Reporting Commands and Requests

In the previous chapter, "How to Report Questions," we learned how to handle situations where someone is asking for information. But human communication is not just about sharing facts or asking questions. A huge part of our daily conversation involves telling people what to do.

Think about your day. A parent tells you, "Wake up early." A friend says, "Please lend me your pen." A doctor warns you, "Do not eat junk food." A boss commands, "Finish this report by evening."

None of these are statements of fact, and none of them are questions. They are orders, requests, and pieces of advice. In English grammar, these are called imperative sentences.

When we report imperative sentences to a third person, the rules of narration change significantly. We no longer use the connector "that" (which we used for statements), and we no longer use "if/whether" (which we used for questions). Instead, we use a much simpler, more direct tool: the infinitive.

In this chapter, we are going to master exactly how to change commands, requests, and advice from direct to indirect speech. We will learn how to read the "tone" of a sentence, how to choose the perfect reporting verb, and how to navigate the tricky traps examiners love to set around negative commands.

What is an Imperative Sentence?

Before we can change an imperative sentence, we need to be able to spot one.

Look at these examples of direct speech:

• The teacher said to the student, "Stand up on the bench." (Command/Order)
• The old man said to the boy, "Please help me cross the road." (Request)
• The doctor said to the patient, "Take your medicines on time." (Advice)

Notice that inside the inverted commas, there is no visible subject. The teacher doesn't say, "You stand up." She just says, "Stand up." The subject "you" is understood. Because these sentences are about actions to be performed rather than facts that have already happened, they require a special approach when we convert them into indirect speech.

The Core Rule: The Infinitive Connection

When we change a normal statement into indirect speech, we use the conjunction "that" to connect the reporting verb to the reported speech.

• Direct: He said, "I am happy."
• Indirect: He said that he was happy.

When we change an imperative sentence, we do not use "that".

Instead, we connect the reporting verb to the action using the infinitive form of the verb. The infinitive is simply the word "to" + the base form of the verb (e.g., to go, to eat, to stand, to help).

Why do we do this? Because an imperative sentence is an instruction to do an action. The infinitive perfectly captures the idea of an action that is meant to be executed.

Let us look at a basic example to see this flow in action:

Direct: The officer said to the soldier, "Clean your rifle." Step 1 (Tone): This is clearly an order. Step 2 (Reporting Verb): Change "said to" to "ordered". -> The officer ordered the soldier... Step 3 & 4 (Clean up): Remove commas and quotes. Step 5 (Connect): Add "to" before the verb "clean". -> ...to clean... Step 6 (Pronouns): "your" changes to "his" (referring to the soldier). Indirect: The officer ordered the soldier to clean his rifle.

Notice how clean and logical that is. We didn't worry about shifting tenses back in time (like changing "clean" to "cleaned") because the infinitive "to clean" does not have a tense. It simply names the action.

Matching the Tone: Choosing the Right Reporting Verb

In direct speech, the reporting verb is usually just "said" or "said to". The tone of the sentence is carried by the words inside the quotation marks, or by the punctuation.

In indirect speech, we lose the quotation marks. Therefore, the reporting verb itself must carry the tone of the original sentence. You must act like a detective, read the direct speech, figure out the relationship between the speaker and the listener, and choose the reporting verb accordingly.

Here are the most common categories:

1. Orders and Commands

When a person in authority (a boss, a military officer, a judge, a teacher, a parent) tells a subordinate to do something, it is an order.

• Verbs to use: ordered, commanded, instructed, directed.
• Direct: The judge said to the witness, "Tell the truth."
• Indirect: The judge instructed the witness to tell the truth.
• Direct: The captain said to the team, "Attack from the left flank."
• Indirect: The captain commanded the team to attack from the left flank.

2. Requests

When someone is asking for a favor, or speaking to someone in authority, or using words like "please" or "kindly", it is a request.

