Other people’s words: ke — "that" — and the tense stays put
One’s own words and another’s are joined by the little ke — "that". After "say", "think", "hear" it always stands: bola ke — said that; khayaal hai ke — thinks that. For example: “اس نے کہا کہ خبر سچ ہے” — He said that the news is true. A rule from the Urdu course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
One’s own words and another’s are joined by the little ke — "that". After "say", "think", "hear" it always stands: bola ke — said that; khayaal hai ke — thinks that.
The tense inside reported speech does not move. What a person said in the present stays present: bola ke woh aata hai — said that he comes. Only the person and the pointers change: "I" becomes "he", "here" may become "there".
A question keeps its own word — kahaan, kya, kyun: poochha ke kahaan gaya — asked where he went. A command is passed with the same ke and the form of wanting: bola ke chaai le aaoon. Said that I should bring tea. A comma before ke is optional: the word is short and clingy.
Table
| direct speech | reported | what changed |
|---|---|---|
| "sach hai" | bola ke sach hai | nothing, the tense is the same |
| "main aata hoon" | bola ke woh aata hai | only the person |
| "yahaan hai" | bola ke wahaan hai | the place pointer |
| "kahaan hai?" | poochha ke kahaan hai | the question word holds |
| "chaai lao!" | bola ke chaai le aaoon | the command through ke |
| "nahin aaoonga" | bola ke nahin aaye ga | the negation is kept |
By example
- اس نے کہا کہ خبر سچ ہےus ne kyaha ke khabar sach haiHe said that the news is true
- مجھے بتایا کہ وہ کل آئے گاmujhe bataia ke wo kal ae gaI was told that he will come tomorrow
- وہ پوچھتا ہے کہ چائے کہاں ہےwo pochhta hai ke chai kahan haiHe asks where the tea is
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to report speech in urdu?
The tense inside reported speech does not move. What a person said in the present stays present: bola ke woh aata hai — said that he comes. Only the person and the pointers change: "I" becomes "he", "here" may become "there".
Ke meaning in urdu grammar?
The tense inside reported speech does not move. What a person said in the present stays present: bola ke woh aata hai — said that he comes. Only the person and the pointers change: "I" becomes "he", "here" may become "there".
Does tense change in urdu reported speech?
The tense inside reported speech does not move. What a person said in the present stays present: bola ke woh aata hai — said that he comes. Only the person and the pointers change: "I" becomes "he", "here" may become "there".
How to report a command in urdu?
The tense inside reported speech does not move. What a person said in the present stays present: bola ke woh aata hai — said that he comes. Only the person and the pointers change: "I" becomes "he", "here" may become "there".
What does it look like in a Urdu example sentence?
“اس نے کہا کہ خبر سچ ہے” (us ne kyaha ke khabar sach hai) — He said that the news is true. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.