Reported Speech বা Narration হলো ইংরেজি ব্যাকরণের একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ অংশ, যেখানে কারও বলা কথাকে হুবহু না বলে নিজের ভাষায় প্রকাশ করা হয়। একে সহজভাবে বলা যায় Direct Speech থেকে Indirect Speech এ রূপান্তর। যেমন –
Direct: He said, “I am busy now.”
Indirect: He said that he was busy then.
Frederick Douglass: A Slave’s Fight Against Ignorance-U5L5
Narration শেখা শুধু পরীক্ষার জন্য নয়, বরং দৈনন্দিন কথোপকথন, লিখিত রচনা, এমনকি পেশাগত যোগাযোগেও খুব দরকারি। সঠিকভাবে Pronoun, Verb, Tense, Time ও Place পরিবর্তন করার মাধ্যমে Direct Speech সহজেই Indirect Speech-এ রূপান্তর করা যায়।
এই নিবন্ধে আমরা Narration এর সমস্ত নিয়ম, টেবিল, উদাহরণ ও অনুশীলন একসাথে দেখব, যাতে শিক্ষার্থীরা এক জায়গাতেই পূর্ণাঙ্গ ধারণা পেতে পারে।
Direct Speech → Indirect Speech
👉 যখন আমরা কারও কথাকে হুবহু উদ্ধৃত করি, তখন সেটিকে বলা হয় Direct Speech।
👉 আর সেই কথাকে নিজের ভাষায় প্রকাশ করলে তাকে বলা হয় Indirect Speech / Narration।
Example:
- Direct: He said to me, “I am ill.”
- Indirect: He told me that he was ill.
Narration (Direct Speech থেকে Indirect Speech করার নিয়ম)
(a) Pronoun পরিবর্তন
Reported Verb-এর subject/object অনুযায়ী pronoun পরিবর্তন হয়।
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
| I → | I/he/she/you |
| me → | me/him/her/you |
| my → | my/his/her/your |
| we → | we/they |
| us → | us/them |
| our → | our/their |
| you → | I/you/he/she/they |
| you (object) → | me/you/him/her/them |
| your → | my/your/his/her/their |
(b) Verb পরিবর্তন
Reported speech-এর verb সাধারণত এক ধাপ পিছিয়ে যায়।
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
| am / is / are → | was / were |
| was / were → | had been |
| have / has / had → | had |
| verb (present form) → | verb (past form) |
| verb (past form) → | had + V.P.P |
| shall / will / can / may → | should / would / could /might |
| must → | must / had to |
(c) Time/Place পরিবর্তন
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
| now → | then |
| here → | there |
| this → | that |
| these → | those |
| today → | that day |
| yesterday → | the day before / the previous day |
| tomorrow → | the next day |
Top 20 Essential Adjective Examples in Real Sentences
Sentence অনুযায়ী Narration Rules
(a) Assertive Sentence
Structure: Subject + told + object + that + changed subject + changed verb + …
Example:
- Direct: Alim said to Kalim, “I will go home tomorrow.”
- Indirect: Alim told Kalim that he would go home the next day.
Exercise:
- Shuman said to me, “You are a fool.”
- I said to Tareq, “I have eaten rice.”
- Mother said to me, “I saw him.”
- They said to me, “We have been walking for an hour.”
- Sheela said to Karim, “I went to your house yesterday but you were absent.”
- Samira said to me, “I have won a lottery and got 10 lakh taka”.
- Shamim said to Samira, “I want to serve my poor village people and so I have made up my mind to establish a hospital in our rural area”.
- Samira said to me, “I shall also help you in this respect”.
- The Principal said to the students, “You must abide by the rules and regulations of this college”.
- We said to the Principal, “We will try our best to uplift your college”.
(b) Interrogative Sentence
Structure: Subject + asked + object + if / wh-word + changed subject + changed verb + …
Example:
- Direct: Alim said to Kalim, “Will you go home tomorrow?”
- Indirect: Alim asked Kalim if he would go home the next day.
Exercise:
a. Shuman said to me, “Are you a fool?”
b. I said to Tareq, “Have you eaten rice?”
c. Mother said to me, “When did you see him?”
d. You said to me, “Why were you absent yesterday?”
e. She said to me, “What is your mother’s name?”
(c) Imperative Sentence
Structure:
- Subject + ordered / requested / advised + object + to + verb.
- Subject + proposed to + object + that + changed subject + should + verb.
- Subject + prayed to + object + that + changed subject + might be allowed to + verb.
Example:
- Direct: He said to me, “Shut the door.”
- Indirect: He ordered me to shut the door.
Exercise:
a. He said to the boy, “Do the work.”
b. Mother said to the boy, “Do not run in the sun.”
c. The boy said to me, “Let’s do the work.”
