Moments · NCERT Class 9

Direct & Indirect Speech

When we repeat a person’s words exactly, inside quotation marks, that is direct speech: She said, “I am tired.” When we report those words in our own way, without quotes, that is indirect (reported) speech: She said that she was tired. The big idea: moving from direct to indirect changes the quotation marks, the tense, the pronouns and the time words. Every example here is original; we only borrow the title of the Moments story ‘Iswaran the Storyteller’. Tap each term to see what it means.

👥 3 topics⏱ ~20 min📝 12-question quiz

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The language of reported speech

Reporting someone’s words has a small set of moving parts. Tap each term to see what it does and how the ideas — quoting, reporting, shifting the tense, changing pronouns and reshaping questions — fit together.

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The three big ideas

Direct speech — gives the exact words a person spoke, inside quotation marks, with a comma before the quote. Priya said, “I am ready.”
Indirect (reported) speech — reports what was said in our own words, with no quotation marks; we usually add that. Priya said that she was ready.
The reporting verb — words like said, told, asked introduce the speech. Note that told needs a listener (told me) while said usually does not.
Why it matters — direct speech is lively for stories and dialogue; indirect speech is neat for retelling and summarising what someone said.

Tense shifts back — when the reporting verb is in the past (said), the verb inside moves one step back: am/is → was, are → were, will → would, can → could, have → had.
Pronouns change — first- and second-person pronouns change to fit the reporter: “I” → “he/she”, “you” → “I/me”, “my” → “his/her”.
Time & place words shift — now → then, today → that day, here → there, this → that, tomorrow → the next day.

Worked example. Change to indirect speech: He said, “I am busy.”

Step 1 — the reporting verb “said” is in the past, so the verb inside shifts back.

Step 2 — drop the comma and the quotation marks; add that.

Step 3 — change the pronoun “I” → he (it refers to the speaker).

Step 4 — shift the tense “am” → was. Result: He said that he was busy.

Common mistake: in reported speech the present tense usually shifts to the past (am → was). Do not leave it unchanged — after a past reporting verb, “He said that he is busy” is wrong; write “He said that he was busy.”

Yes/No questions — use asked if/whether, change to normal statement order, and drop the question mark. “Are you coming?” → He asked if I was coming.
Wh- questions — keep the question word (what, where, why), then use normal word order. “Where do you live?” → She asked where I lived.
Commands & requests — use told/asked … to + verb (negative: not to). “Sit down.” → The captain told us to sit down. “Please wait.” → She asked me to wait.
Remember — a reported question has no inversion and no question mark, and the helping verb (do/does/did) disappears.

Where you'll meet it

Reported speech, at work

Reporting what people said

Every time you retell a conversation — telling a friend what the teacher announced, or writing down what a witness reported — you are using indirect speech. Getting the tense, pronoun and time-word changes right keeps the report accurate and easy to follow.

Writing dialogue

Stories and plays use direct speech so characters can speak in their own voice, with quotation marks and punctuation kept inside the quotes. Knowing when to switch between direct and indirect speech lets you make a scene vivid or summarise it neatly.