कहा, पूछा, और बताया
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Report what someone said using कहा कि and related reporting verbs.
- Report questions someone asked using पूछा कि with indirect question words such as क्या, कहाँ, कब, क्यों, and कैसे.
- Report explanations, requests, and written messages using बताया कि, समझाया कि, and लिखा कि.
- Distinguish direct quotation from reported (indirect) speech, including basic punctuation conventions for each.
- Adjust pronouns and time/place references appropriately when reporting what someone said.
- Write a concise, neutral report of a conversation, message, or announcement.
Communication Scenario
The orientation talk is now only days away, and Meera Ji's group has been fielding calls, messages, and questions from neighbors who cannot attend the planning meetings in person. At their fourteenth session, Priya, Aditya, and Kabir compare notes: one neighbor called to ask something, another sent a message explaining a concern, and a third stopped Kabir on the street to make a request. Before the group can act on any of this, they need to report accurately to each other — who said what, who asked what, and who wrote what — without turning every report into a word-for-word transcript.
- Notice how the group uses कहा कि, पूछा कि, and बताया कि to summarize different kinds of communication.
- Notice how a question someone asked out loud becomes a smooth indirect question inside a reporting sentence.
- Notice how the group keeps their reports neutral, without turning someone else's words into their own opinion.
Where This Chapter Fits
Chapter 14 continues Unit III, जटिल वाक्य और स्वतंत्र अभिव्यक्ति. Chapter 13 taught you to link two clauses for condition (अगर...तो), possibility (हो सकता है, शायद, संभव है), and concession (चाहे...फिर भी). This chapter uses the same comma-linked, two-clause habit for a new communicative job: reporting what someone said, asked, or wrote. Chapter 15 will then bring Unit III's relative-correlative, temporal/contrastive, conditional, and reporting work together for the unit review.
Coming Into This Chapter
Learners can already build a clear two-clause sentence with a comma pause and a matching connector, and they already use कि after opinion and belief verbs from Chapter 6 (मुझे लगता है कि...) and after news-reporting frames from Chapter 8 (रिपोर्ट के अनुसार..., उन्होंने कहा कि...).
What This Chapter Does
This chapter expands कहा कि from Chapter 8's news context into a full reporting system: reported statements, reported questions with indirect question words, reported explanations and requests, and the distinction between quoting someone directly and reporting their meaning indirectly. It stays within everyday, workplace-adjacent, and community reporting; it does not introduce full literary narrative style or exhaustive tense-shift rules.
Looking Forward
Chapter 15, समीक्षा 3: जटिल संवाद, will integrate this chapter's reporting skills with Chapters 11-13's relative-correlative, temporal, contrastive, and conditional structures into one connected Unit III review.
Core Vocabulary
This chapter's productive vocabulary supports reporting statements, questions, explanations, and messages. Learn each item inside the sentence frame shown, not as an isolated word.
14.1 Reporting Verbs
| Hindi | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| कहना → कहा | to say → said | most general reporting verb |
| पूछना → पूछा | to ask → asked | used for reported questions |
| बताना → बताया | to tell, inform → told | often used with information or explanation |
| समझाना → समझाया | to explain → explained | fuller explanation, not just a fact |
| लिखना → लिखा | to write → wrote | for messages, emails, notices |
| जवाब देना → जवाब दिया | to answer → answered | response to a question or request |
| घोषणा करना → घोषणा की | to announce → announced | formal or public statement |
| अनुरोध करना → अनुरोध किया | to request → requested | polite formal request |
14.2 Confirming and Denying
| Hindi | Meaning | Gender/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| पुष्टि करना → पुष्टि की | to confirm → confirmed | पुष्टि is feminine |
| इनकार करना → इनकार किया | to deny, refuse → denied | इनकार is masculine |
| दावा करना → दावा किया | to claim → claimed | दावा is masculine |
| स्पष्ट करना → स्पष्ट किया | to clarify → clarified | often paired with कि यह स्पष्ट नहीं है कि... |
14.3 Reporting Frames and Discourse Markers
| Hindi | Function | Note |
|---|---|---|
| उसने कहा कि... | reported statement | base pattern for statements |
| उसने पूछा कि... | reported question | combines with indirect question words |
| उसने बताया कि... | reported information | neutral, information-focused |
| मेरे ख़याल से उसका मतलब था कि... | interpreting implied meaning | marks an inference, not a direct quote |
| ठीक-ठीक शब्दों में | in exact words | signals a direct quotation follows |
| संक्षेप में | in short, briefly | useful for opening a summary |
Formal reporting verbs common in media and institutional writing, such as बयान दिया ("gave a statement"), स्पष्टीकरण दिया ("gave a clarification"), and passive-leaning frames like कहा गया and बताया गया, appear in this chapter's reading passage for recognition only. You are not expected to produce these independently yet; Chapter 8's controlled introduction and Volume IV will expand this system further.
