3.4 Indirect Speech

Overview

In this chapter you will learn how to report what someone said without quoting their exact words. This is called indirect speech or reported speech. We will look at basic patterns, how pronouns and time words change, and how to keep tenses simple at B1 level.

We will then focus on two useful types of reporting:

• Reporting statements
• Reporting questions

Urdu has some special verbs and small words that are often used in reporting. You will meet them with many examples, mostly in Roman Urdu plus Urdu script, so you can recognize them in real life.

---

Key Reporting Verbs

The most common reporting verbs in Urdu are:

In indirect speech, کہ ke often works like “that” in English.

• وہ کہتا ہے کہ …
  woh kehta hai ke …
  “He says that …”
• میں نے کہا کہ …
  main ne kaha ke …
  “I said that …”

---

Direct vs Indirect Speech in Urdu

In direct speech you quote the exact words, usually with quotation marks in writing:

• علی نے کہا، “میں بیمار ہوں۔”
  Ali ne kaha, “main beemar hoon.”
  Ali said, “I am sick.”

In indirect speech you report the meaning, not the exact words:

• علی نے کہا کہ وہ بیمار ہے۔
  Ali ne kaha ke woh beemar hai.
  Ali said that he is sick.

Compare them in a table:

Notice three important changes:

1. No quotation marks in indirect speech.
2. Pronoun changes: main (I) becomes woh (he / she).
3. Often there is کہ ke after the reporting verb.

---

Pronoun Changes in Indirect Speech

When you report speech, pronouns usually change to fit the new speaker and listener.

Basic idea:

• “I” becomes he / she / they / I depending on context.
• “you” often becomes I / we / he / she / they.
• “my” becomes his / her / my / our etc.

Look at some common patterns.

1. Reporting someone else speaking about themselves

Direct:

• سارہ نے کہا، “میں طالبہ ہوں۔”
  Sarah ne kaha, “main taaliba hoon.”
  Sarah said, “I am a student.”

Indirect:

• سارہ نے کہا کہ وہ طالبہ ہے۔
  Sarah ne kaha ke woh taaliba hai.
  Sarah said that she is a student.

Here “I” becomes “she”:

2. Reporting “you”

Imagine I talk to Ali, and Ali says to me:

Direct:

• علی نے مجھ سے کہا، “تم دیر سے آتے ہو۔”
  Ali ne mujh se kaha, “tum der se aate ho.”
  Ali said to me, “You come late.”

Now I report it to a third person:

Indirect:

• علی نے مجھ سے کہا کہ میں دیر سے آتا ہوں۔
  Ali ne mujh se kaha ke main der se aata hoon.
  Ali told me that I come late.

Here “you” (to me) becomes “I”.

Another example:

Direct:

• استاد نے شاگرد سے کہا، “تم بہت اچھا لکھتے ہو۔”
  ustaad ne shagird se kaha, “tum bohat achha likhte ho.”
  The teacher said to the student, “You write very well.”

Reported by a third person:

Indirect:

• استاد نے شاگرد سے کہا کہ وہ بہت اچھا لکھتا ہے۔
  ustaad ne shagird se kaha ke woh bohat achha likhta hai.
  The teacher told the student that he writes very well.

Here “you” (student) becomes “he”.

3. Summary table for common pronoun changes

Pronoun change is not mechanical, it follows meaning. You always ask:
“Who is speaking now? Who is being talked about?”

---

Time and Place Word Changes

When reporting, words for time and place may also change because the reference point is different.

Time expressions

\ kal* can mean “yesterday” or “tomorrow,” context decides.

Examples:

Direct:

• اُس نے کہا، “میں آج مصروف ہوں۔”
  us ne kaha, “main aaj masroof hoon.”
  He said, “I am busy today.”

Indirect:

• اُس نے کہا کہ وہ اُس دن مصروف ہے۔
  us ne kaha ke woh us din masroof hai.
  He said that he was busy that day.

Another:

Direct:

• اُس نے کہا، “میں کل آؤں گا۔”
  us ne kaha, “main kal aaon ga.”
  He said, “I will come tomorrow.”

Indirect:

• اُس نے کہا کہ وہ اگلے دن آئے گا۔
  us ne kaha ke woh agle din aaye ga.
  He said that he would come the next day.

