Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises for Class 7 CBSE With Answers

When we use the exact words of the speaker, it is called direct speech. Indirect or Reported Speech refers to a sentence reporting what someone has said.

Basic English Grammar rules can be tricky. In this article, we’ll get you started with the basics of sentence structure, punctuation, parts of speech, and more.

Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises for Class 7 CBSE With Answers PDF

When the exact words of the speaker are quoted, it is called direct speech. When the meaning of the words is reported without using the exact words, it is called indirect speech.

Example:

• Cam said, “The monster is coming.” (direct speech)
• Cam said that the monster was coming. (indirect speech)

Changing Tenses

When the reporting verb is in the past tense, we change tense as given below. The tense does not change in case of past perfect or past perfect continuous.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
1. I said to her, “When do you do your homework?”	1. I asked her when she did her homework.
2. We said to him, “Are you ill?”	2. We asked him if he was ill.
3. You said to me, “Have you read the article?”	3. You asked me if I had read the article.
4. He said to her, “Will you go to the Peshawar Radio Station?”	4. He asked her if she would go to the Peshawar Radio Station.
5. She says, “Who is he?”	5. She says who he was.
6. Rashid says to me, “Why have you got late?”	6. Rashid says to me why I had got late.

Exceptions
1. When the reporting verb is in the present tense or future time, the tenses in the reported verb remain unchanged.
Example:

• Alam says, “I am feeling better.”
• Alam says that he is feeling better.

2. When reporting a universal truth or a moral principle or a natural fact, we may or may not change the present tense in the reported speech.
Example:

• Deepti said, “The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world.”
• Deepti said that the Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world.

Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises Solved Example With Answers for Class 7 CBSE

A. Complete the following reported speeches by filling in the blanks.

Question 1.
Mary said, “Dipanwita is learning to play the piano.”
Mary said that Dipanwita …………………………… (is learning/was learning) to play the piano.
Answer:
Mary said that Dipanwita was learning to play the piano.

Question 2.
Kaustav said, “The next World Cup will take place in Russia.”
Kaustav said …………………………… (that/which) the next World Cup …………………………… (will/would) take place in Russia.
Answer:
Kaustav said that the next World Cup would take place in Russia.

Question 3.
Ms Paul said, “We should reduce our usage of oil and petrol.”
Ms Paul said that we …………………………… (should reduce/had reduced) our usage of oil and petrol.
Answer:
Ms Paul said that we should reduce our usage of oil and petrol.

Question 4.
The volunteer said, “The relief work in the flood-affected areas is going well.”
The volunteer said that the relief work in the flood-affected areas …………………………… (had gone/was going) well.
Answer:
The volunteer said that the relief work in the flood-affected areas was going well.

Question 5.
The newspapers report read, “There has been too much rain this year.”
The newspapers …………………………… (report/reported) that there …………………………… (has been had been) too much rain this year.
Answer:
The newspapers reported that there had been too much rain this year.

Changing Pronouns And Possessive Adjectives

Rules	Direct speech	Reported speech
First-person pronouns are changed according to the subject and the reporting verb.	Sonali says, “I have got my bags packed.”	Sonali says that she has got her bags packed.
Second person pronouns and corresponding possessive adjectives remain the same if the reporting is done to the same person(s).	I said (to you), “Your speech was very well- received.”	I told you that your speech had been very well- received.
Second person pronouns and the corresponding possessive adjectives change to first-person if the person being addressed in the reported speech is in first person too.	Shambhavi said to me, “You should enroll in a dance class.”	Shambhavi said to me ^ that I should enrojl in a dance class.
Third-person pronouns and the corresponding possessive adjectives do not change while reporting.	Pete said, “Maria is playing her best these days.”	Pete said that Maria was playing her best those days.

 Changing Time And Place Words

Place, demonstrations, and time expressions:-Place, demonstrations, and time expressions change if the context of the reported statement (i.e. the location and/ or the period of time) is different from that of the direct speech.

In the following table, you will find the different changes of place, demonstrations, and time expressions.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Time Expressions
today	That day
Now	Then
yesterday …	The day before
days ago last	…days before
week	The week before

Next year	The following year
tomorrow	The next day/the following day
Place
here	There
Demonstrative
This	That
these	those

B. Change these sentences to reported speech.

Question 1.
Sharif said, “The books are here on this table.”
Answer:
Sharif said that the books were there on that table.

Question 2.
Neelam said, “I am at the station now.”
Answer:
Neelam said that she was at the station then.

Question 3.
Pragya said, “I bought these pens from the shop there.”
Answer:
Pragya said that she had bought those pens from the shop there.

Question 4.
Her friends said, “We are going to the concert tonight.”
Answer:
Her friends said that they were going to the concert that night.

Question 5.
I said, “Satya completed his graduation last year. This year, he will travel.
Answer:
I said that Satya had completed his graduation the previous year. That year, he would travel.

Reporting Questions

Rules	Direct speech	Indirect speech
When reporting questions, the subject comes before the verb.	Ratna asked, “Where are they going?”	Ratna asked where they were going.
The auxiliary verb do is only used in negative questions.	Mrs Singh said, “Who does not want to go to the picnic?”	Mrs Singh asked us who did not want to go to the picnic.
Yes/No questions are reported using if or whether.	Nina asked me if I wanted her to pick me up.	Nina said, ‘Do you want me to pick you up?’
	Nidhi asked Adil, “Have you fed the dog?”	Nidhi asked Adil whether he had fed the dog.
When reporting questions with who, what or which + be + object, the verb be may be placed before or after the object.	Who is the author of this book?	I asked who the author of the book was. OR I asked who was the author of the book.

