WHAT IS NARRATION?
Narration refers to the way in which a story or an event is described or recounted. It is a technique used in writing and speech to convey a sequence of events, often in the past tense. Narration can take several forms, including direct speech, indirect speech, and free indirect speech.
Direct speech
Involves quoting the exact words spoken by a character, typically enclosed in quotation marks.
FOR EXAMPLE: “I am going to the store,” said John.
Indirect speech
Involves reporting what was said without using the exact words.
FOR EXAMPLE: John said that he was going to the store.
Free indirect speech is a hybrid of direct and indirect speech, where the narrator adopts the tone and language of a character while still maintaining the third-person perspective. For example, John thought to himself, “I should probably go to the store.”
Narration is an important tool in writing and speaking, as it allows for the creation of compelling and engaging stories that capture the attention of the audience.
RULES OF NARRATION
1. Pronouns
When transforming direct speech into reported or indirect speech, pronouns are usually changed according to the following rules:
- First person pronouns (I, we) are changed to the third person pronouns (he, she, they).
- Second person pronouns (you) are changed to the third person pronouns (he, she, they), or to the noun or title of the person being addressed.
- Third person pronouns (he, she, they) are generally kept the same, unless the context of the sentence requires a change.
Example 1: Direct speech: “I am going to the store,” said Mary.
Reported speech: Mary said that she was going to the store.
Example 2: Direct speech: “Can you give me a hand?” said John to Tom.
Reported speech: John asked Tom to give him a hand.
2. Adjectives
When transforming direct speech into reported or indirect speech, adjectives are usually changed to reflect the change in pronouns, as well as any necessary changes in tense, time or location.
Example 1: Direct speech: “This is my new car,” said Jack.]
Reported speech: Jack said that it was his new car.
Example 2: Direct speech: “I am feeling sick,” said Mary.
Reported speech: Mary said that she was feeling sick.
NOTE: These examples demonstrate how pronouns and adjectives change when in narration transforming direct speech into reported or indirect speech. It’s important to note that the specific
3. THIS/THESE/THESE
“This” and “These”:
When transforming direct speech into reported or indirect speech, “this” and “these” are usually changed to “that” and “those” respectively.
Example 1: Direct speech: “This is my favorite book,” said Sarah.
Reported speech: Sarah said that that was her favorite book.
Example 2: Direct speech: “These are my friends,” said John.
Reported speech: John said that those were his friends.
“That”:
When “that” is used in the direct speech, it is usually retained in the reported speech.
Example 1: Direct speech: “That was a great movie,” said Tom.
Reported speech: Tom said that was a great movie.
Example 2: Direct speech: “That’s my dog,” said Kate.
Reported speech: Kate said that that was her dog.
NOTE: These examples demonstrate how “this/these/that” change when in narration transforming direct speech into reported or indirect speech. It’s important to note that the specific changes may vary depending on the context and grammar rules of the language being used.
3. CHANGES IN THE VERB FORM:
Here is a table showing how verb forms change when in narration transforming direct speech into reported or indirect speech, along with one example for each transformation:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| Present Simple “I like ice cream,” said Sarah. | Past Simple Sarah said that she liked ice cream. |
| Present Continuous “I am eating ice cream,” said Sarah. | Past Continuous Sarah said that she was eating ice cream. |
| Present Perfect “I have eaten ice cream,” said Sarah. | Past Perfect Sarah said that she had eaten ice cream. |
| Present Perfect Continuous “I have been eating ice cream,” said Sarah. | Past Perfect Continuous Sarah said that she had been eating ice cream. |
| Past Simple “I went to the store,” said John. | Past Perfect John said that he had gone to the store. |
| Past Continuous “I was walking home,” said Jane. | Past Perfect Continuous Jane said that she had been walking home. |
| Past Perfect “I had already eaten,” said Tom. | Past Perfect Tom said that he had already eaten. |
| Past Perfect Continuous “I had been waiting for hours,” said Mary. | Past Perfect Continuous Mary said that she had been waiting for hours. |
| Future Simple “I will go to the store tomorrow,” said John. | Conditional John said that he would go to the store the next day. |
| Future Continuous “I will be watching TV,” said Sarah. | Conditional Continuous Sarah said that she would be watching TV. |
| Future Perfect “I will have finished by then,” said Tom. | Conditional Perfect Tom said that he would have finished by then. |
| Future Perfect Continuous “I will have been working for 10 hours,” said Mary. | Conditional Perfect Continuous Mary said that she would have been working for 10 hours. |
NOTE: These examples demonstrate how verb forms change when in narration transforming direct speech into reported or indirect speech. Again, it’s important to note that these changes may vary depending on the specific context and grammar rules of the language being used.
