Direct Indirect of Simple Present Tense

Direct and indirect speech are used to express statements, questions, or other messages made by someone. There are two ways to express these: direct speech and indirect speech. In direct speech, we quote the statement exactly as it was made. In indirect speech, we change the words slightly without quoting them directly.

Changes in tense are very important when converting between direct and indirect speech. Any mistake in tense can lead to misunderstandings. In this lesson, we will learn how to change simple present tense between direct and indirect speech. We will start with the rules of tenses and end with examples for each rule.

Table of Contents

CHANGES IN PRESENT INDEFINITE TENSE

Direct Speech	Indirect speech
She said, “She works in New York Times”.	She said that she worked in New York Times.
Jim said, “Bill loves to eat fish”.	Jim said that bill loved to eat fish.
He said, “I write a book’’.	He said that he wrote a book.
She said, “He goes to school daily”.	She said that he went to school daily.
They said, “We love our country”.	They said that they loved their country.

Usually, the present changes to the past tense when we change direct speech into indirect speech.

Examples

Direct Speech	Indirect speech
She said, “She works in New York Times”.	She said that she worked in New York Times.
Jim said, “Bill loves to eat fish”.	Jim said that bill loved to eat fish.
He said, “I write a book’’.	He said that he wrote a book.
She said, “He goes to school daily”.	She said that he went to school daily.
They said, “We love our country”.	They said that they loved their country.

If the content is still true or happening then we do not need to change the tense in the reported speech.

OR, in the case of universal truth, proverb, mathematical facts, habitual action, historic facts, and imaginary sentences we don’t change the tense in reported speech.

Let’s have examples to learn this concept:

Direct speech	Indirect speech
He said, “Sun rises in the east”.	He said that the sun rises in the east
My teacher said, “Earth revolves around the sun”.	My teacher said that Earth revolves around the Sun.
She said, “All that glitters is not gold”.	She said that all that glitters is not gold.
Ali said, “Four and four are eight”.	Ali said that four and four are eight.

If the reporting verb is given in present or future tense:

If the reporting verb is given in Present or Future tense then there will be no change in the verb or tense of the Reported speech

For example:

Direct: The teacher says, “Ali performs on the stage”
Indirect: The teacher says that Ali performs on the stage.

Different Examples of Changes in Present Indefinite Tense in Narration.

Direct: She said, “I go to school daily”.	اس نے کہا، “میں روزانہ اسکول جاتی ہوں”۔
Indirect: He said that she went to school daily.	اس نے بتایا کہ وہ روزانہ اسکول جاتی تھی۔
Direct: He said, “He likes computers “.	انہوں نے کہا، “وہ کمپیوٹر پسند کرتا ہے “.
Indirect: He said that he liked computers.	اس نے کہا کہ اسے کمپیوٹر پسند ہے۔
Direct: He said, “She listens to the music	انہوں نے کہا، “وہ موسیقی سنتی ہے “.
Indirect: He said that she listened to the music.	انہوں نے کہا کہ وہ موسیقی سنتی ہیں۔
Direct: She said, “I wash my clothes “.	اس نے کہا، “میں اپنے کپڑے دھوتی ہوں”۔
Indirect: She said that she washed her clothes.	اس نے بتایا کہ اس نے کپڑے دھوئے۔
Direct: I said, “It rains “.	میں نے کہا، “بارش ہوتی ہے”۔
Indirect: I said that it rained.	میں نے کہا کہ بارش ہوئی۔