Question

Change any one of the following into indirect speech :
i) The girl said to her mother, "My plate is empty".
ii) He says, "I am going to Delhi."

Hint:

The most important step in converting to indirect speech is to check the tense of the reporting verb (e.g., `said`, `says`, `will say`). If it's in the past tense, you must "backshift" the tense of the reported speech. If it's in the present or future, the tense does not change.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The task is to convert a sentence from direct speech (the exact words spoken) to indirect speech (reported speech). This involves changing the reporting verb, pronouns, and the tense of the verb within the quotation marks.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's apply the rules for converting to indirect speech:

Reporting Verb: The reporting verb 'said to' changes to 'told'.

Conjunction: The quotation marks are removed and the conjunction 'that' is added.

Pronoun Change: The first-person pronoun 'My' refers to the speaker ('the girl'), so it changes to the third-person pronoun 'her'.

Tense Change: Since the reporting verb 'said' is in the past tense, the verb inside the quotation marks must also be changed to its corresponding past tense. 'is' (simple present) becomes 'was' (simple past).

Applying these changes, the sentence becomes: The girl told her mother that her plate was empty.
% Solution for part ii) Solution (for ii):
Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This is another conversion to indirect speech. However, a special rule applies when the reporting verb is in the present tense.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's apply the rules:

Reporting Verb: The reporting verb 'says' remains 'says'.

Conjunction: The conjunction 'that' is added.

Pronoun Change: The pronoun 'I' refers to the speaker ('He'), so it changes to 'he'.

Tense Change: A crucial rule is that if the reporting verb is in the present tense (like 'says') or future tense, the tense of the verb in the direct speech does not change. Therefore, 'am going' (present continuous) changes to 'is going' to agree with the new subject 'he', but it remains in the present continuous tense.

Applying these changes, the sentence becomes: He says that he is going to Delhi.