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ii. The speaker was not sure about his decision, so he asked the person to come after
some time.

iii. The speaker took some time to think and later denied the person’s request.

iv. The speaker hesitated in the beginning but eventually had to relent.

Time to think and answer

1. Would you say that both Rama and Lakshmana were dutiful and obedient wards? Justify
your answer with examples. Answer in 80 words. value good values

2. All the major characters we came across in the extract from the epic were men of their words.
Do you agree? Why/Why not? Answer in 100−120 words.

Time to study language

Read these sentences.

• Viswamitra said, ‘I am engaged in performing a sacrifice.’

Viswamitra stated that he was engaged in performing a sacrifice.

The first sentence states exactly what someone else has said, so we say that the sentence is in
direct speech. The second sentence is in the form we use to speak about what others tell us and
is in indirect speech.

You would have noticed that while changing from direct to the indirect speech, changes
were made to the tenses, pronouns, and so on. Let’s take a quick look at some of the rules of
conversion to be kept in mind.

Change in tense

Direct speech Indirect speech
Simple Present Simple Past

Present Continuous Past Continuous

Present Perfect Past Perfect

Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

Simple Past Past Perfect

Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect Past Perfect

Past Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

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