Narration Rules, Examples, Questions

What is Narration ?

Answer: The recounting of an event or series of events; the act of telling a story.

We will study about the Narration Rules which are very helpful in exams. Candidates can take Narration Mock Test

There two ways to convey a message of a person, or the words spoken by a person to other person.

1. Direct speech: Direct or quoted speech is a sentence (or several sentences) that reports speech or thought in its original form, as phrased by the original speaker. It is usually enclosed in quotation marks. The cited speaker is either mentioned in the inquit (Latin "he/she says") or implied.

Example: Mini said, “I will give you a pen”.

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2. indirect speech: indirect speech, also called reported speech or indirect discourse, is a means of expressing the content of statements, questions or other utterances, without quoting them explicitly as is done in direct speech. For example, He said "I'm coming" is direct speech, whereas He said he was coming is indirect speech. Indirect speech should not be confused with indirect speech acts.

Example: Mini said that he would give me a pen.
Reporting verb: The verb first part of sentence (i.e. he said, she said, he says, they said, she says,) before the statement of a person in sentence is called reporting verb.

Examples. In all of the following example the reporting verb is “said”

• He said, “I work in a factory” (Direct speech)
• He said that he worked in a factory. (Indirect speech)
• They said, “we are going to cinema” (Direct speech)
• They said that they were going to cinema. (Indirect speech)

Reported Speech: The second part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person (which is enclosed in quotation marks in direct speech) is called reported speech. For example, a sentence of indirect speech is, He said that he worked in a factory. In this sentence the second part “he worked in a factory” is called reported speech and that is why the indirect speech as a whole can also be called reported speech.

Rules for indirect speech

• Reported speech is not enclosed in quotation marks.
• Use of word “that”: The word “that” is used as a conjunction between the reporting verb and reported speech.
• Change in pronoun: The pronoun (subject) of the reported speech is changed according to the pronoun of reporting verb or object (person) of reporting verb (first part of sentence). Sometimes the pronoun may not change.[/su_list]

In following example the pronoun of reported speech is “I” which will be changed in indirect speech into the pronoun (Subject) of reporting verb that is “he”.

Example.
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy.
Direct speech: I said to him, “you are intelligent”
Indirect Speech: I said him that he was intelligent. (“You” changed to “he” the person of object of reporting verb)

Change in the Tense of Reported Speech: If the first part of sentence (reporting verb part) belongs to past tense the tense of reported speech will change. If the first part of sentence (reporting verb part) belongs to present or future tense, the tense of reported speech will not change.

Examples :
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy. (Tense of reported speech changed)
Direct speech: He says, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he is happy. (Tense of reported speech didn’t change)

Change in Tense of Reported Speech for all TENSES:

Present Simple Change In To Past Simple

Direct speech

PRESENT SIMPLE
He said, “I write a book”
He said, “she goes to school daily”
They said, “we love our country”
He said, “he does not like computer”

Indirect speech
PAST SIMPLE
He said that he wrote a book.
she said that he went to school daily.
They said that they loved their country.
He said that he did not like computer.

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Present Continuous Change In To Past Continuous

Direct speech
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
He said, “he is listening to the music”
She said, “I am washing my clothes”
They said, “we are enjoying the weather”
She said, “I am not laughing”

Indirect speech
PAST CONTINUOUS
He said that he was listening to the music.
She said that she was washing her clothes.
They said that they were not enjoying the weather.
She said that she was not laughing.

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Present Perfect Change In To Past Perfect

Direct speech
PRESENT PERFECT
He said, “I have started a job”
I said, “she have eaten the meal”
They said, “we have not gone to New York.

Indirect speech

PAST PERFECT
I said that she had eaten the meal.
I said that she had eaten the meal.
They said that they had not gone to New York.

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Present Perfect Continuous Change In To Past Perfect Continuous

Direct speech
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
He said, “I have been studying since 3 O’clock”
She said, “It has been raining for three days”
I said “She has been working in this office since 2005”

Indirect speech
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
He said that he had been studying since 3 O’clock.
She said that it been raining for three days.
I said that she had been working in this office since 2005.

PAST TENSE

Past Simple Change in To Past Perfect

Direct speech
PAST SIMPLE
John said, “they went to cinema”
He said, “I made a table”
She said, “I didn’t buy a car”

Indirect speech
PAST PERFECT
John said that they had gone to cinema.
He said that he had made a table.
She said that she had not bought a car.

Past Continuous Change in To Past Perfect Continuous

Direct speech
PAST CONTINUOUS
He said to me, “ I was waiting for you”
I said, “It was raining”
She said, “I was not laughing”

Indirect speech
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
He said to me that he had been waiting for me.
I said that it had been raining.
She said that she not been laughing.

NOTE : Past perfect tense cannot change into past perfect.

FUTURE TENSE

Future simple tense, will changes into would

Direct speech
WILL
She said, “I will buy a computer”
They said to me, “we will send you gifts”
I said, “I will not take the exam”

Indirect speech
WOULD
She said that she would buy a computer.
They said to me that they would send you gifts.
I said that I would not take the exam.

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Future continuous tense, will be changes into would be

Direct speech
WILL BE
She said,” I will be shifting to new home”
She said,” I will be shifting to new home”
He said, “I will be working hard”
He said, “he will not be flying kite”

Indirect speech
WOULD BE
She said that she would be shifting to a new home.
He said that he would be working hard.
She said that he would not be flying kites.

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Future Perfect Tense Will Have Change In To Would Have

Direct speech
WILL HAVE
He said, “I will have finished the work”
She said, “they will have passed the examination”
He said, “I will have gone”

Indirect speech
He said that he would have finished the work
She said that they would have passed the examination.
He said that he would have gone

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