Text Book Solutions All Class

Interrogative Sentences

• In interrogative sentences, the reporting verb is changed to  ask, inquire, demand,  etc.
• When the sentence starts with question words like  who, which, what, where, whose, whom, why, when,  no conjunction is used.
• We use if or whether as a conjunction if the sentence begins with verbs like is, are, am, were, do, does, did, will, would, shall, should, can, could, etc.

Examples:

(i) Direct : He said, “Why are you so sad?”
Indirect : He asked me why I was so sad. 

(ii) Direct : The man said to me, “What does your father do?”
Indirect : The man asked me what my father does.

(iii) Direct : The teacher said to me, “What are you doing?”
Indirect : The tea cher asked me what I was doing. 

(iv) Direct : He said to me, “Where is the purse?”
Indirect : He asked me where the purse was.

(v) Direct : Father said to me, “Is Amit playing?”
Indirect : Father asked me if Amit was playing. 

(vi) Direct : Garvit said to me, “Are you going abroad?”
Indirect : Garvit asked me whether I was going abroad. 

(vii) Direct : Arpit said to me, “Have you a pen?”
Indirect : Arpit asked me if I had a pen. 

(vii) Direct : The teacher said, “Were students alright?”
Indirect : The tea cher asked me whether students were alright.Commands, Requests, Advice

• In commands, requests, and advice, the reporting verb changes to  request, order, command, advise,  etc.
• Words like ‘please’ and ‘kindly ’ are omitted in indirect speech.
• After the reporting verb, put ‘to ’.

Positive Commands

Examples:

(i) Direct : The poor boy said to the man, “Please give me ten rupees.”
Indirect : The poor requested the man to give him ten rupees. 

(ii) Direct : The teacher said to the students, “Be quiet.”
Indirect : The teacher ordered the students to be quiet. 

(iii) Direct : Ben said to Tom, “Please give me a chance.”
Indirect : Ben requested Tom to give him a chance. 

(iv) Direct : The doctor said to the patient, “Take medicines in time.”
Indirect : The doctor advised the patient to take medicines in time. 

(v) Direct : The teacher said to me, “Work hard.”
Indirect : The teacher advised me to work hard.

Negative Commands

Examples:

(i) Direct : The teacher said to the students, “Don’t talk in the class.”
Indirect : The teacher asked the students not to talk in the class. 

(ii) Direct : My father said, “Don’t be foolish.”
Indirect : My father told me not to be foolish. 

(iii) Direct : The man said to me, “Please don’t shout loudly.”
Indirect : The man requested me not to shout loudly. 

(iv) Direct : My brother said, “Don’t indulge in bad habits.”
Indirect : My brother advised me not to indulge in bad habits. 

(v) Direct : The old man said to me, “Please don’t walk so fast.”
Indirect : The old man requested me not to walk so fast

Time Expressions and Place

When converting direct speech into indirect speech, certain words that indicate time or place undergo changes. Here’s how these expressions change:

Direct Speech

Indirect Speech

this

that

these

those

now

then

ago

before

today

that day

yesterday

the previous day, the day before

tomorrow

the next day, the following day

tonight

that night

next week

the following week

here

there

Examples 

(i) Direct : John said, “David will do this work”.
Indirect : John said that David would do that work. 

(ii) Direct : He said, “These are my pens.”
Indirect : He said that those were his pens.

(iii) Direct : The teacher said, “Naveen, do this work now.”
 Indirect : The teacher told Naveen to do that work then.

(iv) Direct : He said, “I met her two days ago.”
Indirect : He said that he had met her two days before. 

(v) Direct : Sahib said, “My uncle will arrive here today.”
Indirect : Sahib said that his uncle would arrive there that day. 

(vi) Direct : Priya said, “My teacher did not come yesterday.”
Indirect : Priya said that her teacher had not come the previous day.

Indirect Speech: Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives 

In indirect speech, the way we use pronouns and possessive adjectives changes depending on who is speaking and who is being talked about. Let’s break it down:

1. First Person Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives 

When the pronouns and possessive adjectives of the first person (I, We) are used, they change to reflect the subject of the reporting verb.

Examples:
(i) Direct : I said, “I am going to my native place.”
Indirect : I said that I was going to my native place. 

(ii) Direct : You said, “I do my homework”
Indirect : You said that you did your homework. 

(iii) Direct : He/ She said, “I am solving my problems.”
Indirect : He/ She said that he/ she was solving his/ her problems. 

