Only a few days are left for the SSC CHSL 2025 Tier 1 exam, and still, you are in confusion with direct and indirect speech. Most candidates find Direct and Indirect Speech (Narration) very confusing due to tense changes, pronoun swapping, and weird adverbs. If you are also one of them, you might be mistaken because it’s all about learning tenses and conversion rules. We suggest you practice exam-level direct and indirect questions for SSC CHSL exam. Once you learn the simple conversion rules, you can solve these questions in very less seconds and secure those marks easily. In this blog, we have provided exam-level direct and indirect questions. Attempting these questions will help you know the types of questions SSC asks in the exam, the pattern of the questions, the difficulty level of the questions, and so on.
Concept of Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct Speech is when we report the exact words spoken by someone.
Direct Speech: He said, “I am going to the market.”
Indirect Speech is also known as reported speech; it is when we report the meaning of what someone said, without quoting their exact words.
Indirect or Reported Speech: He said that he was going to the market.
Example:
Direct Speech: Ravi said, “I am going to the market.”
Indirect Speech: Ravi said that he was going to the market.
Explanation:
- In Direct Speech, the exact words of the speaker are written inside quotation marks (“ ”).
- In Indirect Speech, the quotation marks are removed, and the sentence is reported in our own words.
- The tense of the verb changes — “am going” becomes “was going”.
- The pronoun “I” changes to “he” (because Ravi is the speaker).
Download Direct and Indirect Questions for SSC CHSL Free PDF
If you truly want to master this topic, you need to understand the rules and attempt the questions. But, as we all know that we have very little time and the exam is very close. So this is the time of focused practice on the exact patterns that SSC asks in the exam. Our Free PDF contains those questions that are frequently asked. This will help you know what types of questions they ask, which patterns they follow, and so on.
Download FREE Direct & Indirect Speech Questions for SSC CHSL PDF
- My brother said to me, “I have read this novel many times.”
(a) My brother told me that he had read that novel many times.
(b) My brother told me that he read that novel many times.
(c) My brother told me that he was read that novel many times.
(d) My brother told me that he has read that novel many times.
Answer: a
Sol. The reporting verb is said, i.e., in past, therefore, the tense in reported speech must be changed according to past. Present perfect tense is changed into past perfect tense. Personal pronouns ‘I’ changes into ‘he’ and ‘this’ into ‘that’. - The old man said that he would soon be leaving the world.
(a) The old man said, “I shall soon be leaving the world.”
(b) The old man said, “I would soon leave the world.”
(c) The old man said, “I am going to leave the world soon.”
(d) The old man said, “I am soon leaving the world.”
Answer: a
Sol. The reporting verb is said, i.e., in past, therefore, the tense in reported speech must be changed according to past. ‘Would’ changes into ‘shall’. Personal pronouns ‘he’ changes into ‘I’. Remove ‘that’ and use commas. - Lord Varys said to Daenerys, “We are heading towards westeros.”
(a) Lord Varys told Daenerys that they were being headed towards westeros.
(b) Lord Varys told Daenerys that they were heading towards westeros.
(c) Lord Varys told Daenerys that they were to head towards westeros.
(d) Lord Varys told Daenerys that we are heading towards westeros.
Answer: b
Sol. The reporting verb is said, i.e., in past, therefore, the tense in reported speech must be changed according to past. Present Continuous tense changes into Past Continuous tense. Personal pronouns ‘we’ changes into ‘they’. - Sadhana said to her friend, “What are you doing these days?”
(a) Sadhana asked to her friend that what she was doing those days.
(b) Sadhana asked her friend what was she doing those days.
(c) Sadhana asked her friend what she was doing those days.
(d) Sadhana asked her friend that what she is doing these days.
Answer: c
Sol. The reporting verb is said, i.e., in past, therefore, the tense in reported speech must be changed according to past. Present Continuous tense changes into Past Continuous tense. ‘What’ is used followed by assertive structure as the sentence is interrogative. Personal pronouns ‘you’ changes into ‘she’. ‘These’ changes into ‘those’ and ‘said to’ into ‘asked’. - The teacher asked him, “Why are you not participating in the dance competition?”
(a) The teacher asked him why he was not participating in the dance competition.
(b) The teacher asked him that was he not participating in the dance competition.
(c) The teacher asked him whether he was not participating in the dance competition.
(d) The teacher asked him why was he not participating in the dance competition.
Answer: a
Sol. The reporting verb is asked, i.e., in past, therefore, the tense in reported speech must be changed according to past. Present Continuous tense changes into Past Continuous tense. ‘Why’ is followed by assertive structure. Personal pronouns ‘you’ changes into ‘he’. - The prisoner enquired if a lawyer had been arranged for him.
(a) The prisoner asked, “Has a lawyer been arranged for me?”
(b) The prisoner enquired, “Is there a lawyer for me?”
(c) The prisoner said, “Have you arranged a lawyer for me?”
(d) The prisoner enquired, “Had a lawyer been arranged for me?”
