Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)
Reported Speech (পরোক্ষ উক্তি — Narration)
Introductionভূমিকা
Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is how we tell someone what another person said without quoting their exact words: 'She said she was tired.' It involves changing tenses, pronouns and time words, and it is essential for everyday storytelling.
Reported speech (indirect speech নামেও পরিচিত) হলো কারো বলা কথা হুবহু উদ্ধৃত না করে নিজের ভাষায় জানানোর উপায়: 'She said she was tired.' এতে tense, pronoun ও সময়সূচক শব্দ বদলায়, এবং প্রতিদিনের কথা বলায় এটি খুবই দরকারি।
Definitionসংজ্ঞা
In reported speech we drop the quotation marks and usually add 'that', then shift the tense one step back after a past reporting verb: 'He said (that) he was busy.'
Reported speech-এ উদ্ধৃতি চিহ্ন বাদ যায় ও সাধারণত 'that' বসে, আর past reporting verb-এর পরে tense এক ধাপ পিছিয়ে যায়: 'He said (that) he was busy.'
Bangla Explanationবাংলা ব্যাখ্যা
কারো বলা কথা হুবহু উদ্ধৃতি চিহ্নসহ বললে তা direct speech; সেই কথা নিজের ভাষায় রিপোর্ট করলে তা reported speech বা indirect speech। reporting verb (said, told, asked) অতীত হলে সাধারণত tense এক ধাপ পিছিয়ে যায়: present → past, past → past perfect, will → would, can → could, may → might, must → had to। pronoun বক্তা-শ্রোতা অনুযায়ী বদলায়, আর সময়/স্থানসূচক শব্দও বদলায়: now → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the day before, here → there, this → that। প্রশ্ন রিপোর্ট করার সময় সাধারণ বাক্যের ক্রম থাকে ও do/does/did বাদ যায় (yes/no প্রশ্নে if/whether বসে): 'He asked if I was ready.' আদেশ/অনুরোধ রিপোর্ট করতে tell/ask + কর্ম + to + verb বসে: 'She told me to wait.' মনে রাখবেন — শ্রোতার উল্লেখ থাকলে say নয়, tell ব্যবহার করুন।
Examplesউদাহরণ
- 'I am tired,' she said. → She said that she was tired.সে বলল যে সে ক্লান্ত।
- 'I will call you,' he said. → He said he would call me.সে বলল যে সে আমাকে ফোন করবে।
- 'Do you like tea?' she asked. → She asked if I liked tea.সে জিজ্ঞেস করল আমি চা পছন্দ করি কিনা।
- 'Close the door,' he said. → He told me to close the door.সে আমাকে দরজা বন্ধ করতে বলল।
- 'I saw him yesterday,' she said. → She said she had seen him the day before.সে বলল যে সে তাকে আগের দিন দেখেছিল।
- 'Don't be late,' the teacher said. → The teacher told us not to be late.শিক্ষক আমাদের দেরি না করতে বললেন।
Common Mistakesসাধারণ ভুল
She said me that she was busy.
She told me that she was busy.
Use 'told' (not 'said') when you mention the listener.
He asked me where did I live.
He asked me where I lived.
Reported questions use statement word order — no 'did' and no inversion.
She said she will come.
She said she would come.
After a past reporting verb, 'will' backshifts to 'would'.
He told to me to wait.
He told me to wait.
'Tell' is followed directly by the person, without 'to'.
Tipsটিপস
- Move the tense one step back: present → past, past → past perfect, will → would. — Tense এক ধাপ পিছিয়ে দিন: present → past, past → past perfect, will → would।
- Use 'tell' when you name the listener and 'say' when you do not. — শ্রোতার উল্লেখ থাকলে 'tell', না থাকলে 'say' ব্যবহার করুন।
- For reported questions, keep normal statement order and drop 'do/does/did'. — Reported question-এ সাধারণ বাক্যের ক্রম রাখুন এবং 'do/does/did' বাদ দিন।
Quizকুইজ
Tap an answer to check yourself — a free preview of the full graded quiz in the app.
1. Report it: 'I am hungry,' he said.
2. Report the question: 'Where do you live?' she asked.
3. Report the command: 'Sit down,' the teacher said.
4. Choose the correct reporting verb: 'She ___ me that she was leaving.'
Practiceঅনুশীলন
Try each one, then reveal the answer.
1. Report it: 'I can swim,' she said. → She said she ___ swim.
Hint: can → could
2. Report it: 'Do you speak English?' he asked. → He asked ___ I spoke English.
Hint: yes/no question → if / whether
3. Report it: 'I met him yesterday,' he said. → He said he had met him ___.
Hint: yesterday → the day before
Related Lessonsসম্পর্কিত পাঠ
- Past Simple TenseThe past simple tense in Bangla and English: the -ed rule, common irregular verbs, using 'did' for questions and negatives, examples, mistakes and a free quiz.
- Question TagsQuestion tags in Bangla and English: the positive-negative rule, choosing the right auxiliary and pronoun, with clear examples, mistakes and a free quiz.
- Present Simple TenseThe present simple tense in Bangla and English: how to use it for habits and facts, the -s/-es rule, questions and negatives, examples, mistakes and a free quiz.
AI Practiceএআই অনুশীলন
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Practise with the AI teacher →Frequently Asked Questionsসাধারণ জিজ্ঞাসা
What is reported speech?
Reported speech (or indirect speech) is a way of telling someone what another person said without using their exact words or quotation marks, usually with a reporting verb such as 'said' or 'told'.
How do tenses change in reported speech?
After a past reporting verb, the tense usually moves one step back: present simple → past simple, present continuous → past continuous, past simple → past perfect, and 'will' → 'would'.
What is the difference between 'say' and 'tell'?
'Tell' must be followed by the person you are speaking to ('He told me'), while 'say' is used without naming a listener ('He said that…').