How to Use Reported Speech in Hindi

Reported speech is a way to express what someone else said, without quoting them directly. It's commonly used in conversation and writing to relay information accurately while keeping the focus on the narrator.

Understanding the Basics

In Hindi, reported speech involves changes to the pronouns, verb tenses, and sometimes the sentence structure when converting from direct speech to indirect speech. It's important to follow these transformations to maintain the intended meaning.

Direct vs Indirect Speech

In direct speech, the exact words spoken are quoted, usually within inverted commas. For indirect or reported speech, these quotes are removed, and the tense and pronouns are adjusted accordingly.

Converting Direct Speech to Reported Speech in Hindi

To convert direct speech to reported speech in Hindi, various elements such as tense, pronouns, and sometimes adverbs need to be adjusted. Here's how it's done:

1. Identify the reporting verb and subject in direct speech.
2. Change the verb of the reported speech according to the rules of tense conversion.
3. Adjust pronouns and other words as per the changes in perspective.

Example of Conversion

Tense Changes in Reported Speech

In Hindi, as in English, tense conversion rules are crucial when shifting from direct to reported speech. Here are some common conversions:

Present to Past

• Simple Present becomes Simple Past
• Present Continuous becomes Past Continuous
• Present Perfect becomes Past Perfect

Past to Past Perfect

When the original speech is in the past tense, the reported speech often shifts to past perfect tense, reflecting the sequence of events.