Direct and InDirect Speech

Direct/Quoted speech is saying exactly what someone has said. It appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word.

Direct speech repeats, or quotes, the exact words spoken. When we use direct speech in writing, we put the words spoken between inverted commas ("___") and there is no change in these words. We may be reporting something that's being said NOW, or telling someone later about a previous conversation.

Indirect/Reported speech is enclosing what the person said. It doesn't use quotation marks and doesn't have to be word for word.

Indirect speech is usually used to talk about the past. When we use indirect speech, we don’t use inverted comas. We should change the tense of the words spoken. We use reporting verbs for example say, ask, and we may use the word that to introduce the reported words.

Hopes, Intentions, Promises

When we report an intention, hope or promise, we use an appropriate reporting verb followed by a that-clause or a to-infinitive:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
He said, "I'll pay you the money tomorrow."	He promised to pay me the money the next day. He promised that he would pay me the money the next day.

Other verbs used in this pattern include: hope, propose, threaten, guarantee, and swear.

OrdersWhen we want to report an order, we can use a verb like tell with to-clause:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
The doctor said to me, "Stop smoking!"	The doctor told me to stop smoking.
"Get out of the car!" said the policeman.	The policeman ordered him to get out of the car.

Other verbs used are: command, order, warn, ask, invite, advise, beg, teach, and forbid. <<See also section on Verbs followed by infinitive and Verbs followed by gerund>>

Requests

When we want to report a request, we can use a verb like ask with for-clause:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
The child asked, "Can I have a car?"	The child asked for a car.

Suggestions

Suggestions are usually reported with a that-clause. That and should are optional in these clauses.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
“I think you should go to the dentist", said my mother	My mother suggested that I should go to the dentist.

Other verbs used are: insist, recommend, demand, request, and propose. Note: Suggest can also be followed by a gerund: I suggested postponing the visit to the dentist.

Questions

-          Question words are reported by using ask (or another verb like ask) + question word + clause. <<See also section on Tense Change>>

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
She asked me, “Where do u live?”	She asked me where I lived.
He asked me, "What is your name?"	He asked me what my name was.

Tag or Yes/No questions: This type of question is reported by using ask + if / whether +clause:

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
He asked me, "Are you Eastern or Western?"	He asked me whether I was Eastern or Western.

Rules

There are rules in converting direct to indirect speech. The tense usually has change because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past).

Tense Change

As a rule when we report something someone has said you go back a tense (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right)

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Present Simple: He said, “It is hot.”	Past Simple: He said it was hot.
Present Continuous: She said, “I’m eating an apple.”	Past Continuous: She said she was eating an apple.
Present Perfect Simple: She said, "I've taught English since 1999."	Past Perfect Simple: She said she had taught English since 1999.
Present Perfect Continuous: He said, "I've been teaching English for two years."	Past Perfect Continuous: She said she had been teaching English for two years.
Past Simple: She said, "I taught English."	Past Perfect: She said she had taught English.
Past Continuous: She said, "I was teaching earlier."	Past Perfect Continuous: She said she had been teaching earlier
Past Perfect: She said, "The lesson had already started when he arrived."	Past Perfect: (No Change) She said the lesson had already started when he arrived.
Past Perfect Continuous: She said, "I had already been teaching for ten minutes."	Past Perfect Continuous: (No Change) - She said she'd already been teaching for ten minutes.

Note:

-          We can use the Present Tense in indirect speech if we want to say that something is still true.

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Present Simple: He said, “My name is James.”	Past Simple: He said his name was James. or Present Simple: He said his name is James.

Modal Change

Modal verb forms also sometimes change

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Will: She said, “I will teach English.”	Would: She said she would teach English.
Can: She said, "I can teach English online."	Could: She said she could teach English.
Must: She said, "I must teach English."	Had to: She said she had to teach English.
Shall: She said, "What shall we learn today?"	Should: She asked what we should learn today.
May: She said, "May I open the window?"	Might: She asked if she might open the window.

If it use modal, such as: could, would, should, might and ought to in direct speech, then we don’t need to change it.

Time Change

If direct speech sentence contains an expression of time, we must change it to fit in with the time.

Time in Direct Speech	Time in Indirect Speech
this (morning/noon/evening)	that (morning/noon/evening)
Today	yesterday
these (days)	those (days)
Now	then
(a week/ a month/ a year) ago	(a week/ a month/ a year) before
last weekend	the weekend before last/ the previous weekend
Here	There
next (week/month/year)	the following (week/month/year)
Tomorrow	the next/following day

Verbs

Some reporting verbs may appear in more than one of the following groups.

Verbs followed by if or whether + clause:

Ask	Remember	see
Know	Say

Verbs followed by a that + clause:

Add admit agree announce answer argue boast claim comment complain

Confirm consider deny doubt estimate explain fear feel insist mention

observe persuade propose remark remember repeat reply report reveal say

state suggest suppose tell think understand warn

 Verbs followed by either a that + clause or a to + infinitive:

Decide Expect

Guarantee Hope

promise swear

threaten

Verbs followed by either a that + clause containing should (but note that it may be omitted, leaving a subject + zero-infinitive):

Advise beg demand

Insist prefer propose

recommend request suggest

Verbs followed by object + to + infinitive

Advise ask beg

Command forbid instruct

invite teach tell

warn

Adopted from the English Baby page.