Passage Narration rules with examples
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Passage narration āϞেāĻাāϰ āϏāĻŽā§ āĻিāĻু āύিāϰ্āĻĻিāώ্āĻ āύিā§āĻŽ āĻ āύুāϏāϰāĻŖ āĻāϰা āĻšā§। āϏāĻŦ āύিā§āĻŽāĻুāϞো āύিāĻে āĻāĻĻাāĻšāϰāĻŖāϏāĻš āĻŦāϰ্āĻŖিāϤ āĻšāϞ:
Some specific rules are to be followed while writing passage narration. All the rules are discussed with examples below:
Rule 1:
At first, we have to read the whole passage to identify the speaker and the audience. Then we have to determine the mood of the verb in their speeches.
āĻĒ্āϰāĻĨāĻŽে, āϏāĻŽ্āĻĒূāϰ্āĻŖ passage āĻি āĻĒā§ে āĻŦāĻ্āϤা āĻāĻŦং āĻļ্āϰোāϤাāĻে āĻিāĻš্āύিāϤ āĻāϰāϤে āĻšāĻŦে। āϤাāϰāĻĒāϰ āϤাāĻĻেāϰ āĻāĻ্āϤিāĻুāϞোāϰ āĻ্āϰিā§াāϰ āϧāϰāύ āĻŦুāĻāϤে āĻšāĻŦে।
Example:
“Will you come with me?”, said Pia to Ria. “I will come.” said Ria. (Direct)
Pia asked Ria if she would come with her. Ria replied that she would come. (Indirect)
Rule 2:
When the reporting verb is placed in the middle or at the last of the sentence while converting it into Indirect you have to put it after the subject in starting of the sentence.
āϝāĻāύ reporting verb sentence-āĻāϰ āĻŽাāĻে āĻŦা āĻļেāώে āĻĨাāĻে āϤāĻŦে āĻāĻে Indirect āĻāϰāϤে āϤাāĻে sentence-āĻāϰ āĻļুāϰুāϤে subject-āĻāϰ āĻĒāϰে āĻŦāϏাāϤে āĻšāĻŦে।
Example:
“Where do you live?”, said Ahona. “I live at Dhanmondi.”, said Rina. (Direct)
Ahona asked Rina where she lived. Rina replied that she lived at Dhanmondi. (Indirect)
Rule 3:
Passage-āĻ āϝāĻĻি āĻŦāĻ্āϤা āĻāĻেāϰ āĻ āϧিāĻ āĻāĻ্āϤি āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰে āϤāĻŦে āĻĒ্āϰāĻĨāĻŽ āĻāĻ্āϤি āĻāϞ্āϞেāĻ āĻāϰাāϰ āĻĒāϰ, āĻĒāϰāĻŦāϰ্āϤী āĻāĻ্āϤিāĻুāϞো āĻāϞ্āϞেāĻ āĻāϰাāϰ āϏāĻŽā§ āύিāĻŽ্āύোāĻ্āϤ āύিā§āĻŽāĻুāϞো āĻ āύুāϏāϰāĻŖ āĻāϰা āĻšā§:
i. Assertive sentence-āĻāϰ āĻ্āώেāϤ্āϰে: also said/again said, added/further added, āĻĒ্āϰāĻৃāϤি āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰা āĻšā§।
In case of Assertive sentences: also said/again said, added/further added, etc. are used.
ii. Interrogative sentence-āĻāϰ āĻ্āώেāϤ্āϰে: also asked/again asked/ further asked, āĻĒ্āϰāĻৃāϤি āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰা āĻšā§।
In case of Interrogative sentences: also asked/again asked/ further asked, etc. are used.
iii. Imperative sentence-āĻāϰ āĻ্āώেāϤ্āϰে: and ordered to/ and requested, āĻĒ্āϰāĻৃāϤি āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰা āĻšā§।
In case of Imperative sentences: and ordered to/ and requested, etc. are used.
iv. Optative sentence-āĻāϰ āĻ্āώেāϤ্āϰে: and wished/and prayed that, āĻĒ্āϰāĻৃāϤি āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰা āĻšā§।
In case of Optative sentences: and wished/and prayed that, etc. are used.
v. Exclamatory sentence-āĻāϰ āĻ্āώেāϤ্āϰে: and exclaimed with happiness/ joy that/in grief that, āĻĒ্āϰāĻৃāϤি āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰা āĻšā§।
In case of Exclamatory sentences: and exclaimed with happiness/ joy that/in grief that, etc. are used.
