Reported Speech: Statements MCQs Quiz | Class 10
This quiz on Reported Speech: Statements is for Class X, Subject English Language and Literature (Code 184), Unit Section B: Grammar. It covers direct-indirect conversion for statements. Attempt all 10 multiple-choice questions, then submit to see your results and download an answer PDF.
Understanding Reported Speech: Statements
Reported Speech, also known as Indirect Speech, is used to report what someone else said without quoting them directly. When reporting statements, we often make several changes to the original sentence.
Key Rules for Converting Statements from Direct to Indirect Speech
1. Reporting Verb Change:
- If the reporting verb is ‘say’, ‘say to’, ‘tell’, or ‘state’, it remains the same or changes according to context.
- ‘Said to’ usually changes to ‘told’. ‘Said’ generally remains ‘said’.
- Example: “He said to me, ‘I am busy.'” → “He told me that he was busy.”
2. Conjunction ‘That’:
- The conjunction ‘that’ is typically used to introduce the reported statement. It is often optional but helps in clarity.
- Example: “She said, ‘I like coffee.'” → “She said that she liked coffee.” (or “She said she liked coffee.”)
3. Change in Tenses:
When the reporting verb is in the past tense (e.g., said, told), the tense of the verb in the reported speech usually changes:
| Direct Speech Tense | Indirect Speech Tense |
|---|---|
| Present Simple | Past Simple |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect |
| Present Perfect Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect |
| Past Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous |
| Future Simple (will) | Conditional (would) |
| Future Continuous (will be) | Conditional Continuous (would be) |
| Can | Could |
| May | Might |
| Must | Had to / Must (no change if timeless) |
Note: If the direct speech expresses a universal truth, habitual fact, or when the reporting verb is in the present or future tense, the tense in the reported speech does not change.
4. Change in Pronouns:
- Pronouns (I, we, you, he, she, it, they) change according to the subject and object of the reporting verb.
- Example: “He said, ‘I am learning English.'” → “He said that he was learning English.”
- Example: “She told him, ‘You are a good student.'” → “She told him that he was a good student.”
5. Change in Words Expressing Time and Place:
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| Now | Then |
| Today | That day |
| Yesterday | The previous day / The day before |
| Tomorrow | The next day / The following day |
| Last night | The previous night / The night before |
| Next week | The following week |
| Here | There |
| This | That |
| These | Those |
| Ago | Before |
Quick Revision Points
- Reported speech does not use quotation marks.
- Tense backshift is common when the reporting verb is in the past.
- Pronouns change based on the speaker and listener.
- Time and place expressions change to reflect the reporting moment.
- ‘That’ is an optional conjunction for statements.
Practice Questions (with Answers)
- Direct: My friend said, “I have completed my project.”
Indirect: My friend said that he/she had completed his/her project. - Direct: The teacher said, “The Earth revolves around the Sun.”
Indirect: The teacher said that the Earth revolves around the Sun. (No tense change for universal truth) - Direct: He told me, “I will meet you here tomorrow.”
Indirect: He told me that he would meet me there the next day. - Direct: She said, “I am reading a book now.”
Indirect: She said that she was reading a book then. - Direct: They said, “We visited London last year.”
Indirect: They said that they had visited London the previous year.
