Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech
Introduction.
There two ways to convey a message of a person, or the words spoken by a person to other person.
1.
Direct speech
2.
Indirect speech
Suppose your friend whose name is John tells you in school, I will give you a pen. You come to home
and you want to tell your brother what your friend told you. There are two ways to tell him.
Direct speech: John said, I will give you a pen.
Indirect Speech: John said that he would give me a pen.
In direct speech the original words of person are narrated (no change is made) and are enclosed in
quotation mark. While in indirect speech some changes are made in original words of the person
because these words have been uttered in past so the tense will change accordingly and pronoun may
also be changed accordingly. In indirect speech the statement of the person is not enclosed in
quotation marks, the word that may be used before the statement to show that it is indirect speech.
Indirect speech is also called reported speech because reported speech refers to the second part of
indirect speech in which something has been told by a person.
Reporting verb: The verb first part of sentence (i.e. he said, she said, he says, they said, she says,)
before the statement of a person in sentence is called reporting verb.
Examples. In all of the following example the reporting verb is said.
He said, I work in a factory
(Direct speech)
He said that he worked in a factory.
(Indirect speech)
They said, we are going to cinema
(Direct speech)
They said that they were going to cinema.
(Indirect speech)
Reported Speech. The second part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person
(which is enclosed in quotation marks in direct speech) is called reported speech. For example, a
sentence of indirect speech is, He said that he worked in a factory. In this sentence the second part
he worked in a factory is called reported speech and that is why the indirect speech as a whole can
also be called reported speech.
1.
2.
Use of word that: The word that is used as a conjunction between the reporting verb
and reported speech.
3.
Change in pronoun: The pronoun (subject) of the reported speech is changed according to
the pronoun of reporting verb or object (person) of reporting verb (first part of sentence).
Sometimes the pronoun may not change.
In following example the pronoun of reported speech is I which will be changed in indirect speech
into the pronoun (Subject) of reporting verb that is he.
Example.
Direct speech: He said, I am happy
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy.
Direct speech: I said to him, you are intelligent
Indirect Speech: I said him that he was intelligent. (You changed to he the
person of object of reporting verb)
1.
Change in time: Time is changed according to certain rules like now to then, today to that
day, tomorrow to next day and yesterday to previous day.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said, I am happy today
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy that day.
1.
Change in the tense of reported speech: If the first part of sentence (reporting verb part)
belongs to past tense the tense of reported speech will change. If the first part of sentence
(reporting verb part) belongs to present or future tense, the tense of reported speech will not
change.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said, I am happy
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy. (Tense of reported speech changed)
Direct speech: He says, I am happy
Indirect Speech: He said that he is happy. (Tense of reported speech didnt
change)
Change in tense is made according to rules of indirect speech which are given in table below.
Click on the following links to study each aspect of Direct and Indirect Speech.
Direct and Indirect Speech
Table for change in tense of reported speech for all TENSES.
Indirect speech for Interrogative (question) sentence.
Indirect speech for sentence having MODALS, can, may, must, should, ought
would could
Indirect speech for exclamatory and imperative sentences.
Changes in pronoun, time and adverbs in indirect speech.
to, might,
DIRECT SPEECH
INDIRECT SPEECH
PRESENT TENSE
PRESENT SIMPLE changes into PAST SIMPLE
He said, I write a letter
She said, he goes to school daily
They said, we love our country
He said, he does not like computer
I said that she had been working in this office since 2007.
PAST TENSE
PAST SIMPLE changes into PAST PERFECT
He said to me, you answered correctly
PAST PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT (tense does not change)
She said, She had visited a doctor
FUTURE TENSE
FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE
Note: The tense of reported speech may not change if reported speech is a universal truth though its reporting verb belongs to
past tense.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said, Mathematics is a science
Indirect Speech: He said that mathematics is a science.
Direct speech: He said, Sun rises in east
Indirect Speech: He said that sun rises in east. (Tense didnt change because
universal truth thought its reporting verb
belongs to past tense)
reported speech is a
explanation i.e, I am
Indirect Speech
Indirect speech for sentence having MODALS, should, ought to, might,
would, and could
The modal will not change in indirect speech
Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
Could
She said, she could play a piano
Might
He said, guests might come
Should
He said, I should avail the opportunity
Ought to
He said to me, you ought to wait for him
Examples.
Direct speech: I said, I write a letter
Indirect speech: I said that I wrote a letter.
Direct speech: We said, we completed our work
Indirect speech: We said that we completed our work.
3. Second person pronoun in reported speech i.e. you, yours is changed according
Examples.
Direct speech: She said to him, you are intelligent
Indirect speech: She said to him that he was intelligent.
Direct speech: He said to me, you are late for the party
Indirect speech: He said to me that I was late for the party.
4. Third person pronoun in reported speech i.e. he, she, it, they, him, his, her, them
Examples.
Direct speech: They said, he will come
Indirect speech: They said that he would come.
Direct speech: You said, they are waiting for the bus
Indirect speech: You said that they were waiting for the bus.
Common Rules
Today changes to that day/the same day
Tomorrow changes to the next day/the following day
Yesterday changes to the day before/the previous day
Next week/month/year changes to the following week/month/year
Last week/month/year changes to the previous week/month/year
Now/just changes to then
Ago changes to before
Here changes to there
This changes to that