Bihar Board Class 11 English – Reported Speech

Bihar Board Class 11 English Reported Speech is an important grammar topic. It teaches students how to report the words of another person in direct or indirect form.

What Is Reported Speech?

Reported speech is used when we tell someone what another person said.

Direct Speech

The exact words of the speaker are reported.

Example: Ram said, “I am busy.”

Indirect Speech

The speaker’s words are reported without quoting the exact words.

Example: Ram said that he was busy.

Important Rules of Reported Speech

Change of Pronouns

Pronouns are changed according to the speaker, listener and context.

Direct: He said, “I am ready.”

Indirect: He said that he was ready.

Change of Tense

When the reporting verb is in the past tense, the tense of the reported speech may change according to the standard sequence of tense rules.

• Present Simple → Past Simple
• Present Continuous → Past Continuous
• Present Perfect → Past Perfect
• Past Simple → Past Perfect in appropriate contexts
• Will → Would
• Can → Could
• May → Might

Change of Time and Place Words

Statements

Direct: Ravi said, “I am tired.”

Indirect: Ravi said that he was tired.

Questions

In reported questions, the sentence structure changes into statement order.

Direct: He said, “Where do you live?”

Indirect: He asked where I lived.

Commands and Requests

Commands and requests are generally reported using verbs such as ordered, requested, advised and similar reporting verbs.

Direct: The teacher said to me, “Work hard.”

Indirect: The teacher advised me to work hard.

Exclamatory Sentences

Direct: She said, “What a beautiful flower!”

Indirect: She exclaimed that it was a very beautiful flower.

Common Mistakes

• Changing pronouns incorrectly.
• Using question word order in an indirect question.
• Forgetting tense changes where required.
• Using quotation marks in indirect speech.
• Using the wrong reporting verb.

Practice Examples

1. He said, “I am happy.” → He said that he was happy.
2. She said, “I have finished my work.” → She said that she had finished her work.
3. He said to me, “Are you ready?” → He asked me if I was ready.
4. The teacher said, “Work hard.” → The teacher advised the students to work hard.
5. He said, “Where are you going?” → He asked where I was going.

Previous Topic

Bihar Board Class 11 English Transformation of Sentences

Conclusion

Bihar Board Class 11 English Reported Speech becomes easier when students practise pronoun changes, tense changes, reporting verbs and sentence-specific rules regularly.