Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct and Indirect Speech (প্রত্যক্ষ ও পরোক্ষ উক্তি)

Direct Speech

বক্তার exact words quotation marks-এর মধ্যে দেওয়া হয়।

• Rina said, “I am tired.”

Reporting clause: Rina said

Reported speech: “I am tired.”

Indirect/Reported Speech

Exact wording না রেখে বক্তব্যের অর্থ report করা হয়। Quotation marks থাকে না।

• Rina said that she was tired.

Transformation-এ reporting verb, sentence type, tense, pronoun, time/place reference এবং word order বিবেচনা করতে হয়।

General Changes

1. Quotation marks ও comma বাদ যায়।
2. Sentence type অনুযায়ী connector বা infinitive structure আসে।
3. Pronoun reference বদলাতে পারে।
4. Past reporting verb হলে tense backshift হতে পারে।
5. Time/place words নতুন viewpoint অনুযায়ী বদলাতে পারে।

Pronoun Change

Mechanical person rule-এর বদলে speaker, listener এবং referred person চিহ্নিত করুন।

• Rina said, “I am ready.”
• Rina said that she was ready.

• Rina said to Mina, “You are late.”
• Rina told Mina that she was late.

• I said, “My brother will help me.”
• I said that my brother would help me.

Pronoun meaning অনুযায়ী বদলায়; সব first person একইভাবে পরিবর্তিত হয় না।

Tense Backshift

Reporting verb past হলে সাধারণ pattern:

Examples:

• He said, “I work hard.”
• He said that he worked hard.

• She said, “I am reading.”
• She said that she was reading.

• He said, “I have finished.”
• He said that he had finished.

• She said, “I went home.”
• She said that she had gone home.

Forms Usually Unchanged

Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous এবং modal forms would, could, should, might, ought to, must অনেক context-এ অপরিবর্তিত থাকে।

• He said, “I had finished.”
• He said that he had finished.

Must obligation context অনুযায়ী had to হতে পারে; deduction-এ must থাকতে পারে।

• He said, “I must leave now.”
• He said that he had to leave then.

• She said, “He must be tired.”
• She said that he must be tired.

কখন Backshift হয় না

Reporting verb present/future

• She says, “I am tired.”
• She says that she is tired.

Universal truth/scientific fact

• The teacher said, “The earth moves around the sun.”
• The teacher said that the earth moves around the sun.

Situation still true

Modern usage-এ information এখনও সত্য হলে backshift optional হতে পারে।

• Rina said that she lives/lived in Kolkata.

Exam context-এ intended time reference দেখে নির্বাচন করুন।

Time and Place Changes

Viewpoint বদলালে সাধারণ পরিবর্তন:

Actual context একই থাকলে সব word mechanicalভাবে বদলানো জরুরি নয়।

Assertive Statements

Reporting verb: said; person-object থাকলে told + object। Connector সাধারণত that।

• He said, “I am busy.”
• He said that he was busy.

• He said to me, “You are right.”
• He told me that I was right.

Say সরাসরি object নেয় না:

• Incorrect: He said me that…
• Correct: He told me that…
• Correct: He said to me that…

Yes/No Questions

Reporting verb: asked, enquired, wanted to know। Connector: if/whether। Indirect clause statement order অনুসরণ করে; question mark ও do-support থাকে না।

• He said to me, “Are you ready?”
• He asked me if I was ready.

• She said, “Did he call?”
• She asked whether he had called.

• Incorrect: She asked if was I ready.
• Correct: She asked if I was ready.

WH-questions

WH-word connector হিসেবে থাকে; word order statement-এর মতো।

• He said, “Where do you live?”
• He asked me where I lived.

• She said, “Why were you absent?”
• She asked why I had been absent.

WH-question-এ that বা if যোগ হয় না।

Commands and Orders

Reporting verb: ordered, commanded, told, instructed। Structure: object + to-infinitive।

• The teacher said to the boy, “Sit down.”
• The teacher told the boy to sit down.

• The officer said, “Leave the room.”
• The officer ordered them to leave the room.

Negative Commands

Object + not to + V1।

• The teacher said, “Do not make noise.”
• The teacher told the students not to make noise.

• Mother said to me, “Never tell a lie.”
• Mother advised me never to tell a lie.

Requests

Reporting verb: requested, asked, begged—tone অনুযায়ী।

• She said to me, “Please help me.”
• She requested me to help her.
• She asked me to help her.

