Direct/Indirect Speech & Active/Passive Voice is one of 9 topics in the Grade 10 English Home Language CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. Which type of speech reports a speaker's exact words inside quotation marks?
Direct speech
Indirect speech
Passive speech
Formal speech
Answer: Direct speech — Direct speech reports a speaker's exact words, placed inside quotation marks.
Easy
2. Convert to indirect speech: Lindiwe said, "I am tired today."
Lindiwe said that she was tired that day.
Lindiwe said that I am tired today.
Lindiwe said I am tired that day.
Lindiwe says she was tired today.
Answer: Lindiwe said that she was tired that day. — Indirect speech shifts the tense back one step (am becomes was), the pronoun (I becomes she), and the time word (today becomes that day).
Medium
3. Name ONE of the three types of change that typically happen when direct speech becomes indirect speech.
Answer: Tense shift — The three typical changes are: the tense usually shifts back one step, pronouns shift to match the reporter's perspective, and time/place words often shift too.
