SEBA Class 10 Narration Guide: Key Rules & Examples
This guide is structured based on the types of questions that frequently appear in the SEBA HSLC (Class 10) Examination.
Part 1: The 5 Core Changes
When changing from Direct to Indirect speech, you must check these 5 things:
Change the Reporting Verb: said to becomes told, asked, ordered, etc.
Remove Inverted Commas: The quotation marks (“…”) are removed.
Add a Conjunction: A word like that, if, whether, or to is used to connect the reporting clause with the reported speech.
Change the Pronouns: Pronouns (I, you, he, my, your, etc.) change based on the speaker and the listener.
Change the Tense (Backshift): The tense of the reported speech usually moves one step “back” into the past.
Change Time/Place Words: Words like today, tomorrow, here, now are changed.
Part 2: Change of Tense (The “Backshift”)
This is the most important rule. If the reporting verb (e.g., said) is in the Past Tense, the tense of the reported speech changes as follows:
Present Simple -> Past Simple
Direct: He said, “I write a letter.”
Indirect: He said that he wrote a letter.
Direct: She said, “He goes to school.”
Indirect: She said that he went to school.
Present Continuous -> Past Continuous
Direct: He said, “I am writing a letter.”
Indirect: He said that he was writing a letter.
Direct: They said, “We are playing football.”
Indirect: They said that they were playing football.
Present Perfect -> Past Perfect
Direct: He said, “I have written a letter.”
Indirect: He said that he had written a letter.
Direct: Rita said, “I have done my homework.”
Indirect: Rita said that she had done her homework.
Present Perfect Continuous -> Past Perfect Continuous
Direct: He said, “I have been writing a letter.”
Indirect: He said that he had been writing a letter.
Past Simple -> Past Perfect (A very common exam question)
Direct: He said, “I wrote a letter.”
Indirect: He said that he had written a letter.
Direct: The boy said, “I went to the market.”
Indirect: The boy said that he had gone to the market.
Past Continuous -> Past Perfect Continuous
Direct: He said, “I was writing a letter.”
Indirect: He said that he had been writing a letter.
Direct: She said, “It was raining.”
Indirect: She said that it had been raining.
Past Perfect -> NO CHANGE
Direct: He said, “I had written a letter.”
Indirect: He said that he had written a letter.
Past Perfect Continuous -> NO CHANGE
Direct: He said, “I had been writing a letter.”
Indirect: He said that he had been writing a letter.
Future (will/shall) -> would/should
Direct: He said, “I will write a letter.”
Indirect: He said that he would write a letter.
Direct: She said, “I shall go home.”
Indirect: She said that she would go home. (Using should is also possible but would is more common for simple future).
Modals (can/may) -> could/might
Direct: He said, “I can write a letter.”
Indirect: He said that he could write a letter.
Direct: She said, “I may be late.”
Indirect: She said that she might be late.
Modals (must) -> had to / must
Direct: He said, “I must finish the work.”
Indirect: He said that he had to finish the work.
(If must implies a permanent rule, it can remain unchanged: He said that all students must wear the uniform.)
Modals (could, should, would, might) -> NO CHANGE
Direct: He said, “I should help him.”
Indirect: He said that he should help him.
Part 3: Exceptions to Tense Change (SEBA Favourite)
The tense DOES NOT change, even if the reporting verb is in the past, in these cases:
Universal Truth or Scientific Fact
Direct: The teacher said, “The Earth moves round the sun.”
Indirect: The teacher said that the Earth moves round the sun.
Direct: He said, “Water boils at 100 degrees.”
Indirect: He said that water boils at 100 degrees.
Habitual Action or Proverb
Direct: My father said, “I go for a walk every morning.”
Indirect: My father said that he goes for a walk every morning.
Direct: The teacher said, “Honesty is the best policy.”
Indirect: The teacher said that honesty is the best policy.
Reporting Verb is in Present or Future Tense (e.g., says, will say)
Direct: He says, “I am unwell.”
Indirect: He says that he is unwell. (No tense change)
Direct: She will say, “I have passed the exam.”
Indirect: She will say that she has passed the exam. (No tense change)
Part 4: Change of Pronouns
Pronouns change based on the Subject (Speaker) and Object (Listener).
First Person (I, me, my, we, us, our) -> Changes according to the Subject of the reporting verb.
Second Person (You, your) -> Changes according to the Object of the reporting verb.
Third Person (He, she, it, they, his, her, their) -> NO CHANGE.
First Person Example:
Direct: He said, “I am busy.”
Indirect: He said that he was busy.
Direct: They said, “We like the book.”
Indirect: They said that they liked the book.
Second Person Example:
Direct: He said to me, “You are clever.”
Indirect: He told me that I was clever.
Direct: I said to him, “You can go.”
Indirect: I told him that he could go.
