Passage Narration rules with examples
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Passage narration āĻ˛েāĻাāĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽā§ āĻিāĻু āĻ¨িāĻ°্āĻĻিāĻˇ্āĻ āĻ¨িā§āĻŽ āĻ āĻ¨ুāĻ¸āĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻ°া āĻšā§। āĻ¸āĻŦ āĻ¨িā§āĻŽāĻুāĻ˛ো āĻ¨িāĻে āĻāĻĻাāĻšāĻ°āĻŖāĻ¸āĻš āĻŦāĻ°্āĻŖিāĻ¤ āĻšāĻ˛:
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.
āĻĒ্āĻ°āĻĨāĻŽে, āĻ¸āĻŽ্āĻĒূāĻ°্āĻŖ passage āĻি āĻĒā§ে āĻŦāĻ্āĻ¤া āĻāĻŦং āĻļ্āĻ°োāĻ¤াāĻে āĻিāĻš্āĻ¨িāĻ¤ āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ে āĻšāĻŦে। āĻ¤াāĻ°āĻĒāĻ° āĻ¤াāĻĻেāĻ° āĻāĻ্āĻ¤িāĻুāĻ˛োāĻ° āĻ্āĻ°িā§াāĻ° āĻ§āĻ°āĻ¨ āĻŦুāĻāĻ¤ে 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.
āĻ¯āĻāĻ¨ reporting verb sentence-āĻāĻ° āĻŽাāĻে āĻŦা āĻļেāĻˇে āĻĨাāĻে āĻ¤āĻŦে āĻāĻে Indirect āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ে āĻ¤াāĻে sentence-āĻāĻ° āĻļুāĻ°ুāĻ¤ে subject-āĻāĻ° āĻĒāĻ°ে āĻŦāĻ¸াāĻ¤ে 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 āĻ¯āĻĻি āĻŦāĻ্āĻ¤া āĻāĻেāĻ° āĻ āĻ§িāĻ āĻāĻ্āĻ¤ি āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°ে āĻ¤āĻŦে āĻĒ্āĻ°āĻĨāĻŽ āĻāĻ্āĻ¤ি āĻāĻ˛্āĻ˛েāĻ āĻāĻ°াāĻ° āĻĒāĻ°, āĻĒāĻ°āĻŦāĻ°্āĻ¤ী āĻāĻ্āĻ¤িāĻুāĻ˛ো āĻāĻ˛্āĻ˛েāĻ āĻāĻ°াāĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽā§ āĻ¨িāĻŽ্āĻ¨োāĻ্āĻ¤ āĻ¨িā§āĻŽāĻুāĻ˛ো āĻ āĻ¨ুāĻ¸āĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻ°া āĻšā§:
i. Assertive sentence-āĻāĻ° āĻ্āĻˇেāĻ¤্āĻ°ে: also said/again said, added/further added, āĻĒ্āĻ°āĻৃāĻ¤ি āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°া āĻšā§।
In case of Assertive sentences: also said/again said, added/further added, etc. are used.
ii. Interrogative sentence-āĻāĻ° āĻ্āĻˇেāĻ¤্āĻ°ে: also asked/again asked/ further asked, āĻĒ্āĻ°āĻৃāĻ¤ি āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°া āĻšā§।
In case of Interrogative sentences: also asked/again asked/ further asked, etc. are used.
iii. Imperative sentence-āĻāĻ° āĻ্āĻˇেāĻ¤্āĻ°ে: and ordered to/ and requested, āĻĒ্āĻ°āĻৃāĻ¤ি āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°া āĻšā§।
In case of Imperative sentences: and ordered to/ and requested, etc. are used.
iv. Optative sentence-āĻāĻ° āĻ্āĻˇেāĻ¤্āĻ°ে: and wished/and prayed that, āĻĒ্āĻ°āĻৃāĻ¤ি āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°া āĻšā§।
In case of Optative sentences: and wished/and prayed that, etc. are used.
v. Exclamatory sentence-āĻāĻ° āĻ্āĻˇেāĻ¤্āĻ°ে: and exclaimed with happiness/ joy that/in grief that, āĻĒ্āĻ°āĻৃāĻ¤ি āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°া 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.
āĻ¯āĻĻি reported speech-āĻ āĻļুāĻ§ু “Yes” āĻĨাāĻে āĻ¤āĻŦে Subject+ replied in the affirmative āĻŦা Subject+ Auxilliary Verb āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°া āĻšā§ āĻāĻŦং reported speech-āĻ “Yes”-āĻāĻ° āĻĒāĻ° āĻāĻ°āĻ āĻŦāĻ্āĻ¤āĻŦ্āĻ¯ āĻĨাāĻে āĻ¤āĻŦে Subject+ replied in the affirmative and said that āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšৃāĻ¤ 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.