Often in everyday speech, people still keep words like aaj or kal if the meaning is clear from context, especially when the time is the same day as speaking.

---

Tense in Indirect Speech (B1 level approach)

At this level, you can mainly keep verbs in the same tense, especially in spoken Urdu, as long as the time reference stays clear.

Example 1:

Direct:

• “میں سکول جاتا ہوں۔”
  “main school jata hoon.”
  “I go to school.”

Indirect:

• اس نے کہا کہ وہ سکول جاتا ہے۔
  us ne kaha ke woh school jata hai.
  He said that he goes to school.

Example 2:

Direct:

• “میں نے کھانا کھایا ہے۔”
  “main ne khana khaya hai.”
  “I have eaten.”

Indirect:

• اُس نے کہا کہ اُس نے کھانا کھایا ہے۔
  us ne kaha ke us ne khana khaya hai.
  He said that he has eaten.

In more formal or advanced Urdu, you will sometimes see tense changes similar to English. At B1, focus on:

---

Reporting Statements with کہ (ke)

The main tool for reporting statements is کہ ke after the reporting verb.

Basic pattern

• اس نے کہا کہ …
  us ne kaha ke …
  He said that …
• انہوں نے بتایا کہ …
  unhon ne bataya ke …
  They told (that) …
• اس نے مجھے بتایا کہ …
  us ne mujhe bataya ke …
  He told me that …

Examples

1. Positive sentence:

Direct:

• “میں استاد ہوں۔”
  “main ustaad hoon.”
  “I am a teacher.”

Indirect:

• اس نے کہا کہ وہ استاد ہے۔
  us ne kaha ke woh ustaad hai.
  He said that he is a teacher.

2. Negative sentence:

Direct:

• “میں پاکستانی نہیں ہوں۔”
  “main Pakistani nahin hoon.”
  “I am not Pakistani.”

Indirect:

• اس نے کہا کہ وہ پاکستانی نہیں ہے۔
  us ne kaha ke woh Pakistani nahin hai.
  He said that he is not Pakistani.

3. Object inside the statement:

Direct:

• “میں کتاب پڑھ رہا ہوں۔”
  “main kitaab parh raha hoon.”
  “I am reading a book.”

Indirect:

• اس نے کہا کہ وہ کتاب پڑھ رہا ہے۔
  us ne kaha ke woh kitaab parh raha hai.
  He said that he is reading a book.

4. With a time expression:

Direct:

• “میں کل لاہور جا رہا ہوں۔”
  “main kal Lahore ja raha hoon.”
  “I am going to Lahore tomorrow.”

Indirect:

• اس نے کہا کہ وہ اگلے دن لاہور جا رہا ہے۔
  us ne kaha ke woh agle din Lahore ja raha hai.
  He said that he was going to Lahore the next day.

5. With “we”:

Direct:

• “ہم آج فلم دیکھ رہے ہیں۔”
  “hum aaj film dekh rahe hain.”
  “We are watching a movie today.”

Indirect:

• انہوں نے کہا کہ وہ اُس دن فلم دیکھ رہے ہیں۔
  unhon ne kaha ke woh us din film dekh rahe hain.
  They said that they were watching a movie that day.

---

Reporting Questions: Two Main Types

In Urdu, questions are often reported without کہ. Instead, you may simply use the question word, or a structure with کیا or اگر in more complex forms. At B1, focus on clear, common patterns.

There are two basic kinds of questions:

1. Yes / no questions
2. WH-questions (what, where, when, why, how, who etc.)

1. Reporting yes / no questions

A yes / no question can be turned into indirect speech using پوچھنا poochhna or جاننا chaahna / maloom karna, and often using کیا (kya) کہ (ke) or just kya.

Pattern A: Use پوچها کہ (poochha ke)

• اس نے پوچھا کہ …؟
  us ne poochha ke … ?

Examples:

Direct:

• اس نے پوچھا، “کیا تم فارغ ہو؟”
  us ne poochha, “kya tum farigh ho?”
  He asked, “Are you free?”

Indirect:

• اس نے پوچھا کہ کیا میں فارغ ہوں۔
  us ne poochha ke kya main farigh hoon.
  He asked if I was free.