Direct: She said to them, “Your work is good.”
Indirect: She told them that their work was good.
Second Person (No Object): If the object is not mentioned, you can assume it to be me or a general third person.
Direct: He said, “You are wrong.”
Indirect: He said that I was wrong. (Assuming he said it to me)
Indirect: He said that one was wrong. (General)
Third Person Example:
Direct: I said, “He is a good player.”
Indirect: I said that he was a good player. (No change)
Direct: She said, “They will come.”
Indirect: She said that they would come. (No change)
Part 5: Change of Time and Place Words
now -> then
today -> that day
yesterday -> the previous day / the day before
tomorrow -> the next day / the following day
last night -> the previous night / the night before
last week -> the previous week
next month -> the following month
here -> there
this -> that
these -> those
ago -> before
thus -> so
come -> go (sometimes, depending on context)
Examples:
33. Direct: He said, “I am busy now.”
* Indirect: He said that he was busy then.
34. Direct: She said, “I will leave tomorrow.”
* Indirect: She said that she would leave the next day.
35. Direct: He said, “I came yesterday.”
* Indirect: He said that he had come the previous day.
36. Direct: He said, “I live here.”
* Indirect: He said that he lived there.
Part 6: Rules by Sentence Type (The Most Important Section)
A. Assertive Sentences (Statements)
These are simple statements.
37. Rule: Reporting verb said to changes to told.
38. Rule: If there is no object, said remains said.
39. Rule: Use the conjunction that.
40. Rule: Apply all core changes (Tense, Pronoun, Adverb).
Examples:
41. Direct: He said to me, “I am your friend.”
* Indirect: He told me that he was my friend.
42. Direct: The teacher said, “You have not done your homework.”
* Indirect: The teacher said (or told me) that I had not done my homework.
43. Direct: Rita said to him, “I cannot give you my pen today.”
* Indirect: Rita told him that she could not give him her pen that day.
44. Direct: The man said, “I went to Guwahati yesterday.”
* Indirect: The man said that he had gone to Guwahati the previous day.
45. Direct: My brother said to me, “You were wrong.”
* Indirect: My brother told me that I had been wrong.
B. Interrogative Sentences (Questions)
There are two types of questions.
Type 1: Yes/No Questions (Start with helping verbs like is, am, are, do, did, have, can, will)
Rule: Reporting verb said or said to changes to asked or enquired of.
Rule: Use the conjunction if or whether.
Rule: CRITICAL: The question form is changed to a statement form (Subject + Verb). Do not use a question mark.
Rule: If the question has do or does, they are removed, and the main verb is changed to Past Simple.
Rule: If the question has did, it is removed, and the main verb is changed to Past Perfect (had + V3).
Examples:
51. Direct: He said to me, “Are you ill?”
* Indirect: He asked me if I was ill. (NOT if was I ill)
52. Direct: I said to him, “Will you go to college?”
* Indirect: I asked him whether he would go to college.
53. Direct: She said to me, “Do you know me?”
* Indirect: She asked me if I knew her. (do removed, know -> knew)
54. Direct: The teacher said to the boy, “Did you come to school yesterday?”
* Indirect: The teacher asked the boy if he had come to school the previous day. (did removed, come -> had come)
55. Direct: He said, “Have you finished the work?”
* Indirect: He asked (me) if I had finished the work.
56. Direct: The woman said to the child, “Can you help me?”
* Indirect: The woman asked the child if he/she could help her.
Type 2: ‘Wh-‘ Questions (Start with what, when, where, why, who, how, which)
Rule: Reporting verb said or said to changes to asked or enquired of.
Rule: CRITICAL: The ‘Wh-‘ word itself acts as the conjunction. Do NOT use that, if, or whether.
Rule: The question form is changed to a statement form (Subject + Verb).
Rule: Rules for do, does, and did are the same as above.
Examples:
61. Direct: He said to me, “What are you doing?”
* Indirect: He asked me what I was doing. (NOT what was I doing)
62. Direct: I said to the boy, “Why are you crying?”
* Indirect: I asked the boy why he was crying.
63. Direct: The teacher said to me, “Where do you live?”
* Indirect: The teacher asked me where I lived. (do removed, live -> lived)
64. Direct: He said to her, “When did you arrive?”
* Indirect: He asked her when she had arrived. (did removed, arrive -> had arrived)
65. Direct: The stranger asked me, “Who are you?”
* Indirect: The stranger asked me who I was.
66. Direct: My father said to me, “How is your health?”
* Indirect: My father asked me how my health was.
C. Imperative Sentences (Commands, Requests, Advice)
These sentences express an order, request, advice, or prohibition.