4. MODALS VERB CHANGES
Here is a table showing how modals verbs change when in narration transforming direct speech into reported or indirect speech, along with one example for each transformation:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| Can “I can swim,” said John. | Could John said that he could swim. |
| Could “I could lift the box,” said Mary. | Could or was/were able to Mary said that she could or was/were able to lift the box. |
| May “I may come tomorrow,” said Sarah. | Might Sarah said that she might come the next day. |
| Might “I might take a nap,” said Tom. | Might Tom said that he might take a nap. |
| Will “I will meet you later,” said John. | Would John said that he would meet later. |
| Would “I would like a drink,” said Jane. | Would Jane said that she would like a drink. |
| Must “I must finish this work,” said Mary. | Had to or needed to Mary said that she had to or needed to finish the work. |
| Should “I should go to bed early,” said Tom. | Should or ought to Tom said that he should or ought to go to bed early. |
| Ought to “I ought to finish my homework,” said Sarah. | Should or ought to Sarah said that she should or ought to finish her homework. |
5. EXPRESSIONS OF TIME AND PLACE IN INDIRECT SPEECH
Here is a table showing how expressions of time and place change when in narration transforming direct speech into reported or indirect speech:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| Today “I’m going to the mall today,” said John. | That day John said that he was going to the mall that day. |
| Yesterday “I went to the park yesterday,” said Mary. | The day before Mary said that she had gone to the park the day before. |
| Tomorrow “I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Tom. | The next/following day Tom said that he would see them the next/following day. |
| Here “I live here,” said Sarah. | There Sarah said that she lived there. |
| This “I’m reading this book,” said Jane. | That Jane said that she was reading that book. |
| These “These are my shoes,” said Alex. | Those Alex said that those were his shoes. |
NOTE: These examples demonstrate how expressions of time and place change when in narration transforming direct speech into reported or indirect speech. In general, expressions of time and place are shifted to a more remote point in time or space when reporting speech indirectly. However, it’s important to note that the specific changes may vary depending on the specific context and grammar rules of the language being used.
COMMAND. REQUEST, ADVICE, IN INDIRECT SPEECH
In narration Indirect speech, also known as reported speech, is used to report what someone has said without using their exact words. Here are some examples of how you can use indirect speech to convey commands, requests, and advice:
Commands:
Direct speech: “Clean your room,” said Mom.
Indirect speech: Mom told me to clean my room.
Requests:
Direct speech: “Can you please pass me the salt?” asked John.
Indirect speech: John asked me if I could pass him the salt.
Advice:
Direct speech: “You should try studying for the exam earlier,” said the teacher.
Indirect speech: The teacher advised me to study for the exam earlier.
NOTE: that in narration when using indirect speech, the reporting verb is changed to reflect the appropriate tense, and sometimes the structure of the sentence may also change.
EXCLAMATIONS IN INDIRECT SPEECH
When reporting an exclamation in indirect speech, you can use the reporting verb “exclaimed” or “said with excitement.” The exclamation point should be removed, and the reported sentence should be changed to the appropriate tense.
Here’s an example:
Direct speech: “Wow, that’s amazing!” exclaimed Sarah.
Indirect speech: Sarah exclaimed with excitement that it was amazing.
NOTE: that in narration the indirect speech, the exclamation point is removed, and the sentence is changed to the present tense to reflect the current state of amazement.
YES OR NO IN INDIRECT SPEECH
When reporting a question that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” in indirect speech, you can use the reporting verb “asked” or “wanted to know” and change the tense of the sentence accordingly in narration.
Here’s an example:
Direct speech: “Did you finish your homework?” asked Mom.
Indirect speech: Mom asked if I had finished my homework.
NOTE: that in narration the indirect speech, the question is transformed into a statement, and the reporting verb is changed to reflect the appropriate tense. In this case, “did” becomes “had” to indicate that the question is referring to a past event.
OFFERS AND SUGGESTIONS IN INDIRECT SPEECH
When reporting offers and suggestions in indirect speech, you can use the reporting verbs “offered” or “suggested” and change the tense of the sentence accordingly.
Here’s an example:
Direct speech: “Why don’t we go out for dinner tonight?” suggested Tom.
Indirect speech: Tom suggested that we go out for dinner that night.
Another example:
Direct speech: “I’ll help you with your project,” offered Jane.
Indirect speech: Jane offered to help me with my project.
NOTE: that in narration the indirect speech, the verb tense changes to reflect the timing of the offer or suggestion. In the second example, “I’ll” becomes “offered to” to indicate that the offer was made in the past.
INDIRECT SPEECH: MIXED TYPE
Mixed type indirect speech is used when a sentence contains a mixture of verb tenses or modal verbs. To report mixed type sentences in indirect speech, you need to change the tense of the sentence and also the modal verbs or auxiliary verbs as necessary in narration.
Here’s an example:
Direct speech: “I could have finished the project on time, but I didn’t have enough resources,” said John. Indirect speech: John said that he could have finished the project on time, but he didn’t have enough resources.
In this example, the modal verb “could” and the auxiliary verb “have” remain the same in the indirect speech. However, the verb tense changes from the past tense “didn’t” to the past perfect tense “hadn’t” to reflect the correct tense in indirect speech.
Here’s another example:
Direct speech: “I will be studying abroad next year, and I am really excited about it,” said Sarah.
Indirect speech: Sarah said that she would be studying abroad the following year and that she was really excited about it.
In this example, the future tense “will” becomes “would,” and the present tense “am” becomes “was” in the indirect speech to reflect the change in tense from direct to indirect speech.
NOTE: that in narration mixed type indirect speech, it’s important to make sure that the reporting verb is also changed to the appropriate tense to accurately report what was said.
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