Narration Rules of Different Kinds of Sentences
Friends! Today, We are going to study about Narration Rules of different kinds of sentences, furthering this series. In the previous notes, We discussed about the type of Narration (Direct – Indirect Speech) and the rules for its change.
We are confident that you must have practised it well and also understood it. Now, We are discussing about Narration Rules for Conversion of Different Kinds of Sentences. Let’s try to understand this in detail :
Rules for Conversion of Different Kinds of Sentences
Friends! To change any direct statement to indirect, you must keep in mind the rules related to tenses and pronouns mentioned in earlier notes. Also, must follow the narration rules of the following five types of sentences :
- Assertive Sentences
- Interrogative Sentences
- Imperative Sentences
- Optative Sentences
- Exclamatory Sentences
1. Assertive Sentences :
These are simple sentences in a way, which confirm or deny a fact. A sentence that makes a statement or assertion is called an Assertive sentence. like :
- She sings well.
- She does not sing well.
Narration Rules for Assertive Sentences :
— Keep the following rules in mind to change the Assertive sentences from Direct to indirect:
Rule : 1.
- Use the conjunction “that” to remove the comma after the reporting verb and the inverted comma of the reported speech.
Rule : 2.
- The Reporting verb ‘say‘ or ‘said’, are changed into ‘tell’ or ‘told’. If they are followed by objects otherwise they remain the same.
- Let me tell you that whenever there is a object after ‘say’ or ‘said’, then “to” is sure to be followed by ‘say’ or ‘said’ but does not appear after ‘tell’ or ‘told’ when changing to indirect.
For Example :
| She says to me, “You are lucky boy.” | She tells me that I am lucky boy. |
| He said to her, ” I liked you.” | He told her that he had liked her. |
2. Interrogative Sentences :
The sentences which are used to ask questions are called interrogative sentences. These interrogative sentences are of two types:
- Beginning with Helping Verb
- Beginning with Interrogative Words
Narration Rules for Beginning with Helping Verb :
— To convert such interrogative sentences beginning with Helping Verb from Direct to indirect, keep in mind the following rules :
Rule : 1.
- Use the conjunction “if or whether” to remove the comma after the reporting verb and the inverted comma of the reported speech.
Rule : 2.
- The Reporting verb ‘say‘ or ‘said’, are changed into ‘ask’ or ‘asked’.
Rule : 3.
- Turn the interrogative sentences used in reported speech into simple sentences.
For Example :
| Ram says to me, “Are you washing clothes ?.” | Ram asks me if I was washing clothes. |
| I said to him, “Do you solve this question ?.” | I asked him whether he solved that question. |
Narration Rules for Beginning with Interrogative Words :
— To convert such interrogative sentences beginning with Interrogative Words from Direct to indirect, keep in mind the following rules :
Rule : 1.
- No other conjunction is used to remove the comma after the reporting verb and the inverted comma of the reported speech. but only the interrogative word used in the sentence is treated as conjunction.
Rule : 2.
- The Reporting verb ‘say‘ or ‘said’, are changed into ‘ask’ or ‘asked’.
Rule : 3.
- Turn the interrogative sentences used in reported speech into simple sentences.
For Example :
| Ram says to me, “Why are you washing clothes ?.” | Ram asks me why I was washing clothes. |
| I said to him, “How do you solve this question?.” | I asked him how he solved that question. |
3. Imperative Sentences :
The sentences which express prayers, orders, advice or suggestions are called Imperative Sentences. They always begin with the first form of the verb. like :
- Open the door.
- Clean the classroom.
Narration Rules for Imperative Sentences :
— Keep the following rules in mind to change the Imperative Sentences from Direct to indirect :
Rule : 1.
- Use the conjunction “to” in place of the comma after the reporting verb and the inverted comma of the reported speech.
Rule : 2.
- The Reporting verb said’, is changed into ‘requested, ordered, advised, warned’ according to the sense of sentence.
Rule : 3.
- Use ‘requested’ in Reporting verb by removing ‘kindly’ or ‘please’ used in reported speech.
For Example :
| He said to me, “open the door.” | He ordered me to open the door. |
| She said to me, ” work hard to pass the exam.” | She advised me to work hard to pass the exam.” |
| Krishna said to his brother, “Please, help me.” | Krishna requested his brother to help him. |
Narration Rules for Negative Imperative Sentences :
— You can change this in two Methods :
First Method :
Rule : 1.
- Use the conjunction “not to” in place of the comma after the reporting verb and the inverted comma of the reported speech.
Rule : 2.
- The Reporting verb ‘said’, is changed into ‘requested, ordered, advised, warned’ according to the sense of sentence.
