Direct & Indirect Speeches
Direct Speech refers to reproducing another person ’ s exact words / saying exactly what some 1 has said ( sometimes called quoted speech ) .
We use quotation marks ( “ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ” ) & it should be word for word .
For example :
Nicky said , “ It ’ s hot ” .
/
“ 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 & 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 , / 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 & 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 . |
Vocabulary Around The House Other Rooms Attic People store things in the attic . Ballroom A room in stately homes where rich peop...
Narrative Text Snow Maiden Once upon a time there lived a couple in a village . They had got married for a long time , but so far...
Simple present tense often useful in daily life . Usually , simple present tense , use to express a sentences that happened now . To more...
Asking For Information Asking for Information There are a number of formulas used when asking for information in English . Here are s...
After greeting , this time , I will explain about invitation . For more understand about invitation , ...
Descriptive Text A kind of text to describe a particular person , place / thing . The generic structure of Descriptive text : Ø Identifi...
Invitation . To invite some 1 I would like you to . . . We would be pleased if you could . . . Would you like to . . . ? Shall we . . ...
