English Language · Lesson 11

Direct/reported speech, active/passive & conditionals

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: sentence interpretation and structure; tense and sequence of tenses; voice; conditional clauses; reported speech items

WAEC: Grammatical structures — direct and indirect (reported) speech, changes of tense, pronoun and adverb; active and passive voice in all tenses; conditional sentences (zero, first, second, third, mixed); sentence transformation in objective and essay papers

NECO: Grammatical structures — direct and indirect (reported) speech, changes of tense, pronoun and adverb; active and passive voice in all tenses; conditional sentences (zero, first, second, third, mixed); sentence transformation in objective and essay papers

What you will learn

Punctuate direct speech correctly.
Convert statements from direct to reported speech with correct backshift and changes of pronouns and adverbs.
Recognise when tenses need not change.
Report yes/no questions, wh-questions, commands, requests and advice using suitable reporting verbs.
Form the passive in all common tenses and with modals, and convert between active and passive.
Use passive voice appropriately in formal and scientific writing.
Form and use zero, first, second, third and mixed conditionals, including inversion and “unless”.

Key points

Direct speech: exact words in quotation marks; punctuation inside the closing mark; new paragraph per speaker.
Reported speech after a past reporting verb: tenses move one step back.
Change pronouns and time/place words: now → then, here → there, tomorrow → the next day.
No backshift for universal truths or with a present reporting verb.
say (to someone) that…; tell + someone + that…
Questions: ask + if/whether or wh-word + statement word order.
Commands/requests: tell/ask/order/warn + object + (not) to-infinitive; suggest + -ing.
Passive: be (same tense) + past participle; only transitive verbs.
Zero and first conditionals: real; second: unreal present (If I were); third: unreal past.
Unless = if not; inversion: Had I known…, Should you need…, Were I…

Start here: Direct speech and its punctuation

When we write the exact words someone said, we use direct speech. Novels, newspaper interviews and your narrative essays in WAEC Paper 2 all use it. Good punctuation of direct speech earns marks for mechanical accuracy.

Rules of direct speech: (1) put the spoken words inside quotation marks; (2) begin the spoken words with a capital letter; (3) separate the speech from the reporting clause with a comma (or a question mark or exclamation mark if the speech is a question or exclamation), placed inside the closing quotation mark; (4) start a new paragraph for each new speaker.

“I will be late,” said Tunde.
Tunde said, “I will be late.”
“Where is the principal?” asked the visitor.
“If you hurry,” Mother said, “you will catch the bus.” (one sentence broken by the reporting clause, so “you” stays lower case)

⚠️ Common mistake: writing the full stop outside the quotation marks, or starting a broken sentence again with a capital letter: “If you hurry,” Mother said, “You will…” is wrong.

💡 Exam tip: British usage (followed by WAEC) often uses single quotation marks (‘…’) and Nigerian schools use both. Either is accepted if you are consistent.

Try it yourself. Punctuate: are you coming to the match asked emeka

Show solution

“Are you coming to the match?” asked Emeka.

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Practice questions

1. Change to reported speech: She said, "I am tired."

She said that she was tired.
She said that I am tired.
She said that she is tired now.
She says she was tired.

Show answer

A: She said that she was tired.
Backshift: am → was; I → she.

2. Change to reported speech: He said, "I will come tomorrow."

He said that he will come tomorrow.
He said that I would come tomorrow.
He says he came the next day.
He said that he would come the next day.

Show answer

D: He said that he would come the next day.
will → would; tomorrow → the next day.

3. Change to reported speech: "Where do you live?" he asked me.

He asked me where do I live.
He asked where I live me.
He asked me where I lived.
He asked me where did I live.

Show answer

C: He asked me where I lived.
Reported questions use statement word order.

4. Change to reported speech: The teacher said, "Close your books."

The teacher asked close our books.
The teacher told us to close our books.
The teacher said close your books.
The teacher told that we close books.

Show answer

B: The teacher told us to close our books.
Commands use "told + object + to-infinitive".

5. Change to the passive: The dog chased the cat.

The cat was chased by the dog.
The cat chased the dog.
The dog was chased by the cat.
The cat is chased by the dog.

Show answer

A: The cat was chased by the dog.
Object becomes subject; past tense kept.

Key words

Direct speech: The exact words of a speaker, placed inside quotation marks.
Reported (indirect) speech: The speaker’s message given in the reporter’s own words, without quotation marks.
Reporting verb: The verb that introduces speech: say, tell, ask, reply, advise, etc.
Backshift: Moving a verb one tense back when reporting after a past reporting verb.
Active voice: A sentence pattern in which the subject performs the action.
Passive voice: A sentence pattern in which the subject receives the action.
Agent: The doer of the action in a passive sentence, often introduced by “by”.
Past participle: The verb form used with have and be, e.g. written, taken, done.
Transitive verb: A verb that takes a direct object and can be made passive.
Intransitive verb: A verb with no object; it cannot be made passive.
Conditional sentence: A sentence with an if-clause (condition) and a main clause (result).
Subjunctive “were”: The form “were” used with all subjects in unreal conditions: If I were you…

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