DIRECT & INDIRECT SPEECH

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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 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 using indirect or reported speech, the form changes. Usually indirect speech is introduced by the verb said, as in I said, Bill said, or they said. Using the verb say in this tense, indicates that something was said in the past. In these cases, the main verb in the reported sentence is put in the past. If the main verb is already in a past tense, then the tense changes to another past tense; it can almost be seen as moving even further into the past.

Verb tense changes also characterize other situations using indirect speech. Note the changes shown in the chart and see the table below for examples. With indirect speech, the use of that is optional.

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 She said, "It's cold."	Past simple She said it was cold.
Present continuous She said, "I'm teaching English online."	Past continuous She said she was teaching English online.
Present perfect simple She said, "I've been on the web since 1999."	Past perfect simple She said she had been on the web since 1999.
Present perfect continuous She said, "I've been teaching English for seven years."	Past perfect continuous She said she had been teaching English for seven years.
Past simple She said, "I taught online yesterday."	Past perfect She said she had taught online yesterday.
Past continuous She said, "I was teaching earlier."	Past perfect continuous She said she had been teaching earlier.
Past perfect She said, "The lesson had already started when he arrived."	Past perfect NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already started when he arrived.
Past perfect continuous She said, "I'd already been teaching for five minutes."	Past perfect continuous NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been teaching for five minutes.

Modal verb forms also sometimes change:

Direct speech	Indirect speech
will She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow."	would She said she would teach English online tomorrow.
can She said, "I can teach English online."	could She said she could teach English online.
must She said, "I must have a computer to teach English online."	had to She said she had to have a computer to teach English online.
shall She said, "What shall we learn today?"	should She asked what we should learn today.
may She said, "May I open a new browser?"	might 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
"My name is Lynne", she said.	She said her name was Lynne. or She said her name is Lynne.

You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.

Direct speech (exact quote)	Indirect speech (not exact)
"Next week's lesson is on reported speech ", she said.	She said next week's lesson is on reported speech.

Time change

If the reported setence contains an expressin of time, you must change it to fit in with the time of reporting.

For example we need to change word 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

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 :-

At work	At home
"How long have you worked here?"	She asked me how long I'd worked there.

Pronoun change

In reported speech, the pronoun often changes.

For example :

Me	You
"I teach English online."	She said she teaches English online.

Reporting Verbs

Said, told and asked are the most common verb used in indirect speech .

We use asked to report question

For example : I asked Lynne what time the lesson started

We use told with an object

For example : Lynne told me she felt tired

!Note : Here me is the object

We usually use said without an object

For example : Lynne said she was going to teach online

If said is used with an object we must include to :

For example : Lynne said to me that she’d never been to China

!Note : We usually use told 

For example : Lynne told me that she’d never been to China

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.

Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting and informative

For example :

®    He asked me to come to the party

®    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’s 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.

Yes-No Question Clauses

Changing questions answered by yes or no to reported speech

1.      Normal word order is used in reported questions, that is, the subject comes before the verb, and it is not necessary to use 'do' or 'did':

"Where does Peter live?" She asked him where Peter lived.

2.      Yes / no questions: This type of question is reported by using 'ask' + 'if / whether + clause:

a.       "Do you speak English?" He asked me if I spoke English.

b.      "Are you British or American?" He asked me whether I was British or American.

c.       "Is it raining?" She asked if it was raining.

d.      "Have you got a computer?" He wanted to know whether I had a computer.

e.       "Can you type?" She asked if I could type.

f.       "Did you come by train?" He enquired whether I had come by train.

g.      "Have you been to Bristol before?" She asked if I had been to Bristol before.

3.      Question words:
This type of question is reported by using 'ask' (or another verb like 'ask') + question word + clause. The clause contains the question, in normal word order and with the necessary tense change.

Examples:

a.       "What is your name?" he asked me. He asked me what my name was.

b.      "How old is your mother?", he asked. He asked how old her mother was.

c.       The mouse said to the elephant, "Where do you live?" The mouse asked the elephant where she lived.

d.      "What time does the train arrive?" she asked. She asked what time the train arrived.

e.       "When can we have dinner?" she asked. She asked when they could have dinner.

f.       The elephant said to the mouse, "Why are you so small?" The elephant asked the mouse why she was so small.

