SSC CGL Direct and Indirect Speech Questions 2026 (Narration — Tense, Pronoun, Questions & Commands) — Free Chapter Wise Practice Test

Direct & Indirect Narration Tests — Pick a Level and Start

Tap a level to see every test in it. Level 1 is set at real SSC CGL difficulty — start there once the tense-change table is fresh. Level 2 is pitched above the exam, with longer sentences that need three or four changes at once and wrong options that differ from the answer by a single word.

Every narration question asks one thing: which option reports exactly what the speaker said? In direct speech the speaker’s words sit inside inverted commas. In indirect (reported) speech the inverted commas go, the sentence is joined to the reporting verb with that, if/whether, a Wh- word or to, and the tense, pronouns and time words shift to suit the moment of reporting.

Marks are lost in three places. The first is the tense — forgetting to move “is” to “was” or “has” to “had” after a past reporting verb, or shifting a universal truth that should stay in the present. The second is the pronoun — “I” becomes the speaker and “you” becomes the listener, not the other way round. The third is the sentence type: a question takes “asked” and statement word order, a command takes “to”, and “that” never comes before a question.

How Many Direct and Indirect Speech Questions Are Asked in SSC CGL?

Narration is a regular part of the English section — usually one question in an SSC CGL Tier I shift, sometimes two, and a few more in CHSL and the Tier II English paper. Like voice, it is one of the most scoring questions in the section, because the rules never change. The kinds of sentence that come up are listed below, most common first.

Reported-speech errors also turn up in Spot the Error and Sentence Improvement — “He asked me where was I going” is a favourite.

What You Will Practice in the Direct & Indirect Narration Chapter

Statements and tense changes

• Simple, continuous and perfect tenses after a past reporting verb (is → was, has → had, wrote → had written)
• Modals: will → would, can → could, may → might, must → had to; would, could, should, might and ought to stay the same
• No tense change after says / will say, and for universal truths, scientific facts and habitual facts
• Pronouns and time and place words: now → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the previous day, ago → before, here → there, this → that

Questions, commands and other sentence types

• Yes/no questions → asked if / whether + statement order; Wh- questions → asked + Wh- word + statement order
• Commands → ordered / told + to; negative commands → not to; please → requested + to
• “Let’s” → suggested that they should; “Let me” → requested to let / allow
• Exclamations → exclaimed with joy / sorrow that; wishes and prayers → wished / prayed that … might
• Good morning → wished; Thank you → thanked; Sorry → apologised; Yes / No → replied in the affirmative / negative

Level 2 extras

• Conditionals, “I wish I were”, had better, used to and need not
• Vocatives (Sir, Friends, Boys) and mixed sentences joined with “and added that” or “and asked”

The tense-change table (reporting verb in the past)

If the reporting verb is in the present or future (says, will say), or the words are a universal truth, the tense does not change at all.

The three mistakes that cost the most marks

• Keeping the question form. In indirect speech a question becomes a statement: “asked where I was going”, not “where was I going” — and no question mark.
• Using “that” or “told” with a question. Questions take “asked” with if, whether or the Wh- word — never “asked that”.
• Mixing up the pronouns. The first person changes to the speaker, the second person to the listener, and the third person stays as it is.

Solved Examples — SSC CGL Direct & Indirect Narration

How the Direct & Indirect Narration Tests Work

• 25 questions per test, with a full question palette — answered, skipped, marked for review, not visited.
• Both directions in every test — most questions ask for the indirect form and the rest for the direct form, across statements, questions, commands, exclamations and mixed sentences.
• Optional 15-minute timer — with the clock to build exam speed, without it while you are still learning the chapter.
• Marking: +2 correct, −0.5 wrong, 0 unattempted — the same scheme as the real paper.
• Step-by-step solutions and a shortcut trick open after you submit, question by question — the reporting verb, the rule, the conversion word by word, why each wrong option fails, and the trap students fall into.
• In English, as in the exam — English Language questions are set in English in SSC CGL and CHSL.
• Free with a TrickySSC account — sign in once with Google or your mobile number, and every test is open to you.

How to Prepare Direct & Indirect Narration for SSC CGL

1. Look at the reporting verb first. Past (said) means the tense shifts back; present or future (says, will say) means it stays — that alone removes two options in most questions.
2. Name the sentence type. Statement → that; yes/no question → if / whether; Wh- question → the Wh- word; command → to; exclamation → exclaimed that.
3. Learn the tense-change table by heart. One step back for each tense; past perfect and would, could, should, might stay as they are.
4. Change pronouns with the SON rule. First person → Speaker, second person → Object (the listener), third person → No change.
5. Check every time and place word. Today, tomorrow, yesterday, now, here, this and ago almost always change — and the options often differ only there.
6. Do Level 1 untimed first, then with the 15-minute clock. Move to Level 2 once Level 1 is steady, and then check yourself on a previous year paper.

Related SSC CGL English Chapters

Narration and voice are tested the same way — one sentence, four conversions — and reported-speech errors come back in Spot the Error and Sentence Improvement. Practising them together makes each one faster.

All SSC CGL Chapter Wise Tests

Every chapter below has its own free Level 1 and Level 2 tests with full solutions.

SSC CGL Direct & Indirect Narration — Frequently Asked Questions

More Free SSC CGL Practice