Here:

• “kya” shows it is a yes / no question.
• The sentence after کہ has no question mark in meaning, it reads like a statement, but the verb “asked” tells us it is a question.

Another example:

Direct:

• علی نے کہا، “کیا تم نے کھانا کھایا؟”
  Ali ne kaha, “kya tum ne khana khaya?”
  Ali said, “Did you eat?”

Indirect:

• علی نے پوچھا کہ کیا میں نے کھانا کھایا ہے۔
  Ali ne poochha ke kya main ne khana khaya hai.
  Ali asked if I had eaten.

Pattern B: Use پوچها (poochha) + “کہ” sometimes omitted in speech

In spoken Urdu, people often say:

• اس نے پوچھا میں فارغ ہوں یا نہیں۔
  us ne poochha main farigh hoon ya nahin.
  He asked whether I am free or not.

For B1, using کہ + کیا is a safe and clear pattern.

2. Reporting WH-questions (open questions)

WH-questions are questions with words like:

• کیا (kya) what
• کب (kab) when
• کہاں (kahan) where
• کیوں (kyon) why
• کیسے (kaise) how
• کون (kaun) who
• کس سے (kis se) from whom
• کس لیے (kis liye) for what / why

In indirect speech, the question word stays, but the sentence after it becomes like a statement (word order SOV), not a question.

Pattern

• اس نے پوچھا کہ + [question word] + [rest of sentence as statement]

Examples:

1. “Where” question

Direct:

• اُس نے پوچھا، “تم کہاں رہتے ہو؟”
  us ne poochha, “tum kahan rehte ho?”
  He asked, “Where do you live?”

Indirect:

• اُس نے پوچھا کہ میں کہاں رہتا ہوں۔
  us ne poochha ke main kahan rehta hoon.
  He asked where I live.

2. “When” question

Direct:

• اس نے کہا، “تم کب آؤ گے؟”
  us ne kaha, “tum kab aao ge?”
  He said, “When will you come?”

Indirect:

• اس نے پوچھا کہ میں کب آؤں گا۔
  us ne poochha ke main kab aaon ga.
  He asked when I will come.

3. “Why” question

Direct:

• علی نے کہا، “تم کیوں ناراض ہو؟”
  Ali ne kaha, “tum kyon naraz ho?”
  Ali said, “Why are you upset?”

Indirect:

• علی نے پوچھا کہ میں کیوں ناراض ہوں۔
  Ali ne poochha ke main kyon naraz hoon.
  Ali asked why I was upset.

4. “What” question

Direct:

• استاد نے شاگرد سے پوچھا، “تم کیا پڑھ رہے ہو؟”
  ustaad ne shagird se poochha, “tum kya parh rahe ho?”
  The teacher asked the student, “What are you reading?”

Indirect:

• استاد نے شاگرد سے پوچھا کہ وہ کیا پڑھ رہا ہے۔
  ustaad ne shagird se poochha ke woh kya parh raha hai.
  The teacher asked the student what he was reading.

5. “Who” question

Direct:

• اس نے پوچھا، “یہ کون ہے؟”
  us ne poochha, “yeh kaun hai?”
  He asked, “Who is this?”

Indirect:

• اس نے پوچھا کہ یہ کون ہے۔
  us ne poochha ke yeh kaun hai.
  He asked who this is.

Notice that with “yeh kaun hai” you can keep the same order, it already fits a statement-like pattern in Urdu.

---

Reporting Orders and Requests (basic introduction)

At B1, you can start understanding simple reported orders and requests. These usually use verbs like کہنا, حکم دینا, کہنا (to tell, to order, to ask) and an infinitive or subjunctive form. Full details belong to later grammar, but here is a simple view.

Common reporting verbs:

Examples

1. Telling someone to do something

Direct:

• استاد نے کہا، “کتاب کھولو۔”
  ustaad ne kaha, “kitaab kholo.”
  The teacher said, “Open the book.”

Indirect:

• استاد نے شاگردوں سے کہا کہ وہ کتاب کھولیں۔
  ustaad ne shagirdon se kaha ke woh kitaab kholen.
  The teacher told the students to open the book.

