We often have to give information about what people say or think. In order to do this, we can use direct or quoted speech, or indirect or reported speech.
Direct Speech
Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech).
Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("... ") and should be word for word. For example:
She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations."
or
"Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.
Indirect Speech
Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word. When reporting speech, the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs
therefore usually have to be in the past too.
Example:
Direct speech: "I'm going to the cinema", he said.
Indirect speech: He said he was going to the cinema.
Tense change
As a rule when we report something that someone has said, we go back to tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right):
Modal verb forms also sometimes change. The following table shows how the modals in direct speech are changed in indirect speech
Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.
Direct speech: "I might go to the cinema", he said.
Indirect speech: He said he might go to the cinema.
We use the present tense in reported speech if we want to say that something is still true. For example, my name has always been and will always be what my name is.
Direct speech: "My name is Lucy" she said.
Indirect speech: She said her name was Lucy.
(or) She said her name is Lucy.
We also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.
Direct speech (exact quote): "Next week's lesson is on reported speech ", she said.
Indirect speech (not exact): She said next week's lesson is on reported speech.
Time change
If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the time of reporting.
For example, we need to change words like here and yesterday if they have different meanings at the time and place of reporting.
(Today) Direct speech: "Today's lesson is on preposition", she said.
(24 hours later) Indirect speech: She said that yesterday's lesson was on preposition
In addition if you report something that someone said in a different place to where you heard it, you must change the place here to the place there. For example:
Direct: (At work): "How long have you worked here?"
Indirect: (At home): She asked me how long I'd worked there.
Pronoun change
In reported speech, the pronoun often changes. For example:
Direct speech: She said. "I teach English online."
Indirect speech: She said she teaches English online.
Reporting Verbs
Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech.
We use asked to report questions. For example:
I asked Lucy what time the lesson started.
We use told with an object. For example:
Lucy told me she felt tired.
Note - Here, me is the object.
We usually use said without an object. For example:
Lucy said she was going to teach online.
If said is used with an object we must include to. For example:
Lucy said to me that she'd never been to India.
Note - We usually use told. For example:
Lucy told me that she'd never been to India.
There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked.
These include: (in past forms)
accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologized, begged. boasted, complained, denied, explained, implied, invited, offered, ordered, promised, replied, suggested and thought
Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting and informative. For example:
Indirect speech: He asked me to come to the party.
We can replace the verb asked with some other verbs to make the sentence more interesting and meaningful. For example. we can re-write the above statement as -
He invited me to the party.
He begged me to come to the party.
He ordered me to come to the party. He advised me to come to the party
He suggested I should come to the party.
Use of 'That' in reported speech
In reported speech, the word that is often used. For example:
He told me that he lived in Kishorganj.
However, that is optional. For example:
He told me he lived in Kishorganj.
Note - That is never used in questions, instead we often use if/whether.
For example:
He asked me if I would come to the party.
Exercise
Change from the Direct into the Indirect form of speech.
1. He said to me, "You are wicked; so I shall not mix with you."
2 He said to you, "I was much struck by your eloquence."
3. We remarked, "God is gracious."
4. I said to my mother, "I shall always obey you."
5. He said to Goarav, "You were a mere boy when I saw you last."
6. I said to him, "The sky is blue."
7. He said to me, "You will feel the consequences."
8. She said, "I am not angry with you."
9. I said to them, "You have done wrong.
Exercise
Change into the Direct form of speech.
1. He said that he was sorry.
2. I told him that I had once seen him before.
3. You told me that as you did not know me, you could not help me.
4. They told Kamrul that he had done wrong and must apologise to them.
5. The girl told her father that she would be glad if he put her into a good school.