Rule: The reporting verb said to is changed based on the “mood” of the sentence:
ordered or commanded (for an order)
requested or begged (for a request, e.g., “Please”)
advised or urged (for advice, e.g., “You should…”)
forbade (for “Do not…”)
asked (for a simple instruction)
Rule: Use the conjunction to for positive sentences. The verb remains in its base form (V1).
Rule: Use the conjunction not to for negative sentences (“Don’t…”).
Rule: Words like “Please” or “Kindly” are removed (they are implied in requested).
Examples (Command/Order):
71. Direct: The teacher said to the boy, “Stand up.”
* Indirect: The teacher ordered the boy to stand up.
72. Direct: The captain said to the soldiers, “Fire.”
* Indirect: The captain commanded the soldiers to fire.
Examples (Request):
73. Direct: He said to me, “Please give me a glass of water.”
* Indirect: He requested me to give him a glass of water.
74. Direct: The student said to the teacher, “Kindly check my exercise.”
* Indirect: The student requested the teacher to check his exercise.
Examples (Advice):
75. Direct: The doctor said to the patient, “Take medicine regularly.”
* Indirect: The doctor advised the patient to take medicine regularly.
76. Direct: My father said to me, “Work hard for the exam.”
* Indirect: My father advised me to work hard for the exam.
Examples (Negative / Prohibition):
77. Direct: The teacher said to me, “Don’t waste your time.”
* Indirect: The teacher advised me not to waste my time.
* Alternatively: The teacher forbade me to waste my time.
78. Direct: My mother said to me, “Don’t go out in the sun.”
* Indirect: My mother forbade me to go out in the sun.
* Alternatively: My mother advised me not to go out in the sun.
Special Case: “Let” (Common in SEBA)
Rule (Suggestion): If “Let us” or “Let’s” shows a suggestion or proposal.
Reporting verb -> proposed to or suggested to.
Conjunction -> that.
We use -> …they should… or …we should…
Direct: He said to me, “Let us go for a walk.”
Indirect: He proposed to me that we should go for a walk.
Direct: The boy said, “Let’s play football.”
Indirect: The boy suggested that they should play football.
Rule (Permission): If “Let” means “allow” or to ask for permission.
Reporting verb -> requested.
Conjunction -> to let or that… might be allowed to…
Direct: He said to the teacher, “Let me go home.”
Indirect: He requested the teacher to let him go home.
Alternatively: He requested the teacher that he might be allowed to go home.
Direct: The girl said, “Let me have a look.”
Indirect: The girl wished that she might be allowed to have a look.
D. Exclamatory Sentences (Strong Emotions)
These sentences show strong feelings (joy, sorrow, wonder) and often end with !.
Rule: Reporting verb said changes to exclaimed with joy, exclaimed with sorrow, exclaimed with wonder, cried out, etc.
Rule: Interjections like “Hurrah!”, “Alas!”, “Oh!”, “What!”, “How!” are removed. The emotion is expressed in the reporting verb.
Rule: Use the conjunction that.
Rule: The exclamatory sentence is changed to an assertive sentence (statement).
Rule: “What a…” or “How…” are usually changed to very or great.
Examples:
90. Direct: The boy said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”
* Indirect: The boy exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
91. Direct: The old woman said, “Alas! My son is dead.”
* Indirect: The old woman exclaimed with sorrow that her son was dead.
92. Direct: He said, “What a beautiful sight!”
* Indirect: He exclaimed with wonder that it was a very beautiful sight.
93. Direct: She said, “How foolish I am!”
* Indirect: She exclaimed (or confessed) that she was very foolish.
94. Direct: He said, “What a fool!”
* Indirect: He exclaimed that he/she was a great fool.
95. Direct: I said to him, “Bravo! You have done well.”
* Indirect: I applauded him, saying that he had done well.
E. Optative Sentences (Wishes, Prayers, Farewells)
These sentences express a wish, prayer, or curse. They often start with “May”.
Rule: Reporting verb said changes to wished or prayed.
Rule: Use the conjunction that.
Rule: The sentence structure becomes Assertive (Subject + Verb).
Rule: May is changed to might.
Examples:
100. Direct: He said to me, “May you live long.”
* Indirect: He wished me that I might live long.
* Simpler: He wished that I might live long.
101. Direct: The woman said, “May God bless you.”
* Indirect: The woman prayed that God might bless me.
102. Direct: My father said to me, “May you succeed in life.”
* Indirect: My father wished that I might succeed in life.
Special Case: “Good morning/night/bye”
Rule: For “Good morning”, “Good evening”, etc., we use the verb wished.
Rule: For “Goodbye”, “Good night”, we use the verb bade.
Direct: He said to me, “Good morning.”
Indirect: He wished me good morning.
Direct: She said, “Good night, mother.”
Indirect: She bade her mother good night.
Direct: They said to us, “Goodbye.”
Indirect: They bade us goodbye.