Pronunciation and Listening Focus
Practice reading these forms aloud, paying attention to schwa deletion: समझाया (sam-jhaa-YAA, not sa-ma-jhaa-ya), स्पष्ट (SPASHT, one tight syllable, not spa-sha-ta), and घोषणा (gho-SHA-naa). Notice that पुष्टि ends in a consonant cluster with no vowel at all after ष्ट — resist the urge to add a vowel sound at the end.
A reporting sentence with कि has two natural phrase groups, just like the अगर...तो sentences of Chapter 13: उसने कहा || कि वह कल आएगी। Unlike Chapter 13's connectors, there is normally no comma before कि in everyday writing, but the spoken pause still falls in roughly the same place — right after the reporting verb.
A direct quotation is often read with a small shift in pitch or pace, as if briefly stepping into the other speaker's voice: उसने कहा, "मैं कल नहीं आ सकता।" A reported summary with कि is usually read in one even, connected tone, without that shift: उसने कहा कि वह कल नहीं आ सकता। Before listening, remind yourself to listen for this difference: is the speaker quoting, or summarizing?
Grammar: Reporting Speech and Information
You already use कि after opinion verbs (Chapter 6) and after news-reporting frames (Chapter 8). This chapter expands that same कि-clause pattern into a full system for reporting statements, questions, explanations, and messages.
14.4 Reported Statements with कहा कि
Form: subject + ने + कहा + कि + reported clause. Use: summarizing what someone said, without necessarily using their exact words. Meaning: "X said that Y."
Note: The reporting verb कहा takes ने because it is a perfective transitive verb, just as you practiced with other ने-marked verbs in earlier chapters. Pronouns inside the reported clause usually shift to match the reporter's point of view: if Sunita said "I will be late" (मैं देर से आऊँगी), the report becomes कि वह देर से आएगी — "I" becomes "she."
14.5 Reported Questions with पूछा कि
Form: subject + ने + पूछा + कि + indirect question word (क्या, कहाँ, कब, क्यों, कैसे) + rest of clause. Use: reporting a question someone asked out loud or in writing. Meaning: "X asked whether/where/when/why/how Y."
Note: For yes-no questions, use क्या inside the reported clause: direct question क्या आप आ रहे हैं? becomes उसने पूछा कि क्या मैं आ रहा हूँ। The word order inside the reported clause stays close to a normal statement — do not keep the inverted or emphatic word order of the original spoken question.
14.6 Reporting Information, Explanation, and Requests
Form: बताया कि... for factual information; समझाया कि... for a fuller explanation; अनुरोध किया कि... for a polite request. Use: distinguishing plain information from explanation from request, so that a listener understands not just what was said but what kind of communication it was. Meaning: each verb signals the communicative purpose of the original message, not only its content.
Note: Do not use कहा कि for everything. Choosing बताया, समझाया, पूछा, or अनुरोध किया tells your listener more precisely what happened in the original conversation.
14.7 Direct Quotation versus Reported Speech
Form: direct quotation uses a comma, quotation marks, and the speaker's exact words with first-person and present/future forms preserved; indirect report uses कि, no quotation marks, and shifted pronouns and verb forms. Use: choose direct quotation when the exact wording matters (a promise, a claim, an official statement); choose indirect report for ordinary summary. Meaning: both convey the same basic content, but direct quotation claims to preserve the speaker's precise words.