āĻ¯āĻĻি reported speech-āĻ āĻļুāĻ§ু “No” āĻĨাāĻে āĻ¤āĻŦে Subject+ replied in the negative āĻŦা Subject+ Auxilliary Verb+ not āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°া āĻšā§ āĻāĻŦং reported speech-āĻ “No” āĻāĻ° āĻĒāĻ° āĻāĻ°āĻ āĻŦāĻ্āĻ¤āĻŦ্āĻ¯ āĻĨাāĻে āĻ¤āĻŦে Subject+ replied in the negative and said that āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšৃāĻ¤ 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”.
āĻ¯āĻāĻ¨ direct speech-āĻ “Sir” āĻĨাāĻে, indirect speech “Sir” āĻāĻ° āĻĒāĻ°িāĻŦāĻ°্āĻ¤ে with respect/respectfully/ politely āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°āĻŦে।
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’.
āĻ¯āĻĻি direct speech-āĻ āĻাāĻāĻে āĻ¸āĻŽ্āĻŦোāĻ§āĻ¨ āĻāĻ°া āĻšā§ āĻ¤āĻŦে indirect speech-āĻ addressing as āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšৃāĻ¤ 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.
āĻ¯āĻĻি inverted comma-āĻ° āĻŦাāĻāĻ°ে reporting speech-āĻ “ask” āĻĨাāĻে, āĻ¤āĻŦে āĻ¤া indirect speech-āĻ subject-āĻāĻ° āĻĒāĻ°ে āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšৃāĻ¤ 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.
āĻ¯āĻāĻ¨ reported speech-āĻ āĻāĻāĻি assertive sentence-āĻāĻ° āĻĒāĻ° note of interrogation (?) āĻĨাāĻে, indirect speech-āĻ reporting verb-āĻāĻ° āĻāĻে “being surprised” āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°া 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.
āĻ¯āĻāĻ¨ reported speech-āĻ “Thank” āĻĨাāĻে, āĻ¤āĻāĻ¨ indirect speech, reported verb’s subject+ thanked+ reported verb’s object āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°ে।
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.
āĻ¯āĻĻি reported speech-āĻ “Good bye” āĻĨাāĻে āĻ¤āĻŦে indirect speech, reported verb’s subject+ bade+ reported verb’s object+ good bye āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°āĻŦে।
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.
āĻ¯āĻĻি reported speech-āĻ good night/good morning/ good evening āĻĨাāĻে āĻ¤āĻŦে indirect speech, reported verb’s subject+ wished+ reported verb’s object+ good night/good morning/ good evening āĻŦ্āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšাāĻ° āĻāĻ°āĻŦে।
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.
āĻোāĻ¨ āĻোāĻ¨āĻ¸āĻŽā§ reported speech-āĻ āĻ¸āĻŽ্āĻĒূāĻ°্āĻŖ sentence āĻĨাāĻেāĻ¨া, āĻ¸েāĻ¸āĻŦ āĻ্āĻˇেāĻ¤্āĻ°ে indirect speech-āĻ āĻŦāĻ্āĻ¤াāĻ° āĻŦāĻ্āĻ¤āĻŦ্āĻ¯ āĻ āĻ¨ুāĻ¸āĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻ°ে āĻĒূāĻ°্āĻŖাāĻ্āĻ āĻ āĻ°্āĻĨ āĻুঁāĻে āĻ¨িāĻ¤ে 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.
āĻĒ্āĻ°াā§āĻ reported speech-āĻ āĻŦāĻ্āĻ¤া āĻ āĻļ্āĻ°োāĻ¤াāĻ° āĻāĻ˛্āĻ˛েāĻ āĻĨাāĻে āĻ¨া, āĻāĻ¸āĻŦ āĻ্āĻˇেāĻ¤্āĻ°ে āĻāĻĒāĻ¨াāĻে āĻāĻে indirect speech-āĻ āĻ°ূāĻĒাāĻ¨্āĻ¤āĻ°িāĻ¤ āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ে āĻŦāĻ্āĻ¤াāĻ° āĻ্āĻˇেāĻ¤্āĻ°ে the speaker āĻāĻŦং āĻļ্āĻ°োāĻ¤াāĻ° āĻ্āĻˇেāĻ¤্āĻ°ে the listener āĻāĻ˛্āĻ˛েāĻ āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ে 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.
āĻ¯āĻĻি reported speech-āĻ asked/ cried/replied/muttered āĻĨাāĻে āĻ¤āĻŦে indirect speech-āĻ reporting verb-āĻāĻ° āĻোāĻ¨ āĻĒāĻ°িāĻŦāĻ°্āĻ¤āĻ¨ āĻšāĻŦেāĻ¨া।
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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