जब हम किसी के exact words repeat करते हैं, उसे Direct Speech कहते हैं।
जब हम वही बात अपने words में report करते हैं, उसे Indirect Speech या Reported Speech कहते हैं।
1. Direct Speech
Structure:
Subject + reporting verb + “exact words”
She said, “I am tired.”
He said, “I will call you.”
यहाँ quotation marks (“ ”) use होते हैं।
2. Indirect Speech (Reported Speech)
Structure:
Subject + reporting verb + that + clause
She said that she was tired.
He said that he would call me.
यहाँ quotation marks हट जाते हैं।
Sentence structure change होता है।
3. Tense Change Rule (Backshift)
अगर reporting verb past में है (said, told), तो tense पीछे shift होता है।
Present Simple → Past Simple
“I work hard.”
He said that he worked hard.
Present Continuous → Past Continuous
“I am studying.”
She said that she was studying.
Present Perfect → Past Perfect
“I have finished.”
He said that he had finished.
Will → Would
“I will help.”
She said that she would help.
यह rule हमेशा mechanical नहीं है, लेकिन generally follow होता है।
4. जब Tense Change नहीं होता
अगर statement universal truth हो:
The teacher said, “The sun rises in the east.”
The teacher said that the sun rises in the east.
Truth change नहीं होता, इसलिए tense same रहता है।
5. Pronoun Change
Pronoun context के हिसाब से बदलता है।
He said, “I am ready.”
He said that he was ready.
“I” → “he”
क्योंकि अब speaker change हो गया।
6. Time Expression Change
Now → then
Today → that day
Tomorrow → the next day
Yesterday → the previous day
Example:
She said, “I will come tomorrow.”
She said that she would come the next day.
7. Said vs Told
Said → object जरूरी नहीं
He said that he was busy.
Told → object जरूरी है
He told me that he was busy.
Wrong:
He told that he was busy ❌
8. Questions in Reported Speech
Direct:
She said, “Where are you going?”
Indirect:
She asked where I was going.
Rules:
- Question word same रहता है (where, why, how)
- Word order statement जैसा हो जाता है
- Question mark हट जाता है
Wrong:
She asked where was I going ❌
Correct:
She asked where I was going ✔
Yes/No Questions:
He said, “Are you ready?”
Indirect:
He asked if I was ready.
“if” या “whether” use होता है।
9. Commands and Requests
Direct:
He said, “Close the door.”
Indirect:
He told me to close the door.
Structure:
told + object + to + base verb
Negative command:
He said, “Don’t run.”
He told me not to run.
Deep Understanding
Reported speech grammar trick नहीं है।
यह perspective change है।
जब आप किसी के exact words repeat करते हैं, तो आप recorder हैं।
जब आप indirect speech use करते हैं, तो आप narrator हैं।
Tense shift इसलिए होता है क्योंकि time reference बदल जाता है।
Pronoun shift इसलिए होता है क्योंकि speaker बदल जाता है।
Language यहाँ time, perspective और context adjust करती है।
यही mature communication है — सिर्फ बोलना नहीं, सही तरीके से report करना।
अगला logical topic होगा: Articles (a, an, the) — क्योंकि Hindi speakers के लिए यही सबसे बड़ा hidden obstacle है। वहीं clarity आती है या confusion।