Note: In this chapter, treat pronoun and tense shifts as a practical guideline rather than a rigid formula: change "I/we" to "he/she/they" as needed, and adjust obvious time words (आज → उस दिन, कल → अगले दिन) only when it is necessary for clarity. Full systematic tense-shift rules are not a target of this chapter.
14.8 Neutral Source Attribution
When reporting for a group, a notice, or a summary, keep your report neutral and attribute it clearly to its source, as you practiced with news reporting in Chapter 8: एक पड़ोसी ने बताया कि..., एक व्यक्ति ने पूछा कि.... Avoid presenting someone else's statement as your own opinion, and avoid adding judgment (वह ग़लत था) inside a neutral report unless you are clearly labeling it as your own separate reaction.
14.9 Keeping Reporting Sentences Clear
As in Chapters 11-13, keep each reporting sentence limited to one reporting verb and one कि-clause at this stage. Do not stack multiple reported statements, questions, and requests inside a single sentence. Use separate sentences, and let expressions such as इसके अलावा ("besides this") or फिर ("then") connect them at the paragraph level.
Do not treat every reported sentence as a word-for-word quotation. Reported speech with कि represents meaning, not necessarily the speaker's exact words.
Model Dialogue
Setting: At the group's fourteenth meeting, Priya, Aditya, and Kabir report calls, messages, and requests from neighbors about the upcoming orientation talk.
समझ के प्रश्न — Comprehension questions:
- सुनीता जी ने क्या कहा? (What did Sunita Ji say?)
- कबीर ने पड़ोसी को क्या बताया? (What did Kabir tell the neighbor?)
- संदेश में क्या लिखा था, और परिवार ने क्या अनुरोध किया? (What did the message say, and what did the family request?)
Listening Practice
Ask your instructor, a study partner, or a fluent Hindi speaker to read the passage below aloud at a natural pace, pausing briefly after each reporting verb. If no speaker is available, this is a Listening Script for Independent Use: read it slowly first, then at a natural pace. Any spoken model should be verified by a fluent Hindi speaker before being treated as a pronunciation standard.
"आज सुबह मीरा जी को तीन कॉल आए। पहले पड़ोसी ने बताया कि वे कार्यक्रम में ज़रूर आएँगे, और उन्होंने पूछा कि क्या वे अपने बच्चों को भी ला सकते हैं। मीरा जी ने जवाब दिया कि बच्चे बिल्कुल स्वागत हैं। दूसरे पड़ोसी ने कहा कि उन्हें रास्ता ठीक से नहीं पता, इसलिए उन्होंने अनुरोध किया कि कोई उन्हें पता समझाए। कबीर ने उन्हें रास्ता समझाया और पुष्टि की कि कम्युनिटी हॉल मुख्य सड़क के पास ही है। तीसरे व्यक्ति ने पूछा कि क्या कार्यक्रम अंग्रेज़ी में भी होगा। मीरा जी ने स्पष्ट किया कि ज़्यादातर हिस्सा हिंदी में होगा, लेकिन शुरुआत में एक संक्षिप्त अंग्रेज़ी परिचय भी दिया जाएगा।"
सुनने का काम — Listening task:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| पहले पड़ोसी ने क्या पूछा? (What did the first neighbor ask?) | ______ |
| दूसरे पड़ोसी ने क्या अनुरोध किया? (What did the second neighbor request?) | ______ |
| तीसरे व्यक्ति के सवाल का मीरा जी ने क्या जवाब दिया? (How did Meera Ji answer the third person's question?) | ______ |
Note: The phrase संक्षिप्त परिचय ("brief introduction") is glossed here for comprehension; it is not a chapter grammar target.
Reading Practice
Read the adapted message summary below, prepared by Kabir for the group's records, and then answer the questions.
समझ के प्रश्न — Comprehension questions:
- Identify one example each of a reported statement, a reported question, and a reported request in the text.
- What did the person who was unwell request?
- What did two people ask about, and how did Meera Ji answer?
- What claim did one neighbor make, and how did Kabir respond to it?
Writing Workshop
Write a short report, बातचीत का सारांश ("Summary of a Conversation"), summarizing a real or invented conversation, phone call, or set of messages you have received about an event, plan, or request.