• Verbs to use: requested, begged, pleaded, implored, entreated.
• Direct: The student said to the principal, "Grant me leave for two days."
• Indirect: The student requested the principal to grant him leave for two days.
• Direct: The prisoner said to the king, "Forgive me this time."
• Indirect: The prisoner begged the king to forgive him that time. (Notice how "this" changed to "that" based on our time/place rules!)

3. Advice and Suggestions

When someone is offering guidance for the listener's own good (like a doctor, a counselor, or an elder), it is advice.

• Verbs to use: advised, urged, counseled, suggested.
• Direct: The mother said to her son, "Work hard for your exams."
• Indirect: The mother advised her son to work hard for his exams.
• Direct: The doctor said to me, "Drink plenty of water."
• Indirect: The doctor advised me to drink plenty of water.

4. Neutral or Unclear Tone

Sometimes, it is just a simple instruction between equals, and it doesn't feel like a strict order, a desperate request, or deep advice. In these cases, keep it simple.

• Verbs to use: asked, told.
• Direct: Rahul said to Amit, "Pass me the salt."
• Indirect: Rahul asked Amit to pass him the salt. (Here, "asked" does not mean asking a question; it means asking someone to do a favor).

The Disappearing Act of "Please" and "Kindly"

This is one of the most common traps in competitive exams.

When a direct speech sentence contains the word "please" or "kindly", these words must be completely removed when you convert the sentence to indirect speech.

Why? Because the word "please" is just a marker of politeness. When we change the reporting verb to "requested", the meaning of "please" is entirely absorbed into the word "requested". Using both would be redundant (like saying "return back").

• Direct: The passenger said to the driver, "Please drive slowly."
• Incorrect Indirect: The passenger requested the driver to please drive slowly.
• Correct Indirect: The passenger requested the driver to drive slowly.

• Direct: She said to the manager, "Kindly approve my loan."
• Correct Indirect: She requested the manager to approve her loan.

Handling Negative Commands (The "Not To" Rule)

People don't just tell us what to do; they frequently tell us what not to do. "Don't touch that!" "Do not waste your time." "Never tell a lie."

When an imperative sentence is negative (usually starting with "Do not" or "Don't"), the rule for connecting the reporting verb changes slightly. Instead of using just "to", we use "not to" before the base verb.

The word "Do" is completely dropped.

• Direct: The teacher said to the boys, "Do not make a noise."
• Step 1: The teacher ordered the boys...
• Step 2: Drop "Do". Keep "not". Add "to". -> ...not to...
• Step 3: Add the base verb. -> ...make a noise.
• Indirect: The teacher ordered the boys not to make a noise.

• Direct: My father said to me, "Don't waste your money on useless things."
• Indirect: My father advised me not to waste my money on useless things.

The "Forbade" Trap: A Favorite Exam Trick

There is a second, very elegant way to handle negative commands, and examiners absolutely love testing it.

Instead of using verbs like "ordered" or "advised" and connecting with "not to", we can use a reporting verb that is already negative in its meaning. The most common one is forbade (the past tense of forbid, which means to strictly prohibit someone from doing something).

Because the word "forbade" already contains the meaning of "no" or "not", we must never use "not" in the second half of the sentence. If you use "forbade" and "not" together, you create a double negative, which is grammatically disastrous.

Let's look at the same sentence transformed in two different ways:

Direct: The gardener said to the children, "Do not pluck the flowers."

Method 1 (Using Ordered):

• Indirect: The gardener ordered the children not to pluck the flowers. (Correct)

Method 2 (Using Forbade):

• Indirect: The gardener forbade the children to pluck the flowers. (Correct)

Notice what happened in Method 2! Because we used "forbade", the "not" disappeared entirely, and we went back to using the simple positive infinitive "to pluck".

Let's look at an incorrect version that frequently appears as a trap option in multiple-choice questions:

• Trap Option: The gardener forbade the children not to pluck the flowers. (INCORRECT - Double negative. This literally means he prohibited them from not plucking the flowers, meaning he forced them to pluck them!)

