Direct and Indirect Rules with Exercises for All

Direct & Indirect

Rule No.1 Change of Pronouns in assertive sentences

Personal Noun	Possessive Pronoun	Pronoun	Reflexive Pronoun
I He She It You They We Who One	My his her it your their our whose one’s	Me him her it you them us whom one	Myself himself herself itself yourselves/yourself themselves ourselves - Oneself

Change the Narration.

1. He said to us,” You waste your time.”
2. He said, “I go to college yesterday.”’
3. They said, “We are sure he would come.”
4. They said,” We do not waste time”.
5. She said to him’ “Sir’ I am your student.”
6. He said, “I shall come as soon as possible.”
7. He said to her, “I am your teacher.”

Rule No.2 Change of Tense with “said’ is used in assertive sentences

Direct	Indirect
“write/writes” is/are/am writing was/were writing do/does not write did not write shall/will write may write can write	wrote was/were writing had been writing had not written had not written would write might write could write
So Today Tomorrow Yesterday To night Here Now	Then That day Next day Previous day Last night There Then

Rule No. 3           Imperative Sentences

Change the Narration

1. My father said to me, “Give up smoking.”

My father ordered me to give up smoking.

2. I said to my friend “Please wait for me.”
3. She said, “Do not shuffle and walk properly.”
4. He said to the waiter “Fetch me some water and don’t be late.”
5. The manager said to me “Pay the bill, please.”
6. She said, “Please, do not be a child.”
7. The referee said, “Quiet please.”
8. The doctor said to the patient, “Take complete rest.”
9. He said to his Master, “Lend me some money, please.”
10. The officer said, “Type this letter right now.”

Interrogative Sentences

Change the Narration

1.           They said to me, “Did you ever play for your school team?”

2.           He said, “Was the food good or not?”

3.           She said to them, “Do you like the book I gave you?”

4.           They said, “Are you ashamed of what you did?”

5.           She said to me, “Will you help me please?”

6.       The young man said, "Do you see what I see, Ali?”

7.       She said, “Is this your book?”

8.       I said to him, “Where is your father?”

9.       They said to us, “How have you done this thing?”

10.      He said, “When do you sing the song, Ali?”

11.       He said to father, “What is the answer to this question?”

12.       He said to me, “Since when have you been working here?”

13.       He said to all of us, “Why were you making a noise, students?”

 

Explanative Sentences

Change the Narration

1.           Wasim Akram said, “Alas! I lost the match.”

2.           The colonel said, “Hurrah! We have won the battle.”

3.           She said, “My God! I am ruined.”

4.           She said, “Aha! I have found the lost necklace.”

5.           They said, “Bravo! We have won the scholarship.”

6.           She said, “Look out! He is not a good man.”

7.           He said, “Hurrah! we have done it at last.”

8.           He said, “What a lazy boy you are!”

9.           He said, “What a man you are!”

10.       She said, “Alas1 I am lost.”

Optative Sentences

Change the Narration

1.          He said, “May you recover soon!”

2.          Mother said to her son, “May you live long!”

3.          They said, “May you lick the dust.”

4.          He said, “Would that he were here.”

5.          She said, “I wish I were an orator!”

6.          He said, “I wish I had not disclosed the secret!”

7.          They said, “Would that we had won the toss!”

Modal Auxiliaries

Change the Narration

1.       She says, “I cannot sit idle now.”

2.       He said to her mother, “May I help you in your work.”

3.       I said to her, “Can I do anything more for you now.”

4.       You said to him, “How can you deceive me.”

5.       She says to me,” I cannot leave you in this difficult position”.

 Click to mark Self-Assessment Test of Direct and Indirect

Universal Truth & Proverbs

Change the Narration

1.            Father said’ “My son honesty is the best policy.”

2.           He said to me, “The earth revolves around the sun”.

3.           The old Said,” Union is Strength”.

4.           He said,” God is one.”

Sentences with ‘Let’

Change the Narration

SUGGESTION

1.       They said, “Let us finish our work first.”

2.       He said, “Let us vow to do noble deeds.”

3.       He said,” Let us play card”.

4.       He said to me’ “Let us seek the help of God in this matter”.

5.       I said to Ali “Let us complete our lesson.”

6.       I said “Let us be happy on our victory.”

7.       I said to him,” Let us pray for rain”.

8.       He said to me, “Let us not smoke in the examination”.

9.        He said to me, “Let us be friends again”.

REQUEST

1.           I said to my friend “Let me go, please.”

2.           I said to him, “Let me do my job.”

3.           He said to me,” Let me play a match”.

4.           I said to him, “Let the old woman come in”.

5.           He said, “Don’t let the boys smoke

Change the Voice

Set-I

1.           She sings a song.   

2.           He does not break his promise.

3.           Does he make a noise..

4.           We read the holy Quran.

5.           They write many poems.                                       

6.           She is reading a poem.

7.           He doesn’t waste any money.                      

8.           She has gifted me a ring.

9.           He makes a noise in class.

10.       The teacher is punishing the boys.

11.       Are you doing your questions?          

12.       Does he reply to the letter?

13.       You have not obeyed your master.    

14.       They are seeing the moon.

15.       Have you lent her your camera?       

16.       She is cooking the meat.

17.       She has not sold her books.                        

18.       They are selecting the apples.

19.       They are keeping pigeons.

20.       We shall take the examination next year.

21.       I have done my homework today.

22.       He does not sing old songs.

23.       I did not reply his remarks.

24.       We have solved all the sums.

25.       Does he hate the poor?

26.       We are not wasting our time.

27.       I have not done any mistake.

28.       Do not beat the cow.

29.       Open the window.

30.       Stop writing.

 