लेखन कार्य — Writing task: Write a connected 120-160 word text in standard Devanagari that includes:
- At least two reported statements using कहा कि or बताया कि.
- At least one reported question using पूछा कि with an indirect question word.
- One reported request or explanation using अनुरोध किया कि or समझाया कि.
- One short direct quotation with correct punctuation, clearly distinguished from your reported summary.
संपादन सूची — Editing checklist:
- Each reporting sentence contains one reporting verb and one कि-clause; reports are not stacked into one long sentence.
- Pronouns inside reported clauses are shifted appropriately (for example, "I" becomes "he/she" where needed).
- The direct quotation uses quotation marks and a comma, and is clearly separate from the indirect reports.
- The report stays neutral; the writer's own opinion, if included at all, is clearly separated from what was reported.
- Gender, number, agreement, and postpositions are applied correctly throughout.
- Spelling, matras, conjuncts, word spacing, and dandas are correct throughout.
Speaking Practice
नियंत्रित अभ्यास — Controlled practice: किसने क्या कहा
With a partner, take turns: one partner makes a short statement, a question, or a request out loud, and the other reports it back using कहा कि, पूछा कि, or अनुरोध किया कि. Then switch roles.
संचार कार्य — Communicative task: बातचीत का सारांश
Describe a real or invented phone call, message, or conversation to your partner, reporting at least two statements, one question, and one request. Your partner should ask a follow-up question about who said what.
अकेले अभ्यास — Solo alternative
Record yourself summarizing a short conversation or set of messages, using at least one reported statement, one reported question, one reported request, and one direct quotation. Listen back and check that your reported clauses are clear and that pronouns are shifted correctly.
Culture and Communication
As the chapter scope notes, reporting someone else's words requires care, especially in a community, workplace, or formal setting. A neutral report such as उन्होंने बताया कि वे नहीं आ सकते respects the original speaker's words, while adding unasked-for judgment — implying, for instance, that the person is being unreasonable — changes a simple report into something closer to gossip or criticism. Distinguishing exact quotation, paraphrase, and personal inference is a useful habit in any language.
When reporting about someone who is addressed respectfully, such as मीरा जी, honorific agreement often carries over into the report: मीरा जी ने बताया कि वे कल आएँगी uses the respectful plural verb form आएँगी rather than the singular, even though only one person is meant. This reflects the same honorific agreement patterns you practiced in Chapter 2.
Common Mistakes
Error: उसने पूछा कि क्या है कार्यक्रम कहाँ? (keeps the direct-question form inside the reported clause)
Correction: उसने पूछा कि कार्यक्रम कहाँ है। — inside a reported question, the clause following कि should read like an ordinary statement with the question word in its natural position, not like the original spoken question.
Error: Kabir said, "मैं कल नहीं आ सकता," reported as कबीर ने कहा कि मैं कल नहीं आ सकता। (keeps "I" even though the reporter is not Kabir)
Correction: कबीर ने कहा कि वह कल नहीं आ सकता। — when someone else's first-person statement is reported by another speaker, "I" normally becomes "he/she."
Error: उसने कहा कि क्या हम जल्दी आ सकते हैं? (uses कहा for what was actually a request)
Correction: उसने अनुरोध किया कि हम जल्दी आएँ। — choosing अनुरोध किया, पूछा, or समझाया instead of a generic कहा tells the listener more precisely what kind of communication took place.
Chapter Review
भाग A — समझ (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue and Reading passage and answer in English:
- Give one example each of a reported statement and a reported question from the Model Dialogue.
- Explain, in your own words, why Priya distinguishes between the exact words of the message and her own brief summary of it.
भाग B — व्याकरण (Grammar)
1. Rewrite each direct statement as a reported statement or question using कि:
- सुनीता: "मैं देर से आऊँगी।" → सुनीता ने कहा ______
- आदित्य: "कार्यक्रम कहाँ होगा?" → आदित्य ने पूछा ______
- कबीर: "कृपया जल्दी आइए।" → कबीर ने अनुरोध किया ______
- मीरा जी: "बच्चों के लिए जगह होगी।" → मीरा जी ने बताया ______
2. Identify whether each sentence is a direct quotation or a reported statement, and explain how you know: उसने कहा, "मैं नहीं आ सकता।" versus उसने कहा कि वह नहीं आ सकता।
भाग C — पठन (Reading)
1. Return to the neighbor-response summary and identify the sentence that reports a claim (दावा किया). What did Kabir clarify in response?