Example:
“I will help you to solve this problem. I am responsible for it.” The boy said. “Why did you do it? Do you have time for it? You are leaving Dhaka this evening.” I said. (Direct)
The boy told me that he would solve this problem. He added that he was responsible for it. I asked him the reason for doing it. I also asked if he had time for it. I added that he was leaving Dhaka that evening. (Indirect)
Rule 4:
If reported speech has only “Yes”, then Subject+ replied in the affirmative or Subject+ Auxilliary Verb is used and if reported speech has other speech after “Yes”, then Subject+ replied in the affirmative and said that is used.
āϝāĻĻি reported speech-āĻ āĻļুāϧু “Yes” āĻĨাāĻে āϤāĻŦে Subject+ replied in the affirmative āĻŦা Subject+ Auxilliary Verb āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰা āĻšā§ āĻāĻŦং reported speech-āĻ “Yes”-āĻāϰ āĻĒāϰ āĻāϰāĻ āĻŦāĻ্āϤāĻŦ্āϝ āĻĨাāĻে āϤāĻŦে Subject+ replied in the affirmative and said that āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšৃāϤ āĻšā§।
Example:
I said to him, “Have you done your work?”. “Yes. I have also done another one.” He said. (Direct)
I asked him if he had done his work. He replied in the affirmative. Or, he said that he had. And he said that he had also done another one. (Indirect)
Rule 5:
If reported speech has only “No”, then Subject+ replied in the negative or Subject+ Auxilliary Verb+ not is used and if reported speech has other speech after “No”, then Subject+ replied in the negative and said that is used.
āϝāĻĻি reported speech-āĻ āĻļুāϧু “No” āĻĨাāĻে āϤāĻŦে Subject+ replied in the negative āĻŦা Subject+ Auxilliary Verb+ not āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰা āĻšā§ āĻāĻŦং reported speech-āĻ “No” āĻāϰ āĻĒāϰ āĻāϰāĻ āĻŦāĻ্āϤāĻŦ্āϝ āĻĨাāĻে āϤāĻŦে Subject+ replied in the negative and said that āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšৃāϤ āĻšā§।
Example:
I said to him, “Have you done the math?”. “No. I will do it later.” He said. (Direct)
I asked him if he had done the math. He replied in the negative. Or, he said that he had not. And he said that he would do it later. (Indirect)
Rule 6:
When direct speech has “Sir”, the indirect speech will use with respect/respectfully/ politely instead of “Sir”.
āϝāĻāύ direct speech-āĻ “Sir” āĻĨাāĻে, indirect speech “Sir” āĻāϰ āĻĒāϰিāĻŦāϰ্āϤে with respect/respectfully/ politely āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰāĻŦে।
Example:
The student said to the teacher,” Sir, will you teach me English?” (Direct)
The student asked the teacher respectfully if he would teach him English. / The student respectfully asked the teacher if he would teach him English. (Indirect)
Rule 7:
If someone is addressed in the direct speech, the indirect speech will use addressing ‘as’.
āϝāĻĻি direct speech-āĻ āĻাāĻāĻে āϏāĻŽ্āĻŦোāϧāύ āĻāϰা āĻšā§ āϤāĻŦে indirect speech-āĻ addressing as āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšৃāϤ āĻšā§।
Example:
“Are you okay, Marjia?” said Faika. (Direct)
Addressing as Marjia, Faika asked if she was okay. (Indirect)
Rule 8:
If outside the inverted comma reporting speech has “ask”, it will be used after the subject in the indirect speech.
āϝāĻĻি inverted comma-āϰ āĻŦাāĻāϰে reporting speech-āĻ “ask” āĻĨাāĻে, āϤāĻŦে āϤা indirect speech-āĻ subject-āĻāϰ āĻĒāϰে āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšৃāϤ āĻšā§।
Example:
“Are you coming?” asked Riana looking at me. “You may join me when I ” Riana said. (Direct)
Looking at me, Riana asked If I was going. She suggested me to join her when she would go. (Indirect)
Rule 9:
When reported speech has a note of interrogation (?) after an assertive sentence, the indirect speech will use “being surprised” before the reporting verb.
āϝāĻāύ reported speech-āĻ āĻāĻāĻি assertive sentence-āĻāϰ āĻĒāϰ note of interrogation (?) āĻĨাāĻে, indirect speech-āĻ reporting verb-āĻāϰ āĻāĻে “being surprised” āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰা āĻšā§।
Example:
He said to me, “You did it?” (Direct)
Being surprised he asked me if I had done it. (Indirect)
Rule 10:
When reported speech has “Thank”, the indirect speech will use reported verb’s subject+ thanked+ reported verb’s object.