 C. Kyle, a student from the Philippines, has enrolled in Shivani’s class. Shivani asks him the following questions. Report these questions.

Question 1.
When did you and your parents move to India?
Answer:
Shivani asked Kyle when did he and his parents move to India.

Question 2.
How long will you stay?
Answer:
She asked him how long would he stay.

Question 3.
Are you enjoying your stay here?
Answer:
She also asked him if he was enjoying his stay there.

Question 4.
Have you faced any difficulties while adjusting at school?
Answer:
Then, she asked him is he had faced any difficulties while adjusting at school.

Question 5.
Do you miss your friends from the Philippines?
Answer:
At the end, whe asked him if he missed his friends from Philippines.

Reporting Requests And Commands

While reporting requests or commands, instructions or pieces of advice, we use the reporting verb which matches the meaning of the direct sentence, and the verb in the original direct speech is changed to its infinitive form.
Example:

• Farzana asked, “Could you look after my dog when I am away?”
• Farzana requested me to look after her dog while she was away.

Reporting Wishes Or Exclamations

Those sentences, which express our feelings and emotions, are called exclamatory sentences. Mark of exclamation is used at the end of an exclamatory sentence.

For Examples:

• Hurray! We have won the match.
• Alas! He failed in the test.
• How beautiful that dog is!
• What a marvelous personality you are!

To change exclamatory sentences into Indirect Speech, follow the rules given below along with the above–mentioned rules: In case, there is an interjection i.e., alas, aha, hurray, aha, etc in the Reported Speech, then they are omitted along with a sign of exclamation. Reporting verb i.e. said is always replaced with exclaimed with joy, exclaimed with sorrow, exclaimed joyfully, exclaimed sorrowfully, or exclaimed with great wonder or sorrow.

D. Rewrite the following sentences in reported speech.

Question 1.
Lalita said, “Wow! I have won the first prize!”
Lalita exclaimed ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
Lalita exclaimed that he had won the first prize.

Question 2.
Hansa said to Kavya, “Happy journey!”
Hansa wished Kavya. ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
Hansa wished Kavya a happy journey.

Question 3.
Dina said to me, “I solved the puzzle!”
Dina exclaimed that ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
Dina ‘exclaimed that she had solved the puzzle.

Question 4.
My father (to me): May you have a successful career!
My father wished me ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
My father wished me a successful career.

Question 5.
Child (to Mummy): Good night!
The child wished his mother ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
The child wished his mother a good night.

Question 6.
Lalit said to Hansita, “Wish you a speedy recovery from illness!”
Lalit wished Hansita ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
Lalit wished Hansita a speedy recovery from illness.

Question 7.
Ms. Quader said to the class, “Good luck for your exams!”
Ms. Quader wished the class ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
Ms. Quader wished the class good luck for their exams.

E. Change the following from indirect speech to direct speech.

Question 1.
The gardener warned us to look out as there was a snake in the garden.
The gardener said ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
The gardener said, “Lookout! There is a snake in the garden.”

Question 2.
My mother wished me a happy birthday.
My mother said to me ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
My mother said to me, “Happy birthday.”

Question 3.
Kala exclaimed that she was very sorry for her mistake.
Kala said to me ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
Kala said to me, “I am sorry for my mistake.”

Question 4.
Sugata cried out in pain that a thorn had pricked him.
Sugata said ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
Sugata said, “A thorn has pricked me!”

Question 5.
Jatin wished me a lovely day.
Jatin said to me ………………………………………………………………………………
Answer:
Jatin said to me, “Have a lovely day.”

Converting Statements From Indirect Into Direct Speech

While changing indirect speech into direct speech, we use the reporting verb say or said. We make necessary changes to the tenses, personal pronouns and adjectives, and time and place words. We add inverted commas to the words spoken by the speaker.
Examples:

• Meha said that she was in the library.
• Meha said, “I am in the library.”
• Amit told Rohan that the trip had been canceled.
• Amit said to Rohan, “The trip has/was/had been canceled.”

F. Fill in the missing words in the direct speech.

Question 1.
Harry asked me if I had read that book.
Harry ……………………………….. me, “Have you read this book?”.
Answer:
Harry asked me, “Have you read this book?”

Question 2.
Soumya asked Tripti if she liked eggs.
Soumya asked Tripti, “Do. ……………………………….. like eggs?”
Answer:
Soumya asked Tripti, “Do you like eggs?”

Question 3.
Kinu asked Thimpu who would teach him English.
Kinu asked Thimpu, “Who will teach ……………………………….. English?”
Answer:
Kinu asked Thimpu, “Who will teach me English?”!

Question 4.
Charu asked why the laptop was not working.
Charu asked, “Why ……………………………….. the laptop not working?”
Answer:
Charu asked, “Why is the laptop not working?”

Question 5.
Sam asked who had let the dogs out.
Sam asked, ……………………………….. the dogs out?”
Answer:
Sam asked, “Who let the dogs out?”