DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

What is DIRECT SPEECH?

What is INDIRECT SPEECH?
DIRECT SPEECH
 RULES OF DIRECT SPEECH
1. The speech is put within inverted commas
2. The speech is separated from the reporting verb
by a comma.
3. The first word of the reported speech must begin
with a capital letter.
He said, ”I’m tired.”
(reporting verb)
 REPORTED SPEECH(INDIRECT
SPEECH)
Reported speech is simply when we tell somebody what someone else
said. You can do this in your writing, or in speech. Reported speech
is very different from direct speech, which is when you show what
somebody said in the exact way that they said it. In reported speech
though, you do not need to quote somebody directly.
Instead, we use a reporting verb, such as ‘say’ or ‘ask’. These
reporting verbs are used to report the speech to someone else.
 RULES ABOUT INDIRECT SPEECH
1. No inverted commas are used.
2. No comma is used to separate the reported speech from the
reporting verb.
3. A conjunction (that, if, whether) is generally used after
the reporting verb.
4. The tense of the reporting verb is never changed.
5. Pronouns, possessive adjectives, words showing nearness
and tenses of the verbs in the direct speech undergo
certain changes in the reported speech.
 GENERAL RULES FOR CHANGING
DIRECT TO INDIRECT SPEECH
A. Change of tenses
Rule 1:
If the tense of the reporting verb is in the Present or
future, the tense of the verb in the reported speech
remains the same.
e.g: She says, “I like dogs.” She will say, “I like
dogs.”
She says that she likes dogs. She will say that she
likes dogs.
Here nothing really needed to be changed except the pronoun,
because you are now talking about somebody else, so ‘I’ becomes
‘She’ or ‘He’.
Rule 2
If the tense of the reporting verb is Past, the tense of
the verb in the Reported Speech is changed to the
corresponding Past tense.
She said, “I like dogs.”
She said that she liked dogs.
 1.Bobby will say, “I have already done direct and indirect speech
exercises.”
2. Bill says, "I am enjoying my holiday.“
3. Sandy says, "I will never go to work."
4. She will say, “I am happy.”
5. He will say. “Megan arrived on Tuesday.”
 ANSWERS
1. Bobby will say that he has already done direct
and indirect speech exercises.
2. Bill says that he is enjoying his holidays.
3. Sandy says that she will never go to work.
4. She will say that she is happy.
5. He will say that Megan arrived on Tuesday.
TENSE CHANGES IN REPORTED
SPEECH
When the reporting verb is in the past tense, verb tense forms
usually need to change. The tenses generally move
backward in this way:
•Present Simple Tense into Past Simple Tense
•Present Continuous Tense into Past Continuous Tense
•Present Perfect Tense into Past Perfect Tense
•Past Simple Tense into Past Perfect Tense
•Past Continuous Tense into Past Perfect Continuous Tense
•Past Perfect Tense (the tense remains unchanged)
If somebody is talking about what will happen in the future
then, again, you will need to change the tense of the reporting
verb.
•Direct speech: I shall leave in a moment.
•Reported speech: She said that she would leave in a moment.
Notice how ‘shall’ and “will” become ‘would’ here in order for it
to make sense.
•Will into Would
•Will be into Would be
•Will have into Would have
•Will have been into Would have been
1. I said to her, “We were trying to save the
drowning child.”
2. She said to me, “I did not like your painting.”
3. He said to me, “I have learnt my lesson.”
4. He said to me, “I am late for the meeting.”
5. I said, “The thief took to his heels when he saw
the policeman coming.”
 ANSWERS
1. I told her that we had been trying to save the
drowning child.
2. She told me that she hadn’t liked my painting.
3. He told me that he had learnt his lesson.
4. He told me that he was late for his meeting.
5. I said that the thief had taken to his heels when
he had seen the policeman coming.
 REPORTED SPEECH IN SIMPLE
PRESENT TENSE
1. Helen: "I speak English and Spanish.”
2. Ken: "Joy often reads comics.”
3. Harry and Marie: "We go swimming in the lake.”
4. Madison: "I'm tired.”
5. Amy: "The boys always wear jeans.”
6. Oliver and Noah: "Our smartphones don't work.”
7. Lisa: "Alan sometimes meets friends.”
8. Andrew: "I really love my moped.”
9. Nick: "You have a fast car.”
10. Josie: "Your dogs are cute.”
 ANSWERS
1.Helen said (that) she spoke English and Spanish.