āϝāĻāύ reported speech-āĻ “Thank” āĻĨাāĻে, āϤāĻāύ indirect speech, reported verb’s subject+ thanked+ reported verb’s object āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰে।
Example:
Rahi said to me, “Thank you.” (Direct)
Rahi thanked me. (Indirect)
Rule 11:
If reported speech has “Goodbye”, the indirect speech will use reported verb’s subject+ bade+ reported verb’s object+ goodbye.
āϝāĻĻি reported speech-āĻ “Good bye” āĻĨাāĻে āϤāĻŦে indirect speech, reported verb’s subject+ bade+ reported verb’s object+ good bye āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰāĻŦে।
Example:
She said Ria, “Goodbye.” (Direct)
She bade Ria goodbye. (Indirect)
Rule 12:
If reported speech has a good night/good morning/ good evening, the indirect speech will use, reported verb’s subject+ wished+ reported verb’s object+ good night/good morning/ good evening.
āϝāĻĻি reported speech-āĻ good night/good morning/ good evening āĻĨাāĻে āϤāĻŦে indirect speech, reported verb’s subject+ wished+ reported verb’s object+ good night/good morning/ good evening āĻŦ্āϝāĻŦāĻšাāϰ āĻāϰāĻŦে।
Example:
He said to her, “Good morning.” (Direct)
He wished her good morning. (Indirect)
Rule 13:
Sometimes reported speech doesn’t have a complete sentence, in those cases, you have to follow the speaker’s speech in indirect speech to get the full meaning.
āĻোāύ āĻোāύāϏāĻŽā§ reported speech-āĻ āϏāĻŽ্āĻĒূāϰ্āĻŖ sentence āĻĨাāĻেāύা, āϏেāϏāĻŦ āĻ্āώেāϤ্āϰে indirect speech-āĻ āĻŦāĻ্āϤাāϰ āĻŦāĻ্āϤāĻŦ্āϝ āĻ āύুāϏāϰāĻŖ āĻāϰে āĻĒূāϰ্āĻŖাāĻ্āĻ āĻ āϰ্āĻĨ āĻুঁāĻে āύিāϤে āĻšāĻŦে।
Example:
“Fifty taka” The salesman said to me. (Direct)
The salesman told me it had been thirty taka (Indirect)
Rule 14:
Often reported speech doesn’t mention the speaker and the listener, in these cases you have to mention the speaker and the listener while transforming it into indirect speech.
āĻĒ্āϰাā§āĻ reported speech-āĻ āĻŦāĻ্āϤা āĻ āĻļ্āϰোāϤাāϰ āĻāϞ্āϞেāĻ āĻĨাāĻে āύা, āĻāϏāĻŦ āĻ্āώেāϤ্āϰে āĻāĻĒāύাāĻে āĻāĻে indirect speech-āĻ āϰূāĻĒাāύ্āϤāϰিāϤ āĻāϰāϤে āĻŦāĻ্āϤাāϰ āĻ্āώেāϤ্āϰে the speaker āĻāĻŦং āĻļ্āϰোāϤাāϰ āĻ্āώেāϤ্āϰে the listener āĻāϞ্āϞেāĻ āĻāϰāϤে āĻšāĻŦে।
Example:
“What were you doing?” “I was writing a letter.” (Direct)
The speaker asked the listener what he had been doing. The listener replied that s/he had been writing a letter. (Indirect)
Rule 15:
If reported speech has asked/ cried/replied/muttered, the reporting verb in the indirect speech will be unchanged.
āϝāĻĻি reported speech-āĻ asked/ cried/replied/muttered āĻĨাāĻে āϤāĻŦে indirect speech-āĻ reporting verb-āĻāϰ āĻোāύ āĻĒāϰিāĻŦāϰ্āϤāύ āĻšāĻŦেāύা।
Example:
“Help me.” He cried. (Direct)
He cried to help him. (Indirect)
Some exercises
***Jerry said, ‘I can chop some wood today. I shall come again tomorrow’.
Answer: Jerry said that he could chop some wood that day and added that he would go again the next day.
b. She said to me, ‘What is your name. Where do you live?’
Answer: She asked me what my name was and also asked where I lived.
c. He said to us, ‘I came here yesterday. I will go to Sirajgonj tomorrow.’
Answer: He said to us that he had gone there the previous day and added that he would go to Sirajgonj the next day.
d. The man said to me, ‘I will come here tomorrow. I will finish this work as soon as possible.’
Answer: The man said to me that he would go there the next day and added that he would finish that work as soon as possible.
Prepared by Noor E Alam
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