INDIAN SCHOOL SOHAR

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
SESSION: 2025-2026
TENSES
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH
CLASS: X DATE: 13.5.2025

TENSES
Tenses denote the time of action. They show when the work is done. They are:
1. Present Tense
2. Past Tense
3. Future Tense
They are further divided into:
1. Simple
2. Continuous
3. Perfect
4. Perfect Continuous
The Present Tense
(1) Simple Present- It is used to denote scientific facts, universal truth and work done on daily basis.
Structure - Sub + V1 (s/es/ies) form of the verb + object
E.g. I write a letter.
She writes a letter.
He goes swimming every day.
He studies well.
(2) Present Continuous– It is used to express an action taking place at the time of speaking.
Structure - Sub + is/am/are + V1 + ing + object
E.g. She is writing a poem.
(3) Present Perfect– It is used to show an action that started in the past and has just finished.
Structure - Sub + has/have + V3 + object
E.g. She has written a poem.
(4) Present Perfect Continuous– This tense shows the action which started in the past and is
still continuing.
Structure - Sub + has/have + been + V1 + ing + object
E.g. She has been writing a poem.

The Past Tense

1. Simple Past
It is used to indicate an action completed in the past. It often occurs with adverb of time. Sometimes
it is used without an adverb of time. Used for past habits.
Structure - Subject + V2+O
E.g. I played football when I was a child.
She wrote a letter.
2. Past Continuous Tense
Used to denote an action going on at some time in the past.
Structure – S + was/were +V1+ ing + O
E.g. I was driving a car.
3. Past Perfect Tense
Used to describe an action completed before a certain moment in the past, usually a long time ago.
If two actions happened in the past, past perfect is used to show the action that took place earlier.
Structure - Subject + had + V3 + O
E.g. The patient had died before the doctor came.
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Used to denote an action that began before a certain point in thepast and continued up to
sometime in past.
Structure- Subject + had been +V1 + ing + O
E.g. I had been learning English in this school for twenty days.
The Future Tense
1. Simple Future
This tense tells us about an action which has not occurred yet and will occur aftersaying or in
future.
Structure - S+ will/shall + V1+ O
E.g. She will write a letter.
In Future Tense helping verb ‘Shall’ is used with ‘I’ and ‘We’. Helping verb ‘Will’ is used with all others.
When you are to make a commitment or warn someone or emphasize something, use of 'will/shall' is
reversed. ‘Will’ is used with ‘I’ & ‘We’ and 'shall' is used with others.
2. Future Continuous Tense
It is used to express an ongoing or continued action in future.
Structure- S+ will/shall + be + V1 + ing + O
E.g. He will be distributing sweets in the temple tomorrow at 12 o'clock.
In the example, the action will start in future (tomorrow) and action is thought to be continued till
sometime in future.
3. Future Perfect Tense
It is used to express an action which will happen/occur in future and will be completed by a certain
time in future.
We use the future perfect to say that something will be finishedby a particular time in the future.
Structure – S+ Will/Shall + Have + Verb 3 + O
E.g. They will have shifted the house by Sunday morning.

4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense

It is used to talk about actions that will commence at a fix time in future and will continue for some
time in future. If there is no time reference, then it is not a Future Perfect Continuous Tense.
Without continued time reference, such sentences are Future Continuous Tense. Continued time
reference only differentiates between Future Continuous Tense and Future Perfect Continuous Tense.
The future perfect progressive emphasizes the duration of an activity that will be in progress before
another time or event in the future.
Structure – S + will/shall + have been + V1 + ing+ O
E.g. This time tomorrow, I will have been enjoying the cricket match in the stadium.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

When the actual words of the speaker are reproduced, it is called direct speech.
E.g. He said, "I am going to school.”

When the main idea of a speaker’s words is reported by another person and the exact words are not
quoted, it is called indirect speech or reported speech.
E.g. He said that he was going to school.

• Quotation marks or "inverted commas" are used for direct speech.

E.g. "I have cut my finger!" cried Mrs. Anu.

• Quotation marks are not used for indirect or reported speech.

E.g. Mrs. Anu cried that she had cut her finger.

• Question marks and exclamation marks are not used in reported speech.
E.g. "Is it bleeding very much?" Mr. Shyam asked. (Direct)
Mr. Shyam asked if it was bleeding very much. (Indirect)

In reported speech, the reporting verbs like asked/enquired, commanded/ ordered/requested,

advised/suggested, exclaimed/shouted, etc. are often used in place of the reporting verb ‘said’ to
convey the mood of the spoken words.
Examples:
1. Ramesh said, "How hot the soup is!" (Direct)
Ramesh exclaimed that the soup was very hot. (Indirect)
2. ‘Stir it with your spoon,’ his sister said. (direct)
His sister advised him to stir it with a spoon. (indirect)
3. The son said to his mother, ‘I shall never be rude to you.’ (direct)
The son promised his mother that he would never be rude to her. (indirect)
4. ‘Why has the clock stopped?’ thought Peter. (direct)
Peter wondered why the clock had stopped. (indirect)

• The tense of the verb in the reported speech is in the past tense. However, if the verb in the
reported speech is stating a universal truth, a habit, a constant situation, the tense of that verb does
not change:
Examples:
1. The boy said, ‘I brush my teeth every day.’ (Direct)
The boy said that he brushes his teeth every day. (Indirect)
2. The teacher said, ‘The sun rises in the east.’ (Direct)
The teacher said that the sun rises in the east. (Indirect)
3. She said, ‘My son wants to be an actor.’ (Direct)
She said that her son wants to be an actor. (Indirect)

• In an indirect or reported question, the subject comes before the verb, not after it. You do not use
the helping verb ‘do’ to form reported questions.
Example:
1. Paul said, ‘What time does the bus come?’ (Direct)
Paul asked what time the bus came. (Indirect)
2. Sarah said, ‘When does the show begin.’ (Direct)
Sarah asked when the show began. (Indirect)

• The pronouns are also changed in reported speech.