(iv) Direct : I said, “I am going to my cousin’s home.”
Indirect : I said that I was going to my cousin’s home.

2. Second Person Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives 

When the pronouns and possessive adjectives of the second person (You) are used, they change to correspond with the object of the reporting verb.

Examples:
 (i) Direct : He said to me, “Your brother obeys to you.”
Indirect : He told me that my brother obeyed to me. 

(ii) Direct : He said to me, “Your sister respects you.”
Indirect : He told me that my sister respected me.

(iii) Direct : Roshan said to me, “You are honest.”
Indirect : Roshan said to me that I was honest.

3. Third Person Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives 

When the pronouns and possessive adjectives of the third person (He, She, It, They, etc.) are used, they remain unchanged.

Examples: 
(i) Direct : Ajit said to me, “They are good children.”
Indirect : Ajit tol d me that they were good children. 

(ii) Direct : I said, “She is washing her clothes.”
Indirect : I said that she was washing her clothes.

(iii) Direct : Kamal said to me, “Rohan works hard.”
Indirect : Kamal told me that Rohan worked hard.

Note: If the reporting verb ‘said’ is followed by an object it is changed into ‘told’. The verb told is not followed by the preposition to.

Assertive Sentence

 1.  If the reporting verb is in the  present  or  future  tense, the tense of the verbs in the reported speech remains the same.

Examples:
(i) Direct : He says, “I am playing.”
Indirect : He says that he is playing.

(ii) Direct : Ahmed will say, “I go to the market.”
Indirect : Ahmed will say that he goes to the market.

(iii) Direct : The boy has said, “Coffee is ready.”
Indirect : The boy has said that coffee is ready. 

(iv) Direct : Mother says, “I am washing clothes.”
Indirect : Mother says that she is washing clothes.

 2.  If the reporting verb is in the  past  tense, the tenses in the reported speech will change accordingly. Consider the following:Present Indefinite (do/ does)Changes intoPast Indefinite (did)Present Continuous (is/ are/ am)Changes intoPast Continuous (was/ were)Present Perfect (has/ have)Changes intoPast Perfect (had)Past Indefinite (did)Changes intoPast Perfect (had done)Past Perfect (had done)Changes intoPast Perfect (no change) (had done)Past ContinuousChanges intoPast Perfect ContinuousshallChanges intoshouldwillChanges intowouldmayChanges intomightcanChanges intocould

Examples: 

(i) Direct : Father said, “I go to the office.”
Indirect : Father said that he went to the office. 

(ii) Direct : He said, “Amit does his work.”
Indirect : He said that Amit did his work.

(iii) Direct : The gardener said, “I am watering plants.”
Indirect : The gardener said that he was watering plants. 

(iv) Direct : The boy said, “My mother is going to the market.”
Indirect : The boy said that his mother was going to the market. 

(v) Direct : Hari said, “I have lost my pen.”
Indirect : Hari said that he had lost his pen. 

(vi) Direct : The teacher said, “The Principal delivered a speech”.
Indirect : The teacher said that the Principal had delivered a speech. 

(vii) Direct : Joya said,“My friend had broken the window.”
Indirect : Joya said that her friend had broken the window.

(viii) Direct : Ruchi said, “My father was driving a car.”
Indirect : Ruchi said that her father had been driving a car. 

(ix) Direct : Divesh said, “Shobhit can lift this box.”
Indirect : Divesh said that Shobhit could lift that box. 

(x) Direct : He said, “I would help my friend.”
Indirect : He said that he would have helped his friend.

3. If the reported speech expresses a universal truth, a habitual action, a historical fact, a geographical fact or a scientific fact, its tense is not changed. These are exceptions to the above rule.

Examples:
 (i) Direct : Father said, “The earth revolves round the sun.”
Indirect : Father said that the earth revolves round the sun. 

(ii) Direct : The teacher said, “The sun rises in the east.”
Indirect : The teacher said that the sun rises in the east. 

(iii) Direct : Grandfather said, “I go for a morning walk daily.”
Indirect : Grandfather said that he goes for a morning walk daily. 

(iv) Direct : He said, “Honesty is the best policy.”
Indirect : He said that honesty is the best policy.

Direct Speech and Indirect Speech

There are two ways of reproducing the words of a speaker:

• You can reproduce the actual words of the speaker, or 
• You can give only the substance or gist of his speech in your own words; e.g.,
  • Rohan said, “My father is watching a movie”.
  • Rohan said that his father was watching a movie.

