Direct & 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.

For example:

                   He said, “The girl is happy.”

                                      Or

                   “The girl is happy,” he 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.

Here are the backshift of tense.

Here are the shifting of time signals.

There are three kinds of indirect speech, i.e. statements, questions, and imperative sentences.

A.       Statements

Rule I

Rule II 

When the reporting verb in the direct speech is in the present, the noun clause verb in the reported speech is not changed. Read the example below.  

 

B.       Questions

If you put a question into indirect speech, there are some steps which are similar to statements: changing of the person, backshift of tenses, and changing of expressions of time.

In indirect speech, there is no question anymore, the sentences becomes a statement. That’s why, the word order is: subject – verb.

1.    A question without a question word (yes/no question).

2.    A question with a question word.

 

C.       Imperative Sentences

If you put imperative sentence into indirect speech, you remain changing of the person, backshift of tenses and changing of expressions of time. The form is mostly: to or not to + imperative.

1.    Command :

 

2.    Prohibition :

3.    Request :

 

Note :

The words beg, remind, warn, advise, recommend, and urge are often useful in indirect commands/request.