2.Ken said (that) Joy often read comics.

3.Harry and Marie told me (that) they went swimming in the lake.

4.Madison remarked (that) she was tired.

5.Amy told me (that) the boys always wore jeans.

6.Oliver and Noah mentioned (that) their smartphones didn't work.

7.Lisa said (that) Alan sometimes met friends.

8.Andrew said (that) he really loved his moped.

9.Nick remarked (that) I had a fast car.

10.Josie told me (that) my dogs were cute.

 REPORTED SPEECH IN PRESENT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
1. Jenny: "I'm coming down.”
2. Tim: "Jack is having breakfast.”
3. Jamy: "She's telling a joke.”
4. Mavis: "The dog is running after the cat.”
5. Peter: "I'm playing the piano.”
6. Zack: "You're drinking tea.”
7. Ella: "It's not raining.”
8. Jacob: "Riley is checking the computer.”
9. Owen: "They aren't watching TV.”
10. Nora: "He is learning Spanish words.”
 ANSWERS
1. Jenny said that she was coming down.
2. Tim said that Jack was having breakfast.
3. Jamy told me that she was telling a joke.
4. Mavis remarked that the dog was running after the cat.
5. Peter said that he was playing the piano.
6. Zack said that I was drinking tea.
7. Ella remarked that it wasn’t raining.
8. Jacob said that Riley was checking the computer.
9. Owen told me that they weren’t watching T.V.
10. Nora said that he was learning Spanish.
 REPORTED SPEECH IN PRESENT
PERFECT TENSE
1.Grandma: "Dad has made breakfast."
Grandma said (that) .
2.Mia and Zoe: "We have cleaned the kitchen."
Mia and Zoe said (that) .
3.Tom: "She has left the house."
Tom remarked (that) .
4.Ella: "I have taken great photos."
Ella told me (that) .
5.Max: "They haven't written text messages."
Max said (that) .
6.Henry: "Lisa has tried skateboarding."
Henry mentioned (that) .
7.Anna: "Richard has never touched a snake."
Anna said (that) .
8.Lucas: "I haven't seen my brother since 2018."
Lucas remarked (that) .
9.Grace: "Ken has fed the pets."
Grace told me (that) .
10.Ruby: "Adam has not collected stickers."
Ruby told me (that) .
 ANSWERS
1.Grandma: "Dad has made breakfast."
Grandma said (that) Dad had made breakfast.
2.Mia and Zoe: "We have cleaned the kitchen."
Mia and Zoe said (that) they had cleaned the kitchen.
3.Tom: "She has left the house."
Tom remarked (that) she had left the house.
4.Ella: "I have taken great photos."
Ella told me (that) she had taken great photos.
5.Max: "They haven't written text messages."
Max said (that) they hadn't written text messages.
6.Henry: "Lisa has tried skateboarding."
Henry mentioned (that) Lisa had tried skateboarding.
7.Anna: "Richard has never touched a snake."
Anna said (that) Richard had never touched a snake.
8.Lucas: "I haven't seen my brother since 2018."
Lucas remarked (that) he hadn't seen his brother since 2018.
9.Grace: "Ken has fed the pets."
Grace told me (that) Ken had fed the pets.
10.Ruby: "Adam has not collected stickers."
Ruby told me (that) Adam had not collected stickers.
 REPORTED SPEECH IN PRESENT
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE
1. Rabi said, ''I have been planning to migrate to another
country.‘’
 ANSWERS
Rabi said that he had been planning to migrate to
another country.
 REPORTED SPEECH IN
SIMPLE PAST TENSE
1.Emma: "The train left at eight."
Emma said (that) .
2.Sophia: "Dan forgot his keys."
Sophia said (that) .
3.Alexander: "I had a meeting at four."
Alexander remarked (that) .
4.Jackson and Leo: "We visited Aunt Elisabeth."
Jackson and Leo said (that) .
5.Mum: "William repaired the printer."
Mum remarked (that) .
6.Toby: "Jeff didn't like the food in the restaurant."
Toby mentioned (that) .
7.Hannah: "I walked to the museum."
Hannah told me (that) .
8.Nick: "She went home late."