2. Request:

Direct:

• اُس نے مجھ سے کہا، “براہِ مہربانی میرا انتظار کرو۔”
  us ne mujh se kaha, “barah e mehrbani mera intezar karo.”
  He said to me, “Please wait for me.”

Indirect:

• اُس نے مجھ سے کہا کہ میں اس کا انتظار کروں۔
  us ne mujh se kaha ke main us ka intezar karoon.
  He asked me to wait for him.

At this level, focus on recognizing that an order or request is being reported. The detailed verb forms will be handled in other grammar chapters.

---

Short Dialogue: From Direct to Indirect Speech

Look at this short dialogue, then see how it becomes indirect speech.

Direct dialogue

احمد: “تم کہاں جا رہے ہو؟”
Ahmad: “tum kahan ja rahe ho?”
“Where are you going?”

بلال: “میں بازار جا رہا ہوں۔ مجھے دودھ خریدنا ہے۔”
Bilal: “main bazaar ja raha hoon. mujhe doodh khareedna hai.”
“I am going to the market. I have to buy milk.”

احمد: “کیا تم آج واپس آؤ گے؟”
Ahmad: “kya tum aaj wapas aao ge?”
“Will you come back today?”

بلال: “ہاں، میں شام کو آ جاؤں گا۔”
Bilal: “haan, main shaam ko aa jaoon ga.”
“Yes, I will come back in the evening.”

Indirect report

احمد نے بلال سے پوچھا کہ وہ کہاں جا رہا ہے۔
Ahmad ne Bilal se poochha ke woh kahan ja raha hai.
Ahmad asked Bilal where he was going.

بلال نے جواب دیا کہ وہ بازار جا رہا ہے اور اسے دودھ خریدنا ہے۔
Bilal ne jawab diya ke woh bazaar ja raha hai aur usay doodh khareedna hai.
Bilal answered that he was going to the market and he had to buy milk.

پھر احمد نے پوچھا کہ کیا وہ اُس دن واپس آئے گا۔
phir Ahmad ne poochha ke kya woh us din wapas aaye ga.
Then Ahmad asked if he would come back that day.

بلال نے کہا کہ ہاں، وہ شام کو آ جائے گا۔
Bilal ne kaha ke haan, woh shaam ko aa jaye ga.
Bilal said that yes, he would come in the evening.

Notice:

• Use of پوچھا ke poochha ke and کہ ke.
• Pronoun changes: tum → woh.
• aaj became us din in more careful style.

---

Practice-style Examples

Here are more pairs to help you see the pattern. Try to predict the indirect version before reading it.

Example set 1

Direct:

• “میں کل تمہیں فون کروں گا۔”
  “main kal tumhe phone karoon ga.”
  “I will call you tomorrow.”

Indirect (reported by “you”):

• اُس نے مجھ سے کہا کہ وہ اگلے دن مجھے فون کرے گا۔
  us ne mujh se kaha ke woh agle din mujhe phone kare ga.
  He told me that he would call me the next day.

Example set 2

Direct:

• “تم نے ابھی تک کام کیوں نہیں کیا؟”
  “tum ne abhi tak kaam kyon nahin kiya?”
  “Why have you not done the work yet?”

Indirect:

• استاد نے مجھ سے پوچھا کہ میں نے اُس وقت تک کام کیوں نہیں کیا ہے۔
  ustaad ne mujh se poochha ke main ne us waqt tak kaam kyon nahin kiya hai.
  The teacher asked me why I had not done the work by that time.

Example set 3

Direct:

• “کون جا رہا ہے؟”
  “kaun ja raha hai?”
  “Who is going?”

Indirect:

• اس نے پوچھا کہ کون جا رہا ہے۔
  us ne poochha ke kaun ja raha hai.
  He asked who was going.

Example set 4

Direct:

• “کیا تم میری مدد کر سکتے ہو؟”
  “kya tum meri madad kar sakte ho?”
  “Can you help me?”

Indirect:

• اس نے پوچھا کہ کیا میں اس کی مدد کر سکتا ہوں۔
  us ne poochha ke kya main us ki madad kar sakta hoon.
  He asked if I could help him.

---

Summary of Key Rules

To finish, here are the most important points:

---

Vocabulary List for This Chapter