 

Set II

1.       She is writing a book.     

2.           I do not break his promise.

3.           Do they make a noise?

4.           We read the Newspaper daily.

5.           He wrote many poems.                                          

6.           The poem is being learnt by her.

7.           He did not waste any money.                      

8.           A ring of gold has been gifted to her by me.

9.           He is making a noise in class.    

10.       You are being punished by the teacher.

11.       Were you doing your questions?                 

12.       Is his letter not replied to by her?

13.       You had not obeyed your master.     

14.       The moon is being seen by them.

15.       Had you lent her your camera?         

16.       Some meat is cooked by her

17.       They have not sold their books.                           

18.       Apples are being selected by them.

19.       They are keeping hens.

20.       We shall buy the fruit.

21.       I do not do my homework daily.

22.       He does not write old songs.

23.       I will not reply to his remarks.

24.       We have solved all the sums.

25.       Will he hate the exam?

26.       We are not wasting our time.

27.       I have not done any mistakes.

28.       Do not tear my book.

29.       Solve these sums.

30.       Stop cheating.

Prof. Muhammad Masood Sadiq

M.A (Eng) M.A (EPM), Dip (TEFL)

Punjab Colleges Sialkot

 

 

 

Some Rules for Corrections

Rule No.1

Agreement of the Verb with its Subject

Examples:

•      The quality of these mangoes is not so good.

•      A fee of fifteen hundred rupees was paid to the doctor.

•      The number of boys present is very small.

•      A number of boys present are very small.

 

Rule No.2

Two or more singular Nouns or Pronouns, used as Subject:

Examples:

o   Ali and Kashif are friends.

o   Cotton and Jute grow in Pakistan.

o   He and I are partners in that business.

 

Rule No.3

Subject refers to one person or one idea

Examples:

o   My brother and doctor is working in this hospital.

o   Hard work and perseverance is a key to success.

o   Bread and butter is his only food these days.

o   The horse and carriage is at the door.

o   Bread and butter are available in the store.

 

Rule No.4

If a Singular Subject is preceded by each, every

Examples:

•      Every boy and every girl was punished.

•      Each day and each hour brings a new change.

•      Everybody has his own seat.

 

Rule No.5

If Singular Subject is joined to one or more persons, things by ‘with’, ‘as well as’ or ‘besides’, Singular Verb is  used:

Examples:

•      The king with his sons goes to the park daily.

•      He as well as his friends goes to cinema.

•      The mother besides the children was watching T.V.

•      The mother along with her children was watching T.V. or

•      The children along with their mother were watching T.V.

Rule No.6

If two or more Singular Subject, joined by ‘or’, ‘nor’, ‘either’, ‘neither’, verb is used according to the nearest one:

Examples:

•      Neither the teachers nor the students are willing to go there.

•      Either he or his friend goes there.

•      Either he or you have done that.

•      Either she or her parents are agreed.

Rule No.7

‘Each’, ‘Every’, ‘Neither’, ‘Either’, ‘Everyone’, ‘Many a’, one, are followed by Singular Verb

Examples:

⮚    Each of them was present in the party.

⮚    Everybody likes the music.            

⮚    Neither of these girls has qualified the test.

⮚    Either of these two boys has told a lie.

⮚    Many a student has got ‘A’ grades.

⮚    One-third of the book is boring.

 Rule No.8

Inversion : (Verb before the subject)

Examples:

⮚    Not only have our ways of living changed, but people themselves have also changed.

⮚    Here comes the winner of the game!

⮚    Round the corner came the postman.

⮚    At no time did she say she would come.

⮚    Never had I felt so happy.

⮚    No sooner had I arrived than they all started to argue.

Rule No.9

Time, money, measurement, weight, volume, and fractions are usually singular when amount is considered as a unit.

Examples:

⮚    One fourth of the cake has been eaten.

⮚    Three dollars is not enough to buy the cake.

⮚    Two-thirds of the students have qualified the test.

 

Rule No.10

With fractions, & percentages and Indefinite Quantifiers (all, few, many, much, some) the very agrees with the preceding Noun or Clause.

Example:

⮚    One-third of this article is taken up for study.

⮚    Much of the book seems interesting.

⮚    Half of what he writes is fantastic.

⮚    One-third of the students are absent.

⮚    Fifty per cent of the computers have arrived.

⮚    All the studies are current.

 

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English Grammar by Masood Sadiq

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