Reported Speech Exercise for Class 6 With Answers NCERT – English Grammar

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NCERT Class 6 English Grammar Chapter 17 Reported Speech Question And Answers

There are two ways to narrate or state the spoken words of any person. These are

  1. Direct Speech
  2. Indirect Speech

Direct Speech Or Reporting Speech

When the exact words of the speaker are used in the sentence within quotation marks, it is called Direct Speech.

Direct Speech Example:

  1. Swasti said, “I am going to the market.”
  2. The teacher said to me, “Honesty is the best policy.”

The sentence in direct speech contains the reporting verb and the reported speech. The verb that introduces the reported speech within quotes is called the reported verb.

Reported verb Example:

Swasti said. “I am going to the market.”

Indirect Speech

When we report a statement in our own words without any change in the meaning of the statement, it is called Indirect Speech.

Indirect Speech Example:

  1. Swasti said that she was going to the market.
  2. The teacher told me that honesty is the best policy.

NCERT Class 6 English Grammar Chapter 17 Reported Speech Question And Answers

Rules to Change Direct Speech into Indirect Speech

  1. The commas and the quotation marks (“ ”) are removed in Indirect Speech.
  2. The conjunction ‘that’ is generally used to join the two parts of a sentence in Indirect Speech.
  3. Besides these changes, we change the tense, pronouns, modals arid time, and place expressions.

Indirect Speech Example:

  1. Rama said, “I am going to the market.” (Direct Speech)
  2. Rama said that she was going to the market. (Indirect Speech)

Present Continuous Tense →Past Continuous Tense

Past Continuous Tense Example:

  1. Rohan said, “Rashmi is writing a letter.” (Direct Speech)
  2. Rohan said that Rashmi was writing a letter. (Indirect Speech)

Present Perfect Tense – Past Perfect Tense

Past Perfect Tense Example:

  1. He said, “You have to do the dishes before you go out.” (Direct Speech)
  2. He said that I had to do the dishes before I went out. (Indirect Speech)

Change in Past Tense

Tense of the Direct Speech Changes into

  1. Simple Past
  2. Past Perfect Tense

Change in Past Tense Example:

  1. Manisha said, “I walked to the park.” (Direct Speech)
  2. Manisha said that she had walked to the park. (Indirect Speech)

Past Continuous Tense → Past Perfect Continuous tense

Past Perfect Continuous tense Example:

  1. Rumi said, “I was cooking when the show started.” (direct speech)
  2. Rumi said that she had been cooking when the show started (indirect speech)

Note: Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous Tense do not undergo any change.

Change in Future Tense

In the sentences containing Future tense, verbs in the double quotation marks, ‘will’ and ‘shall’ change to ‘would’ and ‘should’, respectively.

Change in Future Tense Example:

  1. Rajesh said, “I will go to the store after work.” (Direct Speech)
  2. Rajesh said that he would go to the store after work (Indirect Speech)

If the words spoken by the speaker are a universal truth or habitual fact, the tense does not change.

Direct And Indirect Examples:

  1. He said, “The Sun rises in the East.” (Direct Speech)
  2. He said that the Sun rises in the East. (Indirect Speech)

Change in Pronouns

The pronouns are changed according to the speaker(s) and listener(s) present in the speech.

  1. First-person pronouns in reported speech are changed following the subject of the reporting verb.

Change in Pronouns Example:

  1. She said, “I will wash the utensils.” (Direct Speech)
  2. She said that she would wash the utensils. (Indirect Speech)

2.. Second-person pronouns in the reported speech are changed under the object of the reporting verb.

Reported speech Example:

  1. The guard said to me, “Your package will be delivered to your flat.”
  2. The guard informed me that my package would be delivered to my flat. (Indirect Speech)
  3. Third-person pronouns in the reported speech do not change.