Emma said (that) .
9.Alisha: "Lucas lost my money."
Alisha told me (that) .
10.Dad: "Emily didn't eat potatoes as a child."
Mum told me (that) .
 ANSWERS
1.Emma: "The train left at eight."
Emma said (that) the train had left at eight.
2.Sophia: "Dan forgot his keys."
Sophia said (that) Dan had forgotten his keys.
3.Alexander: "I had a meeting at four."
Alexander remarked (that) he had had a meeting at four.
4.Jackson and Leo: "We visited Aunt Elisabeth."
Jackson and Leo said (that) they had visited Aunt Elisabeth.
5.Mum: "William repaired the printer."
Mum remarked (that) William had repaired the printer.
6.Toby: "Jeff didn't like the food in the restaurant."
Toby mentioned (that) Jeff hadn't liked the food in the restaurant.
7.Hannah: "I walked to the museum."
Hannah told me (that) she had walked to the museum.
8.Nick: "She went home late."
Emma said (that) she had gone home late.
9.Alisha: "Lucas lost my money."
Alisha told me (that) Lucas had lost her money.
10.Dad: "Emily didn't eat potatoes as a child."
Mum told me (that) Emily hadn't eaten potatoes as a child.
CHANGE OF WORDS SHOWING
NEARNESS
REPORTING QUESTIONS
1.Christopher: "Do you want to dance?"
Christopher asked me .
2.Betty: "When did you come?"
Betty wanted to know .
3.Mark: "Has John arrived?"
Mark asked me .
4.Ronald: "Where does Maria park her car?"
Ronald asked me .
5.Elisabeth: "Did you watch the latest film?"
Elisabeth asked me .
6.Mandy: "Can I help you?"
Mandy wanted to know .
7.Andrew: "Will Mandy have lunch with Sue?"
Andrew asked me .
8.Justin: "What are you doing?"
Justin asked me .
9.Frank: "How much pocket money does Lisa get?"
Frank wanted to know .
10.Anne: "Must I do the shopping?"
Anne asked .
 ANSWERS
1.Christopher: "Do you want to dance?"
Christopher asked me if I wanted to dance.
2.Betty: "When did you come?"
Betty wanted to know when I had come.
3.Mark: "Has John arrived?"
Mark asked me if John had arrived.
4.Ronald: "Where does Maria park her car?"
Ronald asked me where Maria parked her car.
5.Elisabeth: "Did you watch the latest film?"
Elisabeth asked me if I had watched the latest film.
6.Mandy: "Can I help you?"
Mandy wanted to know if she could help me.
7.Andrew: "Will Mandy have lunch with Sue?"
Andrew asked me if Mandy would have lunch with Sue.
8.Justin: "What are you doing?"
Justin asked me what I was doing.
9.Frank: "How much pocket money does Lisa get?"
Frank wanted to know how much pocket money Lisa got.
10.Anne: "Must I do the shopping?"
Anne asked if she had to do the shopping.
1. Reported Commands
There is no backshift of tenses with commands/requests in Reported
Speech.
You only have to change the person and shift expressions of time/place.
Form
•affirmative commands → to + infinitive
•negative commands → not + to + infinitive
1.1. Affirmative commands
•Direct Speech → Dad: “Do your homework.”
•Reported Speech → Dad told me to do my homework.
1.2. Negative commands
•Direct Speech → Teacher: “Don't talk to your friend.”
•Reported Speech → The teacher told me not to talk to my friend.
1.3. The introductory sentence in commands
The word tell in introductory sentences in Reported Commands can be
substituted with other words, e.g.
•advise
•ask
There is no backshift of tenses, no matter which tense is used in the
introductory sentence.
Direct Speech
•Dad: “Do your homework.”
Reported Speech
•Dad tells me to do my homework.
•Dad told me to do my homework.
2. Suggestions
Direct Speech
•Father: “Let's watch a film.”
Reported Speech
•Father suggested watching a film.
•Father suggested that they should watch a film
Do not use the infintive after suggest. Father suggested to watch a
film.
3. When reporting Yes/No questions use ‘if/whether’