Proposals and Suggestions: The "Let Us" Sentences

There is a special category of imperative sentences that begin with "Let us" or "Let's". These sentences do not give a direct order; instead, they make a proposal or a suggestion for a joint action.

• "Let's go for a walk."
• "Let us start a new business."

Because these are proposals rather than direct commands, standard grammar treats them a bit differently. We usually do not use the infinitive ("to go") for these. Instead, we bring back the conjunction "that" and use the modal verb "should".

Here is the formula for "Let us" sentences: Reporting Verb: suggested or proposed Connector: that Subject: they or we (depending on who is speaking) Verb: should + base verb

• Direct: He said to his friends, "Let us go to the cinema."
• Indirect: He suggested to his friends that they should go to the cinema.

• Direct: I said to him, "Let us drop this topic."
• Indirect: I proposed to him that we should drop that topic. (Notice we used "we" because the speaker "I" is included in the action).

Note: If the sentence starts with "Let" but is not a proposal (e.g., asking for permission like "Let me go"), it is treated as a normal request using the infinitive: The boy requested his father to let him go.

Worked Examples: Putting It All Together

Let’s walk through a few complex examples that combine the rules of imperatives with the rules of pronouns and time words we learned in previous chapters.

Example 1 Direct: The manager said to the clerk, "Complete this file today and do not leave the office until it is done."

• Analysis: The manager is speaking to a clerk. This is an order. There is a positive command ("Complete") and a negative command ("do not leave"). We also have a time word ("today") and a demonstrative word ("this").
• Step-by-step:
• Reporting verb: ordered the clerk.
• First connection: to complete.
• Word changes: "this" becomes "that", "today" becomes "that day".
• Second connection: and not to leave.
• Tense change in the dependent clause: "is done" becomes "was done".
• Indirect: The manager ordered the clerk to complete that file that day and not to leave the office until it was done.

Example 2 Direct: The beggar said to the rich man, "Please give me some money to buy food."

• Analysis: The beggar is speaking. The word "please" is used. This is a request.
• Step-by-step:
• Reporting verb: requested the rich man.
• Drop "please".
• Connection: to give.
• Pronoun change: "me" becomes "him" (referring to the beggar).
• Indirect: The beggar requested the rich man to give him some money to buy food.

Example 3 Direct: The doctor said to the patient, "Do not smoke if you want to recover fast."

• Analysis: A doctor speaking to a patient is giving advice. It is a negative command.
• Step-by-step (Method 1 - Advised):
• Reporting verb: advised the patient.
• Connection: not to smoke.
• Pronoun change: "you" becomes "he".
• Tense change: "want" becomes "wanted".
• Indirect: The doctor advised the patient not to smoke if he wanted to recover fast.
• Step-by-step (Method 2 - Forbade):
• Reporting verb: forbade the patient.
• Connection: to smoke (drop the 'not').
• Indirect: The doctor forbade the patient to smoke if he wanted to recover fast.

Quick Revision

Before you close this chapter, memorize these high-yield points. They are the keys to solving 90% of imperative narration questions:

• No "That": Never use "that" to connect a standard command or request. Use the infinitive ("to" + base verb).
• Match the Tone: Change "said to" to ordered, requested, advised, commanded, or asked based on the relationship between the speaker and listener.
• Kill the "Please": The words "please" and "kindly" must be deleted in indirect speech. Their meaning is absorbed by the verb "requested".
• Negative Commands: Change "Do not" to "not to". Never write "to not".
• The Forbade Rule: If you use "forbade" as the reporting verb, you must use a positive infinitive ("to do"). Never use "forbade" and "not" in the same clause.
• Let Us = Should: Sentences starting with "Let us" (proposals) change to suggested/proposed that + subject + should + verb.
• Old Rules Still Apply: Do not forget to change pronouns (I -> he), time words (tomorrow -> the next day), and place words (here -> there) exactly as you do for normal statements.