Question

2. Change the following as directed

e) Sangrila said, “I have been planting trees in barren fields for five years.” (into indirect speech)

Answer 1

Change the speech :-

1. Sangrilla said ,' I have been planting trees in barren fields for five years "

⇒ Sargrilla said that she had been planting trees in barren fields for five years .

Some exceptional cases ;-

In following cases we do not change the tense form of reported speech even if the reporting verb is in past tense

1. Universal truth .

Example -

→ My mom said ," The Earth is round".

→ My mother said that the earth is round .

2. Habitual action

→ She said ," My dog barks at strangers."

→ She said that her dog barks at strangers.

3. Historical fact .

→ My teacher said," Samudragupta is called the Napoleon of India."

→ My teacher said that Samudragupta is called the Napoleon of India.

4. If the time clause is in past tense

→ She said ," When I was at Delhi I visited the red fort."

→ She said said that when she was at Delhi she visited/had visited visited the red fort.

Answer 2

Sangrilla said that she had been planting trees in barren fields for five years.

$\blue{Additional \: information :}$

• A conversation between two people ie between the first person and the second person is called direct speech.

• Example - Nikita said to Suhana, " I'll rock there."

• When the same dialogues are reported to a third person, it's called indirect speech.

• Example - Nikita told Suhana that she would rock there.

$\green{Rules:}$

• All the tenses of the direct speech are converted to the past tense in the indirect speech, but if the sentence is already in past tense, it turns to past perfect tense.

• Example -

1. Kshitij said to Khushali, " We watch a movie daily.

=> Kshitij told Khushali that they watched a movie daily.

• If the direct speech is a universal truth, the tense of the sentence doesn't change in the indirect speech.

• Example -

1. Zenab said, " The sun rises in the east."

=> Zenab said that the sun rises in the east.

• If the reporting verb is in the present or future tense, the tense of the verb isn't changed in the indirect speech.

• Example -

1. Jatin says , " I write a letter. "

=> Jatin says that he writes a letter.

• If the person addressed to, reports the speech, the second person in the direct speech becomes first person in the indirect speech.

• Example -

1. Alok said to me , "You're a genius."

=> Alom told me that I was a genius.