For Example :
| The Father said to his son, “Don’t waste your time.” | The Father advised his son not to waste his time. |
| Anjali said to Pooja, ” Please, Don’t abuse me.” | Anjali requested Pooja not to abuse her. |
Second Method :
Rule : 1.
- Use the conjunction “to” in place of the comma after the reporting verb and the inverted comma of the reported speech.
Rule : 2.
- The Reporting verb ‘said’, is changed into ‘forbad’. The word ‘forbad’ has a forbidden sense. Hence it can be used for negative sentence.
For Example :
| The Father said to his son, “Don’t waste your time.” | The Father forbad his son to waste his time. |
| Anjali said to Pooja, ” Please, Don’t abuse me.” | Anjali forbad Pooja to abuse her. |
Narration Rules for “Let” in Imperative Sentences :
— Such imperative sentences always begin with let us. They can be changed from direct to indirect as follows :
Rule : 1.
- Use the conjunction “that” to remove the comma after the reporting verb and the inverted comma of the reported speech.
Rule : 2.
- The Reporting verb ‘say‘ or ‘said’, are changed into suggest /suggested or propose / proposed.
Rule : 3.
- The helping verb “should” is also used in reported speech.
For Example :
| I said to him, “Let us learn this lesson.” | I proposed to him that We should learn that lesson. |
| She said to me, ” Let us help the weak student.” | She suggested to me that they should help the weak student.” |
— Note that ‘we’ or ‘they’ should be used instead of let us used in reported speech. If you are wondering which one ‘we’ or ‘they’ should use, then you should remember the “SON / 123” rule.
“us” is a first person pronoun that has to be changed according to the subject of the reporting verb. Now you must have understood.
4. Optative Sentences :
These are wishful sentences which express Wish, Prayer, Desire, Curse etc. Hence these are called Optative Sentences.
Narration Rules for Optative Sentences :
— Keep the following rules in mind to change Optative Sentences from Direct to indirect :
Rule : 1.
- Use the conjunction “that” to remove the comma after the reporting verb and the inverted comma of the reported speech.
Rule : 2.
- The Reporting verb ‘said’, is changed into ‘wished, prayed, desired, cursed’ according to the sense of sentence.
Rule : 3.
- Turn the Optative sentences used in reported speech into simple sentences.
For Example :
| Ram said to me, ” May you live long.” | Ram wished me that I might live long. |
| Ram said to her, ” May God bless you” | Ram prayed to God that he might bless her. |
5. Exclamatory Sentences :
These are surprise or exclamatory sentences which express Joy, Sorrow, Surprise, Regret, Praise etc. Hence they are called Exclamatory Sentences.
Narration Rules for Exclamatory Sentences :
— Keep the following rules in mind to change Exclamatory Sentences from Direct to indirect :
Rule : 1.
- Use the conjunction “that” to remove the comma after the reporting verb and the inverted comma of the reported speech.
Rule : 2.
- Change the Reporting verb ‘said’, according to the sense of sentence as follows :
| To express Joy – | exclaimed with joy or exclaimed with delight | If reported speech begins with Hurrah! |
| To express Sorrow – | exclaimed with sorrow | If reported speech begins with Alas! |
| To express Surprise – | exclaimed with surprise | If reported speech begins with How! |
| To express Applaud – | applauded or praised | If reported speech begins with bravo or well done! |
| To express Regret – | regretted | If reported speech begins with Sorry! |
Rule : 3.
- Turn the Exclamatory Sentences used in reported speech into simple sentences. And also remove the Exclamation sign like Bravo, Hurrah, Alas, How, Sorry etc.
For Example :
| Sachin said to the players, “Hurrah, We have won the match.” | Sachin exclaimed with joy that they had won the match. |
| Ram said to her sister, ” How smart you are” | Ram exclaimed with surprise that she was very smart. |
Recall briefly :
Recall briefly the table given below to understand Narration Rules of Different Kinds of Sentences :
| Sentences | Change of Reporting Verb | Conjunction |
|---|---|---|
| Assertive | told | that |
| Interrogative | asked | if / whether / wh words |
| Imperative | requested, ordered, advised, warned | to / not to |
| Optative | wished, prayed, desired, cursed | that |
| Exclamatory | exclaimed with joy/sorrow/Surprise | that |
Thus friends! You can do Direct to Indirect speech conversion in different sentences keeping in mind certain rules. We have given two important chapters on Narration topic. You are requested to study them in order. so that you do not have any problem in understanding the direct indirect.
Read Also :
A Request :
Hope you have got a good idea about “Narration Rules of Different Kinds of Sentences” now. Prepare all these rules well. Because sentences based on these rules are often asked in examinations.
If you have any problem or question about Direct Indirect, then you can write it in the comment box. Please, share this important chapter with your friends. Thank you for your love and cooperation.
