How to Change Direct Sentences into Indirect Sentences? Check out the Review Here

How do I change a direct sentence into an indirect one? (Photo: freepik)

YOGYAKARTA - A direct sentence is a sentence that expresses a person's speech or words exactly as spoken without being changed, while an indirect sentence changes the speech into a statement without changing the meaning. So how do you change a direct sentence into an indirect sentence? Check out the full review below.

How to Change Direct Sentences into Indirect Sentences?

The following are the steps to change direct sentences into indirect sentences as quoted from the thesis entitled Direct and Indirect Sentences in the Discourse of National Newspapers and Their Relevance as a Teaching Material for Facts and Opinions of Class XII High School by Ivon Nanda Ardiarini FKIP UMS.

Adjust the Person Replacement Words

The next step, pay attention to the pronouns in the sentence. The first person pronoun, namely "I" or "I" is usually replaced by the third person, for example "he". As for the second person pronoun such as "you" is changed to the first person "I" or remains the third person "he", depending on the context.

Meanwhile, plural pronouns such as "we" can be replaced with "we" or "they". With this pronoun adjustment, readers can understand who is speaking and who is the subject of the sentence, so that it has a clearer flow.

Remove Quote Marks

Direct sentences are always written with quotation marks ("..."). When changing it to an indirect sentence, the first step that must be applied is by removing this quotation mark.

To make it easier, you can imagine telling someone else someone else's words. You don't have to imitate his words exactly, but just convey the essence of his message. Thus, the sentences delivered will sound more natural and fit into the narrative.

Use an Introduction or a Task Word

The way to connect the original speech with the narrative can be done by adding task words such as "that", "so that", "because", "for", "so that", or "about".

There is a direct sentence, namely:

"I'll come tomorrow," said Rina.

If you change the above direct sentence to indirect, the result is as follows:

Rina said that she would come tomorrow.

In the example above, we added the word "that" which makes the sentence sound more formal and fits the narrative.

Change the Intonation and Tone of the Sentence

The sentence directly imitates the original speaker's intonation, so it can sound high, expressive, or questioning. When it becomes an indirect sentence, you can change it to be horizontal, like a normal story. Imagine you are writing a story or telling a news to others, so that the sentence sounds calmer and easier to digest.

Adjust the Sentence Shape

The last way, change the shape of the sentence according to its type. The sentence of command, prohibition, or question in a direct sentence must be changed into a news form. For example:

"Please close the window!" Aryo ordered. → Aryo/he asked for the window to be closed.

"Have you taken a bath?" my mother asked me. → My mother asked me if I had taken a bath.

That's the review of how to change direct sentences into indirect sentences. Hopefully useful! Visit VOI.id for other interesting information.