Scribd
Upload
12 views3 pages

EDITED - Direct and Indirect Speech

The document explains the differences between direct (quoted) and indirect (reported) speech, including how to properly format each type and the necessary tense changes. It provides examples of how verbs and time expressions change when converting from direct to indirect speech. Additionally, it discusses the use of reporting verbs and the optional inclusion of 'that' in reported speech.

Uploaded by

belmihoubabdelkrim
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
12 views3 pages

EDITED - Direct and Indirect Speech

The document explains the differences between direct (quoted) and indirect (reported) speech, including how to properly format each type and the necessary tense changes. It provides examples of how verbs and time expressions change when converting from direct to indirect speech. Additionally, it discusses the use of reporting verbs and the optional inclusion of 'that' in reported speech.

Uploaded by

belmihoubabdelkrim
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

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 or quoted speech, or indirect or 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 Indirect speech
"I'm going to the cinema", he said. 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
›
She said, "I'm teaching English online." She said she was teaching English online.
Present perfect simple
She said, "I've been on the web since › Past perfect simple
She said she had been on the web since 1999.
1999."
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I've been teaching English for › She said she had been teaching English for seven
seven years." years.
Past simple Past perfect
›
She said, "I taught online yesterday." She said she had taught online yesterday.
Past continuous Past perfect continuous
›
She said, "I was teaching earlier." She said she had been teaching earlier.
Past perfect Past perfect
She said, "The lesson had already started › NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already
when he arrived." started when he arrived.
Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I'd already been teaching for five › NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been
minutes." teaching for five minutes.

1
Modal verb forms also sometimes change:

Direct speech Indirect speech


would
will
› She said she would teach English online
She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow."
tomorrow.
can could
›
She said, "I can teach English online." She said she could teach English online.
must had to
She said, "I must have a computer to teach › She said she had to have a computer to teach
English online." English online.
shall should
›
She said, "What shall we learn today?" She asked what we should learn today.
may might
›
She said, "May I open a new browser?" She asked if she might open a new browser.

!Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.

Direct speech Indirect speech


"I might go to the cinema", he said. He said he might go to the cinema.

You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is still true i.e.
my name has always been and will always be Lynne so:-

Direct speech Indirect speech


She said her name was Lynne.
"My name is Lynne", she said. or
She said her name is Lynne.

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 .

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

2
Reporting questions
For example:-
At work At home
"How long have you worked here?" She asked me how long I'd worked there.

Pronoun change
For example:
Direct Speech
She said, "I teach English online."

"I teach English online." Reported Speech


She said she teaches English online.
or
She said she taught English online.

Reporting verbs

There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked. These include:

accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologised, begged, boasted, complained,


denied, explained, implied, invited, offered, ordered, promised, replied, suggested and
thought.

Use of 'That' in reported speech


In reported speech, the word that is often used.
For example: He told me that he lived in Greenwich.
However, that is optional.
For example: He told me he lived in Greenwich.
!Note - That is never used in questions, instead we often use if.
For example: He asked me if I would come to the party.

Source http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/reportedspeech.html

You might also like