In the first sentence, we give the exact words of the speaker. This is called Direct speech.
In the second sentence, we do not reproduce the exact words of the speaker. Instead, we give the gist of what he said. This is called Indirect speech.

Understanding Direct Speech and Indirect Speech

The actual words of the speaker which are put within inverted commas are called Reported Speech. The verb that introduces the reported speech is called Reporting Verb. 
 Let’s understand this through an example:

Important Points about Direct Speech

• In  direct speech  , the quoted speech is always placed within inverted commas.
• The first word of the reported speech should begin with a  capital letter  .
• A comma is placed after the  reporting verb  to separate it from the rest of the sentence.

Important Points about Indirect Speech

• In  indirect speech  , no inverted commas are used.
• There is no comma placed after  “said”  .
• The reported speech is usually introduced by the conjunction  “that”  .
• The tense of the verb in the reported speech changes from present to past.
• Personal pronouns, possessive adjectives, and words indicating nearness of time and position also change. For example: “Setu said, ‘I will go to meet my friend tomorrow.'” becomes “Setu said that he would go to meet his friend the next day.”

Q. Scholar’s Public School, Chandigarh is organising an Inter-Section Music Competition for class VIII. As the Cultural Secretary of your school, draft a notice in about 50 words for the school notice board giving all necessary details.

Ans. 

SCHOLAR’S PUBLIC SCHOOL, CHANDIGARH

15th June, 20XX

NOTICE
 Inter-section Music Competition

Our school is going to organise an Inter-Section Music Competition for class-VIII on 20th June, 20XX at school auditorium.
Interested students may please give their names to the undersigned.

Saurabh Gupta
(Cultural Secretary)

Q4. As President of Student Council, Kamal Public School, Lucknow, write a notice using not more than 50 words requesting students to donate old clothes, books and bags for orphanages.

Ans.

KAMAL PUBLIC SCHOOL, LUCKNOW

22nd March, 20XX

NOTICE
 Donate Things For Orphanages

All students of Kamal Public School are requested to donate old clothes, books and bags for orphanages. Your donation will enable some others to lead a happier life. The students who want to donate kindly contact the undersigned.

Rishabh Aggarwal
(President, Student Council)

Q3. You are Varun Sood, a student of Class VIII A, Pearl Public School, New Delhi. You have lost an expensive watch in the school premises. Draft a notice to be put up on the school notice board giving details of the watch and offering a suitable reward. Use not more than 50 words.

Ans.

PEARL PUBLIC SCHOOL, NEW DELHI

8th January, 20XX

NOTICE
 Lost My watch

This is to inform all students and staff that a  Timex watch  with a  golden chain  was lost on  7 January. Anyone who has found the watch, kindly contact the undersigned. A suitable reward will be given to him/her.

Varun Sood
Roll No. 5
Class-VIIIA

Q2. There is going to be organised an Inter-Section Debate Competition for all the students of class VIII on the topic “Tobacco Companies should not Sponsor Sports Events.” As the Cultural Secretary, Aryan Public School, Delhi, draft a notice providing all relevant details, in not more than 50 words.

Ans. 

ARYAN PUBLIC SCHOOL, DELHI

10th February, 20XX

NOTICE
 Inter-Section Debate Competition

Our school is going to organise an inter-section debate competition on the topic “Tobacco Companies should not Sponsor Sports Events” for the students of class VIII on 25th February, 20XX. Students interested in participating must register their names with the undersigned.

Rakesh Bhargav
(Cultural Secretary)

Q. You are Arti Singhal, the Principal of Mother Teresa Senior Secondary School, Delhi. Your school is going to organise ‘Poster Making and Slogan Writing Competition’. Write a notice for the school notice board inviting the students to give their names for the competition.

Ans.

Q. You are Rohan Mehta, the Sports Captain of Green Valley School, Mumbai. Your school is organizing a Chess Tournament. Write a notice inviting students to participate.

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Q. You are Priya Sharma, the Cultural Secretary of Sunshine Public School, Jaipur. Your school is organizing a Debate Competition. Write a notice inviting students to register.

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Q. You are Anita Rao, the Principal of St. Mary’s School, Jaipur. The school is organizing a Parent-Teacher Meeting. Write a notice inviting parents.

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Q. You are Karan Singh, the Head Boy of Rainbow Public School, Delhi. The school is organizing a Computer Skills Workshop for students. Write a notice inviting participation.

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Q. You are Priya Mehta, the Cultural Secretary of Sunshine Public School, Mumbai. The school is organizing an Anti-Plastic Awareness Campaign. Write a notice inviting students to participate.

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