(d) Optative Sentence
Structure: Subject + wished + that + changed subject + might + verb.
Example:
- Direct: He said to me, “May God bless you.”
- Indirect: He wished that God might bless me.
Exercise:
a. He said to me, “May you live long.”
b. He said, “Long live our President.”
(e) Exclamatory Sentence
Structure: Subject + exclaimed + that + changed subject + changed verb + very/great …
Example:
- Direct: She said, “How nice the pen is!”
- Indirect: She exclaimed that the pen was very nice.
Exercise:
a. He said, “What a fine day it is!”
b. Mamun said, “Hurrah! We have won the game.”
Rules of Narration & Best Examples
Passage Narration Rules (Special Cases)
Rule 1: “Had better” → advise
- Direct: He said, “You had better see a doctor.”
- Indirect: He advised me to see a doctor.
Rule 2: Greeting Words
- Direct: He said to me, “Good evening.”
- Indirect: He wished me good evening.
- Direct: I said, “Good night.”
- Indirect: I bade him good night.
Rule 3: Thank / Congratulation
- Direct: Rahman said, “Thank you.”
- Indirect: Rahman thanked me.
Rule 4: Universal Truth (No tense change)
- Direct: The priest said, “We are mortal.”
- Indirect: The priest said that we are mortal.
Rule 5: If I were + condition
- Direct: He said, “If I were you, I would help him.”
- Indirect: He advised me to help him.
Rule 6: Wish / Would rather / It is high time
- Direct: You said, “It is high time we changed our habits.”
- Indirect: You told me that it was high time we changed our habits.
Rule 7: Modal Verbs (might, ought to, should, used to) অপরিবর্তিত থাকে।
- Direct: He said, “You ought to help the landless.”
- Indirect: He advised me that I ought to help the landless.
Tag Question Narration
Tag question-এর narration করলে তা Interrogative sentence হয়ে যায়।
- Direct: He said, “You are joining the festival, aren’t you?”
- Indirect: He asked me whether I was joining the festival and assumed that I was.
5. Special Uses in Narration
- Direct: She said, “Happy Valentine’s Day!”
- Indirect: She wished me a happy Valentine’s Day.
- Direct: The boy shouted, “Help! Help!”
- Indirect: The boy shouted for help.
6. Passage Narration করার সাধারণ নিয়ম
- Passage narration-এ সবগুলো বাক্য একত্রে রূপান্তর করতে হবে।
- বাক্যগুলো সংযুক্ত করতে and, also, added that ব্যবহার হয়।
- Speaker-এর পরিচয় (he/she/they) পরিবর্তন করে ব্যবহার করতে হয়।
- Reported verb এবং reported speech সবসময় যথাযথভাবে বসাতে হবে।
- Yes → replied in the affirmative / No → replied in the negative.
- Tag question → Interrogative করে নিতে হবে।
- Sir → respectfully / Madam → respectfully addressing her.
Exercise & Practice for Students
1. Change the narrative style of the following text.
“Where is my son?” said the Grocer. “A crow carried your son away,” said the fruitseller. “You liar. How can a crow carry away such a big boy?” “Just the same way as mice can eat away the balance and weights.”
2. A hawker said, “Will you buy any paper? I have all types of newspapers and magazines. Please take one from me.” “I buy books but now I need a weekly. Don’t you have any weekly magazine?” said Sushmita.
3. “Why don’t you attend classes regularly?” the teacher said to the student, “You can’t expect good results unless you attend classes as I tell you.” “I am sorry, sir, I have offended you,” said the student.
4. “You look a little bit like my mother,” he said, “especially in the dark by the fire.” “But you were only four Jerry, when you came here. You have remembered how she looked al these?” “My mother lives in Manville,” he said.
5. “Follow my example,” she said, as we shook hands, “and never eat more than one thing for luncheon.” “I’ll do better than that,” I said. “I’ll eat nothing for dinner tonight.”
6. “I’ll pay for it,” he said. “I broke it. I brought the axe down careless.” “But no one hits accurately every time, Jerry. Moreover, the fault was in the wood of the handle. I’ll see the man who I have bought it from,” I told him.
7. “Will you go to college today?’ the mother said to her son.
“No, mother. Our classes are suspended.”
“Then go to the market and bring some vegetables.”
“Let me be ready and give me money.”
8. “Have you cut your hair off?” asked Jim. “Cut it off and sold,” said Della. “Don’t you like me just as well, anyhow? I’m me, without my hair, ain’t I?”
9. “Porter, you may go,” said the mistress of the house laughing. “You have gained your freedom.”
“By Allah,” he replied, “I will not leave this house until I have heard the stories of my companions.”
10. “Could I help you, Sir?” said the receptionist.
The man replied, “Sure, I want to meet the managing director of the company.”
The receptionist said, “Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes, I have,” he said.
