There are many occasions in which we need to describe an event or action that happened, and very often that includes repeating what someone said. Such occasions can include a social situation as well as in a work email or presentation. In order to describe what people said there are two different types of speech – direct speech and indirect speech (or reported speech)
Reported Speech is also known as Direct and Indirect Speech or Narration. In Indirect Speech, we convey the speaker’s message in our own words. Thus, the message can be conveyed in 2 ways.
Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
Direct speech is known as repeating the exact words spoken and Indirect speech is known as reporting the words.
We can add question tags like isn’t it?, can you? or didn’t they? to a statement to make it into a question. Question tags are more common in speaking than writing.
We often use question tags when we expect the listener to agree with our statement. In this case, when the statement is positive, we use a negative question tag.
Tag questions (or question tags) turn a statement into a question. They are often used for checking information that we think we know is true.
A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb.
A clause functions as an adjective, an adverb, or a noun.
A clause contrasts with a phrase, which does not contain a subject and a verb. The distinction between a clause and a phrase is clearer when you see them side by side:
A clause “a group of words containing a subject and predicate and functioning as a member of a complex or compound sentence.
What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns.
English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.
the = definite article
a/an = indefinite article
For example, if I say, “Let’s read the book,” I mean a specific book. If I say, “Let’s read a book,” I mean any book rather than a specific book.
A group of words that makes complete sense is called a sentence. A sentence always begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. Kinds of Sentences: 1. Assertive or Declarative Sentence – Is a sentence that say or state something. Assertive Sentence can also be negative. eg: I was born in Allahabad. I was not born in Allahabad 2. Imperative Sentence – Is a sentence that express a command, a request or an advice. eg: You may enter – command Pass me the salt, please – request Don’t eat too much salt – advice 3. Interrogative Sentence – Is a sentence that ask questions. It can be a yes or no – question or a wh-question. eg: Who are you? Did you brush your teeth? Where does he live? 4. Exclamatory Sentence – Is a sentence that express some strong feeling or emotion.
An exclamatory sentence always ends with an exclamation mark. eg: What a fabulous idea
Change the following sentences as directed in brackets. 1. It is good idea. (negative) Ans: It is not a good idea. 2. He completed the painting. (Interrogative) Ans: Did he complete the painting? 3. She was a wonderful human being. (Exclamatory) Ans: What a wonderful human being she was! 4. How can I forget my school days? (Assertive) Ans: I cannot forget my school days. 5. Please come in and shut the door. (Assertive) Ans: You can come in and shut the door. 6. I will never see you again. (Affirmative) Ans: I will miss you forever. 7. You must not shout. (Imperative) Ans: Don’t shout. 8. He is a rascal. (Exclamatory) Ans: How rascal he is! 9. Who ever thought he would die like this? (Assertive) Ans: No one thought he would die like this. 10. Shut the window, please. (Interrogative) Ans: Can you shut the window? Subject and Predicate Every sentences is made up of two parts – the Subject and the Predicate. The first part of the sentence that names what the sentence is about is called the subject. The second part of the sentence says something about the subject is called the predicate. Eg: The captain received the trophy. The captain – is the subject Received the trophy – is the predicate In imperative sentence, the subject is always ‘You’. Eg: Take boiled water. This sentence actually means – You must take boiled water.