Indirect Speech Example: Anjali said, “He will be on leave during his (Direct Speech)

Anjali told me that he would be on leave during his exams. (indirect speech)

Indicators of time

  • now → Then
  • Ago → Before
  • Thus → So
  • Today → that day
  • Tonight→that night
  • Tomorrow → the next day
  • YesterDy → the day before/ the previous day
  • last night/ week → the night/ week before
  • next week/ year→ the following week/ year

Indicators of Place

  • Here→ there
  • This → that
  • these → those

Indicators of Place Example:

  • He said, “I will be here tomorrow.”
  • He said that he would be there the next day.
  • She said, “I am glad to be here tonight.”
  • She said that I was glad to be there that night.

Change in Modals

If the reporting speech contains a modal verb, it also changes, as given below Can change into could

Change in Modals Example:

  1. She said, “I can swim across the lake.” (Direct Speech)
  2. She said that she could swim across the lake. (Indirect Speech)

May changes into Might Example:

  1. She asked, “May I use your phone?”  (Direct Speech)
  2. She asked if she might use my phone. (Indirect Speech)

Chapter 17 Reported Speech Objective And Subjective Questions

Question 1. Choose which of the verbs given in the options can be used in the following sentences.

1. The teacher said, “The Earth rotates from West to East.” The teacher said that the Earth from West to East.

  1. Rotate
  2. Rotated
  3. Rotates
  4. Is Rotating

Answer: 3. Rotates

2. Rani said that she had decided to learn Spanish.  Rani said, “I to learn Spanish.”

  1. Had Decided
  2. Have Decided
  3. Decided
  4. Am Decided

Answer: 2. Have Decided

3. He says, “I go to the temple every morning.” He says that he to the temple every morning.

  1. Go
  2. Went
  3. Goes
  4. Is Going

Answer: 2. Went

4. Sikander said, “I wish to climb Mount Everest one day.” Sikander said that he to climb Mount Everest one day.

  1. Wish
  2. Wished
  3. Is Wishing
  4. Wishes

Answer: 3. Is Wishing

5. He asked, “Will you listen to me?” He asked if I was to him.

  1. Would Listen
  2. Will Listen
  3. Listened
  4. Will Be Listening

Answer: 1. Would Listen

Question 2. Choose the correct reported speech of the given sentences.

1. “They never miss their morning jog,” he observes.

  1. He observes that they never miss their morning jog.
  2. He observed that they never miss their morning jog.
  3. He observed that they didn’t miss their morning jog.
  4. He is observing that they don’t miss their morning

Answer: 1. He observes that they never miss their morning jog.

2. “She had studied for hours before taking the final exam,” the teacher said.

  1. The teacher said that she had studied for hours before taking the final exam.
  2. The teacher said that she had studied for hours before taking the final exam.
  3. The teacher says that she had been studying for hours before taking the final exam.
  4. The teacher says that she has been studying for hours before taking the final exam.

Answer: 2. The teacher said that she had studied for hours before taking the final exam.

3. “I believe in living a healthy lifestyle,” she asserts,

  1. She asserts that she believes in living a healthy lifestyle.
  2. She asserts that she believes in living a healthy lifestyle.
  3. She asserted that she believed in living a healthy lifestyle.
  4. She asserts that she believes in living a healthy lifestyle.

Answer: 3. She asserted that she believed in living a healthy lifestyle.

4. “We were watching a movie when the storm began,” she recalled.

  1. She recalled that they were watching a movie when the storm began.
  2. She recalls that we were watching a movie when the storm began.
  3. She recalled that they had been watching a movie when the storm began.
  4. She recalled that they were watching a movie when the storm began.

Answer: 3. She recalled that they had been watching a movie when the storm began.

5. “I’m going to a concert tonight,” she said with excitement.

  1. She said that she was going to a concert that night.
  2. She said with excitement that she was going to a concert that night.
  3. She says with excitement that she is going to a concert that night.
  4. She said with excitement that she was going to a concert that night.

Answer: 2. She said with excitement that she was going to a concert that night.

6. “Now is the perfect time to start that home renovation project,” the contractor suggested.

