Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct Speech Refers to reproducing another person’s exact words or saying exactly what someone has said (sometimes called quoted speech).

We use quotation marks and it should be word for word.

Indirect speech Refers to reproducing the idea of another person’s words that doesn’t use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn’t have to be word for word.

Indirect speech is sometimes called reported speech.

The tense usually changes when reporting speech. This is because we are usually talking about a time in the past and 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

Present simple                                                 Past simple

Vita said, “I eat fried rice”.                                             Vita said that she ate fried rice.

Past simple                                                       Past Perfect

Mother said, “I went to market yesterday”.                       Mother said (that) she had goneto market the day before.

Future simple Past Future

Lea said, “I am going to wash my clothes”.                     Lea said (that) she was going to wash her clothes.

Dave said, “I will buy an I-Pod next week”.                      Dave said (that) he would buyan I-Pod the week after.

Present continuous                                           Past continuous

Gama said, “I am playing football”.                                 Gama said he was playingfootball.

Past continuous                                                            Past perfect continuous

She said, “I was teaching earlier.”                                   She said she had been teaching earlier.

v      When we want to report what someone said, we do not usually repeat their exact words, we use our words. We can use reporting verbs, such as tell, say, ask followed by ‘that-clause’.

Example: My mother said that she got up at 4 o’clock.

v      When reporting verbs is in the Present, Present Perfect, or Future, there is no change of tense in the words reported.

Example: She will tell you

She says                       (that) she doesn’t know.

She has just said

In time expressions and pronouns

Direct speech	Indirect speech
Now Today/tonight Yesterday Tomorrow Last week Next week Ago	Then That day/that night The day before/the previous day The next/following day The previous week The following week/the week after Before
This/these Here Pronouns	That/those There They change according to the context

v      Sometimes we need to report someone’s questions. The reported question are introduced with the verb ask, inquire, wonder, want to know, etc.

Type	Form	Examples
Yes-No questions	Ask  +  if/whether  +  subject  +  verb Wonder etc.	“Do you speak English?” - He wondered if I spoke English.
Wh-questions	Ask  +  question word + subject +  verb Wonder etc.	“What are you watching?” - She asked what I am watching.