Narration

 

Important Word Changes: How Words Are Used Differently in Direct vs. Indirect Speech

Word in Direct Speech	Word in Indirect Speech	Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
This	That	He says, “I want to buy this book.”	He says that he wants to buy that book.
These	Those	He says, “I want to buy these books.”	He says that he wants to buy those books.
Here	There	She says, “Everybody was here.”	She says that everybody was there.
Now	Then	They say, “It’s ten o’clock now.”	They say that it’s ten o’clock then.
Sir	Respectfully	They said, “Sir, the time is over.”	They said respectfully that the time was over.
Madam	Respecfully	They said, "Madam, the time is over."	They said respectfully that the time was over.
Today	That Day	She said, “I am going to London today.”	She said that she was going to London that day.
Yesterday	The Previous Day	She said, “I visited Oxford University yesterday.”	She said that she had visited Oxford University the previous day.
Tomorrow	Following Day or Next Day	She said, “I am going to London tomorrow.”	She said that she was going to London the next day.
Tonight	That Night	She said, “I am going to see him tonight.”	She said that she was going to see him that night.
Good Morning, Good Evening, Good Day	Greeted	She said, “Good morning, Sir Dipon.	She greeted Sir Dipon