Words That Move, Words That Sound — and Reported Speech
The verbs that bring a scene alive, and how to report what someone said
This story moves and sounds. Asha Nehemiah fills it with movement words (crouch, crawl, zigzagging, sprinting) and sound words (boomed, thudded, whirr, shrieks) that put you right inside the chase. Then we'll tackle the chapter's big grammar topic: turning direct speech into reported (indirect) speech.
Movement words and sound words
Verbs that make the chase vivid. Sort them in your mind into MOVEMENT and SOUND.
Q1.Which word is a SOUND word, not a movement word?
A dilemma by any other name — synonyms
When Grandpa left 'Ravi in a dilemma,' he left him facing a hard choice between two options. Two good synonyms hide in the puzzle: a quandary and a predicament — both mean a difficult, puzzling situation. Building a web of synonyms like this is how you grow a rich vocabulary: one idea, several words.
Direct speech → Reported (indirect) speech
When you quote a person's exact words inside quotation marks, that's direct speech: Ravi said, "I will follow Grandpa." When you re-tell those words later, in your own sentence, that's reported (indirect) speech: Ravi said that he would follow Grandpa.
When you make the change, several things usually shift:
- Tense moves back one step: present → past, past → past perfect. ("I am tired" → he said he was tired.)
- Pronouns change to match the new speaker. ("I" → he/she.)
- Time and place words change: now → then, today → that day, here → there, tomorrow → the next day.
- Quotation marks disappear, and we usually add that (for statements) or if/whether (for yes-no questions).
Turn direct speech into reported speech.
Direct: Grandpa said, "I am going to the corner shop." → Reported:
Direct: Ravi said, "I will follow him today." → Reported:
Direct: The child asked, "Are you playing hide and seek?" → Reported:
Q1.In reported (indirect) speech, what usually happens to the tense?
This story moves and sounds. Asha Nehemiah fills it with movement words (crouch, crawl, zigzagging, sprinting) and sound words (boomed, thudded, whirr, shrieks) that put you right inside the chase. Then we'll tackle the chapter's big grammar topic: turning direct speech into reported (indirect) speech.
Movement words and sound words
Verbs that make the chase vivid. Sort them in your mind into MOVEMENT and SOUND.
Q1.Which word is a SOUND word, not a movement word?
A dilemma by any other name — synonyms
When Grandpa left 'Ravi in a dilemma,' he left him facing a hard choice between two options. Two good synonyms hide in the puzzle: a quandary and a predicament — both mean a difficult, puzzling situation. Building a web of synonyms like this is how you grow a rich vocabulary: one idea, several words.
Direct speech → Reported (indirect) speech
When you quote a person's exact words inside quotation marks, that's direct speech: Ravi said, "I will follow Grandpa." When you re-tell those words later, in your own sentence, that's reported (indirect) speech: Ravi said that he would follow Grandpa.
When you make the change, several things usually shift:
- Tense moves back one step: present → past, past → past perfect. ("I am tired" → he said he was tired.)
- Pronouns change to match the new speaker. ("I" → he/she.)
- Time and place words change: now → then, today → that day, here → there, tomorrow → the next day.
- Quotation marks disappear, and we usually add that (for statements) or if/whether (for yes-no questions).
Turn direct speech into reported speech.
Direct: Grandpa said, "I am going to the corner shop." → Reported:
Direct: Ravi said, "I will follow him today." → Reported:
Direct: The child asked, "Are you playing hide and seek?" → Reported:
Q1.In reported (indirect) speech, what usually happens to the tense?