Yes-No questions different from WH-questions.

• These quoted questions begin with auxiliary verb forms such as: is, are, am, do, does, has, have, can, will, must.
  They can be answered with "yes" or "no"; hence, they are often called "yes-no questions". 
• The pronoun whether or if is used to embed (insert) the question clause into the main clause.  

QUOTED  QUESTION	REPORTED QUESTION
Quoted questions restate speech exactly. The quoted speech is set off from the main clause by enclosing it in quotes (" ").	Reported questions rephrase the speech by adjusting the time frame, pronouns and adverbs to the speaker's perspective in the main clause.  The rephrased speech is joined to main clause using whether or if.  No additional punctuation, such as quotes or commas, is used.
My friend said, "Are you coming?"	My friend asked whether I was coming or not.
My friend asked, "Is your brother coming too?"	My friend asked if my brother was coming too.
My friend asked, "Can you drive us?'	My friend asked whether I could drive them.
My friend asked, "Will you have enough gas?"	My friend asked if I would have enough gas.
My friend asked, "Do we have enough money for gas?"	My friend asked whether we had enough money for gas.

Verb Tense Adjustment

QUESTION  VERB TENSE	STATEMENT VERB TENSE
PRESENT "Are you tired? " "Do you live here?' "May I come too? " "Can I help?" " "Will you leave soon? " "Must you do that? "	PAST She asked whether I was/were tired. She inquired if I lived there. She asked whether she might come too. She asked if she could help. She inquired whether we would leave soon. She questioned if I had to do that exactly then.
PRESENT PROGRESSIVE "Are you working?"	PAST PROGRESSIVE She asked whether I was/were working.
PAST " Were you married?" " Did you get married?"	PAST PERFECT She asked whether I had been married. She asked if I had gotten married.
PRESENT PROGRESSIVE " Were you calling?"	PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE She asked whether I had been calling.
PRESENT PERFECT " Have you called yet?"	PAST PERFECT She asked if I had called yet.
PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE " Have you been calling me?"	PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE She asked if I had been calling her.
PRESENT – GENERAL TRUTH "Do you like dancing?"	PRESENT – GENERAL TRUTH *She asked whether I like dancing.

NOTE!

*must changes to need to or had to in past tense
* If the tense reflects "general truth", it does not change to past form.

Conclusion

            When someone say something directly it is called “Direct Speech”,  and if someone else wants to repeat the sentence then they  use “Indirect Speech”. If we write Direct sentences then we must use quotation marks, if we want to change the sentence into Indirect sentence, we should pay attention to some provisions such as time changes, tense, modals, places, and pronouns.

  Direct speech :        David, "There is an excellent band playing later                                             on."         
            Indirect Speech :  David said  there was an excellent band playing just now.

 2.    Direct speech :        Christine, "I saw Amy at the bank on Monday."
            Indirect Speech :  Christine said  that she had seen Amy at the bank on Monday.
3. Direct speech :         The doctor, "I'll send you the results tomorrow ."
            Indirect Speech :   The doctor said   that he would send me the result tomorrow.

4. Direct speech : Jessica, “I can swim well”

            Indirect Speech : Jessica said that she could swim well.

5. Direct speech : Sunny, “May I open the present?”

            Indirect Speech : Sunny said if she might open the present.

 3.Question words:

This type of question is reported by using 'ask' (or another verb like 'ask') + question word + clause. The clause contains the question, in normal word order and with the necessary tense change.

•      Examples:

•      "What is your name?" he asked me. He asked me what my name was.

•      "How old is your mother?", he asked. He asked how old her mother was.

1. Positive Order Sentence

When the reported word is a positive order sentence, we used “to” as liaison which means “so that", then followed by the infinitive verb.

Example :

•      John told me “open your book!”

•      John told me to open my book.

2. Negative Order Sentence

When the reported word is a   negative order sentence, we used “not            to” as liaison.

Example :

•      Santi told Arik “Don’t cook here!”

•      Santi told Arik not to cook there