Direct and Indirect Speech
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH
Direct Speech
- saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech).
- what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word.
For example:
She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations.” Or "Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.
- Indirect Speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said, it doesn't have to be word for word.
- when reporting speech the tense usually changes because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore, usually have to be in the past too.
For example:
Direct speech: He laid down his bundle and thought of his misfortune. "And just what pleasure have I found, since I came into this world?" he asked.
Indirect speech: He laid down his bundle and thought of his misfortune. He asked himself what pleasure he had found since he came into the world.
How are direct speech and indirect speech different?
There are 5 things that are different: * Quoted speech has quotation marks; reported speech does not use quotation marks. * Quoted speech is exactly what the person said. In indirect speech, the pronoun often changes. * In indirect speech, the word that is often used after said, but that is optional.
The verb in indirect speech is changed to the past; some modal verbs do not change. There are rules to follow when changing the verb.
Punctuation in Indirect Speech
Introductory expressions
Use a comma or colon after an introductory expression.
Examples:
Our teacher declared, “It´s nice to be back!”
In his Valedictorian Address, Paul included these words: “This graduation signals a new beginning for us– a step into adulthood.”
Concluding expressions
Use a comma, question mark, or exclamation mark after a quotation followed by a concluding
Direct Speech
- saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech).
- what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word.
For example:
She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations.” Or "Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.
- Indirect Speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said, it doesn't have to be word for word.
- when reporting speech the tense usually changes because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore, usually have to be in the past too.
For example:
Direct speech: He laid down his bundle and thought of his misfortune. "And just what pleasure have I found, since I came into this world?" he asked.
Indirect speech: He laid down his bundle and thought of his misfortune. He asked himself what pleasure he had found since he came into the world.
How are direct speech and indirect speech different?
There are 5 things that are different: * Quoted speech has quotation marks; reported speech does not use quotation marks. * Quoted speech is exactly what the person said. In indirect speech, the pronoun often changes. * In indirect speech, the word that is often used after said, but that is optional.
The verb in indirect speech is changed to the past; some modal verbs do not change. There are rules to follow when changing the verb.
Punctuation in Indirect Speech
Introductory expressions
Use a comma or colon after an introductory expression.
Examples:
Our teacher declared, “It´s nice to be back!”
In his Valedictorian Address, Paul included these words: “This graduation signals a new beginning for us– a step into adulthood.”
Concluding expressions
Use a comma, question mark, or exclamation mark after a quotation followed by a concluding