RULES OF NARRATION CHANGE IN SHORT
Rules for narration change (cont'd..
| Sentence | Identification | Reporting Verb | Connective | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assertive/statement | Sub+verb+obj | Say, tell, state, report,narrate, reply, answer etc. | That | |
| Interrogative | Marks of interrogation | ask/enquire/want to know | W/H when sentence begins with W/H, otherwise if/whether | |
| Imperative (expressing order, command, advice, request etc.) | Begins with verb or begins with let | When there is no ‘let’, accord. to sense use beg/command/ order/request/advise/ entreat etc. if let and it expresses proposal/ suggestion use propose/suggest | To before verb in reported speech; don’t use not to | |
| Optative (expressing desire/blessing) | Begins with ‘may’ | wish/pray | That | |
| Exclamatory (expressing emotion) | Mark of exclamation (!) | Exclaim/cry, omit exclamatory word, use with sorrow/ joy/ hatred/ repentance/ fear/ anger/ sorrowfully/ joyfully | That |
Reporting verbs used in different sentences
- Assertive: Say, tell, reply, answer, remark, comment, observe, inform, state, mention, declare, report, relate, narrate, explain, affirm, deny, refuse, assert, assure, retaliate etc.
- Interrogative: Ask, inquire, demand, want to know, wonder, urge etc.
- Imperative: Advise, command order, ask, beg, request, forbid, implore, solicit, beseech, tell, etc.
- Operative: Wish, pray, earnestly, desire, long for etc.
- Exclamatory: Exclaim with joy/ sorrow/ surprise/ disgust/ joyfully/ sorrowfully/ surprisingly/ disgustingly, cry out, wish, applaud, confess, with regret/ regretfully/ with repentance etc. according to the case/ sense/ emotion.
Remark: To summarize, we say, three things are to be given special attention in this regard. First is to mind the rules of sequence of tenses as the sentence in the reported speech becomes sub-ordinate clause in almost all the cases. Second is to take care of changing personal pronouns, as they refer to according to their cases, person, number and gender. Thirdly, whatever the sentences are in the reported speech, they become in the form of assertive sentence (i.e. sub+verb+object) in almost all cases and they are connected with the reporting verbs with proper connectives.