Answer: a
Sol. The reporting verb is enquired, i.e., in past, therefore, the tense in reported speech must be changed according to past. Past Perfect tense changes into Present Perfect tense. Personal pronouns ‘him’ changes into ‘me’. - Farjana said that she might go home the next day with her sister.
(a) Farjana said, “I may just go home tomorrow with my sister.”
(b) Farjana said, “I could go home tomorrow with my sister.”
(c) Farjana said, “I can go home tomorrow with my sister.”
(d) Farjana said, “I will go home tomorrow with my sister.”
Answer: a
Sol. The reporting verb is said, i.e., in past, therefore, the tense in reported speech must be changed according to past. ‘Might’ changes into ‘may’. Personal pronouns ‘she’ changes into ‘I’. ‘The next day’ changes into ‘tomorrow’. - Rammohan said to Sunita, “Can you give me your laptop to fill a form?”
(a) Rammohan asked Sunita that if he could give her his laptop to fill a form.
(b) Rammohan asked Sunita that if she could give her laptop to fill a form to him.
(c) Rammohan asked Sunita if she could give her laptop to him to fill a form.
(d) Rammohan said to Sunita if she could give him her laptop to fill a form.
Answer: c
Sol. The reporting verb is said, i.e., in past, therefore, the tense in reported speech must be changed according to past. Modal ‘can’ changes into ‘could’. Personal pronouns ‘you’ changes into ‘she’ and ‘me’ into ‘him’. ‘Your’ changes into ‘her’. ‘If’ is used followed by assertive structure. - Mohini said to her manager, “Could you please answer my question?”
(a) Mohini requested her manager if he could please answer her question.
(b) Mohini requested to her manager to please answer her question.
(c) Mohini requested her manager to answer her question.
(d) Mohini requested her manager if he could repeat the question.
Answer: c
Sol. The imperative sentence expresses a request using ‘please’. The reporting verb ‘said to’ changes into ‘requested’. Object ‘her manager’ follows the verb. Infinitive form ‘to answer’ is used. Personal pronouns ‘my’ changes into ‘her’. - My friend requested me to bring him a sandwich.
(a) My friend said, “Will you bring me a sandwich?”
(b) “Please bring my friend a sandwich,” said he.
(c) He said, “My friend, please bring me a sandwich.”
(d) “Please bring me a sandwich,” said my friend.
Answer: d
Sol. The reporting verb is ‘requested’ and changes into ‘said’. ‘Please’ is added. Use base form of verb (V1) with object as it is an imperative sentence.
Download FREE Direct & Indirect Speech Questions for SSC CHSL PDF
The 3 Golden Rules of Direct and Indirect (Narration) Conversion
To solve these questions instantly, you only need to focus on these three mandatory changes. When you practice the questions in our PDF, check for these rules first!
Rule 1: Change the Reporting Verb (The Main Action)
The verb outside the quotes (the reporting verb) must change depending on the sentence type.
- For Statements (Declarative):
said tochanges totold.- Example: He said to me → He told me.
- For Questions (Interrogative):
said tochanges toasked,enquired, etc.- Example: He said to me, “Where…” → He asked me where…
- For Commands/Requests (Imperative):
said tochanges toordered,requested,advised, etc.
Rule 2: The Tense Shift (The Major Change!)
If the reporting verb is in the Past Tense (like ‘said’), the tense inside the quotation marks MUST shift backward. This is the rule that eliminates most wrong options!
| Direct Speech Tense | Changes to Indirect Speech Tense | Simple Example |
| Simple Present (V1/V5) | Simple Past (V2) | Am/is → Was |
| Present Continuous (is/am/are + ing) | Past Continuous (was/were + ing) | Is reading → Was reading |
| Present Perfect (has/have + V3) | Past Perfect (had + V3) | Have gone → Had gone |
| Simple Past (V2) | Past Perfect (had + V3) | Wrote → Had written |
| Future (Will) | Conditional (Would) | Will go → Would go |
Pro Tip: Past Perfect (had + V3) and Past Perfect Continuous never change!
Rule 3: Time, Place, and Adverb Changes
Certain words change when you move from the immediate present (Direct) to a past reference (Indirect).
| Direct Speech Word | Changes to Indirect Speech Word |
| Now | Then |
| Today | That day |
| Tomorrow | The next day/following day |
| Yesterday | The day before/previous day |
| This/These | That/Those |
| Here | There |
| Last night/week | The night/week before |
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FAQs: Direct and Indirect Questions for SSC CHSL
Direct Speech reports the exact words spoken by someone, using quotation marks to show what the speaker said.
Indirect Speech conveys the meaning of someone’s words without quoting them directly, often changing tense, pronouns, and adverbs.
SSC CHSL frequently asks 2–3 questions from this topic, making it important for scoring easy marks in the English section.
Remove quotation marks, change pronouns, shift the tense backward, and adjust adverbs or time references to report the sentence correctly.
Simple present → Simple past, Present continuous → Past continuous, Present perfect → Past perfect, Will → Would, etc.
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