Change of Narration
Direct and Indirect Speech:
There are two ways of reporting the words spoken by a person:
(i)We may quote the actual words of the speaker. This is called Direct Speech. The words of the speaker are enclosed within inverted commas. For example, Rain said to me, -I am going to Delhi.”
(ii) We may convey the meaning or sense of the speaker without using his actual words. This is called Indirect Speech or Reported Speech. For example:
Ram told me that he was going to Delhi.
The Reporting Verb and the Reported Speech:
The part outside the inverted commas has three elements i.e. the verb introducing the speech is the Reporting Verb. It has a subject and an object as, e.g. Ram (subject) said (Reporting verb) to me (object). The words of the speech which are placed within the inverted commas are called “the reported speech”. Thus in the above sentence, “I am going to Delhi” is the reported speech.
