grandfather said he should be judged only by God.
- "You must behave yourself."
- The teacher told me I must behave myself.
- "You ought to stop talking to yourself."
- My mother said I ought to stop talking to myself.
- "I used to have many girlfriends even after his marriage."
- My father confessed that he used to have many girlfriends even after his marriage.
If the past form of modal verbs would , could , might , and should is used in the direct speech, we do not change them in the indirect speech.
Examples:
- Annie said, "I would hate to miss the puppet show tonight ."
- Annie said she would hate to miss the puppet show that night .
- Joe said, "We could go for a drive after lunch tomorrow ."
- Joe suggested that they could go for a drive after lunch the next day .
- Jennifer said to me, " Might I ask you to do me a favour this weekend ?"
- Jennifer asked if I might do her a favour that weekend .
- Bob said, "You should be ashamed of yourselves for what you did last night ."
- Bob said that they should be ashamed of themselves for what they did the night before .