Back to: Direct and Indirect Speech (Narration)
Sentence that expresses emotion such as sorrow, joy, wander, pity etc. is called exclamatory sentence. This type of sentence usually uses interjection to express the emotion. Interjections such as – hurrah, alas, sorry, oh/what, bravo convey certain kind of emotion. Narration change of exclamatory sentence depends on the mood the interjection expresses.
Certain types of emotion that the interjections convey are given below –
| Interjection | Emotions |
|---|---|
| Hurrah | Joy/ happiness/joyful |
| Alas /sorry | Sorrow/regret |
| What/how | Surprise/wonder |
| Fie | Disgust/anger/contempt |
| Bravo | Applaud/ praise/ commend |
Rules
- In direct speech of exclamatory sentence an exclamation mark is used after the interjection or at the end of the sentence. This mark is replaced by a full stop after narration change from direct to indirect speech.
- The reporting verb changes to exclaimed with joy/happiness or exclaimed with sorrow or disgust depending on the mood of the sentence.
- After converting the speech, the interjection should be omitted.
- The reporting clause and reported clause is connected with conjunction ‘that’.
Examples
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| He said, “Alas! My cat died.” | He exclaimed with sorrow that his cat had died. |
| She said, “How beautiful the night sky looks!” | She exclaimed with wonder that the night sky looked very beautiful. |
| The man said, “What an intelligent brain he has.” | The man exclaimed with surprise that he had a very intelligent brain. |
| The commander said to them, “Bravo! You did well.” | The commander applauded them that they had done well. |
| The woman said to them, “Fie! Go away from here.” | The woman exclaimed in anger that they should go away from there. |
| Ritu said, “Hurrah! I won the lottery.” | Ritu exclaimed with joy that she had won the lottery. |
| Rita Said, “Hurrah! I have passed the examination. | Rita exclaimed joyfully that she had passed the examination. |
| The boy said, “Alas! I made a mistake.” | The boy exclaimed with regret that he had made a mistake. |
| The teacher said, “What a brilliant student he is!” | The teacher exclaimed in wonder that he was a very brilliant student. |
| The girl said, “How cute the dog is!” | The girl exclaimed with wonder that the dog was very cute. |