  1. The contractor suggests that now is the perfect time to start that home renovation project.
  2. The contractor suggested that now was the perfect time to start that home renovation project.
  3. The contractor suggested that then was the perfect time to start that home renovation project.
  4. The contractor suggested that now would be the perfect time to start that home renovation project.

Answer: 4. The contractor suggested that now would be the perfect time to start that home renovation project.

7. “I will call you as soon as I arrive at the airport,” she promised.

  1. She promised that she would call me as soon as she arrived at the airport.
  2. She promised that she would call me as soon as she arrived at the airport.
  3. She promised that she would call me as soon as she arrived at the airport.
  4. She promised that she would call me as soon as she arrived at the airport.

Answer: 4. She promised that she would definitely call me as soon as she arrived at the airport.

8. “Please pass the salt,” she asked.

  1. She requested to pass the salt.
  2. She asked to pass the salt, please.
  3. She asks to pass the salt, please.
  4. She asked for passing the salt.

Answer: 1. She requested to pass the salt.

9. “I had been waiting for over an hour before the bus arrived,” she complained.

  1. She complains that she has been waiting for over an hour before the bus arrives.
  2. She complained that she had been waiting for over an hour before the bus arrived.
  3. She complained that she had been waiting for over an hour before the bus arrived.
  4. She complained that she had been waiting for over an hour before the bus arrived.

Answer: 3. She complains that she had been waiting for over an hour before the bus arrived.

10. “I have just finished reading that book” she revealed.

  1. She revealed that she had just finished reading that book.
  2. She reveals that she had just finished reading that book.
  3. She reveals that she has just finished reading that book.
  4. She revealed that she had just finished reading that book.

Answer: 4. She revealed that she had just finished reading that book.

Question 3. Convert and rewrite the following sentences in Indirect Speech.

  1. “I should call my parents to let them know I have reached,” he said.
  2. “Which is the proper way to answer this question, father?” the boy enquired.
  3. The teacher said to him, “Do not read so fast.”
  4. He said, “What a pity you did not come!”
  5. He said to him, “Is not your name Afzal?”
  6. The traveler said, “Can you tell me the way to the nearest hotel?”
  7. “Have you finished your homework?” he asked.
  8. “I can assist you with your project,” she offered.
  9. “I didn’t go to the party last night,” he admitted.
  10. “If I were you, I would take that job offer,” he suggested.

Answer:

  1. He said that he should call his parents to let them know he had reached out.
  2. The boy asked his father which was the proper way to answer that question.
  3. The teacher told/advised him not to read so fast.
  4. He expressed his regret that the other person did not come.
  5. He inquired if the other person’s name was Afzai,
  6. The traveler asked if I could tell him the way to the nearest hotel.
  7. He asked if I had finished my homework.
  8. She offered to assist with my project.
  9. He admitted that he hadn’t gone to the party the previous night.

Question 4. Convert and rewrite the following sentences in Direct Speech.

  1. I asked Mary if she would lend me a pencil.
  2. He said that he was tired and that he wished to go to bed.
  3. I told him that I had not seen him for months.
  4. He asked me if I would accompany him.
  5. He advised his sons not to quarrel amongst themselves.
  6. He said that he would go as soon as it was possible.
  7. She mentioned that she might consider taking a sabbatical next year.
  8. She asked if I knew what time the movie started.
  9. He told me to turn off the lights before leaving.
  10. They wished that the weather would be sunny for the picnic.

Answer:

  1. I said to Mary, “Will you lend me a pencil?”
  2. I asked Mary, “Would you lend me a pencil?”
  3. He said, “I’m tired, and I wish to go to bed.”
  4. I said to him, “I haven’t seen you for months.”
  5. He asked me, “Would you accompany me?”
  6. He said to his sons, “Don’t quarrel amongst yourselves.”
  7. He said, “I’ll go as soon as it’s possible.”
  8. She said, “I might consider taking a sabbatical next year.”
  9. She asked me, “Do you know what time the movie starts?”
  10. He said to me, “Turn off the lights before leaving.”
  11. They said, “We wish the weather would be sunny for the picnic.”

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