Select the correct indirect speech for the sentence: He said, 'I am writing a letter to my friend.'

In indirect speech, the reporting verb 'said' remains unchanged. The pronoun 'I' changes to 'he' (referring to the subject). The present continuous tense 'am writing' changes to past continuous 'was writing'. The possessive pronoun 'my' changes to 'his'. Therefore, the correct indirect speech is: 'He said that he was writing a letter to his friend.'

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IBPS PO Direct & Indirect Speech

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This page covers IBPS PO Direct & Indirect Speech with complete concept notes, 1 graded practice MCQs, key points and exam-specific tips. Free to study.

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Concept Notes

Direct & Indirect Speech— Rules & Concept

Core ConceptRead this first — the foundation of the topic

Core Concept

Direct Speech uses the exact words spoken by someone, enclosed in quotation marks. Indirect Speech reports what someone said without using their exact words

Example

Direct - He said, "I am happy." Indirect - He said that he was happy

Key Conversion Rules

Remove quotation marks and add 'that' after reporting verb 2. Change pronouns according to subject and object 3. Shift tense backward (present becomes past, past becomes past perfect) 4. Change time expressions (today → that day, yesterday → the day before) 5.

Change place references (here → there, this → that) Tense Conversion Formula: Present Simple → Past Simple Present Continuous → Past Continuous Present Perfect → Past Perfect Past Simple → Past Perfect Will → Would Can → Could May → Might

Exam PatternsWhat examiners ask — read before attempting PYQs

SSC CGL typically asks 2 types: (1) Convert direct to indirect (2) Convert indirect to direct. Most questions focus on statement conversion, but imperatives and questions also appear. Look for pronoun changes and tense shifts as key marking points.

ShortcutsUse these to save 30–60 seconds per question

#1 - Pronoun Change Formula: First Person (I, we, my, our) → Changes according to subject of reporting verb Second Person (you, your) → Changes according to object of reporting verb Third Person (he, she, they) → No change Shortcut Trick #2 - Time Expression Quick List: Today → That day, Tomorrow → The next day, Yesterday → The day before, Now → Then, Here → There, This → That, These → Those, Come → Go

Worked ExampleSolve this step-by-step before moving on

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Step 1

Remove quotes, add 'that' → She said that

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Step 2

Change pronoun 'I' to 'she' (follows subject)

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Step 3

Change 'will' to 'would'

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Step 4

Change 'my' to 'her'

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Step 5

Change 'tomorrow' to 'the next day' Answer: She said that she would visit her grandmother the next day. Worked Example 2: Indirect: He told me that he had finished his work the day before.

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Step 1

Add reporting verb + comma

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Step 2

Change 'he had finished' to 'I have finished' (past perfect to present perfect)

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Step 3

Change 'his' to 'my'

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Step 4

Change 'the day before' to 'yesterday' Answer: He said to me, "I have finished my work yesterday." Shortcut Trick #3 - Quick Tense Check: If reporting verb is in past tense, shift all tenses backward. If reporting verb is present tense, no tense change needed. Most

Exam TrapsCommon mistakes students make — avoid these

Students forget to change pronouns correctly. The #1 error is keeping 'I' as 'I' instead of changing it according to the subject. Remember: 'I' in direct speech becomes 'he/she' in indirect speech based on who is speaking.

Also, students often miss changing time expressions like 'today' to 'that day'. Question Types in SSC CGL: Type 1: Simple statements (70% of questions) Type 2: Questions and commands (20% of questions) Type 3: Exclamatory sentences (10% of questions) For interrogative sentences, use 'asked' instead of 'said' and convert question structure to statement structure. For imperative sentences, use 'told/ordered/requested' and add 'to' before the verb.

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IBPS PO Direct & Indirect Speech

Direct & Indirect Speech— Rules & Concept

Key Points to Remember

Exam-Specific Tips

Direct & Indirect Speech — Practice Questions

60-Second Revision — Direct & Indirect Speech