Pronouns of the first person are changed as below:
E.g.
He said, ‘I am bored.’ (Direct)
He said that he was bored. (Indirect)
Mira said, ‘We are going to the movies.’ (Direct)
Mira said that they were going to the movies. (Indirect)
Rinki said, ‘My friends gave me a treat.’ (Direct)
Rinki said that her friends gave her a treat. (Indirect)

Pronouns of the second person are changed as below:

E.g.
He said to her, ‘You are beautiful.’ (Direct)
He said to her that she was beautiful. (Indirect)
‘You must write neatly,’ the teacher told her pupils. (Direct)
The teacher advised her pupils that they must write neatly. (Indirect)

Pronouns of the third person do not change:

E.g.
I said, ‘They have gone out.’ (Direct)
I informed that they had gone out. (Indirect)
Leela said, ‘These books are theirs.’ (Direct)
Leela said that those books were theirs. (Indirect)
 While converting direct speech into indirect speech, the tense of the verb must change
accordingly:
Direct speech Indirect speech
Simple present Simple past
Present continuous Past continuous
Present perfect Past perfect
Present Perfect continuous Past Perfect continuous
Simple past Past perfect
Past continuous Past Perfect continuous
Past perfect Past perfect (remains unchanged)
Can Could
Shall Should/Would
Will Would
May Might
Must Had to/ Must
Have to Had to
Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous Tenses remain unchanged.
Examples:
She said, ‘I may attend the meeting.’ (Direct)
She said that she might attend the meeting. (Indirect)
Renu said, ‘I have finished my homework.’ (Direct)
Renu said that she had finished her work. (Indirect)
 Words indicating ‘nearness’ of time and place are changed to words indicating ‘distance’ of time
and place:
this that
these those
here there
now then
ago before/ previously
today that day
tomorrow the next/following day
yesterday the day before/the previous day
last week the previous week/ the week before
next week the following week / the week after
last night the night before
tonight that night
 Examples:
The interviewer said to the young man, ‘We will let you know our decision by tomorrow.’ (Direct)
The interviewer said to the young man that they would let him know their decision by the next day.
(Indirect)
‘These are the documents you will require,’ the travel agent informed the tourist. (Direct)
The travel agent informed the tourist that those were the documents she would require. (Indirect)

 When reporting a question, an order or a request, the connector ‘that’ is not used.
Examples:
The girl said, ‘May I come in?’ (Direct)
The girl asked if she could come in. (Indirect)
‘Pay your taxes,’ the king ordered his subjects. (Direct)
The king ordered his subjects to pay their taxes. (Indirect)

ASSIGNMENT
1. I. Report the dialogue between a doctor and a patient, by completing the narration:
Doctor : You should take this medicine every day.
Patient : Should I take it before dinner or after dinner?
Doctor : No, you should take it after breakfast.
The Doctor advised the patient that he should take that medicine every day. The patient further asked
whether he should take it before dinner or after dinner. The doctor replied negatively and then
said______________.
II. Select the correct options to complete the narration of the dialogue between Anshu and Mohan.
Anshu: When will you be coming back home?
Mohan: I’ll be back by dinnertime.
Anshu asked Mohan when he would be coming back home. Mohan replied____________ .
A. If he would be back home by dinnertime.
B. that he would be back home by dinnertime.
C. he would be back home by dinnertime.
D. that he was coming back home by dinnertime.
III. Transform the following direct into reported speech:
The Principal said, “Why didn’t you attend the flag hoisting ceremony, Anuj?”
IV. Report the dialogue between Joel and Rex by completing the sentence.
Joel: Do you speak Italian?
Rex: No, I don’t speak Italian.
In response to Joel’s question whether Rex speaks Italian, Rex says_________________ .
V. Shubham shared some information with Mohit about his visit to Singapore. Report Mohit’s question.
Did you visit the Universal Studio?
2. Choose the correct verb from those given below:
I. It started to rain while we ________tennis.
A. are playing B. had played C. were playing D. had been playing
II. I __________ Arabic for five years.
A. have been studying B. study C. am studying D. was studying
 III. I __________the letter before you arrived.
A. write B. wrote C. will write D. had written
IV. Identify the error on the board near a tree in the tropical rain forest in the Western Ghats and supply
the correction.
KOKAM BUTTER TREE
It was an evergreen tree with drooping branches. The leaves are egg shaped and dark green.
Error Correction

***THE END***

Answers
1.
I. that he should take it after breakfast
II. B. that he would be back home by dinnertime.
III. The Principal asked Anuj why he hadn’t attended the flag hoisting ceremony.
IV. that he doesn’t speak Italian.
V. Mohit asked Shubham if/whether he had visited the Universal Studio.

2. Choose the correct verb from those given below:

C. were playing
A. have been studying
D. had written
Error Correction
was is