Study Material — 3 PYQs (2022–2022) · Concept Notes · Shortcuts
NDA Direct & Indirect Speech is a frequently tested subtopic — 3 previous year questions from 2022–2022 papers are included below with concept notes, key rules and shortcut tricks.
NDA Direct & Indirect Speech — Past Exam Questions
3 questions from actual NDA papers · all shown free · click option to reveal solution
Exam Q 12022Previous Year Pattern
Choose the option that correctly converts the following into Indirect Speech:
Direct: "If you work hard, you will succeed," the coach said to the athlete.
Indirect:
Test Direct & Indirect Speech under exam conditions
Choose the option that correctly converts the following into Indirect Speech:
Direct: "I will definitely come to your party tomorrow," she promised her friend.
Indirect:
Exam Q 32022Previous Year Pattern
Choose the option that correctly converts the following into Indirect Speech:
Direct: "Don't be late for the meeting," the supervisor warned the team members.
Indirect:
Concept Notes
Direct & Indirect Speech— Rules & Concept
💡
Core Concept
Read 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 Patterns
What examiners ask — read before attempting PYQs
📋SSC CGL typically asks 2 types
1
Remove quotes, add 'that' → She said that
2
Change pronoun 'I' to 'she' (follows subject)
3
Change 'will' to 'would'
4
Change 'my' to 'her'
5
Change 'tomorrow' to 'the next day'
Answer: She said that she would visit her grandmother the next day
✏️Worked Example 2
1
Add reporting verb + comma
2
Change 'he had finished' to 'I have finished' (past perfect to present perfect)
3
Change 'his' to 'my'
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 Common Mistake
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.
Key Points to Remember
Remove quotation marks and add 'that' when converting direct to indirect speech
First person pronouns change according to subject, second person according to object
Tense shifts backward: present becomes past, past becomes past perfect