Say It Differently: Reported Speech Practice for Grade 5

This engaging worksheet introduces Grade 5 learners to the basics of reported speech — transforming direct speech into indirect speech with clarity and confidence. Through structured rewriting, sentence correction, and a fun dolphin-themed activity, students get a comprehensive grammar workout.

Why Learn Reported (Direct & Indirect) Speech?

Understanding reported speech helps students:
1. Express conversations and narratives accurately.
2. Grasp the grammar rules behind tense shifts and pronoun changes.
3. Practice punctuation and sentence structure for dialogue.
4. Improve clarity when retelling events in both writing and speaking.

What’s Inside This Worksheet?

✍️ Exercise 1 – Convert to Indirect Speech  
Students are given 5 short sentences in direct speech and must rewrite them in indirect form.  
Example: *""We saw a peacock in the garden this morning,"" Aarav said.*

📝 Exercise 2 – Rewrite in Indirect Speech  
Learners work through 6 more sentences, rewriting each one fully in indirect speech with correct tense and pronoun shifts.

✅ Exercise 3 – Tick the Correct Form  
For each item, students choose between two options — direct or indirect — and tick the correct version.  
Example: *Aarav said that he was tired after the football match.*

🐬 Exercise 4 – Sally the Dolphin Speaks!  
With cute dolphin prompts, learners write the given lines in both direct and indirect speech.  
Example: *Sally: I live in the deep blue sea.*  
→ Direct: Sally said, ""I live in the deep blue sea.""  
→ Indirect: Sally said that she lived in the deep blue sea.

🛠️ Exercise 5 – Error Correction  
Students are presented with 5 reported speech sentences, some containing errors in tense or pronoun usage. They must mark whether the sentence is correct and rewrite it properly.  
Example: *Mohan said that he will plays cricket.* → *Mohan said that he would play cricket.*

✅ Answer Key

Exercise 1 (Indirect Speech)
1. Aarav said that they had seen a peacock in the garden that morning.  
2. Ritu said that Mummy was making samosas for the picnic.  
3. Dev said that he had helped his little sister with her homework.  
4. Tanvi said that they were learning about plants in school that day.  
5. Kunal said that his grandfather had told him a story the night before.

Exercise 2 
1. Aditya said that it was raining heavily that day.  
2. Priya said that they were visiting grandma in Delhi that weekend.  
3. Arjun said that he had finished his homework before dinner.  
4. Meera said that the elephants at the zoo had been very big.  
5. Riya said that they would celebrate Diwali with their cousins.  
6. Meena said that they would visit Manali the next year.

Exercise 3 (Tick the Correct Option) 
1. ✅ Indirect Speech  
2. ✅ Indirect Speech  
3. ✅ Direct Speech  
4. ✅ Indirect Speech  
5. ✅ Direct Speech

Exercise 4
1. Sally said, ""I live in the deep blue sea.""  
2. Sally said that she lived in the deep blue sea.  
3. Sally said, ""I play with my friends every day.""  
4. Sally said that she played with her friends every day.  
5. Sally said, ""I can jump very high.""  
6. Sally said that she could jump very high.  
7. Sally said, ""I am feeling hungry now.""  
8. Sally said that she was feeling hungry then.

Exercise 5 (Corrections) 
1. Correct: Rina said, “I am going to the market.” → Rina said that she was going to the market.  
2. Incorrect: “He will plays” → Mohan said that he would play cricket.  
3. Correct  
4. Incorrect: “I was going” → She said that she was going to the temple.  
5. Correct: Arjun said, “He is watching a movie.” → Arjun said that he was watching a movie.

Help your students become confident speakers and storytellers through reported speech.

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