Please indirect speech-এ সাধারণত আলাদা করে থাকে না; request verb অর্থ বহন করে।

Advice

Reporting verb: advised, urged, recommended।

• The doctor said to me, “Take rest.”
• The doctor advised me to take rest.

Suggest-এর পরে object + to-infinitive নয়:

• He said, “Let us take a taxi.”
• He suggested taking a taxi.
• He suggested that we should take a taxi.

Prohibition and Warning

• The guard said, “Do not enter.”
• The guard warned us not to enter.

• Father said, “Do not touch the wire.”
• Father warned the child not to touch the wire.

Exclamatory Sentences

Reporting verb emotion অনুযায়ী: exclaimed with joy/sorrow/surprise, wished, prayed, regretted। Sentence assertive form নেয়।

• They said, “Hurrah! We have won.”
• They exclaimed with joy that they had won.

• She said, “Alas! I have failed.”
• She exclaimed with sorrow that she had failed.

• He said, “What a beautiful view!”
• He exclaimed that it was a very beautiful view.

• She said, “How clever you are!”
• She exclaimed that I was very clever.

Wishes and Prayers

• He said to me, “May you succeed!”
• He wished that I might succeed.
• He wished me success.

• The priest said, “May God bless you!”
• The priest prayed that God might bless me.

Greetings and Farewells

• He said to me, “Good morning.”
• He wished me good morning.

• She said, “Goodbye, friends.”
• She bade her friends goodbye.

Thanking and Apologising

• He said to me, “Thank you.”
• He thanked me.

• She said, “I am sorry.”
• She apologised.
• She apologised to me for the mistake.

Congratulations

• He said, “Congratulations on your success!”
• He congratulated me on my success.

Offers and Promises

• He said, “I will help you.”
• He promised to help me.

• She said, “Shall I carry the bag?”
• She offered to carry the bag.

Suggestions with Shall We / Let Us

• He said, “Shall we begin?”
• He suggested that they should begin.

• She said, “Let us go for a walk.”
• She suggested going for a walk.

কিন্তু Let me… permission/request হতে পারে:

• He said, “Let me speak.”
• He requested them to let him speak.

Questions Beginning with Shall I/We

Context অনুযায়ী offer, suggestion বা request।

• “Shall I open the window?”
• He offered to open the window.

• “Shall we start?”
• He suggested that they should start.

Must, Need and Have To

• She said, “You must obey the rules.”
• She said that I must/had to obey the rules.

• He said, “You need not wait.”
• He said that I need not wait.

Meaning ও time reference দেখে form নির্বাচন করুন।

Conditional Sentences

Unreal condition সাধারণত অপরিবর্তিত থাকে।

• He said, “If I had money, I would travel.”
• He said that if he had money, he would travel.

• She said, “If I had studied, I would have passed.”
• She said that if she had studied, she would have passed.

Reporting Verb in Passive

• People say, “She is honest.”
• It is said that she is honest.
• She is said to be honest.

এটি ordinary narration এবং reporting passive-এর সংযোগ।

Punctuation in Direct Speech

• Rina said, “I am ready.”
• “I am ready,” Rina said.
• Rina asked, “Are you ready?”

Quotation-এর ভেতরের punctuation sentence type অনুযায়ী। Indirect speech-এ quotation marks থাকে না।

Common Errors

• Incorrect: He said me that he was busy.

Correct: He told me that he was busy.

• Incorrect: She asked me that I was ready.

Correct: She asked me if/whether I was ready.

• Incorrect: He asked where did I live.

Correct: He asked where I lived.

• Incorrect: The teacher told that sit down.

Correct: The teacher told the boy to sit down.

• Incorrect: She suggested me to go.

Correct: She suggested going.

Correct: She suggested that I should go.

• Incorrect: He requested me that help him.

Correct: He requested me to help him.

• Incorrect: She asked me why was I late.

Correct: She asked me why I was late.

A Reliable Transformation Method

1. Reported sentence statement, question, command, request না exclamation—চিহ্নিত করুন।
2. Appropriate reporting verb নির্বাচন করুন।
3. Speaker, listener ও referred person চিহ্নিত করে pronoun বদলান।
4. Reporting verb past কি না এবং backshift প্রয়োজন কি না দেখুন।
5. Time/place viewpoint বদলেছে কি না বিচার করুন।
6. Questions-এ statement word order এবং commands-এ to-infinitive ব্যবহার করুন।
7. Final sentence-এর meaning ও reference পুনরায় পড়ুন।