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.
For example:
Nicky said, “It’s hot”.
Or
“It’s hot,” Nicky said.
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.
| ▪ Note: The reporting verbs that are usually used to report imperative sentences are: Tell, order, command, ask, warn, remind |
| ▪ Don’t forget to mention the indirect object. Father warned me not to drive fast. |
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 gone to 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 buy an I-Pod the week after.
Present continuous Past continuous
Gama said, “I
am playing football”. Gama said he
was playing football.
Past continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, “I
was teaching earlier.” She said she
had been teaching earlier.
▪ 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.
▪ 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 |
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. |
