Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct and Indirect Speech




We often have to give information about what people say or think. In
order to do this you can use direct(quoted) speech, or indirect
(reported) speech.



Direct Speech / Quoted 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 / Reported 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.


For 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 you report something someone has said you go back a
tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right):




Direct speech -Indirect speech



Present simple Past simple


She said, "It's cold." She said it was cold.




Present continuous Past continuous



Present perfect simple Past perfect simple



Present perfect continuous .Past perfect continuous




Past simple Past perfect




Past perfect Past perfect



will would




can could




must had to




shall should



may might




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


+ 24 hours - Indirect speech


"Today's lesson is on presentations."


She said yesterday's lesson was on presentations.



Expressions of time if reported on a different day


this (evening) that (evening)



today yesterday ...



these (days) those (days)



now then



(a week) ago (a week) before



last weekend the weekend before last / the previous weekend



here there



next (week) the following (week)

tomorrow the next/following day]]]

remark
it's a personnel work

Go_Od luck