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Direct and Indirect Speech

There are two types of speech used to describe what someone said: direct speech and indirect speech. Direct speech uses quotation marks to report what was said verbatim, while indirect speech reports the essence of what was said without using quotation marks or necessarily the same words by changing verb tenses and pronouns. The document then provides examples and rules for converting statements, questions, requests and orders between direct and indirect speech.

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272 views6 pages

Direct and Indirect Speech

There are two types of speech used to describe what someone said: direct speech and indirect speech. Direct speech uses quotation marks to report what was said verbatim, while indirect speech reports the essence of what was said without using quotation marks or necessarily the same words by changing verb tenses and pronouns. The document then provides examples and rules for converting statements, questions, requests and orders between direct and indirect speech.

Uploaded by

mbintangmadani
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Direct and indirect speech

There are many occasions in which we need to describe an event or action that
happened, and very often that includes repeating what someone said. Such
occasions can include a social situation as well as in a work email or presentation.
In order to describe what people said there are two different types of speech –
direct speech and indirect speech (or reported speech).

Read on to find out more about these forms and improve your English storytelling
skills.

Direct Speech
When we want to describe what someone said, one option is to use direct speech. We
use direct speech when we simply repeat what someone says, putting the phrase between
speech marks:

 Paul came in and said, “I’m really hungry.”


It is very common to see direct speech used in books or in a newspaper article. For
example:

 The local MP said, “We plan to make this city a safer place for everyone.”
As you can see, with direct speech it is common to use the verb ‘to say’ (‘said’ in the
past). But you can also find other verbs used to indicate direct speech such as ‘ask’,
‘reply’, and ‘shout’. For example:

 When Mrs Diaz opened the door, I asked, “Have you seen Lee?”
 She replied, “No, I haven’t seen him since lunchtime.”
 The boss was angry and shouted, “Why isn’t he here? He hasn’t finished
that report yet!”

Indirect Speech
When we want to report what someone said without speech marks and without
necessarily using exactly the same words, we can use indirect speech (also called
reported speech). For example:

 Direct speech: “We’re quite cold in here.”


 Indirect speech: They say (that) they’re cold.
When we report what someone says in the present simple, as in the above sentence, we
normally don’t change the tense, we simply change the subject. However, when we
report things in the past, we usually change the tense by moving it one step back. For
example, in the following sentence the present simple becomes the past simple in
indirect speech:

 Direct speech: “I have a new car.”


 Indirect speech: He said he had a new car.
All the other tenses follow a similar change in indirect speech. Here is an example for all
the main tenses:

The same rule of moving the tenses one step back also applies to modal verbs. For
example:

Using ‘say’ or ‘tell’


As an alternative to using ‘say’ we can also use ‘tell’ (‘told’ in the past) in reported
speech, but in this case you need to add the object pronoun. For example:

 He told me he was going to call Alan.


 They told her they would arrive a little late.
 You told us you’d already finished the order.

Changing Time Expressions


Sometimes it’s necessary to change the time expressions when you report speech,
especially when you are speaking about the past and the time reference no longer
applies. For example:

 Direct speech: “I’m seeing my brother tomorrow.”


 Indirect speech: She said she was seeing her brother the following day.
Here are some other examples:

 Direct speech: “I had a headache yesterday.”


 Indirect speech: You said you’d had a headache the day before yesterday.
 Direct speech: “It’s been raining since this afternoon.”
 Indirect speech: He said it’d been raining since that afternoon.
 Direct speech: “I haven’t seen them since last week.”
 Indirect speech: She said she hadn’t seen them since the previous week.

Reporting Questions
When you report a question you need to change the interrogative form into an
affirmative sentence, putting the verb tense one step back, as with normal reported
speech.

There are two types of questions that we can report – questions that have a yes/no
response, and questions that begin with a question word like ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘who’ etc.
When we report a yes/no question, we use ‘if’. For example:

 Direct speech: “Do they live here?”


 Indirect speech: You asked me if they lived here.
As you can see, in the reported version of the question, ‘do’ is eliminated because it is no
longer a question, and the verb ‘live’ becomes ‘lived’.

For questions starting with question words like ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘who’, etc., we
report the question using the question word but change the interrogative form to the
affirmative form. For example:

 Direct speech: “Where do they live?”


 Indirect speech: You asked me where they lived.
 Direct speech: “When are you leaving?”
 Indirect speech: He asked us when we were leaving.
 Direct speech: “How will they get here?”
 Indirect speech: She asked me how they would get here.
When we report a question we normally use the verb ‘ask’. As with the verb ‘to tell’, the
verb ‘to ask’ is normally followed by an object pronoun, though it is possible to omit it.

Reporting Orders and Requests


When you give someone an order, you use the imperative form, which means using just
the verb without a subject. For example:

 “Call me back later.”


 “Have a seat.”
 “Don’t do that!”
To report an order we use ‘tell’ and the infinitive of the verb. For example:

 You told me to call you back later.


 He told me to have a seat.
 She told us not to do that.
When you make a request, you normally use words like ‘can’, ‘could’, or ‘will’. For
example:

 “Could you call me back later?”


 “Will you have a seat?”
 “Can you not do that please?”
To report a request, we use the verb ‘to ask’ and the infinitive form of the verb. For
example:

 You asked me to call you back later.


 He asked me to have a seat.
 She asked us not to do that.

Task 1
A sentence has been given in direct speech. Out of the four alternatives, select the one which
best expresses the same sentence in indirect speech.

1. Rahul asked me, ‘Did you see the cricket match on TV last night?’
A. Rahul asked me if I had seen the cricket match on TV the previous night.
B. Rahul asked me if I saw the cricket match on TV the previous night.
C. Rahul asked me did I see the cricket match on TV last night.
D. Rahul asked me whether I had seen the cricket match on TV last night.

2. James said to his mother, ‘I am leaving for New York tomorrow.’


A. James told his mother that he was leaving for New York tomorrow.
B. James told his mother he is leaving for New York tomorrow.
C. James told his mother that he was leaving for New York the next day.
D. James told his mother he would be leaving for New York the next day.

3. I said to him, ‘Why don’t you work hard?’


A. I asked him why didn’t you work hard.
B. I asked him why he didn’t work hard.
C. I asked him why he wouldn’t work hard.
D. I asked him why he wasn’t working hard.

4. He said to her, ‘What a hot day!’


A. He exclaimed sorrowfully that it was hot day.
B. He told her that it was a hot day.
C. He exclaimed that it was a hot day.
D. He said that it was a hot day.
5. The priest said, ‘Be quiet and listen to my words.’
A. The priest said them to be quiet and listen to his words.
B. The priest told them that they should be quiet and listen to his words.
C. The priest urged them to be quiet and to listen to his words.
D. The priest said they should be quiet and listen to him.

TASK 2

Complete the sentences in reported speech. Note whether the sentence is a


request, a statement or a question.

1. He said, "I like this song."

→ He said
2. "Where is your sister?" she asked me.

→ She asked me
3. "I don't speak Italian," she said.

→ She said
4. "Say hello to Jim," they said.

→ They asked me
5. "The film began at seven o'clock," he said.
→ He said
6. "Don't play on the grass, boys," she said.

→ She told the boys


7. "Where have you spent your money?" she asked him.

→ She asked him


8. "I never make mistakes," he said.

→ He said
9. "Does she know Robert?" he wanted to know.

→ He wanted to know
10. "Don't try this at home," the stuntman told the audience.
→ The stuntman advised the audience

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