Direct and Reported Speech

DIRECT AND REPORTED SPEECH

1) INTRODUCTIOIN

When we want to report what someone said, we can use ‘direct speech’ or ‘reported speech’:

- In direct speech, we give the exact words that the person said, and we use quotation marks (‘…’ or “…”). For example, Annie said, ‘I’m hungry.’

- In reported speech, we change some of the words that the person said and we do not use quotation marks. For example, Annie said (that) she was hungry; or Annie says (that) she is hungry.

NOTE:

- When we use a past reporting verb (e.g. Annie said), the tense in reported speech normally changes (e.g. I’m changes to the past: she was).

- But when we use a present reporting verb (e.g. Annie says), the tense does not change (e.g. I’m stays in the present: she is).

2) REPORTED STATEMENT

a) Tenses: when the reporting verb is in the past (eg he said, you told me), the tense in reported speech normally ‘moves back’:

a) Verbs in the present change into the past.

Speaker’s words	Reported speech
I’m going home. I don’t like tea. Sally has finished.	He said he was going home. She told me she didn’t like tea. You said that Sally had finished.

b) Verbs already in the past change into the past perfect or they do not change.

Speaker’s words	Reported speech
I spoke to them.	I said I had spoken to them. I said I spoke to them.
We arrived late.	They said they had arrived late. They said they arrived late.

c) Verbs already in the past perfect do not change.

Speaker’s words	Reported speech
I had seen the film before.	I told you I had seen the film before.

NOTE₁: We don’t always change tenses in reported speech when we use a past reporting verb. If we report something that is still true now, we sometimes use the same tense.

Speaker’s words	Reported speech
‘The population of Phnom Penh is around 2 million.’	He said that the population of Phnom Penh is around 2 million.
‘I live in Siem Reap.’	She told me that she lives in Siem Reap.

NOTE₂: But when something is still true, we often change the tense in reported speech.

Speaker’s words	Reported speech
‘The population of Phnom Penh is around 2 million.’	He said that the population of Phnom Penh was around 2 million.

NOTE₃: We always change the tense when there is a difference between what was said and what is really true.

Example: She said that she was 18 years old, but in fact she’s only 16.