भाग D — लेखन (Writing)
1. Write your complete "Summary of a Conversation" text, following all requirements from the Writing Workshop above.
भाग E — वाचन (Speaking)
1. Complete the communicative speaking task described in the Speaking Practice section above.
Cumulative Review
This chapter recycles Chapter 13's two-clause sentence-linking and comma-pause habits, Chapter 8's कि-based news reporting and source attribution, and Chapter 2's honorific agreement, while introducing a fuller system of reporting verbs (कहा, पूछा, बताया, समझाया, अनुरोध किया), reported questions with indirect question words, and the distinction between direct quotation and indirect report. It prepares learners for Chapter 15's integrated review of Unit III's complex-sentence systems.
Practical Performance Task
बातचीत का सारांश — Summary of a Conversation
Complete the following connected tasks in order.
- Listen to the neighbor-response passage above and complete the listening table.
- Read the message summary and answer the comprehension questions.
- Speak with a partner, reporting a real or invented conversation with at least two statements, one question, and one request, and respond to your partner's follow-up question.
- Write your complete 120-160 word "Summary of a Conversation" text, following the Writing Workshop checklist.
- Edit your written text for correct reporting verbs, pronoun shifts, and quotation punctuation.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Task completion | At least two reported statements, one reported question, one reported request or explanation, and one direct quotation are present and used accurately. |
| Appropriate verb choice | Reporting verbs (कहा, पूछा, बताया, समझाया, अनुरोध किया) match the kind of communication being reported. |
| Pronoun and reference control | Pronouns inside reported clauses are shifted appropriately to reflect the reporter's point of view. |
| Quotation versus report | Direct quotation and indirect report are clearly and correctly distinguished, including punctuation. |
| Comprehensibility and pronunciation | Intelligible spoken delivery with a clear pause after the reporting verb; accurate Devanagari spelling and punctuation in writing. |
This task evaluates control of reported statements, questions, and requests for practical, everyday communication. Prioritize accurate reporting-verb choice and clause clarity over sentence length or complexity.
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Sunita Ji said that she would arrive late to the program because her bus is late.
- Kabir told the neighbor that parking space is limited, so it would be better if they came on foot.
- The message said that a family wanted to come but everyone at home is sick; the family requested that information be sent to them afterward.
Listening
- The first neighbor asked whether they could also bring their children.
- The second neighbor requested that someone explain the way (directions) to them.
- Meera Ji clarified that most of the program will be in Hindi, but a brief English introduction will also be given at the start.
Reading — Comprehension
- Sample: reported statement — एक व्यक्ति ने बताया गया कि उसकी तबीयत ठीक नहीं है; reported question — दो लोगों ने पूछा कि क्या...अलग व्यवस्था होगी; reported request — उसने अनुरोध किया कि हम बाद में उसे जानकारी भेजें.
- They requested that information be sent to them afterward.
- They asked whether there would be a separate arrangement for children; Meera Ji answered that a small corner would be made for children to play in.
- One neighbor claimed there had been a parking problem last time; Kabir clarified that more space is available this time at the school hall, so it shouldn't be a problem.
Chapter Review — भाग B
- (a) कि वह देर से आएगी।; (b) कि कार्यक्रम कहाँ होगा।; (c) कि हम जल्दी आएँ।; (d) कि बच्चों के लिए जगह होगी।
- उसने कहा, "मैं नहीं आ सकता।" is a direct quotation (quotation marks, comma, exact first-person words preserved); उसने कहा कि वह नहीं आ सकता। is a reported statement (no quotation marks, कि-clause, pronoun shifted to third person).
Looking Ahead
अब आप क्या कर सकते हैं — What you can do now
You can report what someone said, asked, explained, or requested using कहा कि, पूछा कि, बताया कि, समझाया कि, and अनुरोध किया कि, distinguish direct quotation from indirect report, and shift pronouns appropriately when summarizing a conversation or message.